Miho (1)

Miho.

My child, Miho.

Do not be afraid.

Even when the sun sets and darkness encroaches,

I am always on your side.

Do not cry sadly.

The world is a succession of moments, but even in such a world, there are eternal things.

My heart towards you is eternal, so do not cry sadly.

Be brave.

Your actions are truth itself, and self-actualization is true courage.

Do not fear taking action.

Live selfishly.

You have lived for me until now, so it’s okay to live a little selfishly from now on.

Recognize that the people around you are more important than the world.

Miho.

My child, Miho.

I am

Always,

Eternally,

By your side…

…

…

…

---

“Cough, cough… ughh…”

The fallen Yi Haneul regained consciousness.

Yi Haneul’s physical condition could not be considered normal at all.

His bones were broken in various places, and

from the continuous coughing of blood, his internal organs were undoubtedly in shambles too.

Still, a martial artist’s body is incomparably tougher than an ordinary person’s, and

their recovery ability is also exceptional,

so he was not in a life-threatening state.

Though delirious from the pain:

“Mi, Miho…! Mr. Ho-jun, Dapoh…!”

Yi Haneul immediately worried about others before himself.

Dapoh was

sleeping soundly without a care in the world.

His appearance looked so peaceful that for a moment, Yi Haneul even forgot his pain.

Ho-jun had

sustained more serious injuries than Yi Haneul, but

he was still alive…!

Though unconscious, it seemed Ho-jun had unconsciously activated a healing Taoism technique, as his gruesome wounds were gradually mending,

albeit slowly.

Heukho…

seemed to be dead.

While not a yokai he was particularly close with,

Yi Haneul still grieved Heukho’s death.

If not for her, they would have been annihilated by Duergsini.

The evil deeds she had committed until now were unforgivable, but

still, her end had ample meaning for humans, yokai, and everyone.

Duergsini

was nowhere to be seen.

Duergsini’s absence could only mean

Miho

had won…!

“Sniff…”

Chicken egg-sized tears rolled down Yi Haneul’s cheeks.

“You did it, Miho…!”

Yi Haneul looked around, as if to embrace Miho at any moment, but

strangely,

“Miho…?”

Miho’s presence

was nowhere to be seen.

---

“…”

How much time

had passed?

With my eyes closed, I savored the stillness.

The fierce battle felt like a lie.

Not a single sound could be heard.

In my nine-tailed state, my senses were extremely heightened, so

scents,

sounds,

movements, etc.

should normally be perceived.

Yet I sensed nothing.

Stillness.

Peace.

I did not want to open my eyes, for fear of seeing the fallen Yi Haneul, Ho-jun, and Dapoh.

Even if this was a mere dream, I wanted to savor the peace for a little longer.

However,

there is something I must do,

an unavoidable duty since being reborn as a multi-tailed fox yokai.

I have a choice:

Either turn the cycle,

or not.

I slowly opened my eyes.

What I saw was a pure white space.

Ah,

I have come to this space several times before.

The pure white space where I met Dalgi.

Taking a deep breath, I rose from my spot.

Strangely,

the excruciating pain that should have left my mind hazy

was no longer felt.

The holes that had pierced my body

were gone.

I recalled the past,

when I fought the Blue Light Monster.

After sustaining serious injuries, manifesting my sixth tail had fully healed my wounds.

In other words,

“…”

As expected,

another tail had sprouted,

not my eighth, but my ninth tail.

I suppose I’ll be called a true gumiho from now on.

Duergsini had prophesied that if I manifested my ninth tail, I would transcend mortality and join the ranks of deities.

I think I somewhat understand what that meant now.

Of course, my mentality and values did not suddenly change just from manifesting my ninth tail, but

this power,

this ludicrous magnitude of spiritual power emanating from my entire body,

a power I have never seen, heard of, or felt before.

Perhaps,

if I leave this white space and return to the original world,

as Duergsini said, the world…

“…”

I felt fortunate to have come to this space immediately after manifesting my ninth tail.

Self,

So then,

what comes next?

