I once made a vow.
Watching Seo Li's death, I swore to never create clones recklessly again.
And even if I were to create a clone, I swore never to let that clone meet its end as another 'me'...
[I] clutch my throbbing head as I walk through this strange forest known as Ascension Path.
I don't know why.
But instinctively, I can tell.
This world is not Korea.
It's not Earth.
No, it's not even the Heavenly Domain where we used to live.'...What even is a Heavenly Domain?'
I shake my head violently, sighing at the strange knowledge that occasionally pops into my mind.
'Suddenly falling into a strange world, with strange knowledge in my head...and...'
Shirururururuk—
A sense of breathlessness overcomes me as I see a massive snake slither past my field of vision.
It is a red snake.
The red snake, with two heads, carries an oppressive presence so intense it feels suffocating. Its sheer girth is on par with a two-story building.
'Wh-What is this...!? What is this...!?'
As I reel in shock and nearly collapse on the spot—
The snake's gaze meets mine.
The serpent flicks its tongue a few times, then suddenly widens its eyes.
[Huaaaaaaah!!!]
A scream, almost human-like, erupts from the serpent's mouth.
Hearing that scream, my head begins to throb and ache.
Tsssaaah!
One of the snake's heads opens its mouth wide and spews out something that looks like a crimson mist.
"Guaaaaghk!"
As I inhale the mist, an unbearable pain engulfs my entire body, making me feel as though I'm on the verge of suffocating.
And yet, for some reason, the red snake, which had sprayed its poisonous mist to incapacitate me, stares at me with terrified eyes before fleeing quickly.
"Gugh... Aaaargh! Kuaaaghh!"
In the middle of the red mist, I force myself to move, summoning every ounce of my willpower.
Each step sends jolts of pain through my body, which gradually grows more paralyzed.
Simultaneously, unbearable pain crashes over me.
But somehow, I manage to move. I escape the mist's range and collapse onto a patch of grass nearby, gasping for breath.
'I-It hurts...! It hurts! It hurts so much! I feel like I'm dying! Mom, Mom...! I think I'm going to die...!'
Tears and mucus stream down my face as I lose control of my bladder and bowels.
The substance that the snake spewed at me was that much painful and excruciating.
Through this pain, I come to a single realization.
This world is 'real'.
'It's...not a dream...?'
This isn't some aftermath of a landslide, where I lost consciousness and began dreaming.
This isn't a level of pain I could ever experience in a dream!!!
Grinding my teeth and shedding tears, I faint.
While heading to our destination with my colleagues in a car, I was caught in a landslide and fell into this strange world.
What should I do now...?
When I come to my senses, it's night.
Although my body still tingles and moving is difficult, I manage to get by somehow.
'I...I need to move my body to a safer place!'
Encountering a wild animal would spell disaster.
As I recall how I lost control of myself earlier, I decide to at least clean myself with some leaves.
However, for some reason, there are no traces of what I let out behind.
'What...?'
Apparently, I was mistaken about losing control of myself.
'...I'm sure I felt it... Whatever, for now, let's just...head to that cave...that cave...'
Dragging my aching body, I make my way towards the cave.
As I search for the cave, my thoughts become a tangled mess.
Just then.
'Light?'
That's right.
A 'light' is flickering inside the cave.
It is a warm, flickering light, carrying with it a faintly wavering sensation.
At the same time, there is a smell of something burning.
'A campfire!'
It's a campfire.
Someone—someone living here in Ascension Path—must have lit it.
'A-A person! I need to make contact with a person!'
I need to figure out what kind of world this is.
And I must find a way to escape this forest!
With that thought, I walk into the cave.
"...Huh?"
[...Huh?]
I manage to see a bizarre sight.
It's a bear.
A bear.
A bear that is 3 or 4 heads taller than Chief Oh Hyun-seok and a huge stature is dressed in something that appears like a modernized hanbok with a gamtu over its head, tending to a campfire. Above the campfire is something that looks like a cauldron, and the bear is sprinkling a ton of what looks like spices into the cauldron.
It seems...to be cooking.
A bear, wearing clothes and cooking...
"Haha..."
Then, what would the ingredients be?
Next to the bear, I can see a human, tightly bound with something like rope.
'A, a bear that eats people...!'
