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Fire and Transformation

Flame Burst.

I squinted at the slowly burning fire.

No, can I even call this a flame? The color was too random.

“What the heck?”

It was white. So white that I couldn’t tell whether it was fire or eyes just by looking at it.

Even the way it rose was different.

Slowly. And also flickering. It was hard to describe, but it was vastly different from the rough and fierce flames I usually conjured.

Soft and gentle, maybe?

“…”

I clenched my fist.

Flame! The haze blooming in my physical body dissipated. I could sense it. I could ignite it if I wanted to, and I felt I could maintain my original form too.

‘Is this the grand mastery?’

This was the grand mastery of the Technique of the Flame Wheel.

Could this be the sensation my father spoke of, becoming one with the flame?

‘What a strange feeling.’

This was also hard to explain.

But I could vaguely grasp what it meant to become the flame myself. It was quite literally that.

Flame Burst.

When I originally used the Technique of the Flame Wheel, I had the concept of unleashing flames in my mind.

Now, there was no need to struggle to conjure something.

“…Hmm.”

It was a sensation I couldn’t quite pinpoint from start to finish. One thing was for sure, it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Rather, it felt good. The rising pride made me suppress a smile I didn’t even realize was forming.

At that moment, the sensation I had missed fully enveloped my body.

I felt an overwhelming pride, as if I could do anything.

The problem was.

‘Why is it white?’

Did the color change unexpectedly? If it were indeed grand mastery, my father’s flames were red.

I couldn’t understand why my flames had changed again.

‘How strong have I become?’

Now that I had reached grand mastery, there should be changes in my realm too, but that aspect wasn’t properly grasped.

Moreover.

“Are you okay…?”

It wasn’t exactly the time to ponder such things.

I knelt down to check on the two who had fallen over.

Especially, I needed to take care of Wi Seol-Ah, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

“Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

Why was she sobbing like that? I tried to comfort her, but out of the blue—! Wi Seol-Ah jumped back into my arms.

“Waaah… Waaaah…”

“…No.”

What should I do? After a moment of contemplation, I took one action.

I raised my hand and tousled Wi Seol-Ah’s hair.

First, I needed to calm her down. I said that while taking a deep breath.

“Just calm down…”

“I can’t… I can’t do it… Waaah…”

“…”

At Wi Seol-Ah’s words, my hand froze mid-motion. What couldn’t she do? A fleeting thought crossed my mind, and I quickly deduced the answer.

‘Oh no…’

It seemed like something must have happened while I was unconscious.

I shifted my gaze from Wi Seol-Ah to Nangong Bi-ah.

Unlike Wi Seol-Ah, she didn’t seem to be crying, but she looked much more dazed than usual.

Our eyes met.

“…”

“…”

We exchanged no words. Looking into her eyes, I realized what Nangong Bi-ah desired.

Seeing that, I lightly waved my hand in the air.

Like she had been waiting, Nangong Bi-ah immediately nestled into my remaining arm.

Squeezing. I felt her tightly clutching the collar of my clothing.

“…I’m sorry.”

I had no idea what happened.

I couldn’t remember. Still, I understood I somehow messed up.

I managed to spit out just that simple apology as time passed by.

Perhaps having calmed down a bit, I could feel the grip from the two loosening on my hands.

Only then did I start to survey the surroundings more calmly.

‘…What a mess.’

Whatever had happened, it was total chaos all around. Especially in one corner, I spotted something gasping for breath.

‘Gyecheon Sect Leader?’

The physically altered Gyecheon Sect Leader was cowering in the corner, barely able to breathe.

From the looks of it, being alive was a miracle.

‘…The kids couldn’t have done this.’

Considering their personalities, they wouldn’t have violently wrecked things like this. It must have been me.

‘What the heck did I do?’

What could I possibly have shattered for things to be so twisted? It was both intriguing and worrisome.

Fortunately.

‘The kids seem mostly unhurt.’

Compared to how they were before I lost consciousness, there was hardly any difference in their condition.

That was the most fortunate thing.

If something happened to them when I opened my eyes…

‘…’

I didn’t want to imagine it.

