"The reason we're all gathered here today...I think it's because everyone has realized it at this point."
Everyone, including myself, nods.
Tang, tang, taaang!
From outside, the sound of Seo Ran practicing shooting can be heard.
Seo Ran seems to enjoy shooting quite a lot, and ever since receiving a gun as a gift from Kang Min-hee, she has been practicing every day.
Because of that, a great amount of bullets and gunpowder are needed...
But since Kim Yeon, who possesses the Liberation Law Talent, makes them all, it doesn't become a big problem.
After listening to the sound of Seo Ran practicing shooting for a while, I slowly begin to speak.
"...To leave this world...we must die. We must sever the karma of this world...and then leave."
Everyone slowly nods at my words.
Then...I continue speaking slowly.
"And by now...you're all probably starting to feel it too. The restrictive force is getting stronger. If we continue like this...if we miss the timing to get out, we might end up trapped in this world forever."
The Immortal Art of Sal Tree, which initially only restricted our authorities, Immortal Arts, and mantras, now begins to suppress even our 'memories', 'knowledge', and 'essence'.
It is a clearly superior version of Bong Myeong's storage scroll.
Just staying inside causes our memories and knowledge to gradually regress, deteriorating to past levels.
'Is this the level of a Heavenly Venerable's Immortal Art...? Truly incredible.'
Although Sal Tree may be weaker than Hyeon Mu in direct combat power, he is manipulating things from behind the scenes, activating his Immortal Art from a distance and toying with us—making him an even trickier opponent to deal with.
'Not being able to discern the true nature of the opponent's Immortal Art is the most frustrating part...'
If only I could identify the nature of the Immortal Art, I'd be able to use something like the Wheel and grind it down from the inside to get out.
But since I can't even grasp the nature of the Immortal Art, I have no idea what to do.
"...This type of Immortal Art is usually easier to understand if you go outside. I know because I've been trapped in Bong Myeong's Immortal Art before."
Everyone nods at Kim Yeon's words.
But Kang Min-hee speaks with a dark expression.
"...But this is a Heavenly Venerable's Immortal Art. We can't compare it to the Immortal Art of Bong Myeong, who has only been a Supreme Deity for a short while. Even if we discover the nature of it from the outside...there may be a restriction that requires being inside to dismantle it."
"Is that your intuition?"
"...Yeah. I feel it instinctively. This Immortal Art of Sal Tree is very similar to my own authority. It's not completely the same so I can't dismantle it myself...but if I were the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable...I'd make it so that you can't understand the nature of the Immortal Art from inside, and even if you learn it from the outside, you can't dismantle it unless you're inside. And if that's the condition, then naturally..."
My face darkens as I continue her sentence.
"...There's a high chance that once someone leaves, there's a condition that they can never enter again..."
If only the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable had been unaware of my regression, it would've been easier to break through.
But now that he perceives regression, even killing myself with my main body to turn back time isn't a solution.
'Not to mention, suicide in a situation where Seo Ran is present is out of the question.'
"Which means...inside this world of Sal Tree's Immortal Art, some of us have to...suicide, leaving Seo Ran behind. Do you think Seo Ran will be able to accept that?"
Kang Min-hee glares at us, especially at Kim Yeon and me.
"You two decide. Who's going to die and confront the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable? Will it be you two, Seo Ran's parents? Or everyone here except for you two?"
"..."
"It would've been easier if you were the weaker ones among us. Then we could just go. But...Seo Eun-hyun. Kim Yeon. You two...are the strongest among us. If we are going to fight Sal Tree...we need you the most..."
"..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon briefly steps in between us.
"...What if we just explained everything to Seo Ran...?"
"Stop saying stupid things! Even if Seo Ran properly understands our explanation, the [human Seo Ran] will melt down on the spot into a puddle of broth, and the person who's been with us all this time will collapse entirely, leaving only that child's original fate behind. It's no different from all our time being reset to zero, so why the hell...!?"
Kang Min-hee shouts angrily, and Jeon Myeong-hoon bites his lip.
"...Sorry. If only...I was as strong as Obsidian or Silver Basket..."
"...It's not your fault."
Silence lingers between us for a moment, and only the sound of Seo Ran's shooting echoes from outside.
Then, breaking the quiet inside, White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus speaks.
Now in the form of a human woman using the name 'Baek,' she opens her mouth.
"...I'm going. I've grown a bit attached to Seo Ran, but...I'm sorry, my loyalty to the Old Man matters more. The Old Man and I...truly spent an unfathomable amount of time together."
They rise from their seat, loosening the hair tied like a pony tail.
Tsuuaaaat!
Gradually, their form begins to shift back into the one we know of.
"So...the Old Man who's gone mad right now, I'll beat some sense into him myself. Just tell Seo Ran that I went off to Seo Kingdom to hit it big or something."
"You think she'll believe that? When it comes to fate, she's the most sensitive among us. Strangely enough, Seo Ran is the only one who hasn't had her sense of fate restricted. Well, that's probably what Sal Tree is aiming for. So...if you disappear, Seo Ran will immediately notice that your fate is gone."
Jeon Myeong-hoon continues speaking with a gloomy expression.
"If she realizes you're dead, that child will..."
"Then just say something like...I died while creating a martial art to counter the gun-using bastards of Seo Kingdom. I like Seo Ran too. She's one of the few children I personally delivered as a midwife. That child...is precious. But..."
Tsuuaaat!
Finally, White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus reveals their familiar form.
A Heavenly Pegasus with a pair of white wings fastens their black martial robe and speaks.
"To me, this is like a predestined fate. Just as the Heavenly Punishment Supreme Deity was to you, Jeon Myeong-hoon..."
Tststststs!
As if intent on leaving right after speaking, White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus takes a step forward.
