Chương 524: Seo Hweol's Memories (1)

The two Seo Eun-hyuns stare with hardened expressions at Oh Hye-seo and Seo Hweol, who has entered Seo Ran's body.

As soon as Oh Hye-seo sees Seo Eun-hyun's face, she is so terrified that she hiccups, but still raises both hands in the air.

"I-I plea to the High Spirit Grand Dao Nine Heavens Overseeing Fate Preserving Life Celestial Great Emperor! I beg thee, as the Owner of Names and the God of Mankind! Please reveal the real from the fake!"

At the same time, pale white vapor coils around the altar.

The vapor, responding to Oh Hye-seo's plea, sternly blocks Seo Eun-hyun from entering, as if declaring that no one may step inside while the distinction between truth and falsehood is being determined.

However, Oh Hye-seo can feel the 'gaze' of the two Seo Eun-hyuns piercing through the steam toward her.

That gaze!

For some reason, their terrifying gaze penetrates the vapor and fixes directly on Oh Hye-seo.

Suppressing her fear, Oh Hye-seo sneers at the Seo Eun-hyun outside the barrier.

"Ha, ahahaha! What are you doing, Seo Eun-hyun? Come on, do something! Try anything! You're currently flustered because I called in all the Immortal Beasts and can't do anything. You can never enter here! Never! To us, you're..."

Then, Seo Eun-hyun speaks.

"I'm sorry, Su In. Hong Yeon. Once Yeon Jin and Yeon Wei met you two... I should have foreseen your whereabouts being inevitably discovered by Seo Hweol. It's all... my fault."

Step.

Seo Eun-hyun begins walking into the barrier.

Oh Hye-seo collapses to the ground in shock.

"W-what...!? How...!?"

"The only apology I can offer you... is to remember you. And... to honor your deaths... by eradicating Seo Hweol and Oh Hye-seo, the ones who killed you. This is all I can do. Forgive me!"

Step, step, step...

Oh Hye-seo trembles in terror as Seo Eun-hyun cuts through the vapor and approaches. She grabs and shakes Seo Ran's body violently.

"S-Seo Hweol! Seo Hweol! He's coming! He's coming! He's, hesheshesheshescominghescominghescoming...!!!"

Seo Eun-hyun does not restrain his rank out of consideration for Oh Hye-seo.

He fully reveals the rank of his main body, which has reached the Sacred Vessel stage.

That alone is enough to cause Oh Hye-seo to start foaming at the mouth and cry out for Seo Hweol.

Finally, Seo Eun-hyun's form pierces through the curtain of vapor and arrives before Oh Hye-seo.

Unable to endure Seo Eun-hyun's rank, Oh Hye-seo collapses to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Ignoring her, Seo Eun-hyun gently strokes Seo Ran's head.

Seo Eun-hyun closes his eyes for a moment.

A memory surfaces from not long ago.

—Senior, I have something to say.

—What is it, Seo Ran?

—Seo Hweol... will eventually try to devour me. If I disappear, Seo Hweol will also completely collapse. As time passes, Senior and I will grow more familiar with Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, and Seo Hweol will gradually be left with fewer options. He will try to make his move before that happens.

—Indeed.

—When that time comes... please do not stop Seo Hweol.

—... What?

When he first heard those words, he thought it was preposterous nonsense.

—What nonsense! Do you even understand the horrors of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens?

—There's no need to worry.

Because of that, Seo Eun-hyun dismissed Seo Ran's words and resolved to face Seo Hweol alone.

But...

The eyes of Seo Ran at that time were filled with certainty unlike any before.

Moreover, his heart was clearer and brighter than ever before.

—I have already... become a body that cannot be harmed by Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens. Seo Hweol... is likely going to take a gamble in order to face Senior. But his gamble will fail. Because...

Seo Eun-hyun looked into Seo Ran's eyes.

He saw the will residing in his heart.

It was...

The same will Seo Eun-hyun had learned from Cheongmun Ryeong on Penglai Island.

It was a will capable of reaching Immortal Arts.

—Because I... have come to know that I have been loved. I am Seo Ran. Even if I step into Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, my mother. My master. Senior. Shi Ho. Great Master Young-hoon. Miss Buk. Great Master Kim Yeon. Great Master Min-hee. Great Master Hyun-seok. Hong Fan. Elder Yeon Wei and others... All the connections I've made thus far have given me love. I am... Seo Ran. Even if I enter Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, that will never change.