‘For now…’

What I needed to do first was not to check my body’s condition after reaching grand mastery but to look after the situation at hand.

I turned my head side to side. While shifting my gaze like that—

Suddenly.

I had to freeze my body upon seeing something.

‘What is that?’

In the back part of the space, there was a tree. Had that always been there?

‘If something like that was here, why didn’t I notice it?’

If it was there, I should have noticed it long ago. Now that I can see it, I wondered if it was something only I could see and quickly asked Nangong Bi-ah.

“Can you see that?”

Nangong Bi-ah turned her head at my gesture.

“…Yeah…”

So it wasn’t just an illusion. Then—

“Was it there from the beginning?”

“Yeah… From the start.”

“Hmm.”

So it was there from the start. That meant it was more appropriate to say I hadn’t recognized it.

‘How could I not notice something so strange?’

If it was normal, I wouldn’t know. But how could I miss something like that?

I got up. The two who had been clinging to me looked regrettably at me, but I ignored them and walked towards the tree.

It was small. More like a sapling.

But.

‘The leaves…’

The leaves on those thin branches were disturbingly white.

Almost like the flames I had been exuding. Or perhaps—

‘Similar to Wi Seol-Ah’s appearance… and Gyecheon Sect Leader’s state.’

It was strange to just call it white. There was a peculiar dissonance. It didn’t make sense for a tree to look like this.

However, I wasn’t surprised.

‘Because I have experience with this.’

I had seen it once before.

How could I forget? That time it was in Sichuan.

When it was probably.

‘When I was searching for the Biwa of the Geumcheon Clan.’

That time, there was a tree exactly like this in the space Wi Seol-Ah discovered in my stead.

Of course, the size was worlds apart. The tree back then was enormous, practically a venerable ancient tree.

‘What on earth is this?’

The tree that vanished when the space disappeared was the one I had seen back then.

But what was this tree?

It was evident it wasn’t an ordinary tree. What kind of presence did it exude?

Divinity? Or perhaps wonder.

I felt those emotions emanating from the tree.

‘And this…’

I turned to look at Wi Seol-Ah.

‘It feels a bit similar to what I sense from Wi Seol-Ah.’

Was it purely an illusion? I thought not.

Though I hadn’t known at the time, I now understood how Wi Seol-Ah pinpointed the location of the Biwa.

Moreover, why did this tree remind me of Wi Seol-Ah?

‘There’s some connection.’

For whatever reason, Wi Seol-Ah and this seemed to be tied together, and that meant.

‘Could it be that Wi Seol-Ah and Yeon Ilcheon are also connected?’

There was no other way to explain the situation.

‘How is that even possible?’

If there’s a connection, how does it exist?

Furthermore.

‘What was going on here?’

What was Gyecheon Sect Leader plotting in this place, and what was that grotesque form of his? I had heaps of questions to untangle.

With that, should I inspect this tree first? I thought as I reached out. Let’s touch these strange leaves.

Just as my fingertips approached one of the leaves—

Ssssssss—!!!

“Hmm?”

“Huh…?”

The still tree began to move. The branches swayed as if dancing, and the leaves shook in response.

There was no wind, of course. This was underground and a sealed space. There couldn’t be any breeze.

“What the heck is this?”

Was something wrong? Just as I was about to step away from the tree—

Splat!

The shaking blossoms dropped from the branches.

Watching that, I widened my eyes.

The leaves could fall, but they weren’t just falling to the ground.

Instead of heading straight down, they flew towards my body.

Moreover, they didn’t just stick to me but whirled in mid-air around me.

“What the—”

What kind of bizarre situation was this? I was about to complain, but before I could open my mouth, the leaves reacted again.

Thud–!!

The spinning leaves suddenly halted and dissolved into dust like shattering glass.

The pieces of light that floated into the air sparkled like fireflies.

What in the world were they trying to do? Watching with caution, I kept an eye on the spectacle.

Ssssssss—!!!

“…!”

The shards of light swiftly enveloped my body.

So fast I couldn’t even resist.

By the time I realized it, every single leaf had been absorbed into me.

