Chapter 744: Dying World (Dying World)

This is Hwasan.

The words spoken made my thoughts halt for a moment.

‘What is he talking about.’

What on earth could that mean?

How could this place possibly be Hwasan?

I looked around, but all I saw was a black world.

It had been that way from the start, and it was the same now.

Slosh-!

Every time I moved my foot, the ink at the bottom rippled.

A void world where nothing could be felt.

How could this place possibly be Hwasan?

“Your explanation is insufficient.”

I asked the old man, my tone conveying my lack of understanding.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen Hwasan before. How can this place be Hwasan?”

Could it perhaps be a metaphor?

Maybe so.

This wasn’t even the real world to begin with, was it? Thinking so, I looked at the old man.

But as I looked into the old man’s eyes, I had to narrow my own.

It seemed it wasn’t a metaphorical expression after all.

[This is Hwasan. Though the flowers withered and the sky collapsed. This is indeed Hwasan.]

“This place…?”

[Yes.]

“I don’t understand.”

Where I didn’t understand was that he couldn’t stop the Blood Demon.

That was the problem right there.

“You couldn’t seal the Blood Demon?”

Space aside, you couldn’t stop the Blood Demon?

What in the world could that mean?

“…Are you, perhaps, from another world?”

[Who knows.]

The old man chuckled bitterly at my words.

[Perhaps you are. At least, this isn’t the place I know.]

“…Huh?”

This old man isn’t the Old Master Shin I know.

Is this why I felt so certain?

As that thought crossed my mind.

‘Another world…?’

I was confronted with an unexpected fact.

Another world.

Even if that old man is Divine Iron, what if he isn’t the Divine Iron of this world…?

As my thoughts overlapped, the lines in my head began to tangle.

‘Is that even possible?’

If that were true, how could it be possible?

Another world, sure, that’s possible.

I’d already experienced that.

‘…There are countless worlds divided until the desired outcome is reached.’

It was a despair-inducing thought, but it was a fact I already knew.

Knowing that, I’m still struggling, yet the old man before me is from another world.

Meaning, a world where he failed to stop the Blood Demon.

“Then how in the world are you here?”

How could he be here?

That’s the question I needed to address first.

It was impossible, wasn’t it?

The very idea of there being two Old Master Shins was nonsensical.

To my questions, the old man replied.

[I briefly dreamt of hope.]

His calm yet aged voice continued.

[I dared to dream, hoping a miracle might occur, but it was nothing more than delusion.]

“What’s that….”

[You asked why I am here, didn’t you?]

“Yes.”

[I don’t know. The last thing I saw was this place, and it was the end of the world.]

A world painted black.

Ink filling the ground, sights unrecognizable.

Could this truly be the end of the world the old man saw?

[All I could do was wait. For the world to slowly reach its end. I watched for so long.]

“…Here?”

[Yes, though the plum blossoms no longer bloom. Still, Hwasan was where I belonged.]

The end.

The end of a world that couldn’t stop the Blood Demon.

Was this the bizarre and horrific sight?

‘I can’t see anything.’

It was a space where nothing could be perceived.

The sloshing ink was merely unpleasant, and the endless darkness held an unknowable silence.

Nothingness (無).

There was truly nothing here.

Except for the giant boulder the old man was sitting on.

[As I waited for the end.]

I listened to his continuing words.

[I briefly closed and opened my eyes. That was all. But when I opened them again. I was here.]

“Here, you mean.”

[It was unfamiliar, yet somehow I knew. That it was the cave in Shaanxi.]

“…”

The world slowly collapsing.

The old man, watching it, had somehow moved to the cave in Shaanxi?

That was utterly bizarre.

Why would it suddenly become like that?

The absurd statement only deepened my confusion.

[I couldn’t believe it. Because the situation was impossible.]

It seemed the old man felt the same.

Anyone would find it unbelievable.

But.

[Still, I had to believe.]

The old man interpreted the situation as hope rather than strangeness.

“Why…? Wouldn’t you find it strange?”

The world had met its end because he couldn’t stop the Blood Demon.

If he had witnessed the entire process and reached the end, it was natural to feel strangeness at such a sudden change.

Why did he try to believe it instead?

Even as I asked, I already knew the answer.

[I thought it was a miracle.]

I, who had reversed time, knew it too.

Even if it’s unbelievable and nonsensical, one wants to believe if it’s a miracle.

That’s human nature.

[Even if it was impossible. Perhaps God took pity and gave me a chance. That’s what I believed.]

A fleeting miracle at the brink of annihilation.

So.

[Even though the end came. A miracle occurred, and the Central Plains survived. And I, too, remained on this land as a soul. Giving me this chance because there was still work to be done.]

“…”

I clenched my fist, feeling a familiar emotion.

[That delusion blinded me. Truly pathetic. For the Divine Iron of the world to think such thoughts. Keke.]

His appearance was no different from mine.

The only difference, perhaps, was the conviction he held.

If what he said was true. It certainly would be. Just as I thought that.

[I would have preferred time reversal over this… but such a thing is impossible… rather. This too….]

“…Wait a second.”

I interrupted the old man’s words abruptly.

The old man looked at me quizzically, but I had to stop him.

There was something strange in what the old man just said.

‘…It’s impossible for time to reverse?’

The act of reversing time is impossible.

The old man’s words bothered me.

That was a natural conclusion.

Reversing time, going back.

