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Se-ah’s mind was in turmoil as she listened to Yeon So-Hyeon’s story.
His story, which was a mixture of the past and the future, was bound to be confusing for her.
“Do you intend to carry on with your righteous act, even if it brings numerous sacrifices?”
Se-ah thought that even if there were sacrifices, they would only be from her and those who shared her purpose.
“What if your actions lead to the death of innocent people, who had no involvement?”
“There’s no way that would happen!”
Upon her response, So-Hyeon looked at her.
“Wha?!”
Se-ah’s pupils dilated.
On her eyes, were the reflection of a white, crooked, and awkward yet hauntingly eerie white mask.
Yeon So-hyun, wearing the mask, slowly raised his hand.
“That’s why. Those with kind hearts buried deep within them, they fell alone.”
As he raised his hand, a freezing winter wind brushed past it.
“In the end, to change the flow of the massive river called history, a corresponding amount of blood must be shed.”
As he swung his hand, for some reason, the wind seemed to grow stronger.
Shivering in the freezing wind, Se-ah shivered.
“But those good people couldn’t stand to see such a tremendous number of innocents sacrificed to twist the river’s flow.”
He tried to grip the cold wind, but it only scattered and flowed away.
“So they sacrificed themselves, even if it meant their names would be tarnished and slandered.”
With nothing but empty space, he swung his hand.
“And yet, nothing changed.”
His masked face tilted to the side.
“……Was it a futile sacrifice? Was that ultimately the inevitable fate of the sisters?”
Se-ah couldn’t follow Yeon So-Hyeon’s story.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying……
But Yeon So-Hyeon was no longer there.
“In my youth, I dreamed of changing the world, but I realized that dream was misguided.”
His voice was extremely somber.
“Since then, I have chosen to live my life pursuing the principle of being content with little.”
Se-ah quickly turned her gaze towards the direction of the voice.
“?!”
So-Hyeon was standing on the wall, looking down at her.
She couldn’t figure out what kind of harmony Yeon So-Hyeon was creating.
Was the Swordless man of Luoyang had been hiding his martial arts?
However, she felt a deeper shadow than simple martial arts.
“But due to the status I was born with, it was impossible to be content with little.”
The distance between him and Se-ah was far, but for some reason, it felt like she was hearing his voice right next to her.
“So, I sought peace. I thought if I kept discarding my own desires, I could be as free as the wind brushing past the net (of heaven).”
His voice had a metallic sound that seemed to scratch the eardrums.
“I failed.”
He dramatically spread his arms towards the sky.
“I ultimately failed to change my fate I was born into. In the end, I kneeled under the star that governed me.”
His movement, though exaggerated, was not ridiculous but drew out a deep emotional tremor, like an actor in a play.
“……However, your sisters’ fate is not yet determined.”
It was no longer the voice of the Grand young master.
It couldn’t even be called a human voice.
That voice, seemingly made up of a deep metallic sound, was rough, brutal, and filled with a sorrowful resonance.
“I will watch over your sisters’ fate.”
There were no eye holes to be found on his mask. However, for some reason, Se-ah felt a gaze that was far more distinct than when she looked someone in the eye up close.
“I will see whether your fate will intersect with mine, or overlap. I’ll be watching.”
Wearing a white mask and dressed in the white attire of a scholar, his figure began to melt into the darkness.
“My path is a demonic journey through the netherword, where the mountain of corpses and sea of blood in the realm beyond human reach unfolds.”
Into the deep darkness, into the piercing winter wind, his figure melted away, scattered.
“I hope we don’t meet there……”
Were his parting words a prayer filled with concern, or a mockery of fate?
As if bewitched, Se-ah kept staring at the wall where the Grand young master Prince had disappeared.
Soon the clouds cleared and the moonlight beautifully illuminated the tiles on the wall.
However, under the soft and warm moonlight, there was no sign of the Grand young master.
* * *
Inevitably, the rapid loss of personnel was inevitable for the Black Bone faction, an organization that operates in the back alleys. Nevertheless, the Black Bone faction was the organization that most easily replenished new members throughout Luoyang.
Luoyang was after all, a gigantic and luxurious commercial city where millions lived, and the dazzling luster of this city was held up by an even larger darkness beneath it.
Those who were too numerous for even the government to dare estimate lived in the slums.
‘Do you want to survive in the slums? If so, join us.’
The Black Bone Faction wasn’t an organization you had to have a special skill to join.
In fact, it didn’t matter even if you lacked something.
On the contrary, it was better that way.
Those lacking things like honor, common sense, or mercy, were much more beneficial for recruitment.
And such ‘lacking individuals’ were overflowing in the slums.
Everything else was irrelevant.
Once you join and live with your brothers and sisters, you naturally mature into an excellent member of the Black Bone Faction.
