Chapter 633: Golden Speed Heavenly King (金迅天王) (2)
"...The Head Realm's...rightful heir...? Innate Supreme Deity...?"
When I panic, my comrades seem to notice and turn to look at me.
Only then do I feel a familiar presence lying ahead of them.
"...! Kim Young-hoon!"
It is Kim Young-hoon.
Tadat!
I immediately run toward Kim Young-hoon.
"...! Everyone, what is going on!?""Eun-hyun, you came? Just as we conveyed through Hong Fan...Master told us that Young-hoon Hyung-nim's mind is flying this way from the Outer Sea. And for Young-hoon Hyung-nim's spirit to enter Mount Sumeru, Master said our strength is needed...so we left you behind for a moment."
"I see. I'm fine, but...then Young-hoon Hyung-nim is..."
"For now...it looks like we'll need your help, Seo Eun-hyun."
Jeon Myeong-hoon speaks.
Currently, Kim Young-hoon's head is covered in light pink consciousness threads, and they are coming from Kim Yeon.
"I don't know exactly what's going on right now, but Hyung-nim's mind is surrounded by something like a strong firewall. Because of that, his mind is trapped and he can't regain consciousness. The spirit has returned, but since there's no consciousness, Kim Yeon is trying to surface his consciousness as much as she can using her threads."
He looks at me as he speaks.
"And according to the words of the Naming Supreme Deity here...to awaken Young-hoon Hyung-nim's mind, something called Triple Divinity is required. And apparently, you're the only one among us who has learned it."
"Got it!"
Without saying anything else, I immediately draw the Impermanence Sword on the spot.
Surung—
I point the Impermanence Sword toward Kim Young-hoon's head.
'So that's it... Right now, Young-hoon Hyung-nim is using his own Triple Divinity to seal his consciousness. What's going on?'
For now, it seems I am needed.
"Yeon-ah, when I give the signal, pull your consciousness out. You might get hurt otherwise."
I have to pour in a lot of strength to the point I can't be distracted considering for Kim Yeon, so her consciousness might be damaged.
"Mm...!"
"Alright. Then pull out on the count of three. One, two...three!"
Shwirik!
Kim Yeon's consciousness threads withdraw, and I bring the Impermanence Sword down toward Kim Young-hoon's spirit.
At the same time, my Impermanence Sword digs through Kim Young-hoon's spirit, which is sealed by Triple Divinity, and forcefully tears apart the powerful seal.
That's when it happens.
Flash!
Kim Young-hoon's eyes snap open.
A little later.
He blinks several times, then slowly raises his body.
"This place is..."
"Hyung-nim, are you awake?"
I ask cautiously, and Kim Young-hoon looks at me briefly before properly glancing around at all of us.
And shortly after.
He presses his hand to his face and grits his teeth.
Drip...drip...
"...It's not a dream. Yeah...It really is...all of you."
Kim Young-hoon staggers as he gets up.
We support him as he rises, and Kim Young-hoon embraces all of us.
"I missed you... It was such a long, long time... I truly missed you..."
Kim Young-hoon trembles as he holds us tight.
Looking at the intensely twisted intent within Kim Young-hoon, I feel like I can't even begin to imagine what he must have gone through.
And just as I'm about to ask because I'm curious.
Shwik—
Before I know it, the Naming Supreme Deity, who had been sitting on a massive jade throne beside us, transforms into a proper human form.
Now appearing as a sturdy young man dressed in a purple robe, with hair like vapor, he stands with his hands behind his back and speaks to Kim Young-hoon.
"The Emperor is Hyeon Rang, the Naming Supreme Deity. If you've returned from the edge of the Outer Sea, then you must have heard of me from them."
"...Right. Are you...the substitute Cheon Woon spoke of?"
"Substitute, huh...? Is that what they said? How laughable. Not a substitute... Just a fragment of a dream, that's all."
Hyeon Rang's expression darkens as his face stiffens.
"...So then, is there any message you received from Cheon Woon?"
"A message... Uh, uugh! Uuwoooop!"
It happens right then.
Kim Young-hoon suddenly starts retching and collapses on the spot.
Startled, I check his pulse, but surprisingly, there's nothing wrong.
Nor do I sense any trace of Immortal Arts or spells.
Nor do I feel anything resembling Immortal Arts or spells at play.
Then, all of a sudden.
"Uwehheeegh!"
"...!"
Kim Young-hoon vomits a jade-green, egg-like object from his mouth.
"Heheok...heok...!"
As I stare at the egg, for some reason I sense something similar to what I once felt from Yeong Seung.
