Clang!
Her gaze alone feels like it is slicing through my skin.
Breathing is difficult.
I know it too.
Right now, the Heavenly Venerable of Void, Hyeon Mu, is not even being serious.
She is acting as if she came across a cute wild animal on the road and decided to give it a belly scratch.
I can tell that saying she killed Kim Young-hoon is just a way to tease me.
Of course...the statement that she 'killed' him is the truth, but I can see that there is some kind of trap in her words meant to mock me.
That is how openly and without reservation she is revealing her emotions and intent.As if someone like me is not even worth hiding them from.
However...
Even knowing that, I feel like collapsing at her feet and vomiting right this moment.
Even after reaching True Immortality...
No, rather, precisely because I have reached True Immortality!
I can see the disparity between she and I even more clearly.
In terms of realm, she is exactly one step ahead of me.
However, I realize that one step is an absolutely insurmountable, nauseatingly horrific gap, to the point that I want to kill myself.
I do not want to do anything.
I want to immediately run away somewhere or throw myself to the ground and beg for my life.
But...
'I must do what must be done.'
I must protect those behind me.
No matter how terrifying it is, no matter if my body refuses to move...
That much, I must accomplish.
With that single conviction, I push through Hyeon Mu's overwhelming pressure and extend my palm towards Golden Shaking Bird and Jeon Myeong-hoon, sending them flying across several light-years. Then, I quickly pull Hong Fan and Yeo Hwi into my body and draw out the Colorless Glass Sword.
Huarurururuk!
The Colorless Glass Sword, synchronized with Glass True Fire, flickers into existence in my hand, aimed at Hyeon Mu.
Then immediately after—
"...Wait."
Hyeon Mu furrows her brows as she withdraws her momentum and weapon.
"Heok...! Heheok...! Heok..."
The moment Hyeon Mu retracts her presence, I finally exhale in a frenzy, sucking in spiritual energy.
I just experienced death.
Only now do I realize how precious this inhaled breath of spiritual energy is.
Hyeon Mu's aura is so profound and terrifying that I even feel grateful to her for withdrawing it.
I quickly steady my breathing and look at Hyeon Mu.
She narrows her eyes, a hint of confusion in her expression.
As if she has something to ask me.
"...What is the meaning of this? Were you not trying to kill us?"
"I intended to let you experience death. But you...just now, what exactly did you just take into your body?"
"Pardon...?"
I ask back in confusion.
'I pulled in Hong Fan and Yeo Hwi, but is there a problem?'
"What do you mean?"
"That Immortal Treasure of yours, which seems to be a descendant of Azure Peng...and [something else]. Did you not take them into your body?"
"Yes, that is correct. They are my subordinates."
"...Bring them back out."
I steady my stance at Hyeon Mu's words and ask.
"Do you have business with my subordinate? If there is a reason, please state it."
"...I failed to perceive it. At first, I thought it was simply because I had turned my attention away while focusing on you...but when you absorbed it into your body, I could tell. That thing was outside of my perception...I need to check again. I will be able to discern its identity if I see it directly, so bring it out before me.
'The Heavenly Venerable of the Void couldn't perceive Hong Fan?'
How could that be?
'A Heavenly Venerable failing to perceive an existence at the Star Shattering stage...This is far too strange...'
I clearly sense something strange.
And I read the intent that Hyeon Mu is not even trying to hide.
She undoubtedly harbors killing intent.
'She intends...to kill Hong Fan...!'
"...You plan to kill my subordinate."
"If necessary."
"In that case, I cannot show you my subordinate's face so carelessly. No matter if you are a Heavenly Venerable, that one is my subordinate. At the same time, he is someone like my family, one whom I have cared for since the moment he emerged from his egg. Even if it is you..."
Facing Hyeon Mu's killing intent, I release my own in response, tightening my grip on the Colorless Glass Sword,
"I cannot forgive anyone who lays a hand on my family!"
"..."
Hyeon Mu gazes at me in silence.
That dreadful emptiness!
Just seeing the emptiness in her eyes alone makes me feel as if my strength is being drained away.
She continues to stare at me for a moment before raising one hand.
I flinch and take a defensive stance, but she does not attack.
