Chương 703: Annihilation and Flower (4)

::... Such a fate... is a first. Just how am I supposed to interpret this...?:: White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus stares wide-eyed at the child.

I, too, can only blink in confusion, unable to understand what to make of this.

'Since the fate is to overcome fate, then in order to overcome this fate, one must in turn comply with it... But the fate that has to be complied with is 'overcoming fate'...'

The tail is biting its tail.

'The fate is to overcome fate? Then doesn't that mean it cannot be overcome?'

I vaguely grasp that this is influenced by some essence shared between me and Kim Yeon.

I'm the one who's always struggled to break free of fate, so it must have been influenced from that in some way.

'Just how am I supposed to understand this...'

I blink toward the child, flustered.

At that moment, Jeon Myeong-hoon scratches his head and speaks.

:: But... why worry about that kind of thing? Is it even useful?:: I sigh, and White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus smacks Jeon Myeong-hoon's shoulder.

Kwaang!

:: To say something so tactless in front of parents—read the room? Every parent's heart is like that!:::: Kuaaaaagh!:: Since White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus's fist has probably reached Severing Heaven in its own right, even Jeon Myeong-hoon seems to feel pain when receiving it.

:: Kugh, you insane muscle-horse bastard. And seriously, why are you even trying to figure that out?:::: Isn't it obvious? It's only natural to understand its personality and raise it accordingly...:::: You sure talk a lot. Just raise the kid. Probably just a decently rebellious kid. If you're raising a kid already knowing what their personality and future will be like, is that even raising a kid? That's just watching a movie where you already somewhat know the ending.::::...

:::: Don't try to raise the kid the easy way. Accept them and watch over them while accepting the unknown. Isn't that the more proper way to raise a child?:: At Jeon Myeong-hoon's words, I become speechless. White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus also blinks at him with wide eyes.

:: Think carefully. That's not 'fate', that's your 'child'. They will probably be rebellious, but they are not a being you should think about how to respond to... They are a being you have to raise, no matter what happens.:: A brief silence flows between us.

Then, I nod.

::... You're right.:: There's not a single false word in it.

:: Let's go down... and find out by raising them ourselves.:: I speak to Kim Yeon, and Kim Yeon nods.

White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus speaks, as if taken aback.

:: Hey, are you serious? No matter how you put it... even I've never seen a fate like that before...:::: They said it's fine. Let it go already. It's not like a child is some kind of monster...:: Jeon Myeong-hoon slaps White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus on the shoulder, returning the hit he took earlier, and speaks.

:: Go. Make the child properly, live together, and come back.::::... Got it. Thanks, Jeon Myeong-hoon.:: I offer Jeon Myeong-hoon a brief word of thanks, then begin manipulating attraction force.

At the same time, in a corner of the planetary system we created— There, Kim Yeon and I form our incarnations and dwell within them.

And then— We continue the work between incarnations, to create a personality for our child.

In the planet 'Unbinding Star' of the 'Unruly Realm', where my Immortal Treasure Unruly Chain Ham Jin governs the fixed star— We settle in a small village at the edge of a continent on Unbinding Star, build a home there, and, though it's a little late, hold our ceremony.

"Are you alright, Yeon-ah?"

"Uk... I don't know."

The officiant is Hong Fan, and we pledge our vows before him.

Kang Min-hee puffs her pipe, and Oh Hye-seo expressionlessly runs around here and there, helping my Immortal Treasures serve food.

Oh Hyun-seok wipes away tears, and Jeon Myeong-hoon unconsciously reaches into his chest to look for a wooden box, but stops and looks up at the sky.

All my Immortal Treasures give us their heartfelt congratulations.

The wedding is held in the style of our homeland, Earth.

We hold it in the ceremony of our native land.

Truthfully, it's something we should have done long ago, but...

'So many things happened.'

So much happened that... I hadn't dared to even think about holding a ceremony.

And since everything gets undone whenever I regress, I'd subconsciously avoided holding one altogether.

If our promise were to flow into the other side of time, I didn't think I could bear it.

I hold the ceremony with Kim Yeon, and somewhere at the edge of Unbinding Star's land, I properly join together with her.

After a long and even longer time...

We have finally become husband and wife.

"The bride and groom will now bow to each other."

I bow with her and smile.

'I've found the possibility...'

Starting with bringing half of Oh Hye-seo's soul into this cycle...

To the Supreme Deities who have seized Origin Essence.

To Ji Hwa, who, even without seizing Origin Essence, began to recognize regression through the 'Wheel' of the Underworld.

And finally, through cases like Kim Young-hoon and Jeon Myeong-hoon, I remember that those who become Heavenly Kings are no longer affected by regression... so if she too becomes a Heavenly King someday, I have the hope that she will be able to regain this memory again.

'Hope exists.'

So now, there's no need to be afraid anymore.

At the end of the ceremony, I ignore all formal customs and tightly embrace Kim Yeon, feeling her warmth.

'From now on... I won't let go of this warmth.'

When I think about it, how many times have I failed to fully embrace warmth simply because I was afraid of losing it?

