Chương 143: S.05 Time to Fly 12(04)_The LAST of S.05

Scene 02_13. It was a distant abyss. Unlike the world of the dead she had undergone several times before, there was no ghastliness, no dread. No mournful sorrow either. It was only an abyss like pitch-darkness. Ji-young, who fell a long way, dropped limply from the black waterway and tumbled onto the black sand shore. Right beside the black sand shore where Ji-young tumbled stood a bronze statue the size of Ji-young, holding a blazing benevolence, standing still and waiting for Ji-young to rise.

Coughing at the impact her back had taken, Ji-young slowly raised herself. Ji-young, who set her body fully upright with difficulty, braced herself toward the bronze statue that faced her straight on with a benevolent expression. The bronze statue was benevolent and calm, and a paltry, small figure. The form that had loomed larger than a building was nowhere to be seen; shrunk to nearly Ji-young's own size, it merely lingered on a shore stained utterly black on all sides.

The hands that had held the eight instruments of execution were gone as well. With a smile full of confidence, the bronze statue slowly settled its body anew and, sitting in the air with one leg hooked over its knee, faced Ji-young, who stood as if swaying. Its eyes did not open. It still held only a smile close to shut eyes. Only one leg touched the ground, while one foot rested upon the knee of the leg that touched the ground.

Raising one hand, it made a show of stroking near its own cheek, as if folding its arms. Ji-young only watched the statue in silence. The Weeping of Retribution: Dost thou know what I am? Ji-young: Do you know what you are? The Weeping of Retribution: So thou knowest. Ji-young: Yes. Better than you do. The Weeping of Retribution: Then thou must know also the ordeal thou shalt endure. Ji-young: And that even so I will survive, you could not fail to know either.

The Weeping of Retribution: Was it a book that Do-seon left behind? Ji-young: It was a disciple's questions and answers. The Weeping of Retribution: Hm …. It nodded its head slowly and languidly. It was quite different from what Ji-young had expected. That made it a more fearsome being. It did not hurry in the slightest, nor did it hesitate in the slightest. It was a figure imbued with the confidence that it could cut Ji-young down at any moment. Ji-young: I too can destroy you here.

The Weeping of Retribution: Why dost thou not? Ji-young: For the same reason you do not. The Weeping of Retribution: Not bad. And 'tis impudent of thee to think I would speak the reason. Ji-young: If I turn cold, you will turn cold; if I rage, you will rage. Only then did the Weeping of Retribution's eyes open thin as thread. The smiling expression remained, but the meaning it held did not. The Weeping of Retribution: Is that the self of mine thou claimest to know? Ji-young: Yes.

The Weeping of Retribution: So be it. Mayhap that is the fate of victor and loser. Ji-young: Is that how you wish to see — Ji-young's words could not continue. As the Weeping of Retribution gestured lightly while seated, iron chains surged up from the black sand shore and wound about Ji-young's neck and limbs. Heedless of Ji-young's ailing leg, they snatched and constricted her, forcing her knees down as if slamming her into the sand shore.

The Weeping of Retribution: I, The Weeping of Retribution lifted away the hand it had propped against its chin and slowly raised the body that had sat on one leg. When the slowly approaching Weeping of Retribution reached right up to Ji-young's face in no time, she could meet an eerie and hardened benevolence. Ji-young's spine froze with a chill. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The Weeping of Retribution: I may gather up all thy paltry and worthless lives, every one, whensoever I wish. When the Weeping of Retribution's mouth moved calmly and delivered its threat with a cold benevolence, Ji-young was instead able to withdraw her chill, slowly and surely. Ji-young: Do it. As much as you like. I, as I said, will you — The chains wound about Ji-young's neck constricted further and blocked her windpipe.

When Ji-young could neither continue her words nor even cough, countless instruments of execution surged up from the black sand shore and lunged, aiming at Ji-young's bound limbs. Ji-young clenched her fist just so. The 현사(Hyeon-sa_Black Wire), obeying Ji-young's will, scattered the clear 요령소리(Yoryeong-sori_The Chime of the Ritual Handbell) in all directions, burst every chain that had bound Ji-young's body, and then pierced and pinned every one of the instruments of execution swarming in.

Ji-young, launching the body that had been forced down, shoved the bronze statue and toppled onto the sand shore together with it. Ji-young: I will shatter you to pieces. Ji-young's snarl spilled out mingled with a courteous smile. Ji-young's body, positioned pinning the Weeping of Retribution down, floated up with a great impact and slammed into the black seawater set far off. A great stone statue, set beside the Weeping of Retribution, had kicked Ji-young away with all its force.

Still lying down, the Weeping of Retribution held its benevolent smile again and raised its voice toward the great stone statue that had helped it. The Weeping of Retribution: Thou too, go on. As that child did promise, the vessel shall have been shaped. The Weeping of Retribution slowly raised its body cast in bronze.

Leaving behind the quiet urging it had given while lying down, it moved its body shaped as a bronze statue again and approached Ji-young, who had collapsed in the black waves and could hardly steady herself. Seizing Ji-young by the hair, it hoisted her up. As Ji-young, dangling at the cold touch of the bronze statue, moved the Black Wire to break free, the bronze statue indifferently thrust out its hand and pierced through Ji-young's chest.

Ji-young resisted and tried to break free, but the resistance of Ji-young, who was spilling blood from her mouth, was paltry. Ji-young gripped the Weeping of Retribution's cold arm hard with both hands. The Weeping of Retribution, its hand jammed into Ji-young's chest, was drawing up Ji-young's red blood with a squelching churn. The Weeping of Retribution: How paltry, how pitiful. Had I won, a place such as this would never even have been. It was a plight in which she could not but be drained of strength.