Immortal Arts change the world with the heart alone.

He felt that power, far stronger than the Immortal Arts used by ordinary cultivators that 'change the world through attraction force.'

Seo Eun-hyun granted Seo Ran's request.

—Furthermore... if it's you, Senior, even if I am devoured by Seo Hweol... wouldn't you still be able to overcome him?

Seo Ran ultimately extracted a promise from Seo Eun-hyun.

—Please do not worry about me, Senior. And, if by chance I should fall and be consumed by Seo Hweol, I ask that you avenge me in my stead. I believe that Senior is more than capable of doing so.

Seo Eun-hyun recalls Seo Ran's smile.

—Will you... promise me?

Clench.

Seo Eun-hyun clenches his fist.

"Oh Hye-seo."

"NonononononodefnitelydefinitelySeoHweolwillwinSeoHweolwillfreemeSeoHweolwillproperlyreclaimhisbodyand..."

"This altar you've summoned... it must be that, isn't it?"

Seo Eun-hyun slowly gazes at the altar.

The reason he wasn't able to properly respond a moment ago was because Seo Hweol used Oh Hye-seo's power to wield her authority in her place and summon the power of the Owner of Names.

Because of the aftermath of the [Owner of Names]'s authority, Seo Eun-hyun had nearly failed his advancement ritual to the Entering Nirvana stage, leaving him temporarily unable to suppress the chaos caused by Oh Hye-seo and Seo Hweol. That's all.

Seo Eun-hyun analyzes the altar and begins to slowly dismantle the one summoned by Oh Hye-seo.

"Are you using the power of the Immortal Beasts to trace back their strength one by one until you reach and can borrow power from the one at the pinnacle, the former Immortal Beast King?"

Kwajijijijik!

As Seo Eun-hyun clenches his fist, the altar summoned by Oh Hye-seo instantly crumbles into dust.

However, the power of the vapor still envelops them completely.

Seo Eun-hyun, interpreting the lingering power of the vapor and the spell circulating within it, speaks to Oh Hye-seo, whose body is beginning to sprout glass all over.

"I can see through your plan. The former Immortal Beast King, also known by the title [Owner of Names]... You are trying to use Them to determine who between [Seo Ran] and [Seo Hweol] is the 'fake,' and erase one of their [names]; isn't that right?"

Seo Eun-hyun looks down at Oh Hye-seo and smiles.

"But have you never considered this, Oh Hye-seo? What exactly determines the standard for deciding the 'fake'?"

At Seo Eun-hyun's words, Oh Hye-seo, despite trembling as glass sprouts from her entire body, raises herself shakily.

"In the end, whoever possesses the 'main body' will likely be deemed the 'real' one. But... why assume Seo Ran would lose the main body to Seo Hweol? From the start..."

As she looks up at Seo Eun-hyun, who gazes down at her with a sneer, Oh Hye-seo grits her teeth as she trembles in terror.

"Why did you assume Seo Ran would be determined as the 'fake'? Did you ever consider the possibility that Seo Hweol might be the 'fake'? A being with a 'heart' is a 'fake'?"

Seo Eun-hyun looks at Seo Ran's face, his eyes gleaming.

"A being with a heart can never be a fake. Therefore, I believe in you, Seo Ran! Defeat Seo Hweol and come out!"

Deepest depths of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

Inside, Seo Ran wears a peaceful smile.

Dark-red shadows writhe, attempting to invade Seo Ran's body, but they cannot penetrate the warm light radiating from within Seo Ran's heart essence.

Seo Ran smiles softly and gazes warmly at the darkness before him.

"It seems I am the victor. Grandfather Seo Hweol, no... Seo Hweol."

"..."

"Your darkness cannot invade me. Because I am..."

"Loved?"

Seo Hweol cuts off Seo Ran's words and gazes at him with an expressionless face.

"That's right. I do not know what you experienced in the past... but your darkness will never be able to consume me. I have received the hearts of so many people. Therefore... as long as this heart resides within me, I will never disappear!"

Deeeeeng— Seo Ran looks up at the sky of darkness.

Chiiiiiiii— Vapor!

Before a colossal giant of vapor.

At some point, they arrived there.

