Chapter 453: Which world?

The place I arrived at through the Demonic Mirror was a cold and dark space.

It was a cold that affected even the inside of my body, starting with the chill spread across the floor.

Me feeling the cold here was problematic in several ways.

‘My energy should have started flowing again.’

As the bound energy was released, warmth began to circulate throughout my body again.

Normally, I shouldn’t be feeling the cold at all because of that.

But now, I could feel a subtle chill permeating the air.

This meant.

‘This place is damn cold.’

It meant this place was incredibly cold.

As my eyes adjusted, the space slowly began to come into view.

There were a few torches attached to the walls, but the light didn’t reach everywhere, and the space felt quite vast.

Where could this be?

Since I came through the Demonic Mirror Gate, the possibility of it being a Demonic Realm (魔境) couldn’t be ruled out.

As I looked around, I glanced at one particular spot.

‘First, the source of this chill…’

Where was this body-chilling cold coming from?

There was no need to ponder; it was surely because of this thing right in front of me.

Right in front of me stood an enormous ice crystal.

‘What in the….’

I’d never seen one this size before.

I’d heard that the Northern Ice Palace, where outsiders were forbidden, possessed a rare treasure called the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, spoken of only in legends.

I figured this must be what it felt like.

I approached the ice crystal.

Kkeudeudeuk.

“…!”

As I took one step closer, I felt the chill intensify like crazy.

There was a world of difference between one step back and one step forward.

‘This is a bit dangerous?’

It’s chilling.

How long has it been since I felt genuine cold like this?

I felt like even the flames I harbored within my body might freeze.

One step is the limit.

If I went any further, I’d freeze solid.

Just as I finished assessing the situation and was about to step back.

[Greetings.]

A voice echoed.

I lifted my head.

Not to find out where it was coming from.

The voice was coming crystal clear from the ice crystal.

As I examined the ice crystal closely, I finally noticed it.

The ice crystal, emitting a dreadful chill.

Something was inside it.

‘Actually, rather than just being inside…’

‘It would be more accurate to say it’s trapped.’

It didn’t look like something that had entered normally, no matter who looked.

Furthermore.

‘This voice.’

The moment I heard the voice offering greetings, my eyes narrowed.

It was a voice I’d heard many times before.

And not one that could be easily forgotten.

In fact, since it was something I had already anticipated, I wasn’t particularly surprised.

I sent my gaze towards the ice crystal and spoke the owner of the voice’s name.

“Blood Demon (血魔).”

Woong.

As I uttered his epithet, the ice crystal vibrated.

[Hoho….]

It was a voice laced with interest.

[You seem to know me.]

Observing his reaction, I deduced several circumstances.

For starters.

‘He doesn’t seem to know me.’

If that guy in the ice crystal is truly the Blood Demon, there’s no way he wouldn’t know me.

Just the fact that he sensed my energy and knew I’d arrived here proves it.

I thought he wouldn’t fail to recognize me just because my face had changed a bit.

But judging by his reaction now.

‘…This truly isn’t the world I knew.’

This conviction struck me once more.

It wasn’t the world I knew from my past life in the first place.

‘Nor is it the world I originally belonged to.’

That was the certainty.

As I stood there watching the ice crystal, thinking thus.

[A curious thing.]

The Blood Demon continued speaking as he looked at me.

[At first, I judged you to be an Honored One (尊者) from another realm.]

[It’s strange for someone like that to so easily reveal their presence.]

[Furthermore….]

Sssu….

An unknown energy brushed past my body for a moment.

I didn’t bother trying to grasp it.

[To think my own energy has seeped into you?]

“…”

It seemed he sensed the blood energy within me.

‘An Honored One from another realm.’

I focused on the Blood Demon’s words.

Both that woman named Mu-hui, and the Blood Demon earlier.

They seemed to perceive me as something from another realm.

At first, I thought they were just judging me that way because I genuinely came from another world.

But something felt different.

‘If they mean Honored One…’

Could it be….

Are they referring to the Master?

‘Why?’

If so, a question briefly surfaced, but

thinking about it a little more, it wasn’t strange.

My body was filled with all sorts of bizarre entities, and because of that, I was told my vessel was on the verge of shattering.

And one of the entities residing there.

‘Was definitely the Master of the Bottomless Pit… or something like that.’

The Blood Demon had definitely called that glutton, who constantly devoured demonic energy, that.

At the time, the word ‘Master’ didn’t quite resonate with me.

But looking back now, the meaning inherent in the word ‘Master’ was far from trivial.

The master of a world’s lifeforms,

And the being responsible for that world. That’s definitely what the World Tree meant.

