Afterstory 2 - Back
Hwiiiiiii—
Long Vairambha Winds rage between one otherworld and another.
When a Heavenly Domain is born,
The transfer of power that occurs when a universe is born is called the Vairambha Wind.
When a Heavenly Domain is born, one such current of Vairambha Wind is born and blankets all of Mount Sumeru.
However, in the void between these otherworlds, such Vairambha Winds are blowing by the thousands, by the hundreds of millions, by numbers beyond all measure.
Truly, in all kinds of otherworlds and separate Heaven and Earths, countless worlds are being born and passing away.
In each and every one of those Vairambha Winds, the stories of innumerable worlds are being heard, and the scenes of yet other worlds are faintly reflected.
Some worlds are even worlds exactly like Earth.
There are worlds where history itself is completely the same, and only the stories of a few humans living inside are slightly different.
There are also worlds that are based on Earth, but in which completely different events occur.
There are plenty of worlds where people called Hunters exist, or where Gates open and beings from otherworlds invade.
There even appear worlds where systems strangely similar to Mount Sumeru's cultivation system exist.
They are worlds that look interesting.
At times, we even feel tempted to peek into those worlds for just a moment, or to go inside and play within them.
However, we pierce through all the power and temptations of those Vairambha Winds...
And at last, that far-distant world.
We are able to set foot in the time period when we were born.
"Everyone, please adjust your rank and size."
If we bring along all of our rank and size as they are, a small landmass like Earth will explode in an instant, and even if it does not, there is a chance that all the Earthlings inside will simply go mad.
At my words, my comrades each nod and adjust the size of their bodies to bodies at the level of ordinary humans.
Piiiing, ping!
As we draw near Earth, several Enders from Earth, including Vast Cold's soul that has returned together with us, each rely on the acceleration of Nirvana Tranquility that arises from my Requiem Filling the Heavens and return to the time periods in which they used to live.
They will not come to live in the same time period as us.
Of course, if there are those who are greedy for lifespan, we may be able to meet even in our era, but it does not matter.
Hwiooooooo!
"We are entering. Then...!"
Flash!
At the same time, after finally passing a long and distant path...
We return to our world where Earth is.
Chwaaaaaa!
Countless time periods brush past us, and at the end of a long age...
We return to that moment when we were swept up in the landslide.
It is dark.
"Mm, keokeokeuk..."
We spiritualize and settle in the bodies in which we died on Earth.
Even Kim Young-hoon has cultivated the Heavenly Being stage, so spiritualization is not difficult.
But parts of our bodies, which we have finally come back to, have already decayed, and dirt has even gotten into our throats and the insides of our bodies.
Is that why his throat is itchy?
Oh Hyun-seok coughs.
Keuruk!!!!! Keuruk!!!!!
And then our galaxy is destroyed.
"..."
Shiiiiiii...
All of us, within the void where our galaxy has been annihilated, stare fixedly at Oh Hyun-seok.
Oh Hyun-seok, his complexion turning completely pale, bows his head to us.
"S-Sorry! I did adjust my rank and size, but I am not used to actually restricting my strength itself..."
"...Hahh...Hyun-seok-ah..."
Kim Young-hoon lets out a deep sigh and grinds his teeth, and Jeon Myeong-hoon also looks at him with eyes gone cold and speaks.
"I am a little disappointed. No matter what, it is still our home..."
"I-I am really sorry! If I at can at least bring a relic of the Heavenly Venerable of Time, I can use it and..."
"Everyone, let's stop there."
I let out a sigh and mediate between the comrades who are driving Oh Hyun-seok into a corner.
"For now...this seems to be happening because we do not understand just how strong our own power is. This time, I will turn back time."
Wiiiiiiing—
The Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flag grasps the laws of time of Earth's dimension and begins to prepare to turn time back.
Because this is a world without the Radiance Mantra, there is no great difficulty in reversing spacetime.
"But, it seems we will need to restrict our own power while on Earth."
"That does seem to be the case."
"I will help."
Kang Min-hee lifts her brush.
When she paints a taenghwa in the void, the taenghwa seep into us.
"The ability to create and grant rules is gone because the Absolute Fragment has slipped away...but I can make a similar ability as an Immortal Art. Since each other's power is the foundation, if one's own power is not stronger than the combined power of all of us, it will never be broken through. So..."
She points at me and says,
"Except for Seo Eun-hyun, there is practically no one who can escape from this rule from now on."
"No, if it is all of our power combined including me, shouldn't I also be unable to escape?"
"Your specialty is borrowing power. If you use something like Splitting Emperor Splitting Heaven Separate Heaven Martial Arts that borrows our power...then, if you intend to, you can break it."
"Hmm...I see."
"Well, in any case, when we later return to Mount Sumeru, we need your power, so it is right that you should be able to break it."
Wooo-woooong!
The Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flag finally rewinds time to before our galaxy was annihilated, and thanks to Kang Min-hee, we are able to restrict our strength to a level at which we it is possible to live on Earth.