“…What the hell…”

I frantically shook my body. Why had this bizarre event occurred out of the blue?

What had been forced into my mouth…? No, it had practically been shoved down my throat, hadn’t it?

I nervously examined myself, wondering what changes might happen.

[No… No, no!!!]

From behind, a wailing voice echoed.

I turned my head to find the Gyecheon Sect Leader, who had been nearly on the brink of death.

In that short time, perhaps he had regenerated. He stared at me with bloodshot eyes and screamed.

[You… you dare… dare to interfere with the miracle of that one…!!!]

What was going on with him after just lying down quietly?

He seemed exceptionally furious as he forced his still recovering body to rise.

[I won’t forgive… I won’t forgive you…! This, this is destroying our plan—! Aaaaaargh—!!]

Bang—!! He stomped the ground and leaped towards me.

Eyes narrowed, I watched.

Wi Seol-Ah and Nangong Bi-ah also reacted, but I was faster.

Since I already planned to kill him anyway, this worked out.

I clenched my fist, and at that moment, my body transformed.

Flame Burst—!! My hand ignited with fire.

Feeling the heat surge, I swung my fist forward.

Thud—!

My heart raced wildly. It felt different from usual.

‘Huh?’

What was this? It was an unusual sensation, but I didn’t stop my movement.

My fists shot straight out in a line.

It felt no different than normal. Just as if I were using the Gu Yeomtaeyarang.

Flame—!!!!

My heart pounded like a drum, and the White Flame surged smoothly.

Gu Yeomtaeyarang (Technique of the Flame Wheel).

Boom—!!!

The white flame engulfed the Gyecheon Sect Leader.

[Arghhhhhh—!!!]

His scream shattered the air in the staggering heat. The flames pierced through him and melted the wall behind, leaving a molten trail.

Truly a tremendous heat.

With this level of intensity, would he be reduced to nothingness?

However.

Flame—!!!!

Right after the blaze died down, I squinted at the sight that lay before me.

“Eh?”

Though the flames had melted a huge hole in the wall, the condition of the Gyecheon Sect Leader remained unchanged.

He showed no signs of any damage. What was this? Did he endure it?

‘That can’t be.’

Even I was astonished by the power I displayed a moment ago. The surge I experienced after consuming the White Horse Stone felt wholly real.

So there was no way he could remain unhurt…

Something felt amiss as I stared at the Gyecheon Sect Leader.

[Ugh… Ugh… This… this can’t… be…!]

The Gyecheon Sect Leader stumbled and fell to one knee.

That was unexpected. His state was quite a mess, so it wasn’t strange he would collapse like that.

[No… Nooooo…!]

Crack.

“Hmm?”

Not long after, changes began in the collapsed Gyecheon Sect Leader.

Crack… Crack—!!

[Ughhhh…!]

“What the heck?”

Accompanied by a rough sound, his body gradually shrank.

His white hair was slowly turning black, the scales on his skin were receding, and even his eyes were returning to their original form.

He was changing from monster to human.

Crack…!!

Before I could even count to ten, the Gyecheon Sect Leader reverted to his original form, donning an expression filled with despair.

“What… This, how…?! N-Not this…! Not like this!!”

In disbelief, he began to touch his own face with trembling hands.

Then he crawled towards me as if begging.

“Return it… return it… Please return it to me…”

“…”

It wasn’t a sight to scoff at.

The Gyecheon Sect Leader wailed like he lost something incredibly important, begging me to return it.

“…Ha ha.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at him.

Not because of the Gyecheon Sect Leader’s appearance being amusing.

It was because the situation a moment ago was astonishing.

The Gyecheon Sect Leader didn’t even register in my sight anymore.

I raised my hand and glanced at the flames again, the White Flame still burning steadily.

What had changed? It seemed like this was the cause.

‘This power…’

Now that I had employed this flame, I realized what it was.

It was.

‘Similar to the power of Pa Ma!’

(Pa Ma, 破魔)

The power used by the Divine Sword in my previous life.

It was the reason she was able to stand against the Heavenly Demon and save the world.

It seemed that power had manifested within me as well.

 

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