‘Is that why the Blood Demon made such a mistake?’

With such a being inside me, it wasn’t strange for the Blood Demon to mistake me for the master of another realm.

The question that arose here was.

‘How did such a being end up inside my body?’

How could the master of an entire world be inside me?

The World Tree had said back then that this was…

‘Something my mother gave me.’

I think it was arranged by my mother, no less.

I hadn’t been entirely sure about that…

But I realized it when I heard my mother’s voice around the time I met the Divine Sword.

‘There’s something about my mother.’

The World Tree had said so.

That Mother was the second Calamity, and the Master of All Worlds (萬界).

Just the name ‘All Worlds’ (萬界) sounded extraordinary.

Damn it…. Why is there so much tangled up in this?

“…So, why did you want to see me?”

Hiding my complex feelings, I asked the Blood Demon.

Hearing my question, a small chuckle escaped the Blood Demon.

[I was merely curious. Curious about why a being from another realm would seek out this place.]

“…”

The reason.

That was something I wanted to know too. Why was I here?

Perhaps sensing my expression, the Blood Demon continued.

[From what I see, it appears you didn’t come of your own volition.]

“…”

Ah, shit, busted.

This damn facial control. It always caused trouble at the crucial moments.

I forced my expression back to normal and racked my brain.

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

[It doesn’t matter. What’s important is the purpose for which you came here.]

“Does that mean if my purpose is problematic, you could do something to me?”

I came to find out what kind of world this was, but I’d rather avoid being put in danger.

‘Fortunately, my energy is returning.’

Could I use this to escape?

Whatever the case, I had walked into the tiger’s den myself, so I had to deal with it.

[Kkullkkull….]

The Blood Demon chuckled.

[Don’t worry. I’m merely curious.]

“It’s hard not to worry in a situation like this.”

[You harbor a great Honored One, yet you don’t seem to know much.]

“…”

That hit the mark.

[I have no intention of harming you.]

“How can I believe that….”

[Isn’t the proof right before you? That you’re breathing perfectly fine in front of me. That’s what matters.]

It was a flimsy threat.

It was obvious he was trapped in the ice crystal, unable to do anything.

What could he possibly do?

‘…’

However.

The reason I couldn’t speak carelessly, even knowing that, was because my intuition was subtly pointing towards something.

‘What is it?’

I couldn’t tell.

But I knew it was a highly dangerous situation.

Ukssin-!

It was because the scales on my right arm, along with the energy spreading all around, were throbbing inexplicably.

‘Tsk.’

It was exactly the same as when I encountered the Blood Demon at the Orthodox Sect meeting years ago.

Back then too, the moment I faced the Blood Demon, my insides went wild, and hostility gradually surged.

The difference is, now it’s just acting wild, without showing outright hostility.

[Truly a curious thing.]

“…What’s curious?”

[My power fills you completely, yet strangely, you’re shedding your skin using your own strength. How is that not curious?]

“Shedding skin?”

My brow furrowed at the Blood Demon’s words.

He definitely just said ‘shedding skin,’ didn’t he?

The ice crystal vibrated faintly upon hearing my words.

[Oh dear…. It seems you didn’t know.]

“Spit it out properly. What are you talking about.”

[Seeing as you know me and use that name, it seems I’m still active in your world…. How enviable.]

“What…?”

Enviable? What about it?

[How could I not envy a world that has faced a phenomenon like yours?]

Hearing that, I recalled what the Blood Demon used to say every time we met.

Something about hoping I would act out even more.

That seemed to be the gist of it.

‘Why is the Blood Demon showing me this kind of attitude?’

He clearly looked like someone with ulterior motives, yet

for some reason, the Blood Demon had shown me something akin to favor.

It felt incredibly unsettling.

[I have one question.]

Suddenly, the Blood Demon asked me.

[Did I perhaps send you here?]

“What?”

I frowned at the Blood Demon’s words.

Was he asking if he sent me to this world?

What kind of nonsensical question was this?

Seeing my contorted face, the Blood Demon murmured regretfully.

[I suppose not. Then who could it be….]

“What are you talking about right now.”

[Since you don’t even know what your own existence entails, you wouldn’t have taken the initiative to come here.]

[So, who sent you?]

“…”

The Blood Demon’s words sparked a question within me.

Come to think of it, why didn’t I consider this?

If this world is indeed a different world,

it shouldn’t be a place one can travel to and from so easily.

‘How did Dangjemun….’

How could Dangjemun, which was supposedly reduced to mere dregs after death, send me to another world?

Moreover, what exactly was the Blood Demon trying to convey?

And.

“…What exactly is this world?”

What on earth is this place I’ve arrived at?