I have to run!
But my legs won't move.
'A-Am I going to get eaten too...?'
As that thought crosses my mind—
[Huaaaaaahh!!!]
The bear lets out a scream and charges at me like a shot arrow.
It's just when I think I'm as good as dead.
The bear rushes right past me and flees into the dark forest.
It looks as though it saw something terrifying.
'...The snake from earlier, and now the bear... Are they...afraid of me?'
Feeling puzzled, I quickly move towards the 'prey' that the bear tied up with ropes.
'I should free them. If the bear comes back, I won't be able to carry them and run.'
The prey the bear captured appears to be a woman.
She's dressed in silver clothing and wears a silver-white mask on her face. Her entire body is wrapped in bandages, leaving not a single patch of skin visible.
The only part of her that is visible is her long, flowing silver hair, the only uncovered part of her body.
"H-Hey, you there. Please wake up."
But no matter how much I shake her, she remains fast asleep, as if oblivious to the world.
"What should I do...?"
After hesitating, I decide to use a more drastic method.
Slap, slap, slap!
I slap her face repeatedly.
Then, all of a sudden—
Thud!
The mask covering her face falls off from the impact of my palm.
Clang!
The silver-white mask hits the ground, producing a rather loud noise.
Still, she does not get up.
Underneath the mask, her face is also tightly wrapped in bandages, leaving only her eyes and mouth exposed.
'...I should hit her more, right...?'
I feel sorry, but there's no telling when that bear, which was planning to cook and eat a person, might return.
Sure, it ran away from me earlier, but I don't know why. If it comes back and realizes I'm nothing special, it will likely cook and eat the both of us.
'I can't just die, or leave her behind and escape on my own, or carry her and die together.'
I must wake her up somehow and escape with her.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
I strike her face even harder.
"Wake up! Hey! It's dangerous to sleep here!"
Slap!
Every time I strike her face, the bandages covering it slip off.
And when her bandages finally fall away, fully revealing her face—
I can't help but freeze in place, my hand stopping mid-air.
"...Uh..."
Beautiful.
Her face is so beautiful that I feel I will be completely captivated just from staring at her.
Silver hair, snow-white skin.
Lips so pale they are almost gray, completely devoid of color.
She seems as though she is the embodiment of the concept of silver-white (銀白).
At the same time, there is an impression of incredible strength emanating from her, as if she is a sculpture forged from iron.
Feeling this way about someone I know nothing about, solely based on their appearance, and having my heart race like this...
It has only ever happened before when I first saw Oh Hye-seo at work.
'Right, let's stop hitting her. She'll wake up eventually.'
For some reason, seeing her face drains me of the confidence to strike her again.
I carefully re-wrap the bandages around her face, restoring them as best as I can.
Then, I place the silver mask back on her face.
'Damn it, I don't even know when another one of those monsters from earlier might show up...What am I even doing right now?'
I sigh, picking up a piece of firewood nearby.
Then, I grab a stone from the ground and strike it against another stone to make a crude stone knife. Using that knife, I start carving the firewood.
It feels like I won't be able to relax unless I make at least a wooden sword to use as a weapon.
Scrape, scrape, scrape...
As I carve the wooden sword with the stone knife, I feel an odd sense of déjà vu.
For some reason...
It feels familiar, as though I have done this several times before.
'Do I have some kind of talent for carving wooden swords...?'
Before I realize it, the crude knife has shaped the wood into a rather decent-looking wooden sword.
When I see the wooden sword, I feel an overwhelming urge to swing it.
No, this isn't just an urge.
It's yearning.
An intense yearning for the sword.
Twitch—
The masked woman seems to twitch slightly.
After cutting the ropes binding her with the stone knife and letting her lie down comfortably, I swing the wooden sword.
Boong, boong, boong!
At first, it's just crude, unrefined 'sword swings'.
However, the more I wield the sword, the more I begin to see the optimal paths for wielding it.
Before long, the 'sword swings' rise into the realm of 'skill'.
It becomes something that can be called swordsmanship.
I follow the tip of the wooden sword as if entranced.
And as I follow the tip of the sword, completely absorbed—
All of a sudden, enlightenment about the sword fills my mind completely, and I swing the sword towards the cave wall.
Boong!
Shukak!