Today, like always, their numbers are steadily increasing.
* * *
In a common slum scene visible anywhere in Luoyang, there was a branch of the Black Bone Faction.
Though they referred to their place with a respectable name as a ‘branch’, it was barely more than a den.
“Yawn……”
The burly figure guarding the entrance of this den was a perfect example of someone who had become an excellent member through the aforementioned process. His father had lost his life to bandits while working for the ticket office (at least that’s what he heard).
While his mother struggled to survive, he did his best on his own, managing to stay alive somehow. During his growth, he realized that he was lacking far more things than what he possessed. And he realized that it was an immutable rule.
So, he joined the Black Bone Faction.
Along with his newly found brothers, he devoted himself to venting the anger and resentment accumulated over the years. The number of skull tattoos inked on his body soon increased one by one.
He was thankful that this path was amazingly suited to his nature.
‘Just a few more tasks, and then it’s a promotion. Hehe, then I’ll start from that woman next door with the new underlings…’
He even came up with such a constructive future plan. Just thinking about leading the future underlings through the streets, he felt proud. Then there would be no one in the neighborhood who would dare ignore him.
In fact, it didn’t matter if they did.
That was more appealing.
Wasn’t he desiring to oppress the woman next door who always looked down on him as if he were filthy?
“Is this the Black Bone Faction’s branch?”
In the midst of fantasizing about the things he’d do with the woman next door, his crotch was getting heavy.
He casually brushed his hand.
“Scram.”
However, the other party was persistent.
“Is this the Black Bone Faction’s branch, I asked?”
He sighed.
“Kid. We don’t take in small and skinny brats like you. Scram while I’m still speaking nicely.”
“I’m not exactly asking to be recruited, though?”
The boy who was holding his head high shrugged.
Normally, he would have beaten up a guy wearing such an ‘irritating mask’ as soon as he saw him, but he was in a very good mood today.
“Alright. I’ll give you a special interview.”
He showed off his fist full of calluses at every joint.
“Just withstand two hits. Then I’ll specially recommend you and get you in.”
From beneath the moonlit, brilliantly shining mask, a blatant mockery of him leaked out.
“I told you I’m not here to join. What a frustrating guy.”
“Bloody bastard, what the hell?!”
Beneath the mask obscuring half of his face, the boy’s mouth ripped open to reveal sharp teeth.
“Huh? What…?!”
The bulky man wanted to scream, but no voice came out. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t make a sound, he couldn’t move his body either. He couldn’t understand what he was seeing.
“You are a ‘Gatekeeper’ so I’m telling you kindly…”
Suddenly, the creature approached him and whispered in his ear. Its breath was as cold as ice, as if it could peel the flesh off.
“I came to devour all of you.”
“…?!”
As the creature nudged him lightly, a formidable force sent him flying. He passed the entrance he had been guarding, bouncing a couple of times in the filthy narrow corridor before he could stop.
“Ugh, uh…”
He couldn’t breathe from the shock.
Pain shot through his head.
While he squirmed like a bug, rubbing his back against the floor, the creature approached with a light step.
It looked down at him, smiling.
The smile was pure, but its mouth was filled with teeth sharp like needles.
He felt an unfamiliar terror from that smile.
“Come on, sing a song.”
“Ugh!”
Singing a song in this situation?
Soon, he had the opportunity to fully understand the creature’s words through his body.
“When singing a song, the first important thing is definitely the breath.”
The creature’s hand slowly reached his abdomen.
“And the breath starts here.”
It seemed to enjoy the scene, acting as if it were performing on stage.
“Now, take a deep breath-“
Its hand that reached his abdomen dug into him mercilessly.
“Arrrrghhhhhh!!!”
The hand digging into his stomach was horribly cold.
And then something incredibly hot started to melt his innards.
“You’ve fully mastered the first step!”
With the magic from the Dark Heavens Scripture, the man, whose innards had completely melted, stopped moving.
“Unfortunately, you didn’t have a chance to learn the second step.”
Chuckles rattled the mask as it let out a strange laugh. The mask, which was never completed, was now a product of madness and resentment, perfected through monstrous transformation.
“What the hell?!”
“Who the hell is this?!”
The members of the Black Bone Faction were startled by the death throes of their bulky comrade, drawing their weapons and rushing out. Some of them were even barefoot, having been roused from their sleep by his terrible screams.
However, despite rushing out rather quickly, they all froze in the corridor.
“What, what?!”
They were all at a loss for words.
Their dead comrade’s stomach was gaping open, and his melted innards and boiling blood flowed heavily down the tilted corridor.
And the creature, looking as if it had just popped out of a nightmare, greeted them with its hand, soaked in bright red blood.
“Good evening. Isn’t it a lovely night?”