Ch.320106. That Wheel Has Broken.

“You must overcome each gateway we have placed before you.”

This is a deep-rooted tradition of our sect.

“…Sect?”

“I call it Heokseongga (Black Saint Family), or Heokseongmun (Black Star Gate).”

“…This is your sect?”

“Is that strange?”

“Well…”

I knew that Yeokcheomma was a disciple of the Black Dragon Master.

But his character and will were corrupted, so the master personally expelled him.

After that, there was no mention of him for nearly 10 years.

There were speculations that he had gone somewhere to hone his martial arts or struggled… but could it possibly be related to this place?

“Stop talking nonsense. Are you wasting time?”

“……”

“If you cannot overcome the gateways I’ve set, you will die here.”

“D-die?!”

“Even if it wasn’t originally intended, I will not tolerate it.”

If you have the qualifications to learn our sect’s teachings.

“If you can’t overcome the wall, it would be easier to just die.”

“No, how could that be…”

“This is the first trial.”

Suddenly.

Out of nowhere, I was dropped in the middle of a desert.

“Endure. Endure, understand the situation, and then overcome it.”

That’s the first step.

Eliya noticed something like a natural disaster approaching from across the desert, raising clouds of sand.

“Uh…”

Perhaps because the terrain was slightly elevated.

Thanks to the expanded field of vision, she could see everything below at a glance.

But what was rushing toward her… there were too many of them?

Too many to even count.

A rough estimate would put their numbers at tens of thousands at least.

And that was just a guess.

Perhaps there were… several times more.

‘W-what am I supposed to do?’

The man who could have given her an answer had already disappeared.

With his disappearance, the pressure eased, and breathing became easier.

But because of what was approaching, Eliya’s complexion and heart worsened.

‘W-what am I supposed to do?!’

They were right in front of her now.

And so Eliya, not knowing what to do, tried to flee but was pierced through the chest from behind by a spear, then run over by cavalry, sprawled out, trampled, crushed, and died.

And again.

“…No way?”

This time she was hit by an arrow, and as she was about to collapse, a noose caught her neck, forcibly lifting her up.

While she staggered, her head was severed.

And again.

And again.

And again.

…After dying six times, she finally accepted the situation.

‘Is this… hell?’

There they come again.

Only to kill her, slaughter her, burn her, pierce her, and tear her apart.

This world was evil incarnate.

Here, there would be no allies, no compassion, no mercy.

====

“Why did you do that to me?”

“Hmm, so you overcame it?”

When I saw her before, she was trembling like a frightened foal, unable to see properly, whimpering.

“I’m asking you! Why did you do that to me! I’m asking right now! I’m asking!”

Her eyes have become quite impressive.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Weren’t you the one who came here? Why are you venting your anger at me? What an insolent girl.”

“……”

Her fighting spirit remains strong.

He was the same way.

When he first entered that insane trial, he cursed the world like a madman.

Even before that, he had constantly cursed the world.

…This was truly the epitome of malice, a hell disguised as a trial.

Yes, it was literally hell.

And the most vicious part was…

That giving up was not an option.

Since giving up would only harm oneself, one had to face it again and again and again…

Only then would a needle-sized breakthrough appear.

How truly absurd.

“Ah…”

Whether it’s emotion or anger, she seems to be struggling to suppress her jumbled feelings.

In a mess, trembling like a patient or an invalid, nervously glancing around—the scene vividly conveyed how extreme her situation had been.

‘…But.’

That’s just the basics.

Unfortunately.

“You’re lucky, girl.”

“What?!”

Cheonjaha’s words immediately provoked Eliya’s reaction.

“I can assure you that in our sect, I’m the only one who will force such miserable treatment upon you.”

“Why! How is that lucky?!”

“Because at least from now on, everyone else will treat you kindly.”

“N-next?”

There’s a next? A next?!

“Even if I had been placed in a different order, I would have treated you the same way. No, I would have pushed you even more terribly and miserably than now.”

“That’s…”

Eliya was speechless.

“Well, since that’s done, get out of here.”