At my complex question, the Blood Demon let out a small laugh.

[A strange question. Asking what a world is.]

“…”

[Haha-!]

His laughter erupted, and the ice crystal violently spewed cold air.

[It truly seems you know nothing. How can that be?]

“People sure are good at confusing others, whether here or there. Making one feel like shit.”

Kkullkkull.

[My apologies. It’s just strange that you know nothing of something you should naturally understand upon reaching the shedding phase.]

[How is that possible…. It’s almost like….]

Woong.

[It feels as if someone deliberately covered your ears.]

“…”

Someone deliberately covered my ears.

Ironically, the statement made a certain kind of sense to me.

Because if not, it was simply strange to be ignorant about so many things.

While my mind grew complicated, the Blood Demon continued to speak to me.

[You asked what this world is.]

“…”

[This place is no different from your world.]

“What…?”

[It’s merely one possibility.]

It was an incomprehensible answer.

Wondering what kind of bullshit this was, I stared at the ice crystal.

As if unconcerned by my gaze, the Blood Demon continued.

[There is a stone on the floor before you.]

“A stone?”

[You pick up the stone. You don’t pick up the stone. There was such a choice,]

[and you ultimately chose to pick it up.]

I wondered why he was suddenly talking about a stone, but for now, I just listened.

[What do you think could happen from such a trivial action?]

“What could happen?”

What could possibly happen?

I just picked up a stone; what major event could possibly occur from that?

As if reading my expression, the Blood Demon soon provided an answer.

And that answer was something I couldn’t possibly comprehend.

[This means, conversely, that a world where you chose not to pick up the stone also came into being.]

The moment I heard it, I let out a hollow laugh.

Because there was no greater bullshit than this.

“So you’re saying… countless worlds like this can exist?”

What the Blood Demon was saying

was that actions like drinking water or not drinking it,

sleeping or not sleeping,

could spawn an absurd number of worlds.

What kind of nonsensical….

[How can you deny it? The very fact that you are here is proof.]

“…”

Just as I was about to retort, the Blood Demon’s words made me shut my mouth.

[Among the countless worlds created by such trivial actions, is it strange that you and this world exist?]

If someone else had told me this, I would have dismissed it as utter madness and called them crazy.

But experiencing it firsthand made the situation slightly different.

‘Right.’

Changing my perspective.

Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that this is one of those other worlds born from such actions.

“…So, what did you mean by ‘possibility’?”

The Blood Demon had added the term ‘possibility’ to this.

If so, a possibility for what purpose?

His tone suggested that these diverging worlds held a different meaning.

Hearing my question, the Blood Demon paused for a moment before

slowly beginning to speak again.

[This world, you see.]

His voice seemed to deepen slightly, creating an illusion.

[It is a being that must create its desired outcome somehow to find satisfaction.]

“What’s that supposed to mean….”

[If it has experienced failure twice already,]

[it wouldn’t want to fail a third time.]

“…!”

[The myriad possibilities of worlds are akin to the world’s will not to fail.]

My eyes widened at the Blood Demon’s words.

Two failures.

I think I understood what the Blood Demon was referring to.

Could it be…

‘The Advent of Calamity…?’

The first Blood Demon was like that.

The second was my mother.

And both of them failed to become the masters of this land as calamities.

Time passed, and Yeonilcheon’s thoughts called me a calamity, but

I myself considered Cheonma the calamity.

But what the Blood Demon is calling possibilities and the world’s will here…

‘Worlds where a calamity somehow descends and completes its mission?’

Does that mean it’s creating countless worlds hoping for that?

Really, all those worlds for that purpose?

“Huh…?”

It was a story that was hard to accept.

I should have doubted whether the Blood Demon was even telling the truth in the first place, but

if this damn bullshit were true, I had one crucial question to ask.

“If what you’re saying is true….”

If the Blood Demon’s words were indeed true,

“What happens to the other places, excluding the worlds where the possibility succeeded?”

If a calamity succeeded in descending and becoming the world’s new master,

what would happen to the other worlds, like the current one, that failed?

To this question, the Blood Demon replied in a calm voice.

[If that happens, the world will no longer need the remaining unnecessary worlds.]

[The purpose was singular from the start.]

“…”

The Blood Demon’s answer made me wear an expression of utter disbelief.

Among the countless worlds,

the remaining worlds, excluding those where the calamity properly descended, would be erased.

In other words,

either all lifeforms would be wiped out to welcome a new master,

or they would wait for a master to descend from another world and be erased.

Those were the only two options presented to the current world.

‘Wow, seriously.’

What a fucking terrible world.

That thought suddenly crossed my mind.