Then, from the spot where they stood, a human woman's lifeless body appears and collapses.
It's the incarnation of White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus.
What stands before us now is only the soul of White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus. The 'Baek' of this world is dead.
"The mantra [Eastern Heaven Flower Field]. That's...probably the Immortal Art the Old Man is unfolding right now. The reason I hadn't confirmed it until now is because...among the Immortal Arts and dharma treasures he possesses, there are many similar but inferior versions. But after observing for several years, I'm finally certain. What's being used now is the greatest mantra that the Old Man owns."
Kuuung!
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus's soul distorts space as they begin using the ground-shrinking technique toward where their main body is.
"The shadow of the Eastern Heaven Flower Field... A world that seals the cultivation, Immortal Arts, authorities, and power of origin of all beings in this world, forcing them to use only the power that was 'designated' to them at birth. An anti-Governing Immortal Technique."
"..."
"Once activated, as Kang Min-hee said, you must identify its true nature from outside and dismantle it from within. But it's an ultimate technique with the condition that if you exit once, you can never enter inside again. You seem to have a lot on your mind, but...if I were to give advice, Seo Eun-hyun, it'd be best if you're the one who goes out."
"...What?"
"If it's your [Wheel]...even if you suffer serious injuries, you'll still be able to leave a scratch on the Old Man's Immortal Art and interfere with it to some extent. If you are the first to go and gain the upper hand while confronting the Old Man, then even if you take serious injuries, you can send us a victory signal with the power of the [Wheel], and we can stay behind, take care of Seo Ran, awaken her, and all escape together in the end.
"But if you can't seize that advantage easily...just don't send any signal at all. If more than a year passes with no signal from you, the rest of us will keep following after, one by one."
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus uses the ground-shrinking technique and leaves one last statement.
"Don't get arrogant just because you've reached a high realm and think you're at the level of a Gandhara Heavenly Venerable based on pure combat strength alone. The opponent is the Old Man. He's a Heavenly Venerable who has lived through time equivalent to the Ganges Sands without being able to die, and has seen dozens of monsters like you. To stand before such a Heavenly Venerable and hesitate here, failing to choose either of the two paths before you...that in itself is immense arrogance!"
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus looks back at me and speaks.
"Follow me, Seo Eun-hyun. As Ran's midwife, I fully understand your heart. However, there are those who are left. Even if the father is gone, the mother still remains. Above all...you still have Sword Peak Mountain."
"..."
Sword Peak Mountain.
It is a part of my main body, and a mass of enlightenment I have bound together.
As long as it remains in this world...
Ran being with me or not makes little difference.
I know this.
I know this, and yet...
I grit my teeth.
I only now finally believed I've managed to grasp happiness.
But to be forced to release the happiness I held in my hands to the sudden wave of fate—this, I cannot accept.
However...
Tremble, tremble-tremble-tremble...
Even as my body trembles, I rise to my feet.
Drip, drip drip...
"You...are right..."
There is not a single thing that's wrong with what White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus is saying.
The opponent is a Heavenly Venerable.
This isn't someone to be measured by combat power alone.
The schemes accumulated and the experiences gained through surviving time equivalent to the Ganges Sands are truly limitless and inexhaustible.
Combat strength and danger level are not proportional.
To hesitate before such an opponent is arrogance itself.
"Seo Eun-hyun...! You..."
Kang Min-hee glares at me, but I speak with hardened eyes.
"Don't stop me. I'm going."
"Seo Ran, she..."
"I!"
Kwang!
I stomp my foot and speak.
"I...am now the head of a family."
I joined with Yeon.
We gave birth to Ran.
We became a family and lived together.
Therefore...
As the strongest and oldest among the family, I can only be the family head.
"As the head of the family...I must protect them. Even if, in front of Ran...I must be dealt with by death...!"
I tremble with a sorrow beyond words.
"That is why...to make sure Ran won't fall into greater danger, I must go now..."
At my words, Kang Min-hee closes her mouth, and everyone grows solemn.
"...I will go too. And...I leave the rest to all of you."
Resolving to follow White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus, I begin to gradually draw upon the power of my main body.
The more I draw upon the power of my main body, the more Sal Tree's Immortal Art of the 'Eastern Heaven Flower Field' invades, and my body begins to be pushed out from the Unruly Realm, which has become his world.
Kim Yeon watches me, trembling.
"At least...say goodbye to Ran before you go. That child..."
"...I'm sorry, Yeon-ah."
Thud—
My body in the Unruly Realm collapses in place, and I extract my soul, slowly walking toward the spatial passage that White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus opened.
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus looks at me, nods with a firm expression, and steps ahead.
"If I see Ran now...I might collapse and not be able to do anything. So..."
I can't face that child right now.
If it means collapsing and failing to protect anything, then it's better to leave without showing my face to my child, being declared as dead.
"Just...let Ran know that I loved her very much."
With that, I follow behind White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus and leave the Unruly Realm.
'I will return. No matter what.'
I will subdue the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, send the signal through the Wheel, and...
I will ensure that Seo Ran, even if she receives the love of others, awakens to her fate.
With that oath engraved in me, I head forward to confront Sal Tree.
Taang, taang, taang!
While practicing shooting, Seo Ran, for some reason, feels a strange resonance coming from Sword Peak Mountain.
'Why is it...? My chest hurts.'
She doesn't know why.
Normally, when something like this happens, the fate of the entire world would twist, but no such sign is present.
She only senses that a few currents within the flow of fate have vanished.
'Did someone die or something? Who could have died, for my chest...to hurt this much?'
Tilting her head, she simply continues practicing her shooting.
And that evening.
Seo Ran receives, as a gift for her twentieth birthday...
The death of Baek, her midwife—
And the obituary of her father,
Seo Eun-hyun.