The giant of vapor holds a scale in one hand, and Seo Ran and Seo Hweol each occupy one side of the scale's plates, staring at each other.

The plate holding Seo Hweol begins to sink lower, while the one holding Seo Ran gradually rises higher.

"I am the 'real one.' Therefore, admit defeat, Seo Hweol...!"

"... Hah."

Then, Seo Hweol smiles.

It is not his usual gentle smile.

Exposing his teeth and awkwardly moving his muscles to form a grin...

Seo Hweol's signature...

Sincere smile.

"You pathetic thing, what do you even know?"

Seo Eun-hyun looks down at Oh Hye-seo, who has crawled slowly up to his ankles, even as glass protrudes from her entire body.

"Ah, ahh, uahhh... ahh..."

Trembling from the rank emanating from Seo Eun-hyun, Oh Hye-seo continues crawling.

Slowly, and slowly.

Then, she lifts her head and speaks to Seo Eun-hyun.

"Wro... ng..."

"What is wrong?"

Seo Eun-hyun looks down at Oh Hye-seo with a detached expression.

Oh Hye-seo smiles.

"It's not simply... an altar built to reach the [Owner of Names]."

"And the reason you're telling me this?"

"... You. Among your comrades, isn't there someone you've forgotten?"

At those words, Seo Eun-hyun flinches.

Then, as Seo Eun-hyun sweeps his consciousness rapidly across the entire Cedarwood Painting, his face twists like a fierce evil spirit.

Kwajijijijik!

Seo Eun-hyun grabs Oh Hye-seo by the collar, glaring at her intensely.

[Return. Him. Immediately.]

"... I can't... do that."

Even though she is trembling in fear of Seo Eun-hyun, she does not move.

Instead, she simply smiles.

Then, under her shadow, a fragment of the altar that Seo Eun-hyun destroyed.

The one fragment that depicts the Immortal Beast Heavenly Fox (天狐) shines ominously.

Deepest depths of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

At the same time, the place where the real and the fake are being distinguished before the [Owner of Names].

Seo Ran widens his eyes as he looks at the 'someone' who appears there.

It is Shi Ho.

"Using Oh Hye-seo to confuse the Sacred Master's eyes, and while his focus is distracted, using the authority of the Immortal Beast Heavenly Fox to bring the Fox Race soul that can be considered its distant descendent."

Seo Hweol snaps his fingers with a face devoid of any emotion.

In the next moment.

Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens begins to envelop Shi Ho's soul and writhes.

Immediately after.

A horrifying scream echoes from within the sphere of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens that envelops Shi Ho.

"From now on, I will torture your beloved."

"...! Seo Hweol!!!"

Seo Ran's face twists violently.

At the same time, the light emanating from Seo Ran's heart essence flickers and wavers.

Seo Ran forces himself to maintain composure as he looks at him.

Seo Hweol raises the corners of his mouth, looking at Seo Ran.

"Why are you so concerned with that? It's meaningless. Do you really believe you love that thing? You're wrong. It's simply because I poured all the maternal nature within me into you that you took it upon yourself to claim to be a female. It's only because you grew up with all positive connections severed by me that you fell into a state of affection deprivation."

With each word he utters, the light within Seo Ran shakes violently.

"You do not love it. And it does not love you either. That thing simply fell to your Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens while being beaten by the one named Kim Young-hoon. It fell in love with Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, not you. It's a false connection. You, trapped in affection deprivation, placed Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens on that Fox Race to seek an outlet for the maternal nature you had suppressed within yourself. It's no different from a burst of lust. Seo Ran. The hearts of connections or whatnot.

From the very beginning... you were never a being capable of giving or receiving any love."

As Seo Ran's light flickers, the darkness of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens seems to dig further and further into him.

Kkiiiiiiiiik...

The balance of the scale they stand on begins to shift.

Seo Ran descends, while Seo Hweol rises.

But all of a sudden— Surururuk...

The rays of Seo Ran's light stabilize.

Seo Hweol sees this and erases his smile.

"... Do you not understand? From the beginning, you have never received any..."

"No, Seo Hweol."

Seo Ran meets Seo Hweol's eyes.

"You're wrong."

At the smile that blooms on Seo Ran's face, Seo Hweol's eyes tremble violently.

"I have never brainwashed Shi Ho with Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens. And my sexual preferences are normal. I absolutely have no inclination to be penetrated by a cross-dressing male fox who likes men while moaning in pleasure."