Then Hyeon Rang approaches us and picks up the jade-green egg, now covered in Kim Young-hoon's saliva and stomach acid, without hesitation.
After gazing at it for a while, Hyeon Rang's eyes narrow sharply.
"I see...A remnant of Cakravāda (鐵圍). A substance from the Boundary (境界). So you truly did reach the end of the Outer Sea."
"Heheok...heok..."
Kim Young-hoon speaks between gasps.
"...The Heavenly Venerable of Time, Cheon Woon, told me. That They placed the information the Naming Supreme Deity seeks inside there. They said you must only view it in a place where light does not reach."
"...Understood. Then I must seal it until I arrive there... Is there anything else?"
"There isn't. Though there is one more message...that belongs to the Enders."
"I see. Very well. Then I'll go seal this. The rest of you, take a moment to rest."
Shururuk—
Having received the jade-green egg from Kim Young-hoon, Hyeon Rang gazes at it with care, then disperses into mist and vanishes from the spot.
I watch Hyeon Rang for a moment before turning to ask Kim Young-hoon a question.
"Hyung-nim, just what is going on? And Cheon Woon...are they not the Heavenly Venerable of Time?"
"...Yes. Well...while I was training in the Outer Sea after asking for help from Hyeon Mu, I felt a disturbance and flew off to somewhere in the Outer Sea. And somewhere at the edge of the Outer Sea...in a place called the Boundary, I met Them. The Heavenly Venerable of Time, the True Ultimate Eternal Life Great Emperor Cheon Woon! They told me countless truths about us Enders...how we might escape this world and return home...and much more."
"...!"
"And after hearing much from Them...I tried to return to Mount Sumeru. But...it was a miscalculation. The Outer Sea is chaos in its entirety. Distance, concepts, and direction are all twisted...and just swimming through the sea of chaos and finding a path back took me a hundred million years. Then...after finding a path and swimming back toward Mount Sumeru, it took me another 1.8 billion years to systematize that process."
Kim Young-hoon's complexion grows pale.
"And at long last...I came back. I've returned... Ha, haha... Hahahahaha...!!"
Perhaps it's because he is seeing us again after so long, he alternates between weeping and laughing before eventually collapsing unconscious on the spot.
We fall silent, simply watching Kim Young-hoon for a while. Then, Oh Hyun-seok picks him up in his arms, and we all fly with him to the inner guest chamber of the Naming Supreme Deity's palace.
"I don't know what exactly happened to Hyung-nim, but one thing's clear. Let's ask him once he's had some rest."
"...Understood."
And so, we lay Kim Young-hoon on one side of the guest chamber and wait for him to wake up.
A pure white hospital room.
It's been a long time since I last saw a hospital room like those on Earth, so I gaze out the window with fascinated eyes while sitting on a chair.
Outside the window, the familiar scenery of Earth spreads out.
It is a temporary Seoul constructed inside the guest chamber by Kim Yeon.
She said she made it to help Kim Young-hoon recover his mental strength after he wakes up.
Feeling a sense of awe at the modern civilization I haven't seen in so long, I look at Kim Young-hoon lying asleep on the hospital bed.
"..."
There are many confusing things.
'The Naming Supreme Deity is an innate Supreme Deity...?'
Of course, based on what the others explained, it seems that rather than being an innate Supreme Deity, he is someone whose fate is fixed to become a Supreme Deity due to the repetition of history.
A fate of being born as a mortal in the Head Realm and becoming a Naming Supreme Deity without exception.
That is Hyeon Rang.
'Though that's not much different from being an innate Supreme Deity.'
I think about the strangeness of Hyeon Rang.
'He called me a sibling. Is that just because we are fellow members of the Human Race, or...is there truly some connection between the Enders and Hyeon Rang?'
I don't know.
What is certain is that he is a being similar to the Head Realm.
'The Sun and Moon Eyes of the Head Realm...'
The eyes of Hyeon Rang that I saw when I first received my name from him.
The two are extremely similar, and even the nature of their power is alike.
I draw the form of the Head Realm on paper.
Its form is that of rotting flesh and exposed skill.
Then, the bone structure of the Head Realm.
'...Song Jin... Right, Song Jin.'
I recall Song Jin, who always greeted us in the form of a skull.
'Thinking back, why didn't I realize it?'
Song Jin, in the form of a ghostly creature with his skull exposed.
And the bone structure of the Head Realm I drew on paper.
The two skulls match almost exactly, to a startling degree.
Only slight differences exist.
'The Head Realm's right heir...does that literally mean one born from the Head Realm itself, from the Decaying Corpse Realm?'