The wooden sword splits open the cave wall!
"Haah!"
Realizing what I've just done, I stagger back in shock.
Drip, drip...
Cold sweat trickles down my chin.
'Did I...do that?'
I can't even begin to understand how it was possible.
'With a wooden sword, I split the cave wall...'
Suddenly, a strange feeling comes over me.
'A terrible accident, falling into a strange world, encountering monsters, meeting a stunningly beautiful woman, and discovering some latent power within myself... This is...!'
It's just like the stories Jeon Myeong-hoon often reads.
'The situation seems a bit...'
Just then.
Twitch—
The masked woman's body twitches.
"Hah! Are you waking up?"
I grab the wooden sword and approach her.
At that moment—
Hawk!
She suddenly reaches out to the wooden sword I am holding, gripping the blade tightly and pulling it towards herself.
"Ah, no... What are you doing?"
For some reason, I feel an intense unwillingness to let go of the sword and pull back on the handle.
It's nothing more than a hastily made wooden sword, but the idea of [having my sword taken away by someone else] is something, for some reason, my very being refuses to tolerate from deep within.
However, I soon realize that this woman possesses an incredible amount of strength.
'What kind of strength...?'
Kuuuuk...
Even in her half-conscious state, she forcefully pulls my sword towards her.
"...Sword..."
For some reason, she seems to intensely desire the sword.
If this were Earth, I would have just handed over a wooden sword like this without hesitation. But now, it feels different.
'I cannot let it go... This is...my sword...!'
"This is...my sword... I can't give it to you...!"
Growling ferociously in a way that even I find irrational, I glare at her.
"Let go...! I said, this is my sword...!!!"
Kuuuuuk!
An immense strength wells up from deep within me, surprising even myself.
At the same time, I pull back the sword that was about to be taken away by her.
But she also pulls with strength not inferior to mine, yanking the sword towards herself.
"...Mi...ne..."
Still not fully conscious, she mumbles.
"All...weapons...in the world...are...mine..."
"Don't spout nonsense! This is my sword. I said, it's my sword!"
Growling so fiercely that I even surprise myself, I muster all my strength and pull at the sword.
In the next moment.
Crack!
The wooden sword, unable to withstand the force of both of us pulling, snaps in the middle.
I almost stumble backwards, but instinctively regain my balance and return to my original stance.
"Heok...heok..."
'What just happened? Did I lose my mind?'
Even to me, my obsession with the sword was too much.
It's when that thought crosses my mind.
"...Uuuuhm..."
The masked woman rises.
She looks around with a dazed expression and then glances down at the half of the sword still in her hand.
Then, she looks at me.
Through the mask, her silver eyes meet mine.
"...You... You're the one...who woke me..."
"Uh, yes. That's correct."
"..."
She stares at me for a moment before brushing her hand over her head.
"...The bandages... Their position is strange...Did you...perhaps...see my face?"
"Pardon...?"
I hesitate, unsure how to respond to her question.
It feels a little embarrassing to admit that I slapped her face multiple times to wake her, only to stop when I saw her face.
'What do I even say...?'
Just then.
"Lying...doesn't work... [Living beings]...can't deceive...my eyes. Tell me the truth..."
'Living beings can't lie to her?'
I scoff inwardly.
'What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that...?'
I make my decision.
"I didn't see your face. Why would I even pry and look at your face?"
The memory of her face surfaces in my mind—so beautiful that it left me out of breath.
My heart starts pounding for no reason.
'I won't get caught, right?'
And as expected, she only tilts her head in confusion.
"...No...reaction... Is it not a lie...?"
"Of course. Why would I suddenly lie?"
"...I see...That's really fortunate..."
For some reason, I feel that she's smiling.
"If you had seen my face...I would've had to kill you..."
Chills!
Why is that?
She is a little strong, but she's still smaller than me and has a slender build.
Yet, with just a single word from her, I feel chills run across my entire body, like sinking into a deep quagmire.
It feels as if a dread far surpassing the time I encountered the giant snake or the bear dressed in human clothes is sweeping over my entire being.
Instinctively, I can tell that what this woman is saying is the truth.
"Kill? What do you mean?"
"...I...cannot show my face. If I show my face...emotions will arise. For us, emotions are tools. They cannot be used for any other purpose beyond that, so...we can never reveal our faces to anyone. Hence, we have killed all those who have seen our faces."