The Immortal Art that restricts power, the power of [Human Bridle], is quite good.
Our restricted strength is at the Heavenly Being stage.
But we even place double, triple, and quadruple restrictions on this, and in the end we restrict our strength down to the third star of the Qi Refining stage.
It is a system where we can unlock our power up to the Heavenly Being stage when necessary.
Of course, if suddenly some divinity from another world invades, I can gather up my comrades' strength and break the Human Bridle and respond, and each of us has quite a few means to bypass the Human Bridle and draw upon the power of the main body, so it is not that fatal a restriction.
We enter into the landslide once again.
Keuruk, keuruk...!
With our respective arts, we remove the dirt that has entered the airway, lungs, stomach, and wounds, and our eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
"Hmm...but how do we get out? Judging by the mountain's weight, it looks a bit hard to get out with just the third star of the Qi Refining stage..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon, inside the SUV, touches the dirt and murmurs, and I shrug my shoulders.
"Have you forgotten that I am a mountain spirit?"
Wooong—
I read all the flows and breaths held by the debris of the landslide, and in an instant find the weakest point and use the Earth Surpassing Path to Cultivation.
Kugugugugugu!
Because of Earth Surpassing Path, the soil shifts and, squirming around the SUV, lifts it up to the optimal place.
Puhwak!
In the end, we are able to come out to the outer part of the landslide.
Chiiiiiii—
Because our bodies in this period are in a state where our main bodies spiritualized and possessed them, we all have the exact same faces as before.
"Huaaaaagh, m-my hair...!"
Kim Young-hoon wails and grieves as he sees his head reflected in the SUV window.
It seems because he spent a long time with his hair, he hasn't been able to adapt.
"Hmm...I have quite a scrawny body at this point in time. I need to engrave the teachings of the Azure Heaven Creation Sect again..."
Oh Hyun-seok clicks his tongue as he looks at his current body that can do a 3-lift total of 700 kilograms.
"Ugh, short hair feels a bit awkward..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon also clears his throat as he looks at his once-again-short hair.
"...I should quit Earth cigarettes."
Kang Min-hee's face twists as if she can feel the waste products of her body that has been steeped in cigarettes.
Kim Yeon stretches as she looks up at the sky for a moment.
"...Anyway, we are home."
What is she feeling, I wonder?
On top of the pile of soil poured out by the landslide, Kim Yeon shouts loudly,
"We're back home!!!"
There is no one but us on the highway.
Ours is the only vehicle that got hit by the landslide, and since this is a highway that cars rarely use, the surroundings are quiet.
In that quiet mountain valley,
Kim Yeon's voice, not to the degree that it can destroy a world, but just at the level of an ordinary human's volume, rings out.
"We're back!!!"
Seeing that sight, Kim Young-hoon, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Kang Min-hee, and Oh Hyun-seok also run together and shout along.
"We!!! Are back!!!"
Raising our voices like crazy and declaring to Earth that we have returned...
We all cry out in happiness.
...Yeah.
"We...are really back...!"
I look at Ji Hwa once, who dwells in Oh Hye-seo's body and altered every part of Oh Hye-seo's flesh to make the body into that of a silver-haired woman with the same appearance as in her mortal days, and shout loudly.
"We're back!!!"
We are back.
And to the hometown we have longed for...
We decide to go to the workshop after all.
As for the landslide, I bring my authority over mountains all the way to Earth, restore the mountain that poured down in the landslide to its original state, then even reinforce it so that a landslide can never happen again, and settle the matter.
As for the SUV that dirt has gotten into, Kim Yeon tinkers with it, not only fixing it but even remodeling it.
Now, at the press of a button, a propulsion unit fires from the rear and it can break the sound barrier, and with a few operations it even becomes a combat vehicle that can fire a beam cannon.
"If you ever want it, I can even add a transformation function later!"
"I like that. Add a function that lets it transform into a three-headed dinosaur, too."
"Yes, I'll have it modified by tomorrow!"
As expected, Kim Yeon is the best.
I revive my memory, barely recall how to operate a car, and drive.
Hwiiiiii—
Ji Hwa, seeing the car rolling and the scenery flowing by outside the highway, has her eyes shine.
"Seo Eun-hyun, why does the car only go on the right side?"
"Seo Eun-hyun, what is that thing called a traffic light?"
"Hey, Seo Eun-hyun, over there, a lump of metal is flying in the sky! Wasn't your world a place without things like spell!?"
Everything in this world must be so fascinating to her as Ji Hwa sticks her upper body out the window and keeps pointing here and there as she asks.
She said that she saw my memories before, so I thought she would know Earth well, but...it feels like there are more things she does not know.
"The most amazing thing is this thing called a car. How does this contraption of a mechanical device made of mixed scrap metal move without even a spirit stone? Is it thanks to the liquid vaporizing in there?"
Clack, clack—
And thanks to that curiosity, she even goes so far as to try to tear our car apart with her main body, the Sword Extreme Imperial Sword, in order to dissect it while it is running...