“Get out? Where?! Where to?!”

“Venting your anger at me is pointless.”

Cheonjaha looked down at her with calm, cold eyes.

“The me who is here is a kind of afterimage or illusion that remains after experiencing and overcoming this trial.”

“…You mean you?”

“Everyone will be like that.”

He said.

“Those of us here are like… yes, seniors who offer words of advice after experiencing the same trials and overcoming the same stages as you… in a position to grumble.”

“……”

The words were strange, but Eliya quickly understood.

For example…

“You left behind something like a mental imprint, is that it?”

“You could see it that way. Rather than just a mental imprint, it’s much more… no. Never mind.”

He didn’t seem to like small talk or lengthy conversations.

“I wonder how far you’ll go. With luck, you might see the Patriarch, but who knows.”

“Did you see him? That Patriarch or whatever?”

“I saw him briefly.”

After all.

“I was his disciple in my previous life too.”

“What?”

With those final words, he disappeared.

Like evaporating, as if he had been annihilated.

And from somewhere, the sound of a door opening was heard.

Light completely enveloped the surroundings.

……

Woof!

“…?”

And.

In the middle of an endlessly vast, pitch-black space.

A small dog with a face and lower body divided into black and white looked at her, sticking out its tongue in a friendly manner and barking.

“…?”

What is this?

What on earth is going on?!

====

A week? Ten days? A month?

I don’t know.

Here, I didn’t feel hungry even when starving, and I didn’t even feel sleepy.

In this dark space, the only things that existed were me and that dog.

It was a dog with a strange charm, as if cuteness and mischief, pathos and bravery were all mixed together.

The dog would periodically send various signals to Eliya, as if trying to speak to her, acting cute, or pleading with woofs, barks, and whines, but.

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying, little one.”

Eliya could only respond by petting the dog, nothing more.

After a month passed, two months? Three months?

By then, she realized the dog was trying to talk to her, but.

She still couldn’t understand a word it was saying.

As she let her guard down, her soul and mind drained by the endless time, blankly passing the days.

[You should be able to hear me soon, right? Can’t you hear me?]

Finally.

Eliya unknowingly reached the level where she could hear and interpret dog language on her own.

…Whether she had actually achieved this level was still questionable.

====

[You’ve been here long enough. It’s time to go.]

“I was just about to do that.”

Communication, understanding, and empathy.

It might seem trivial, but it’s incredibly important.

Beyond just between people, with the world, objects, heaven and earth, even beings with whom language and words don’t connect.

He explained a lot about why such abilities are necessary.

…I understand he’s an elder of the sect from ancient times, but how did I end up belonging here?

“Will I not see you again?”

[I don’t know. The me here is a kind of afterimage. The real me died long ago… perhaps reborn as a human or some other creature. Or perhaps not.]

The dog was saying such profound and transcendent words with its cute face.

Though vocally, it still only made dog sounds.

“…I’ll hope to see you again.”

[By all means. If there’s a connection, we’ll meet again.]

And so.

From around the 100-something day, I gave up counting days, but it must have been close to half a year.

Having apparently fulfilled the conditions to leave this place, just like before, the dog’s afterimage disappeared, and with the sound of a door opening, light flooded in.

And after that…

Everyone was an elder of the sect who had overcome the same trials.

Some even included famous figures who had made their names in history.

“Did you also receive teachings here?! Someone of your caliber?! No, precisely because of your caliber…”

“Why such a reaction? Was I that famous?”

Some people matched well like this, while others…

“How trivial and worthless.”

Like Yeokcheomma whom I first encountered, some fought with their words or eyes until the very end, raising their voices and glaring.

Like that, crossing gateway after gateway, trial after trial, without much awareness of how much time had passed.

During this journey, I suddenly reached a certain area.

It looked like a long corridor.

And.

On both sides, figures of people I had seen and those I hadn’t seen were lined up as if in a review, which made Eliya hesitate for a moment.

‘This is…’

Like countless gazes watching her from outside the corridor, acknowledging her hard work. Numerous gazes.