"... How vulgar."

"Yes, truly vulgar. But that's how it ended up."

Seo Ran smiles with a slightly embarrassed expression.

It is Seo Ran's sudden confession, one that does not match the atmosphere of the moment at all.

Seo Hweol, however, looks even colder. His gaze shifts to the Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens sphere, where Shi Ho is trapped.

Inside, the groans of agony have noticeably weakened.

'With just that one joke, he interfered with my Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens. Is he gradually becoming more adept at handling it?'

Seo Hweol heightens his vigilance as he glares at Seo Ran.

Seo Ran continues to speak.

"I didn't want my master to die. But my master trusted me and passed away. And... even Elder Jeon Hyang, who acted differently from how you wished, loved me before she departed. All of this points to one undeniable truth."

Seo Ran's eyes burn brightly in the darkness.

Within the darkness, his gaze begins to drive away the darkness of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

"A person's benevolence... stands above Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens! Above anything else!"

Even though Seo Ran didn't wish for his master's death, Song Jin passed away without regret because he trusted and loved Seo Ran.

Even though Seo Ran didn't initially accept Shi Ho, Shi Ho connected with him because Shi Ho loved him so deeply that he transcended gender, race, and the brainwashing effects of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

Even when everyone shunned Seo Ran under the influence of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, only Jeon Hyang genuinely cherished him, preventing him from commiting suicide.

And...

Yu Oh, who was fated to be entirely corrupted by Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, instead brought forth 'Seo Ran' in place of 'Seo Hweol' because of her love for him.

"I will not lose, Seo Hweol. Nothing about me is fake! Because it isn't fake, I believe Shi Ho will endure. Because I, too, now love him!"

Paaaatt!

The brilliant light bursting from Seo Ran's eyes illuminates the deepest depths of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

Kiiiiiiiik— The scale upon which Seo Ran and Seo Hweol are seated evens out once again.

Seo Hweol stares at Seo Ran expressionlessly.

"... Love, huh? How pretentious."

He speaks while glaring at Seo Ran.

"You, who were so jealous over Yuk Yo, dare to speak of love?"

At Seo Hweol's words, Seo Ran breaks into a cold sweat.

'Now, this is where it truly begins.'

Seo Ran steels his heart against the ominous malice emanating from Seo Hweol.

Seo Hweol snaps his fingers with lifeless, hollow eyes.

"If you want it so much, I will show you. If you... can bear this hatred, then it doesn't matter if I lose. Now, let us both recall my oath, my other self."

Immediately after.

In the deepest depths of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

The memories of Seo Hweol's 'childhood,' carefully preserved there, engulfs Seo Hweol and Seo Ran.

Shi Ho, writhing in unbearable agony, suddenly regains his senses.

'This place is...'

It is the deepest depths Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

Dragged here by Seo Hweol and Oh Hye-seo's schemes, Shi Ho was swept into this place by the authority of his distant ancestor, without even the chance to properly resist.

Here, he finds himself caught between Seo Hweol and Seo Ran.

He is merely a sacrifice in the battle between the two personas that form one essence.

The last thing Shi Ho remembers is that Seo Ran, through a joke, briefly awakened his consciousness, and immediately afterward, Seo Hweol moved a dark red wave to engulf both Seo Ran and himself.

'What happened? The result is...?'

As he regains his senses, he looks at Seo Hweol and Seo Ran, both seated upon the strange scale.

At that moment, Kiiiiiik...

The balance scale lurches, and Seo Ran and Seo Hweol both regain their senses and open their eyes.

And Shi Ho can only be struck with shock.

'D-Dyed?'

Seo Ran!

He is now dyed in the same dark-red light as Seo Hweol.

Seo Ran is shedding tears of blood.

"... I see. So that's why I was jealous over her. That's why I wanted to destroy Yuk Yo so desperately. This world truly is..."

Seo Ran's anguished gaze meets Shi Ho's.

Shi Ho feels deep despair, pain, and sorrow in Seo Ran's eyes.

'Seo Ran...'

He likes Seo Ran.

It's not because of something like Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

He just likes him.

From the day they first met, even though nothing about them matched whether race, gender, status, or cultivation realm, Shi Ho wanted to be with Seo Ran.

Because of this, he cannot simply stand by and watch Seo Ran in such pain.