Ji-young knew the reason for all the helplessness that had seized her body. Nor had she any intention of leaving the hostility cast before her be. Ji-young, smiling with a sneer, gripped the Weeping of Retribution's cold arm more fiercely. The Weeping of Retribution tried to jab deeper into Ji-young's belly, but its hand could go in no further. Ji-young wrenched her hand hard, raised the Black Wire, and severed the Weeping of Retribution's arm whole.

Using the Weeping of Retribution's arm as a measure, she hooked its neck with her legs and instead flung it far away. The execution mark the Weeping of Retribution left vanished in an instant, but Ji-young's pain was not felt in the wound alone. A great movement was felt again behind Ji-young's back. Ji-young, left with no strength, opened her eyes wide at the eerie resonance she suddenly felt. The Weeping of Retribution, tumbled into the far sea, floated its body cast in bronze and murmured with a smile.

The Weeping of Retribution: Well, now. I bade thee be on thy way already, A great palm was drawing near to Ji-young's back. The Weeping of Retribution: Even if it be not something I made, how is it so loath to heed? Ji-young turned her barely standing body wide and just barely severed the statue's hand that had borne down before her eyes. Grey stone dust scattered in all directions.

The remaining hand of the giant statue, its other hand shattered to fragments, mercilessly struck the side of Ji-young, who was barely holding herself upright. Ji-young was flung away hollowly, vomiting blood as if every bone in her body were crushed. Flung away helplessly by a single blow, Ji-young rolled several times before she could finally stop. As if she had momentarily lost consciousness, she could not even gather up her sprawled body.

The statue's foot moved, approached Ji-young tumbled on the black sand shore floor, and lifted its large foot high. It meant to trample her flat then and there. Ji-young, her whole body covered in blood, hurriedly opened her eyes, scattered the wire to pierce the statue's shoulder, and hauled her body hard toward it. Ji-young, who barely avoided being crushed, set her body on the statue's shoulder, sprang with her feet, and gouged the statue's two eyes with the wire.

From the statue's shattered eyes poured not stone dust but black water. Before Ji-young, having planted her feet on the ground, faltered for a moment to gather her fluttering hem, the statue's two arms, made whole again, scattered grey dust and tried to crush Ji-young between both palms like swatting a fly. Even without sight in its two eyes, there was no trouble in targeting Ji-young. Ji-young scattered the wire again, then wound it about the statue's neck and severed it with all her force.

Not only the neck but the arms, knees, ankles, every connecting part, she unfolded her dance as if hacking them apart. Ji-young's body flinched. Instruments of execution surged up and dealt Ji-young countless wounds. Ji-young's dance halted, and the wire settled. The hacked statue, its head dropped to the floor, looked for a moment with the eyes set in its head at the Weeping of Retribution's instrument of execution that had pierced Ji-young from behind as if to hold her.

The statue's black water congealed onto the stone dust and, crudely at least, reattached a leg. The attached leg lifted high. It moved to trample Ji-young again. Stillness came to Ji-young, who had carried on the desperate struggle alone. From somewhere beyond the deep 삼도천(Samdo-cheon_River of the Dead), where not even death lingered, a warm wind blew in. At the warmth that blew into the world of the dead, where only a punishing stillness and pain had lain scattered, the statue's knee halted for a moment.

Ji-young, feeling the warm wind, cast a bright smile at her lips despite her tormenting pain. It was a smile stained with blood. It was a smile holding a deep longing. Withdraw. It was a familiar and longed-for voice. It could not be heard, yet its meaning could be known. The intent dwelling within the warm wind shoved the statue and the instruments of execution far away from Ji-young. Nothing remained, but after the wind that swept in for an instant, Ji-young vanished from sight.

On the floor, 흰 모래(Huin-morae_White Sand), the very opposite color of the black sand shore, lay scattered grain by grain. Scene 02_14. It was a warm touch. A hand that did not exist left a vivid sensation on Ji-young's cheek, then faded away with the warm wind. Ji-young slowly opened her eyes upon the black ripples. She faced again the Weeping of Retribution, which sat still doing nothing and only smiling. The Weeping of Retribution, present with her in the changed place, did nothing.

There was no black sky where black water had floated, no black sand shore, no black sea. In the space where there was nothing, only black water about a palm's height had filled it. Ji-young raised herself from the floor where she had lain fallen. Watching Ji-young rise as if swaying, the Weeping of Retribution, with only half its face left, smiled benevolently. 흰 모래(Huin-morae_White Sand) rested in part upon the bronze statue.

Because the upper half of its face had been blown away, it glared at Ji-young with its eyes gone as well. As Ji-young came out onto dry ground and, holding her body straight and breathing hard, approached the Weeping of Retribution that only sat still, the Weeping of Retribution gave a clear voice. The Weeping of Retribution: They wish but to leave them, as them, and nothing more. Ji-young: And I, and we as well, wished only this: no longer to hand our lives over into your hands.

The Weeping of Retribution: Thou shalt achieve nothing. Ji-young: My will shall all come to pass. It was after the two beings, neither yielding in the slightest, had carried on a silence both short and long, as if they had confirmed each other's will fully. Everything in the place where Ji-young stood began to collapse. Like a molted skin peeling away without even a tremor, the black water splitting cruelly began to cast a brightening light. Ji-young, still covered in blood, quietly looked around.