It was indeed an absurd notion for anyone else to consider.

However.

‘Is he so certain?’

It should be slightly different for that old man.

Because.

“Let me ask you just one thing.”

[Yes.]

“Do you… know Yeon Ilcheon’s secret?”

[Hmm?]

Because he knew Yeon Ilcheon was a regressioner.

If someone who had already reversed time was beside you, you wouldn’t react so decisively about regression.

Of course, it was an impossible feat, so such a reaction was possible, but.

It strangely bothered me.

So, I mentioned Yeon Ilcheon and asked my question.

[What are you talking about? A secret?]

“…”

The old man’s reaction sent a chill down my spine.

‘Oh, shit. This….’

This old man doesn’t seem to know Yeon Ilcheon regressed.

No, maybe he knows but is pretending not to.

But, what if the old man truly doesn’t know about Yeon Ilcheon’s regression?

‘Furthermore.’

Not just that he doesn’t know Yeon Ilcheon regressed.

What if he claims Yeon Ilcheon never regressed?

And so.

‘What if the reason he says he couldn’t stop the Blood Demon is because it was before Yeon Ilcheon regressed?’

“…”

Swoosh.

I wiped my face with trembling hands.

My breathing grew ragged.

I tried to calm myself down, but it wasn’t easy.

[Kid. Are you alright?]

“…No, yes…. I’m fine.”

As the world shifted, the original world disappeared.

Did all the countless people who originally existed also fade away?

Honestly, I didn’t care about that.

Whether hundreds died, or thousands died.

Even if tens of thousands died, none of that mattered to me.

Only one thing was important.

‘The Sword Saint.’

The possibility that she, whom I tried to protect even at the cost of everything, ultimately met her end.

She was more important to me than tens of thousands of people.

[What does Yeon Ilcheon’s secret mean?]

“…No. It was just… just a way to probe you. Don’t mind it.”

[…Hmm?]

The old man looked unconvinced, but there was nothing I could do.

Because the previous conversation had sparked another question.

‘Let’s assume the place the old man was in was a world where Yeon Ilcheon couldn’t regress.’

Let’s assume such a world remained and eventually met its end.

But.

‘Then how did this old man end up here?’

The reason this old fellow remained in the cave in Shaanxi.

I had no idea how long, or from when, he had been there.

This creates a problem.

‘It was never discovered in my previous life.’

Naturally, there were no records of the Volcano Sword Immortal’s secret vault being discovered in my previous life, nor had I heard that Yeongpo inherited his will.

This also assumes that Hwasan discovered it but remained silent, but I had thought the difference was due to the actions I took.

However, looking back now, it’s a bit different.

‘Is it really just a difference I created?’

The fact that there are two Divine Irons.

The fact that this soul was in the secret vault at this time.

Can all of that be called a difference I created?

What needs to be focused on here isn’t that.

The important thing is.

‘Who… ‘called’ this old man here, and ‘why’?’

Is it possible the old man appeared in this world as a soul by some miracle?

As if that could happen.

I knew it.

‘There are no miracles in this world.’

My regression, which I once cherished.

Even all the events unfolding now couldn’t simply be dismissed as miracles.

Yeon Ilcheon’s words came to mind.

• Did your regression really seem like a miracle?

“…”

I dismissed it as bullshit back then, but as I lived, I gradually came to understand.

There are no such things as miracles in this damned world.

Everything happens through someone’s hands and desires.

So, I recalled and doubted.

‘This old man is not a mere coincidence.’

This was someone’s intention.

Who could it be?

And what was their intention?

‘Just who the hell.’

Is creating this fucked-up situation?

Creak.

I gritted my teeth and frowned.

‘I don’t know.’

Nothing comes to mind.

So what should I do?

Fortunately, the answer was decided.

‘I should meet someone who might know and ask them.’

The simplest and most accurate answer.

A person who might know a little about this situation.

I will find him and ask.

The two people who immediately came to mind were.

One is Namgung Myung, the Thunderous Heaven Sword, who must be hiding with Woo Hyuk.

He was the one who told me to come to Xinjiang, so he might have some information about this situation, making him suitable for the current circumstances.

The problem is whether I can actually find him, so he’s not the optimal choice.

So, the second one….

‘Actually, the accuracy of this one seems higher….’

If I want to find him, there’s a way.

If I want information, I’ll get it more accurately.

And a being clearly involved in this matter.

That would be.

‘…The Blood Demon (血魔).’

The being called calamity.

It seems, to solve this mystery…. I’ll have to meet him directly.

******************

A basement filled with a chilling cold.

• Mmm.

The person sitting there slowly opened their eyes.

As crimson eyes revealed themselves, illuminating the surroundings.

The person, sensing the cold, slowly let out a sigh.

• Hooooo….

The person exhaled cold air with their sigh.

Their condition was far from good.

Their left arm was not just torn off but also covered in burn marks.

The resulting burns were vast enough to cover the left side of their face.

Their lower body had completely burned away, leaving only the upper body remaining.

Despite being in a state where death should be imminent, the person opened their eyes and smiled faintly.

• I feel it.

It was a welcome sensation.

Saying so, the person chuckled aloud.

A feeling that a welcome guest would arrive soon.

With that clear sensation, the person whispered.

• I should prepare tea.

I should prepare some very expensive and fine tea.

Saying that, the Blood Demon (血魔) Dokgo Jun closed his eyes again.

Sleepiness was overwhelming him right now.