Even amidst the torturous torment of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, Shi Ho looks into Seo Ran's eyes and shouts.

"Seo Ran!!!"

Seo Hweol turns around with a meaningful smile.

Seo Ran stares at Shi Ho with blank eyes.

"Don't forget me!!!"

Seo Ran's pupils widen.

The despair clouding his eyes seems to retreat slightly.

Then, Seo Hweol's pupils split vertically.

Buuuuk!

That is the end.

Shi Ho's life ends just like that.

Seo Ran stares ahead with vacant eyes.

Shi Ho's soul is being torn apart.

Shi Ho's spirit body.

Its neck is severed.

The arms, legs, and tail of the spirit body are all torn apart, and Shi Ho's shattered spirit scatters deep into the darkness of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

Shi Ho is dead.

It is over.

At the most critical moment, Seo Hweol killed Shi Ho who had intended to act as Seo Ran's greatest support, all while wearing a gentle smile.

"I've won. Seo Ran. Disappear."

Kiiiiiik...

Seo Ran's spirit body lowers its head blankly.

The plate holding his body begins to gradually descend.

After witnessing Seo Hweol's memories, Seo Ran was thrown into despair, struck by the overwhelming truth of his own essence. Then in that moment, he saw his cherished beloved ripped apart and killed as he was cheering for him.

It's an irreparable wound.

As the scale gradually tilts downward, the light protecting Seo Ran is devoured by the darkness.

And then, just as Seo Ran's spirit body is about to completely fall and dissolve into the darkness, Thunk— The scale stops.

Seo Hweol looks down with a puzzled expression.

Seo Ran, with nails torn out and bleeding, scratches desperately at the bottom of the scale as he looks up at Seo Hweol.

Though his face is clearly filled with despair and defeat, a single glimmer of determination rests in his expression.

"Seo Hweol. Yes. For now, I have lost."

Even as he speaks, his body continues to dissolve into the darkness.

But for some reason, Seo Hweol feels that the light in Seo Ran's eyes hasn't entirely disappeared.

"But... just because I'm in despair, it doesn't mean that my connections, or the fact that I was loved, will vanish. Never."

Kik, Kikikik, Kikikikikik!

The scale holding Seo Ran begins to tilt.

Seo Ran's spirit body gradually starts to slide deeper into the abyss.

"I... was loved. By my mother. By Elder Jeon Hyang. By Senior Eun-hyun. By my master. By everyone! Even if... I die."

Seo Ran slides faster and faster off the scale.

"The truth that I was loved—that alone—will never disappear!"

And finally, Seo Ran's body falls from the scale.

Seo Ran falls deep into the darkness.

"So! My heart, too!!!"

Seo Ran begins to dissolve.

The thick darkness consumes him.

But for some reason, Seo Hweol cannot take his eyes off him.

The light radiating from Seo Ran's eyes seems to hold him in place.

"Will never disappear!!"

With those final words, Seo Ran vanishes.

Ziiing!

Simultaneously, the judgment of the [Owner of Names], determining the true and false among the two personalities residing in one body, descends.

Deeeeng!

In this world, the [Name] [Seo Ran] is stripped away by the [Owner of Names].

Now, Seo Hweol can no longer recall the name of ■■ he had fought against just moments ago.

At the same time, the name of ■■ is erased from the memory of the majority of mortal beings in this world.

It is as though ■■ has been excised from history.

And so, ■■ is defeated.

All that remains is Seo Hweol.

Yet Seo Hweol feels that the desperate voice ■■ left behind at the end reverberates within his chest for some inexplicable reason.

Why is it?

Seo Hweol senses that, someday, that voice will greatly alter his fate.

"... It shouldn't matter."

Seo Hweol decides to forget the name and final moments of the defeated.

Because he still has the goal he swore to achieve from the moment he first opened his eyes in this world.

At last, Seo Hweol reclaims his main body, which had been stolen by ■■.

He has recovered the 'emotion' he had hidden away for thousands of years.

"Ah... Ah..."

In the deepest depths of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, where the traces of the [Owner of Names] have vanished, leaving only Seo Hweol.

In that place, Seo Hweol clutches his chest and trembles from the overwhelming wave created as the emotions of his 'childhood,' reclaimed after thousands of years, merges with the memories stored in the deepest depths.

"... Hate... ful..."