Starting from Buk Hyang-hwa, To the Kim Yeon of the 14th cycle...

It was all the same.

I remember even when I obtained Crystal Glass to Treading Sea.

'I was always blaming myself and drowning in guilt... living only with pain, and never even getting the chance to feel happiness.'

But when the starting point of my Innate Immortal Art, Crystal Glass to Treading Sea, was completed, it was when I freed myself from self-blame.

'There are things you can't grow from if you're always miserable and hurting yourself.'

To accept happiness as well...

That too is necessary for growth.

I hold Kim Yeon in my arms, and with everyone's blessings, we bring the ceremony to its conclusion.

The wedding ends, and on our first night.

Though we've already done plenty before the wedding so there's no awkwardness, an explicable shyness wells up.

"When you think about it, it's kinda funny."

I block all the prying gazes trying to peek inside with the Impermanence Sword and close the door.

The baby is already conceived, but to properly form the baby, we have to do the act of creating the child one more time.

"We've already seen everything there is to see between us, but because the child was conceived from two True Immortals, we now had to descend to the Lower Realm and do it again to create a new personality for the child... and..."

"That we're only holding the wedding now?"

"... That too, and..."

I hesitate for a moment at this embarrassment of not knowing how to put it in words, finally speak.

"... Through a ceremony like this... being able to call you...'dear'..."

"..."

Kim Yeon's face seems to blush a little, then a smile blooms.

"... Honey..."

I realize that my face has reddened to a point that even I am shocked.

Even after living through all this time, I didn't think just one word would bring such a dramatic physical reaction.

"I think it's great?"

"... R-Really? I feel a little awkward..."

"Don't keep fidgeting. Come here. Honey."

At Kim Yeon's continuing words, I feel my face heat up even more.

"We have a baby to make."

Whoosh— And so, the lights of our first night go out, and I enter union with Kim Yeon through our mortal bodies.

Several months pass.

Kim Yeon's belly has swelled.

"Uuuugh..."

"You okay, Kim Yeon?"

"Yes... I'm fine. The suicide ritual during the True Immortal advancement hurt more anyway."

Though she suffers from the child in her belly, Kim Yeon endures well.

"The condition looks good. The baby's energetic."

Kang Min-hee, lying down with her ear pressed to Kim Yeon's belly, speaks, and Kim Yeon pokes at Min-hee's head.

"Unnie, can you not lie directly on my stomach? You will scare the baby."

"I'm in spirit form right now so I don't have any weight. Why would the baby be scared? I'm listening to the baby's heartbeat, so don't talk to me."

Inside Kim Yeon's womb, the body that will become our child's physical form grows healthily.

Wo-woong!

"Ah, the soul is almost settled."

Kang Min-hee listens to the baby's heartbeat and checks the baby's condition.

Just as she says, at present, the baby is imbued with the fate that can be primarily called the main body of our child. As the power of that fate meets the authority of love that Kim Yeon possesses, the soul is forming stably and slowly settling in.

"Seo Eun-hyun, why don't you come and listen too? It's really nice to hear, you know?"

Kang Min-hee gestures toward me, and I give a bitter smile as I watch the two of them.

"Sorry... but I have to defend against the interference of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable."

"You're scaring yourself all on your own."

"Don't say it like that, Unnie. It's probably not fear... but embarrassment."

"..."

The two whisper to each other about me.

But I don't particularly argue and simply look at Kim Yeon's belly.

From within, I hear a sound.

It's the sound of my child.

Thump, thump...

It's the first time I've ever heard a human heartbeat this loudly.

'This is driving me crazy...'

Honestly, Kang Min-hee is right.

I'm scared.

Seeing the child terrifies me so much.

'What if I see this child... become so happy... and then end up regressing again? What if... when regression happens, I try to carry the soul along like I did with Oh Hye-seo, and the child gets pulled apart like her and suffers?'

I'm terrified.

Now, it's no longer just my own pain that is my pain.

The child's pain is also mine.

Because of that...

I fear the world full of suffering the child will face once born, and I fear that I won't be able to overcome that world and die.

And...

What terrifies me most is dying and having all of it erased like it never happened.

'Even if I take the child's soul with me so that it doesn't all become as if nothing happened after death... I don't even know if that's a good thing for the child...'

Overwhelmed by a confusion and panic I've never felt before in my life, I stay a little apart and don't approach the child, listening to the heartbeat while I wait for the child's proper birth.

And after some time, finally, ten months pass.

"Push, Kim Yeon! You can do this!"

The White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus acts as midwife, delivering the child, while Kang Min-hee assists.

Jeon Myeong-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, and I stand outside, lost in thought as we watch the night sky.

"Nervous?"

"... Yeah."

Jeon Myeong-hoon smiles as he looks at the sky.

"Don't be too nervous. Even if something goes wrong, who are we? We can handle anything. Moreover, the midwife is Kang Min-hee and that muscle horse. I don't know much about the muscle horse, but there's no way Kang Min-hee would make a mistake, so relax a little."

