My life was like a long, unending tunnel.
No light, no visibility, and no turning back—it was a path so far gone that even contemplating retreat was futile.
Yet moving forward held no promise of an end, no hope of finding anything waiting.
I walked. And walked.
When I stumbled and fell, I got up and kept walking.
When fear of the dark gripped and my body trembled uncontrollably, I forced myself to endure and moved forward again.
That was how I lived.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say I existed.
I asked myself, and I answered myself.
Why did I do it?
Because soone had to. Because there was no one else.
But to my answer, I always countered with another question.
Was it really sothing I had to do?
Could I truly justify my actions as being necessary, as having so greater purpose or conviction?
‘...’
I couldn’t answer.
Because deep down, I already knew.
I had no such purpose. No grand ideals drove forward.
When had I ever dread of righteousness?
I never had. Not once.
I neither possessed nor sought such ideals.
So then, what was my cause? What had I lived for?
I couldn’t withstand the tide that swept away.
That was my excuse.
I told myself it was inevitable.
That I did the best I could under the circumstances.
That it was a matter of survival.
But when asked again, the answer was clear.
‘No.’
It was all self-justification.
I never had to enter the tunnel in the first place.
I walked into it of my own volition.
Why?
Because there was nowhere else to run.
Once inside, I endlessly sought the one who had pushed in.
I needed soone to bla.
When I trembled in the darkness, when I wandered aimlessly without hope, even when I collapsed in exhaustion and despair, I looked for soone to bla.
But I knew.
Deep down, I knew.
There was no one to bla.
Yet I refused to admit it. I desperately needed soone to hold accountable.
That was my life.
A life spent fleeing into a tunnel, only to be consud by the darkness when I failed to reach the end.
A life that scurried away and died, like an insect crushed in the shadows.
Then, I regressed.
I never thought of it as a miracle.
I had never hoped for it, so the thought of welcoming it seed almost blasphemous.
I simply lived because I had been given the chance.
This ti, I decided I’d live a different life—a quiet one, hidden away in so remote mountain, unnoticed by the world.
That was the plan.
But—
‘It didn’t go that way.’
Life, as always, refused to go as planned.
The storm I couldn’t stop swept up again.
By the ti I opened my eyes, I found myself at the eye of the hurricane.
‘Was it never sothing I could avoid?’
Was this “fate” sothing no re human could hope to overco?
Was I always destined to be caught in its turmoil?
If so, then what should I do?
What could I do?
‘What are you agonizing over?’
A voice echoed within .
‘Just make it so it doesn’t happen.’
If I couldn’t avoid being swept away, then I had to make the storm weaker.
Or better yet, stop the storm entirely.
That’s all I needed to do.
Ssssshhhhh!
Heat surged within .
The boiling emotions bled into my vision.
My body brimd with Qi.
Ahead of was a harbinger—a precursor to the storm.
If left unchecked, it would grow into a tempest that would engulf not just but the entire world.
I had to consu it before it could blow.
Before it beca a greater catastrophe, I had to deal with it now.
For what reason?
To take the place of the Divine Sword.
To save the world.
‘Save the world?’
…
…
Save the world? ?
Crunch!
Bang!
The trajectory of Greed veered sharply, crashing into a nearby tree instead of Cheonma.
Ssshhhhh…
The scattered remnants of Greed dissolved into mist, unable to deliver a direct impact.
I stood there, frozen, my gaze locked on Cheonma.
“Hah… Hah…”
My breaths ca ragged, heat spilling into each exhale.
My body burned with emotions that threatened to consu .
“Hah… Hah…”
I took deep breaths, pressing a hand to my forehead.
Sothing was wrong.
The thought of “saving the world” had frozen in place.
“Hah… Hah…”
My ragged breathing filled the silence as I tried to calm my racing mind.
‘? Save the world?’
It was too absurd a reason to even consider.
‘Who am I to save anything?’
The justification rang hollow.
‘I don’t have the right.’
The tension drained from my hand, and my grip loosened.
“…Hah… Hah…”
I had forgotten the purpose I set for myself after regressing.
‘To live quietly. To run away.’
That was my goal.
To escape the consequences of my actions and hide from what was to co.
I had resolved to live silently, unseen.
But as things beca tangled and complicated, my perspective shifted.
With things to protect, I thought to stop the bloodshed.
And so I acted.
I convinced myself to do whatever it took, to kill without hesitation.
Those who deserved death, I turned into demonic pawns.
Most were tools to be used and discarded.
It was justified by their guilt, by the fact that they needed to die.
But I knew better.
It wasn’t right.
I had long since cast away regret, buried guilt beneath the ground.
Yet I prepared for this, ignoring the implications.
Was this truly for the world?
‘Maybe.’
The purpose seed noble enough.