Based on what Oh Hyun-seok said, that seems to be the case.
'Beings' born without parents, or who inevitably lose their parents at a young age, who awaken in the Head Realm at some point, wander through its streets, and at some point learn cultivation methods and ascend to become a Supreme Deity.
Those are called Hyeon Rang.
'So was Song Jin...also one such Hyeon Rang?'
Even thinking again, it doesn't feel like Song Jin was Hyeon Rang himself.
'Thinking about it now, it's easy to distinguish those True Immortals who once played the role of mortals.'
But Song Jin at that time was definitely not Hyeon Rang.
If, as he says, Hyeon Rang is a being repeatedly born in the Head Realm, with a fate fixed as the Naming Supreme Deity and endlessly being 'produced'...
Then Song Jin feels like one of those 'products'.
'What is Hyeon Rang, and what are the Enders...?'
My mind grows tangled, and I let out a sigh.
For now, it seems fastest to ask Hyeon Rang directly when he shows up again.
'What am I going to figure out just by agonizing over it? Nothing will come out of just worrying.'
It's true that I lack too much information.
I shift my thoughts to another subject.
'The four new Immortal Arts I obtained this time.'
The Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali gifted to me by the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King.
I bring forth the power of those Immortal Arts in the void.
Strange runic characters that some True Immortals in the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain call Sanskrit (梵語) appear before my eyes.
These four Immortal Arts revolve around me, emitting a strange melody.
'This is...'
For some reason, I feel as if I might become entranced by the melody.
And for an instant, I see an illusion of Triple Divinity spinning before my eyes.
"...!"
At the same time, I understand what powers these Immortal Arts hold.
The true name of these Immortal Arts is the Immortal Art Mahayuga.
The ability of Mahayuga is to momentarily amplify Triple Divinity, an advanced stage of intent, and forcibly manifest power that surpasses my current realm.
'To turn the method of wielding Triple Divinity...into an Immortal Art!? Obsidian Devil Heavenly King...were they also someone who learned Martial Arts?'
It's when I ponder about them.
Blink—
"...!"
Kim Young-hoon suddenly opens his eyes.
"Hyung-nim!"
"...It's not a dream. I've really come back..."
He exhales heavily and rises from the bed.
"Are you all right?"
"..."
When I ask with concern, Kim Young-hoon glances here and there around the hospital room, then chuckles softly.
"...It's well made. Did Kim Yeon make this? She was always good with her hands, even back at the company."
Tap tap...
Brushing himself off as he rises, Kim Young-hoon looks outside the hospital room.
He gazes at the artificial Seoul created by Kim Yeon and smiles.
"It's a scenery I haven't seen in a long while. Really...Earth was a good place."
"It was. A place where all kinds of magic artifacts lined the streets, where even mortals could easily use them. A land without the tyranny of cultivator clans."
"Well...that's true."
Dudududu!
Perhaps noticing that Kim Young-hoon has awakened, Oh Hyun-seok comes running and hugs his waist from behind.
"Hyung-nim!!! You're finally awake!!"
Kim Yeon and Jeon Myeong-hoon also rush over, and we surround the awakened Kim Young-hoon.
"It's been so long..."
"Long time no..."
"Is your body all..."
Then, Kim Young-hoon looks around at us and cuts us off.
"Listen carefully, everyone."
He speaks with a grim expression.
"If we want to return home, there's something we must do."
"Pardon...?"
"I heard it from the Heavenly Venerable of Time. If we want to return home...Hyeon Mu must die."
And at Kim Young-hoon's following words, my eyes widen.
"If we do not hunt the Heavenly Venerable, we cannot have even the slightest hope of returning home!"
Good Sight Heavenly Domain.
Interdimensional Void.
There, a girl in black martial attire sits above the Vestiges of the Interdimensional Void, eyes half-open.
"So you've finally returned, Golden Speed."
As she gazes into the far distance, she slowly rises to her feet.
"Among this generation's Enders, are you the first Heavenly King...?"
At the very edge of her gaze.
There...
Something golden, that has completely seized Triple Divinity, is visible.
"Then I suppose...it's time to go. To retrieve what I lent Golden Speed all this time..."
The girl in black martial attire, with eyes of emptiness, begins to walk toward the place bathed in golden light.
"For all borrowed fate must one day be paid back with interest..."
The Northern Heavenly Venerable, the True Martial Great Emperor Hyeon Mu.
The Owner of the Interdimensional Void,
In order to hunt the First Seat of the Seven Brilliances Kings, the Golden Speed Heavenly King, begins to move.