[Protagonist’s POV]
That’s when it happened.
Rumble.
Familiar dark clouds began forming in the air.
Slow at first—just specks now—but I knew what they were.
And it seed she did too.
["Oh, looks like we’ve got to cut it here today! Listen close! Use that world’s saintess! Spend as much ti as you can with her—"]
Boom!
Was she that rushed?
Before the clouds even grew to palm-size, a blue thunderbolt struck where her voice ca from.
Crackle... crackle...
"...Hello?"
I spoke toward the glitching, TV-static noise, but no reply ca.
I cautiously looked up at the clouds in the sky.
’...They’re not punishing too, right?’
I fretted that chatting with her might get in trouble—
Swish.
"Phew..."
Thankfully, no—they scattered and vanished quickly.
Patting my still-racing heart, I replayed today’s chaos.
Yeo Socheon attacked out of nowhere, the heavens pulled so weird stunt on , and just as I tried to rest, a saintess from another world called to say this one might end.
She told to use Yeo Socheon to survive.
’But that’s just their side’s take...’
I’d only heard one perspective, so I couldn’t gauge which was better for .
Honestly, both sides were kidnappers in my book—
This one at least isn’t planning to stud out, which is a plus, but survival’s a slog.
The other wants to keep alive as long as possible—to stud out.
’I just want to go back to Earth...’
How’d I get tangled in this ss?
What did I do to deserve this insane dilemma?
"Haa..."
Sighing, I flopped onto the bed.
My head was too cluttered—I just wanted a comfy position.
’...If this world really does end, what then?’
If her words were true, I could predict this world ending—or taking damage close to it.
Surviving that with no special skills is a pipe dream, and even if I made it to the end, I’d probably die anyway.
Of course, I had to consider she might be lying—
Her goal’s to summon , after all.
But for now, assuming she’s right and this world’s dood, what should I do?
If it ends, I won’t be the only one dying—tons of people will.
The first person I thought of was Master.
If this world ends and Master dies?
’...’
I always thought of her as a cranky old bat, but she’s my only family here.
She raised and cared for for ten years.
If she died... what would I do?
If I sohow scraped together 10,000 points and fled to another world alone, what about Master, left behind?
What would I even say?
"This world’s about to end, so I’m out"?
’There’s no way I could say that...’
That left with one option—
Stop the doom.
And the only clue I had, knowing nothing about how to do that, was—
Yeo Socheon.
My only path was getting close to her.
[Still Protagonist’s POV]
"...Disciple."
"Yes, Master."
"There’s sothing I’m curious about. Can you answer honestly?"
A sudden question.
Master often did odd things, so I was ready to brush it off—but when I looked up, her face was dead serious.
This wasn’t a casual vibe.
"...Sure. Go ahead."
Not like I could refuse anyway, so I agreed.
I braced myself, wondering what she’d ask with that intensity—only for it to be oddly anticlimactic.
"...Have you ever been in love back where you ca from?"
"...Huh?"
Been in love? What are we, kids?
I thought she was joking again, but her expression stayed grave.
Her eyes demanded honesty.
"...No."
"...Then, have you ever shared passion?"
"From love to sex? No to that too."
It might sound stiff, but I think sex needs love—
No relationships, no intimacy.
"...I see."
"Why’re you asking this stuff?"
"No need to know."
Her voice was cold as usual—
But behind that fan, I swear I felt a smirk.
"...You okay? You’re quiet today."
"Huh? Oh... I’m fine."
Back in the carriage to Shaanxi with the Sword Empress, I couldn’t chat as freely as before.
Yesterday’s words kept echoing, stirring up every anxious thought imaginable—
’Doom...’
I’d never thought of myself as special.
Getting dragged to another world might count, but it hadn’t exactly been a boon—more a bizarre twist than anything grand.
I can see the future, but not my own—a half-baked gift.
’Guess knowing too much isn’t always great...’
They say knowledge is power, but that’s only if you’ve got the strength to wield it. Right now, the weight on my shoulders was crushing.
Truth is, I’m not that selfless.
Sacrificing myself to save others? Not my style—
’But this scale’s insane...’
We’re talking doom.
I don’t know how big this world is, but it’s got at least a few hundred million people—
Could I really ditch them all to die, flee to Earth, and live with myself?