Under what circumstances did I enter this white space, and

what happened to the cycle and Duergsini?

I looked around,

and before long, I discovered an object completely out of place in this white space.

I approached that object.

Its identity was

a wheel,

a massive wheel.

The wheel was motionless, but I instinctively realized

that if I used the power of my ninth tail,

I might be able to turn that wheel.

Mm.

This must be

the ‘cycle’.

In front of the cycle, I sat cross-legged for a moment.

Since I’ve already eaten Duergsini’s liver, there’s no rush, right?

I should have time to think.

If I turn the cycle, all goblins and yokai will vanish completely from this world.

If I do not turn the cycle, I will become a calamity myself and reduce everything to ashes.

It was far too colossal a consequence for me to decide, and

an excessively cruel fate for me, but

strangely,

I did not feel afraid.

I felt that no matter what I chose, it would work out somehow…

Hmm,

I don’t really know why I only realized this now, but

I already knew the world after the cycle turns –

A world without yokai and goblins,

A world where martial arts and Taoism are unnecessary.

I knew

better than anyone what kind of world that would be –

The world I lived in

before being reborn as a multi-tailed fox yokai.

The world after the cycle turns.

Dalgi described the world after the cycle turns as ‘dreadfully boring’.

And Dalgi’s words

were indeed true.

Just because yokai disappear does not mean all humans become happy.

When yokai disappear, what happens is

humans engage in explosive conflicts with each other.

In this world… or rather, the world I was reborn into as a multi-tailed yokai,

the concept of ‘war’ does not exist.

In a way, it’s only natural, because

with the common enemy of yokai, humans had no leisure to fight among themselves.

If I turn the cycle,

all yokai and goblins will instantly vanish, and

that means

the demon of war will once again visit humanity.

War is a demon,

more fearsome than

yokai or

goblins.

So turning the cycle does not lead to order,

but rather…

…seems closer to primordial chaos.

Then again,

humans themselves are chaos from the start.

Some people are good,

some are bad,

some are in-between.

Is there any other being more fitting of the word ‘chaos’ than humans?

I don’t think so.

In any case,

I do not wish to directly kill all yokai with my own hands, nor

do I wish to awaken the demon of war with my own hands.

The cycle,

indeed,

cannot be turned.

It’s not that I wish to return to the outside world by not turning the cycle.

…I cannot deny it.

If I go outside in this state,

as Duergsini said, I will reduce everything to ashes.

The power of a nine-tailed fox

is not a power the human world can withstand.

In the end,

there is only one answer:

“…”

Like this,

without turning the cycle,

without going outside,

remain in this white space,

alone,

eternally,

and wait.

Then the yokai will not die, and I will not turn the world to ashes with my power.

“…”

To be honest,

even I don’t know if I can endure it.

Just being trapped in this empty space for an hour makes me feel suffocated and restless, so

can I even utter the word ‘eternity’?

I don’t know,

but one thing is certain:

Rather than choose the deaths of my beloved ones,

it is a hundred,

a thousand times better

for me alone to suffer.

So now…

I’ll close my eyes

and sleep,

eternally.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

“Damn it!”

A month?

A week?

A day?

Hell no,

not even an hour must have passed.

I can’t sleep.

It seems the nine-tailed fox is a being that doesn’t need sleep.

Wow,

this is bleaker than I thought.

To be honest,

until just now, I thought I was pretty cool.

Willingly sacrificing myself for the world,

for my beloved ones – a sublime spirit worthy of a legendary hero!

But

to let out an expletive after failing to endure even an hour,

my heroic tale ended in just an hour.

Ugh,

I wouldn’t normally say this, but

someone,

please,

save me.

I don’t have confidence

to endure alone

in this lonely, desolate space.

“Anyone, please help me…”

“I’ll help you.”

“Yes, that’s exactly the response I wanted to hear…”

…What was that?

Did I mishear?

A man’s voice came from behind me, but

while unfamiliar, it somehow felt strangely familiar too.

I turned to confirm the man’s identity.

Ah,

this person is…