However, I realize what she is doing.
Ziiiiiing!
The Taiji begins to rotate.
She is reading the history of this place.
"...If you do not wish to show me, then that is fine. I can simply see for myself. Let's see... If I follow the flow of Qi backward and trace the events..."
I tense up even further at the sight of Hyeon Mu's actions and strengthen my guard.
'I cannot escape.'
I have seen her travel through the domain of purity before.
An ultimate technique that surpasses my Heavenly Escape by several levels.
If she uses that, no matter where I flee, I will never get away.
'So, if she finds Hong Fan displeasing...I must counterattack.'
That is the only way to extend both my life and Hong Fan's, even if just by a little.
I prepare myself to unleash the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra, Great Mountain Splitting Emperor Technique, or Filling the Heavens Governing View at a moment's notice, raising my tension.
Then—
Sururuk...
Hyeon Mu lowers her arm.
The Taiji that had been spinning vanishes into the void.
'She finished reading the history...!'
I brace myself, expecting Hyeon Mu's next attack.
But her following words are entirely unexpected.
"...Interesting. It cannot be read..."
"...!?"
I widen my eyes, unable to comprehend the situation.
With empty eyes, Hyeon Mu gives a chilling smile.
She starts to glare at me.
"...It could not be seen. However, I clearly read the Qi of that so-called subordinate of yours. That aura... That faint trace of history I felt from it... Huhu, huhuhuhuhu..."
"...?"
I grit my teeth as I watch her start to laugh.
She begins to conceal her intent.
I can no longer read her intent, but somehow, I feel like I know what it is.
The True Martial Great Emperor Hyeon Mu, for some reason...is filled with rage right now.
"Hand over your subordinate. Then I will revive the dead Kim Young-hoon immediately, grant you all a great enlightenment, and send you on your way unharmed."
"By 'hand over' you mean..."
"Leave it here and disappear."
"...If I give you my subordinate...will you return him?"
"I will decide that. Give me just one Star Shattering stage, and I will bestow upon you an unparalleled blessing and grace. I am also well aware of the nature of you Enders, so I will make every effort to ensure it does not bring misfortune upon you. So...hand it over to me right now."
I glare at Hyeon Mu and answer.
"I refuse. He...is my subordinate and my family."
Absolutely not.
Just like that time...
—Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra!
Just like that time when I lost everything to the Great Mountain Supreme Deity...
I will not easily hand my family over to another.
Kiiiiiiiing!
A tremendous pain surges within my body.
: : I prophesize... If the Northern Heavenly Venerable True Martial Great Emperor Hyeon Mu harms me, Hyeon Mu will face the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld and inevitably be obstructed by the Judges...! : :
The power of a prophecy depends on how strong the probability of it coming true is.
For example, [the apple hanging from the tree falls to the ground] is an overwhelmingly powerful prophecy.
Because that apple [is bound to fall eventually].
The stronger its natural inevitability, the more powerful the prophecy becomes, reinforcing its absoluteness.
Conversely, [the apple hanging from the tree soars upwards] is a prophecy whose inevitability approaches zero, making its absoluteness weak and causing it to consume an excessive amount of power.
In other words, since it is only natural that the Judges would aid the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld when Hyeon Mu confronts Them, the absoluteness of my prophecy deepens.
This will be troublesome for Hyeon Mu.
No matter how strong she is, even she would find it difficult to battle the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld with all the Judges gathered. She would need to fight one-on-one for any chance of victory.
Thus, she would have to lure the Underworld into a place where the Judges are absent...
But with my prophecy in place, such lures or traps would be exceedingly difficult to establish.
However, I add one more thing to it.
: : This is...a prophecy I stake my life upon! : :
Kugugugung!
The pain sharpens further, turning into hooks that latch onto something fundamental within me.
A True Immortal's life-bound prophecy.
And not just any prophecy, but one that reinforces the absoluteness of an already [inevitable] truth.
I see Hyeon Mu's face contorting into that of an evil spirit.
Starting from True Immortality, even the lowest Vestige Liberation Immortal can impose such a 'restriction' upon a Heavenly Venerable by staking their life.
That is why we are able to assert our rights even against celestial beings.