If I were still living in the mountains with my master before stepping out into the world, perhaps things would’ve been simpler. But ever since I entered the martial world and forged connections, the weight of responsibility grew heavier—especially when I realized that the lives of those I’d co to know were now tied to my actions.
"But how am I supposed to stop the world from ending...?"
To begin with, I still didn’t understand why I’d been summoned as a hero. Nor did I grasp why the gods of heaven and earth had intercepted whatever it was that brought here.
"Arghhh..."
If only soone had told I possessed so hidden power, I could cling to that hope and try sothing—anything. But in this state of ignorance, what could I possibly do?
I racked my brain, tugging at my hair in frustration, but in the end, there was only one option left: follow the Saintess’s advice and approach Yeo So-cheon. She was the one holding the most clues to this ss anyway. Even without the Saintess’s suggestion, Yeo So-cheon was the only person I could turn to for answers.
"Was there really sothing strange about that day?"
"Are you alright? You don’t look well," Sword Empress asked, her voice laced with concern as she noticed my haggard appearance.
"Oh, no, I’m fine. Nothing happened. I just didn’t sleep well last night," I replied hastily, brushing it off to ease her worry.
I still hadn’t decided whether to tell her about what happened yesterday. It wasn’t an easy story to believe, and explaining it would an revealing that I ca from another world—sothing my gut told to keep hidden.
"For so reason, I feel like I shouldn’t tell her."
I couldn’t see my own future, but my instincts as a fortune-teller were ringing alarm bells. I had a strong hunch that I shouldn’t let her know I was from another world or that this body wasn’t originally mine.
"She’s a Taoist, after all. She might mistake for so evil spirit..."
Besides, it wasn’t entirely a lie—I really hadn’t slept much.
"Is that so? Then co here for a mont..."
Before I could protest, Sword Empress gently pulled closer with a soft rustle of her robes.
Thump.
"Are you alright? Tell if it’s uncomfortable," she said, resting my head on her lap.
It was the classic "lap pillow" position.
"...Sword Empress?" I murmured, caught off guard.
"My disciple used to love this when she was young," she explained with a faint smile. "Though once she grew older, she’d avoid it, saying it was embarrassing."
"..."
"If it wounds your pride, I apologize."
"No, it’s not that..." I trailed off. Thanks to my master, I was used to this sort of thing, so it didn’t bother my pride. In the Central Plains, where people often had inflated egos, others might’ve taken offense—but not .
"It’s... comfortable."
Her lap felt soft against my cheek. From a distance, I hadn’t fully appreciated it, but up close, its power was undeniable.
"Though Master’s was still..."
My master had always felt like an insurmountable wall in every way—except maybe this ti.
"...This might just top it."
In terms of rational appeal and sheer comfort, Sword Empress might’ve outdone even my master. I’d barely lain down, and already sleep was creeping in.
"Um..." I started.
"If you’re sleepy, it’s fine to rest. I don’t mind," she said gently. There was a maternal warmth in her tone, likely honed from raising her disciple. But sleep wasn’t why I’d spoken up.
"What kind of person is Yeo So-cheon?" I asked instead. Rest was tempting, but gathering information about her took priority. Conveniently, Sword Empress—who was right here—was soone close to Yeo So-cheon.
"Yeo So-cheon, you say?"
"Yes. That day... she seed like quite a unique person."
For the record, I’d given Sword Empress a vague version of what happened that day. I’d told her Yeo So-cheon showed up to warn after I’d misread the heavens and committed so error. Since Sword Mistress didn’t know the specifics of reading the skies, it was an easy excuse to dodge the details. Naturally, I left out the part about the kiss.
Though I couldn’t hide the strange scent lingering on afterward—she’d kept comnting on it until we parted ways at the inn.
"I scrubbed myself clean today, so it should be fine."
"Yeo So-cheon... she’s an odd one," Sword Empress began. "Her blue hair, unseen in the Central Plains, her youthful appearance that belies claims of eternal youth, and her prickly personality that’s hardly befitting a Taoist—all of it shrouds her in mystery."
"Prickly personality?" I echoed.
"Hmm... She’s got a sharp tongue and struggles to be honest with her feelings. She can’t just say she likes sothing—she’ll twist it around and end up snapping instead. Back in the day, teasing her beca a ga among our comrades. Her youthful looks made it oddly endearing."
A word popped into my head as I listened.
"Tsundere?"
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