Eliya passed by their various emotions and intentions, letting them go, accepting them, proudly embracing them.

Finally, she reached the entrance.

A pure white door.

Barely large enough for one person to enter, she turned around briefly before it.

“What are you doing?”

“Not going in, grown-up?”

Woof!

“……”

“Tsk!”

Eliya gave them a slight nod of respect.

Then, without hesitation, she passed through the pure white door.

……Immediately after.

A sea of stars welcomed her.

Splash!

As she stepped forward, ripples formed in a circle.

Like dropping a small pebble into a pond.

And.

In the distance, the figure of a man standing quietly particularly caught her attention.

‘That’s…’

He seems familiar yet, on the other hand, very… how to put it.

Nostalgic, yet someone she’s never seen before, strangely familiar.

As she approached, she realized it was a man she had seen before.

But the one she had seen… seemed much younger than the figure before her now… could it be the same person?

“……”

The man greeted her with silence.

Staring at her without saying a word.

“I’ve come. Just as you insisted.”

“……How long did it take?”

“Real time? Or including everything I experienced here?”

“Either way.”

“…In reality, it took less than a few days. But after being abducted here…”

Eliya had so much to say that she began to enumerate her hardships as if complaining.

“…If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have even looked at it, wouldn’t have gone near it.”

“……”

The man’s expression was unreadable—whether he was smiling or feeling sorry.

But.

“…It was necessary.”

“Why was something like that necessary? Was such a hellish process necessary for me to endure?”

“……There was a reason. I’ll tell you now.”

The man said.

“First, Eliya, you were born with the mission to save the era you live in. That is your given fate and destiny.”

“…I’m not such a remarkable person.”

“This is a matter already settled with the Lord of your world.”

W-what?

“Second, this is how you will be freed from the causality with Eras Esdina.”

“What are you talking about? Why is Eras, that arch-witch, suddenly involved in this?”

“Third, to keep my promise to you. This is actually the most important part.”

“I don’t remember making any promises or agreements with you.”

Eliya shot back proudly, with suppressed indignation, yet without raising her voice, with maximum patience.

“Perhaps when I was young, I unknowingly made some strange promise…”

“……”

He shook his head.

“It’s as clear as yesterday to me, though it may sound vague to you. I am not bound by time. Whether you are from hundreds of years before my lifetime or not, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“I promised. Since we cannot be together in this life, let’s promise for the next life.”

Saying this, he finally extended his hand with a black glove toward her.

“Take it.”

In his palm was a golden, translucent, multi-faceted object with countless angles.

“What… is this?”

“You’ll know when you take it.”

“……Sigh.”

With a sigh close to exasperation.

Eliya reluctantly… very reluctantly took what he was offering.

It showed no reaction for a moment.

But suddenly, it emitted a golden light.

‘What is this…’

In that moment.

Beyond any causality, procedure, rule, law, order, or principle.

She could understand immediately.

Also.

She fully understood what he was trying to explain.

And beyond that.

The memory of when he had spoken those words, made that promise to her, began to surface.

At first gently, quite faintly.

Click!

Eventually, it becomes clear.

The sound of a heartbeat.

Discomfort and uneasiness.

Yet amid the mixed feelings of regret and sadness, all jumbled together like muddy water.

She opened the door and entered her room.

There.

She sees him sitting with crossed legs, turning the pages of a book.

She instinctively locks the door.

Not hastily, not anxiously.

Quietly, carefully.

Then, leaning against the door.

After taking a deep breath.

Rustle!

“……”

She confronts him.

Seras, looking at someone sitting in a chair with crossed legs examining a book.

“…Some people have it so good.”

She couldn’t help but shoot that remark.

“……”

A young man in comfortable-looking black indoor clothes.

A young man with black hair and golden-like eyes finally turned his gaze toward her.

“Is there a problem?”

“…Never mind. Forget it.”

Seras let out a hollow laugh.

“So, Kariel. How long do you plan to stay holed up here?”

……

Ah.

I remember.

That’s right. It was this day.

I definitely got a clear answer from him here.