But—
‘Do I truly believe that?’
Was this really for the world?
The thought chilled .
‘When did I beco so twisted?’
The realization suffocated .
I already knew—I didn’t care about saving the world.
Not even a little.
That’s just an extra.
‘Why should I care if this world falls apart?’
When did I start thinking as if I were so kind of hero?
Sothing felt off.
The burning heat in my head began to cool.
My eyes gradually returned to normal.
And that’s when I saw her.
Drip—.
Cheonma stood there, bleeding, her gaze fixed on .
Her sorrowful eyes, blood trailing from the corners of her lips, caught my attention.
Those eyes irritated .
Was it because they reminded of soone? The resemblance made them even more annoying.
Still, a question surfaced from within.
‘That bleeding woman...’
Is she truly the calamity I think she is?
‘If not a calamity, then what is she?’
I steadied my thoughts.
I was only hesitating because she looked so much like Wi Seol-ah.
Yes, that had to be it.
A way to kill Cheonma.
No—hope that I could kill her.
My Greed could devour even Cheonma’s power. I was certain of it.
If that was the case, I should charge at her right now and end it.
“Why didn’t you dodge?”
But instead, I found myself asking her a question.
“...”
“You could’ve dodged. Why didn’t you?”
Her barrier had shattered.
As a result, Cheonma was struck by my Fla Prison. But it was sothing she could’ve easily avoided.
And yet, she didn’t.
It wasn’t just this ti. She had been dragged into unnecessary situations and taken all my attacks without retaliating.
“Even just now—you let yourself get hit again, didn’t you?”
Greed lunged toward her barrier.
She had to see it.
Greed could destroy her barrier entirely.
Ssss.
Her cracked barrier began to regenerate.
It could be broken, but completely erasing it seed impossible.
Even so, the fact that opportunities could arise didn’t change.
Yet instead of dodging Greed, she stood still, watching it co.
“Why didn’t you dodge? Did you think you could win without it?”
“...”
“Answer . What are you thinking—”
“You looked like you wanted it this way.”
“What?”
Her calm response took by surprise.
“You seed uncomfortable. You looked like you wanted this. So I let it happen.”
“What are you talking about? Answer properly—”
“Isn’t that it?”
She tilted her head, and the words I was about to say froze in my throat.
But only for a mont.
“So, what? You’re planning to die just because I want to kill you?”
If she let hit her because I wanted to,
If she allowed herself to be dragged along because I pulled her,
Then, does this an that since I’m trying to kill her, she plans to let kill her?
To that unspoken question, Cheonma answered without hesitation.
“You wouldn’t have killed .”
Her quiet confidence made grind my teeth.
“Don’t give that crap. Then what was all this? Child’s play?”
Hadn’t I been desperately trying to kill her?
How could she speak with such frustrating certainty?
“You wouldn’t have done it.”
“Why are you so sure of that?”
“I don’t know. I just feel that way. Besides...”
Cheonma wiped the last traces of blood from her lips with her sleeve.
“My sister told not to fight recklessly.”
“…Ha.”
Fwoosh—!
Flas ignited at my fingertips.
I compressed and rotated them, forming the Sacred Spear.
This ti, it contained far more energy than before.
The limits of what I could control and compress.
Thirty percent of my total energy.
Compared to the ten percent I used in the last Sacred Spear, this one was three tis stronger.
“You think I won’t kill you?”
What nonsense. The person standing before is Cheonma.
No matter how different her appearance and deanor are from my mories,
She remains the one who caused rivers of blood in my previous life.
And now, with her in front of , you’re telling I won’t kill her?
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
I aid the completed Sacred Spear at her.
“If you’re not going to resist, then just stay still. It’ll be easier that way.”
Don’t let her appearance fool you.
“I’m going to kill you here and now.”
“...”
Even after my declaration, Cheonma didn’t react.
She simply stared at with those violet eyes.
Always the sa reaction.
“Fine. Let’s see if you won’t dodge until the end—”
“No.”
I froze.
As I was about to shift my stance, her voice stopped in my tracks.
No?
“What do you an, ‘no’ all of a sudden?”
“I’m not ‘you.’”
What kind of nonsense is that?
I frowned, my expression tightening.
“My na is... not sothing like ‘you’...”
But before she could finish, she closed her mouth.
Her expressionless face showed a trace of frustration.
‘A na?’
Cheonma’s na.
Earlier, Gu Heebi had called her sothing like Yeon. Was that what she ant?
But did she even have a na?
She called herself Cheonma and had never ntioned anything else.
“What’s your na?”
“...”
I asked, but she stayed silent.
If she denied it, then surely she must have a na.
Then.
“I don’t know. I can’t rember.”
Cheonma bit her lip in frustration and said,
“…What was my na?”
And then, she looked at , asking as if I would know.
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