Her speech, which is a bit awkward at first, gradually becomes faster and clearer.
However, as I talk to her, I realize that I am conversing with her in a language I've never spoken before in my life.
'Just what is this as well...? No, forget it. It's not just one or two things that are strange at this point."
"Who is this 'we' you speak of?"
"...We... We are...hmm..."
Even though her speech has become more clearer, she scratches her head as if she can't quite remember something.
"Right. Who are we? Hmm, I can't remember."
"You don't remember? Then, how much do you remember?"
"Hmm...well...I don't know. Only a few fragmented pieces of information come to mind. I can't remember anything else."
It seems she's a woman with amnesia.
'It's not because I kept hitting her on the head, right?'
Feeling a twinge of unease, I ask her a question.
"Do you perhaps feel pain anywhere?"
"Hmm, my cheek feels a little hot and sore."
"..."
"Other than that, well, there's no pain. However, I know for certain that I didn't lose my memories from hitting something hard. The reason I lost my memories is specific. In other words...this isn't some accidental case of amnesia, but rather, I deliberately made myself lose my memories for a certain purpose."
"Ah, I see."
I breathe a sigh of relief, freeing myself from guilt.
'Still, if she can't remember anything at all...doesn't that mean she's not going to be much help in learning anything about this world?'
I click my tongue slightly, let out a small sigh, and decide to at least ask about the things she does remember.
"Do you remember your name?"
"Name... My name, yes, I remember it."
"Oh, then please tell me your name."
"But I cannot tell you my name. Just as I cannot show you my face, I cannot recklessly share my true name either. Because when we become who we are, we discard our true names, and promise to live our lives in accordance with our masks."
"...Do you still not remember who this 'we' is?"
"That's right. I still don't remember."
"Then what should I call you?"
"Hmm... Instead of my name, call me by the title I was known by among us."
"What title is that?"
The 'title' that comes out of her mouth is short and simple.
"Gyeong (庚). Call me Gyeong."
"Hmm, Gyeong... Then I will call you Miss Gyeong from now on."
"Do as you wish."
"By the way, how old are you, for you to be speaking so informally to someone you've just met?"
At my words, she suddenly touches her chest and then gropes at her hips.
"...?"
"Hmm, it's not there. I'm currently female."
"Pardon, what?"
"And I know males are not supposed to ask females about their age. Do not carelessly ask a woman her age!"
"..."
'Is she crazy? Never mind her gender for a moment—'female' and 'male'?'
[TL: She used a term for female and male that is used in the context for animals or biology.]
It's as if she's implying that her race isn't human.
Also, the fact that she suddenly checked her gender as if realizing it for the first time—does that mean she even lost her memory regarding her gender?
'Unless she's some kind of being without a defined gender, she must have completely lost her memory.'
Clicking my tongue softly, I ask another question to this woman who has completely forgotten everything.
"Well then, since neither of us knows the other's age, I won't bother speaking formally either. You look younger than me anyway."
"Do as you please."
"In that case, Gyeong. You said you lost your memory intentionally, right? What's your purpose then?"
"My purpose... My purpose seems to have been twofold."
"Twofold?"
"That's right. To confirm [something]. And to capture [someone]. To accomplish that, I lost my memory and came here."
Placing her hand on her chest as if feeling proud, she speaks with a boastful tone.
"'We'—though there are a few conditions—can enter and leave this place freely. Consider yourself honored. This alone is proof of how extraordinary 'we' are. Meeting me, a member of such a 'we,' is an unparalleled blessing in your life."
"...Hmm... Are you saying you can freely enter and leave this cave?"
"...Hmm..."
It feels like she's implying she entered 'somewhere,' but she doesn't seem to remember what that 'somewhere' is.
Clearing her throat, she continues.
"In any case, that's not what's important. I will regain all of my memories soon. Until then, cooperate with this body. And even though I've lost my memory, if you can help me a little, do so. In return, I will give you...many good gifts that I can offer."
"Hmmm... Well, fine. I do need information about this world anyway..."
The first day I fell onto Ascension Path.
I decide to join forces with her—a woman who lost her memory yet claims to be here to confirm [something] and capture [someone].