With her face twisted in fury, Hyeon Mu speaks to me.
"...You are a bold one. To stake upon yourself the very prophecy I would hate the most... Is that subordinate of yours truly so precious to you?"
"I have already told you. He is my family."
"...Family, you say. Hahaha...! Very well. If that is your resolve...then I, too, shall tell you something."
The Heavenly Venerable of Void, Hyeon Mu, points at me with a gloomy expression.
More precisely, she points at Hong Fan within me.
"I could not read its existence. However, by reading its Qi, I discovered something...A rather unamusing truth."
"What would that be?"
"Disgust."
"...Pardon?"
"When I sensed its presence, I felt an unbearable disgust. A revulsion that surpassed the feeling of bugs crawling all over my body, a visceral nausea and disgust that made me want to vomit from deep within my chest..."
Hong Fan's presence caused such a feeling in Hyeon Mu?
I feel puzzled and ask again.
"Are you trying to kill my subordinate just because of disgust?"
"Listen until the end... This is not the first time I have felt such disgust. Do you know what transpired between the former Deputy Judge of the Underworld Hae Nyeong and the Three Heavenly Venerables?"
"Yes, I happened to hear about it before."
"That one, in a fragment of some ancient force...exposed the disgrace of us Three Heavenly Venerables. Yes...disgrace."
Hyeon Mu's gaze turns toward me.
No, more precisely, she seems to be using me as a medium to peer into my body in the True Immortal Realm.
"The disgust I felt when Hae Nyeong exposed our disgrace...it is the same feeling from then. The being you are hiding within your body is, by its very existence, an immense disgrace to the Heavenly Venerables. Let me ask you one thing... That one. Was it born in the Head Realm?"
"...Yes."
"...Of course... The totality of all ancient force... The secret wonder of hidden history. It is because it was born in the Head Realm that it carries this feeling."
Hyeon Mu grips her own face, contorting it into a bizarre expression that teeters between laughter and weeping.
"...Now you understand the causality. Hand it over. That one is a disgrace to the Heavenly Venerables. It is one of the traces of ancient force that we deemed as [wisdom that even we ourselves must not know], that we severed from history and sealed away... Even if it is not by my hand, the other Heavenly Venerables except the Underworld will seek to annihilate it by any means the moment they lay eyes on it."
"..."
"You called it your family? How could that be? Do you think such a dangerous entity, tied to the disgrace of the Heavenly Venerables, would truly consider you as family? Even if it follows you now, it must surely be hiding its true intentions... Ah, did you say you hatched and raised it from an egg? Then is it in the process of regaining its memories? That could be the case... The moment it fully remembers everything, it will care nothing for its connections to someone like you and will kill you without hesitation..."
Between the fingers of the Heavenly Venerable of Void, her menacing gaze gleams.
'This is dangerous...'
"Hand it over. It is fated to die by our hands anyway. It is dangerous to you as well. Your so-called pitiful notion of family means nothing to it. Offer it to me. That is the only path for everyone."
'Hong Fan is the disgrace of the Heavenly Venerables...?'
But I do not want to agree with that statement.
And more than anything, Hyeon Mu's words are wrong.
"This child is not the disgrace of you all. There seems to be a misunderstanding. I hope this misunderstanding can be resolved."
"A misunderstanding...?"
"You claim him to be the disgrace of the Heavenly Venerables...yet this one has met the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable before!"
Back in the Ancient Force Realm.
At that time, I had no recollection, but I later recalled everything within the Annihilation Flower upon hearing the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable's cry.
I'm referring to all the moments spent together with the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable in the Ancient Force Realm.
'Back then, I'm certain Hong Fan accidentally pushed the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable. And I remember the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable looking at Hong Fan with a displeased expression.'
But that was all.
The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable did not go berserk like Hyeon Mu, trying to kill Hong Fan.
"This child is not some disgrace of the Three Heavenly Venerables."
I recount what happened back then and try to persuade Hyeon Mu.
"Perhaps because he grew up in the Head Realm, he may have become entangled with some aura from that place? If so, I will extract it for you, so please, do not be angry and resolve this misunderstanding!"
"..."
Hyeon Mu, having listened to everything I said, nods and speaks.