In the end, Kim Yeon and Kang Min-hee have to stick by her side and answer everything she asks like a baby.
Although there are all sorts of twists and turns...
We finally arrive at Jeon Myeong-cheol's villa near Mount Chilgap in Cheongyang County, the destination of the workshop, unpack there, take care of a few things, and at last take out what we have been aiming for.
"Uwahahaha, it's been a long time since this!"
Chiiik—
Kim Young-hoon drools as he opens the beer that was in the ice box.
Oh Hyun-seok likewise has a fire lit in his eyes, gathers up a pile of beer and soju, and Jeon Myeong-hoon lays out ingredients on the iron griddle he has prepared in advance in the SUV and starts making griddle fried rice.
His fried rice, into which he blows lightning energy here and there to add the taste of lightning, looks really delicious.
Evening of Wednesday, June 25.
Watching the sunset, we take Jeon Myeong-hoon-style griddle fried rice in hand, gather together, clink our beers, and laugh.
"In celebration of finally coming back! Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Kim Young-hoon and Oh Hyun-seok slowly gulp the cold beer down their throats, treasuring it and savoring the taste of each and every drop.
Kim Yeon and Kang Min-hee call Ji Hwa over, pour soju into small glasses for her, and enjoy soju together.
I, together with Jeon Myeong-hoon, take out the white wine that Jeon Myeong-cheol cherishes from Jeon Myeong-cheol's fridge, pour it, and clink our glasses.
"Didn't you say your uncle cherishes this?"
"What, are you not going to drink? You punk! How dare you, a mere 'Deputy', intend to disobey the 'Chief's' order and commit insubordination!?"
"...! Right, you were my superior!"
"Gal! From now on, you are to address me as Chief Jeon Myeong-hoon!"
I take the white wine from Jeon Myeong-hoon, drink it, and giggle.
"But hey, you are ridiculously younger than me."
On Earth, Jeon Myeong-hoon is three years older than me, but thanks to regression in Mount Sumeru, my age has become far greater.
"Hmph, my memories from each cycle have also returned, you know."
"You have to include the trillions of years I spent in the Heavenly Void Furnace and the time that stretched and shrunk in the Outer Sea as well. You also have to include the time I was tortured while being forced to regress by Yeong Seung."
"Good for you, you old monster."
"You think you aren't?"
"Shut up, Old Monster Seo! No matter how old you are, this place is the company! Receive one more drink from your superior!"
"Kikikikikiki..."
"Kikiki!"
We pass the wine back and forth between us and look around at our comrades.
Whether they have missed beer, or just because they want it, Kim Young-hoon and Oh Hyun-seok have already emptied five cans of cold beer beaded with dew together with Jeon Myeong-hoon's lightning griddle fried rice.
Kim Yeon and Kang Min-hee have their faces slightly flushed, and Ji Hwa, who at first refused, saying "Are you trying to feed me this suspicious liquid!?", at some point is gulping soju straight from the bottle, her eyes rolling.
And seeing the disheveled Ji Hwa, a few rough-looking men at the neighboring villa next to Jeon Myeong-cheol's villa look this way and start making a move.
Every one of them has a solid build, looking like some people from some sports club.
"Hey, noonas! Don't just sit there all boring like that, come hang out with us!"
"Noonas, we have a pool over on this side, want us to lend you swimsuits? Come together and—"
"Gal!"
And then, drunk, Ji Hwa picks up the Sword Extreme Imperial Sword and stands up from her seat.
"How dare you brats, who are mere ordinary mortals without even spiritual roots, dare to speak to an immortal...no, to a Qi Refining 3rd star cultivator!? I shall carve into the bones of you mortals what happens when they dare to look directly at a cultivator!"
Boong, boong boong!
"Uh, uuuuh...!"
"Uwaaaagh! That's a real sword!"
"She's crazy!"
Kwaang, kwakwang!
Ji Hwa swings her sword all over the men's villa, wrecking various parts of the villa, and even slices off the club members' car trunks cleanly.
At this rate, it seems like the drunken Ji Hwa will actually cut people to death, so we have to drag her off and stop her.
In the end, the men all run away completely, and although there is a bit of a small incident...
In any case,
We are able to happily carry out our return celebration.
The next day.
"...What is this now?"
I shake off my hangover as I get up and read the newspaper article that appears on the square magic artifact for information searching.
[Breaking News, Mount Chilgap, Sword-Wielding Woman]
Countless troublesome thoughts and annoying scenarios play out in my head.
But...
In the midst of those countless annoying situations,
I finally feel, for real, that I am back.
A world where, if an individual recklessly wields power and authority, they are punished.
That place is precisely...our hometown.
A place that one can also call the mundane world.
This place...is a civilized society.
The threshold of Jeon Myeong-cheol's villa.
There, as I greet the morning sun that rises over Mount Chilgap, I smile faintly.
"I'm back."
I am really back.