"Kang Min-hee actually messes up more often than you think."

"Shut it. You're just a deputy, don't talk back to your superior."

Jeon Myeong-hoon continues spouting nonsense next to me, trying to calm me down, and Oh Hyun-seok occasionally chimes in while listening to our conversation.

"... Nervousness is necessary too. I... understand how you feel. If my daughter had been born instead of miscarried... I'd probably feel just like you."

"..."

"Still... wish for safety, but don't shake too much. That child's parents are... you both, who've come this far through countless tribulations. There's no way anything will go wrong."

"... Thank you."

To his advice, spoken from experience, I nod and express my gratitude.

Just then, I sense a change in the flow of the air.

All of us here are perceiving the world purely through the senses of mortals, with our consciousness domains turned off, so I am the first to notice.

'There's one more breath now.'

Snap— The sound of an umbilical cord being cut reaches my ears.

And immediately after— Slaaap— Flinch!

A sharp smacking sound rings out, and soon after—

"Uwaaaaaaeng!"

A loud, resounding baby's cry rings out.

The moment that sound comes, I become restless, biting my nails in front of the door.

At that moment, Kang Min-hee flings the door open and says,

"Come in, Seo Eun-hyun."

I slowly step into the room.

Inside, the room has been made dark as if to keep the light out, and White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus, transformed into the form of a human woman, serves as the midwife, receiving the baby and handing them to Kim Yeon.

To the baby Kim Yeon holds, the main body of the child—the fate—completely flows in, and with it, the child is fully born.

The child, experiencing the vivid 'pain' of life for the first time, cries uncontrollably, and begins to gradually form a personality.

And...

Kim Yeon, soothing the child's pain, nurses them for the first time.

The moment I see that, I freeze in place.

Regarding why, I can't dare to express it in words.

For a long while, I just silently watch Kim Yeon and my child.

After a little while, as the baby's crying begins to calm, White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus receives the child from Kim Yeon and gently places them into my arms.

With a trembling voice, I receive the baby.

Our eyes meet.

In that instant, all the fear and worries I've held up until now— All the stray thoughts— They all melt away at once.

It feels like only the baby and I exist in this entire world.

A being that existed merely as fate now takes on a physical body, is born into this world, and breathes.

And with warmth, their heart beats strongly, announcing their existence.

At that very moment, I realize— I have become a father.

"She's a beautiful daughter. Raise her well."

White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus speaks softly, and only then do I realize the baby's gender.

From the moment the baby was conceived, we could have used Immortal Arts to determine everything about her...

But we left it all to fate—or perhaps to the heavens.

We even shut off our consciousness domains...

So this is the first time we're learning anything about the child.

Holding the child for the first time, I walk to Kim Yeon.

Perhaps because this is not a properly refined body, but an incarnation roughly made several years ago, Kim Yeon looks very exhausted.

Even so, as she gazes at our child with her exhausted body, Kim Yeon smiles warmly.

I lean my body against Kim Yeon's and hold the child together with her.

"Yeon-ah... look."

"Yes... honey."

"She's..."

Caught in an emotion I cannot describe— I look at this tiny, wrinkled life, just born, and say,

"She's... our child."

The heart I couldn't feel in my transcendent body— I finally come to understand as I wear a mortal one.

"Yes... she's our... child."

With a warm smile, Kim Yeon slowly takes the baby back into her arms and feels her warmth.

"Hey... I'm your... mom."

The baby buries her face in Kim Yeon's chest, and, perhaps comforted, drifts off to sleep. As I watch all this, I forget all words.

It feels as if only the three of us exist in the world.

Along with the presence of Jeon Myeong-hoon flinching in shock outside as he sees the Transformation form of White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus, The presence of Kang Min-hee and Oh Hyun-seok, rejoicing as if it were their own child, The presence of Oh Hye-seo, wordlessly gazing up at the sky...

And a warm wave born from within Kim Yeon.

Yes... along with the presence of what we call soul, I, shedding tears of meaning I cannot grasp, whisper.

"We've... become mom and dad."

Now, at an age too old to even count, Roughly thirty thousand years after we fell to Ascension Path, In a cabin aboard the Nether Treading Ship Song Jin in the Outer Sea beyond Mount Sumeru, At the edge of a continent in a small stellar system within called 'Unruly Realm'— I have become a father.

'Life is...'

I, about to define life before this deeply moving blessing of birth, as I hold my daughter, who today has gained her personality and physical form for the first time— Decide to abandon such thoughts.

'... I don't know.'

Today, I have gained the greatest Dao—enough to be content even if I die in the evening.

"What should we... name her?"

"... Ran (蘭)."

To Kim Yeon's question, I answer without hesitation, and she accepts it right away.

Because the other name for Buk Hyang-hwa (White Magnolia) was Baek Ran (White Orchid).

And at the same time...

It is also the name of a dear old friend we both miss.

Among the flowers that held the most meaning in my life, I choose one of their names as the name of our child.

Seo Ran (瑞蘭).

Our child's name is Seo Ran.