"Understood."
"...! Truly, thank you..."
"That one...among all the Heavenly Venerables, is the one most deeply tied to the disgrace of my origin. It is undoubtedly...the one closest to me...!"
"Pardon...?"
At that shocking statement, I grit my teeth and press on.
"What do you mean by that? In the first place, even when the Northern Heavenly Venerable took their own life before me as a member of the Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect, Hong Fan was present!"
"Well...sorry, but I don't remember much about the inside of Lofty Dragon's storage scroll. Those at your level might not have noticed, but fate and history are interwoven in a tangled mess over there, and for beings of a certain level, both authority and perception are immensely restricted.
"Think about it. Why do you think that bootlicker of Radiance Hall, Baek Woon, didn't rummage through the treasure trove that is Lofty Dragon's storage scroll? It's because she knows it's impossible for someone like her to break through the fate and history woven by Lofty Dragon True Person."
"That's..."
"Enough."
Hyeon Mu glares at me with a truly angered expression.
"Enough talk. Hand it over. There can be a few reasons why only I am feeling discomfort. For example, it could be because I have the sharpest intuition and the most delicate senses among the Four Heavenly Venerables, meaning that this is a discomfort only a being of my level can perceive.
"Or, as I said, that one is the disgrace tied to my origin... Either way, it is a highly dangerous and ominous existence, and only by killing and erasing it right now will I not be afraid of future consequences."
Sarak—
"...!"
In an instant, Hyeon Mu closes the distance, stopping just short of touching the tip of my nose. My body trembles as I stare at her.
'When she moves...I can't perceive it...!'
This isn't some trick or deception.
It was purely the result of an insane speed that far surpassed light, erasing the distance between us.
"I will say this one last time. Hand it over. Before I kill you."
"..."
I smile.
"Try killing me."
Hyeon Mu looks up at me, her eyes filled with emptiness and rage.
"...Are you not afraid of pain?"
"The one who has inflicted the greatest pain upon me...is my senior brother."
I meet her gaze without looking away.
"I state this with certainty. The Northern Heavenly Venerable could never bring me pain greater than my senior brother has."
"..."
At my declaration, Hyeon Mu narrows her eyes.
"...I see. From Gwak Am...that's how it was. Kukuk."
Hyeon Mu takes a step back and chuckles.
"But it seems you don't quite understand. In this world, torture isn't limited to the kind of brutal and oppressive suffering that Gwak Am inflicted."
Sarak!
Hyeon Mu moves her hand.
I flinch in surprise at her movement and quickly glance at my surroundings.
Space and time distort.
The place beneath my feet has turned pitch black.
The starlit depths of the Good Sight Heavenly Domain are swallowed by darkness.
It is as if the entire world has transformed into the Interdimensional Void.
'This is...'
Distance!
In this world with me as the center, the distances between me and the countless stars have become endlessly distant.
"I will not bring you harm. As I dislike interference in my battle against the Underworld...I will simply make you hand it over yourself."
Sururuk...
Melting into the darkness, the Heavenly Venerable of the Void lets out a chilling laugh.
"Endless eternity. You will never escape the Good Sight Heavenly Domain, nor will you ever communicate properly with anyone else. No matter where you move, only darkness will welcome you, and you will never reach another star... Feel the weight of solitude for all of eternity."
Sarararak—
The voice of Hyeon Mu who has fully dissolved into the darkness echoes through my mind.
: : Until you hand over my disgrace, you will sail through darkness within horrifying solitude for all of eternity... : :
By Hyeon Mu's authority, I am imprisoned in a spacetime cage where no light can reach.
'Hong Fan...is Hyeon Mu's disgrace?'
One day, if he regains his memories, he will betray me?
'It doesn't matter.'
At least in this moment.
Hong Fan follows me.
As long as he follows me, I will trust him.
For that is retribution (應報), and at the same time, connection (因緣).
And at the same time...
"...He is family."
Hong Fan is already my family.
"Even if you imprison me for ten million years, I will never hand over my family's life to another."
I stare into the terrifying void that has become my prison and shout.
"Let's see who wins...!"
Thus, with Hong Fan between us, the long battle between Hyeon Mu and I begins.