After a brief moment spent suppressing his emotions, Seo Hweol finally opens his eyes to reality.

Snap!

It happens in an instant.

When [Seo Ran] opens his eyes and snaps his fingers, Hon Won and Yeon Wei— Along with Oh Hye-seo—are suddenly transferred outside my Colorless Sword Enclosure.

I look at the [person] standing before me.

The [person]'s gaze has completely changed.

It is neither [Seo Ran]'s nor Seo Hweol's.

It is not the pair of empty eyes, nor is it the gaze filled with hopeful purity.

The eyes are murky.

It appears unfocused, and... at the same time, it surpasses the simple 'malice' that I felt from Seo Hweol.

I sense overwhelming pain and hatred emanating from them.

I realize what has happened.

"... What has become of [Seo Ran], Seo Hweol?"

At the name I utter, Seo Hweol appears to flinch slightly.

However, he smiles faintly and responds.

"What do you mean, Daoist Seo? From the beginning, I have always been one."

"... Is that so?"

With a sorrowful gaze, I reach out my hand.

"Regardless of what has happened, following his wishes... I will avenge Seo Ran. This vengeance is not only his. This is also for Su In, Hong Yeon. The vengeance of the two children."

Kwajik!

I crush and kill Seo Hweol standing before me.

But his soul slips away.

It likely escaped through the deepest depths of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens to a distant place.

With a cold gaze, I reach out my hand.

"I won't let you escape."

Kugugugugu!

Oh Hye-seo sheds tears as she watches countless stars pass by around her.

After thousands of years!

Finally!

She has been freed from within Seo Eun-hyun's stomach!

"Seo, Seo Hweol! I'm finally out! I'm finally free!"

"..."

But the expression on Seo Hweol's face, as he leaps across vast distances with her, is not particularly bright.

Glancing briefly at Hon Won and Yeon Wei in his hands, Seo Hweol turns to look behind him.

Kugugugugu!

From far behind, Seo Eun-hyun's [hand] is chasing them.

"... Still chasing? Strange. How is he able to track me? There must... be something."

Frowning, Seo Hweol leaps across countless stars, carrying Oh Hye-seo, Hon Won, and Yeon Wei.

It's strange.

Through Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, he has erased all traces of himself within Cedarwood Painting.

He even succeeded in removing Seo Eun-hyun's Sub-Heart Sword from within his body.

Having reclaimed his main body and regained his [eyes], it wasn't an impossible feat.

And yet... Seo Eun-hyun is pursuing him across thousands of light-years.

'How? Just how is he managing to track me...?'

As he ponders, Seo Hweol suddenly notices something.

It is a trace within his Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

It is not some mark left behind by Seo Eun-hyun.

Rather, it is more like— A trace that something 'left' from 'inside' Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens to the 'outside'.

'This trace... could it be...!?'

As Seo Hweol identifies the source of the trace, for the first time since awakening in this world, his face twists into an evil spirit.

"You...! You did this! You sent it over!!! How dare you!!?? How dare you!!?? No matter what, you are me! How could you hand over my oath to another!!??"

Seo Hweol roars with genuine fury into the vast cosmic space.

The one whose name he can no longer remember, ■■.

During their battle, they had sent Seo Hweol's [memories] to outside Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

To Seo Eun-hyun.

Now, Seo Eun-hyun is using the 'memories' passed on by ■■ to track Seo Hweol.

Seo Hweol screams in genuine rage at ■■.

As long as Seo Eun-hyun possesses the 'memories' passed to him by ■■, Seo Hweol cannot escape Seo Eun-hyun's pursuit.

Because Seo Hweol's memories and oath are the very essence of his being.

I hold the memory of Seo Hweol that [Seo Ran] passed on to me.

Clutching the information body that contains that memory, I relentlessly pursue Seo Hweol and Oh Hye-seo with an arrogant expression.

The object in my hand resonates endlessly with Seo Hweol as if it's his very essence.

Yes, this feels like...

The connection between the blood of the Sea Dragon Race and Summoning Wind, True Blood Transformation.

It is as though their mere existence connects them to one another.

"... [Seo Ran]. I will never... forget you."

As I use the memory of Seo Hweol, obtained thanks to [Seo Ran]'s sacrifice with no damage or resistance, I continue my pursuit of them.

Seo Hweol's past unfolds vividly, piece by piece before my eyes.