The Deepest Depths of the Underworld.
Namgung Jincheon opened his eyes.
[Hear me, sinner Namgung Jincheon…!]
The darkness clouding his vision receded, colors returning to his sight.
Namgung Jincheon raised his head. The surroundings were drenched in crimson. Faint echoes of human groans resounded. The sickening squelch of flesh and bone being crushed.
Before him stood a massive tribunal, and upon its towering platform loomed an entity just as immense, staring down at Namgung Jincheon.
[You have disrupted the order of the Underworld by tethering a soul and memories to the living realm!]
His body felt unbearably heavy, as if he had returned to an era long past—an era before he had mastered martial arts.
[That alone is a crime heavier than Mount Tai itself!]
The giant before him. Namgung Jincheon instinctively understood who it was.
Yama.
The god of the Underworld, the arbiter of all sins committed in life.
[Bring forth the sinner Yeon So-hee!]
His mind snapped into clarity. Yeon So-hee. A name he had never once forgotten.
[My wife…?]
A woman was dragged forth by the hands of the Underworld’s jailers. Tossed onto the ground, she lifted her gaze, her tear-filled eyes locking onto Namgung Jincheon.
[Sang-gong… I’m sorry… Because of me, even you…]
Her voice—every delicate fragment of it—seeped into his heart.
He didn’t know why she was apologizing. He didn’t care. She had done nothing wrong.
Even if she had committed an unforgivable crime, it did not matter. His heart pounded wildly simply because he could see her face with his own eyes.
Thump— Thump—
A heartbeat. A pulse that should have long since ceased filled Namgung Jincheon’s face with life.
Yama bellowed.
[Sinner Yeon So-hee left fragments of her soul and memories in the mortal world, disturbing the flow of reincarnation! Do you acknowledge your crime?]
Yeon So-hee clenched her teeth.
[I… I didn’t know this would happen! Even if it was a crime, how can you hold my Sang-gong accountable for it…!]
[Insolence…!]
A soul must be complete in the Underworld to undergo the trials of reincarnation.
Yeon So-hee, a sinner, had left fragments of her soul within Namgung Jincheon’s sword, disrupting the cycle. The weight of her crime was beyond measure.
Of course, she herself lacked the power to do such a thing. It had been nothing short of a miracle.
But even miracles are subject to the laws of sin.
She had remained imprisoned in the Underworld until now, awaiting the return of her soul’s missing fragments. Now that her soul was whole, it was time for judgment, alongside Namgung Jincheon.
Yama declared.
[Sinners Namgung Jincheon and Yeon So-hee, your souls shall—!]
[My wife.]
Yama’s words were cut off.
Namgung Jincheon smiled. A smile brighter than any he had worn in over two hundred years.
Whoooosh—
A wind blew.
A sweet, fragrant breeze that had no place in Hell swept through Yeon So-hee’s hair.
She turned her eyes toward Namgung Jincheon. There was no reproach in his radiant smile.
He was truly, genuinely happy. And why wouldn’t he be?
The greatest man in the world had crossed the boundary of life and death and finally reclaimed a piece of himself long lost.
[I’m sorry for being late.]
[Sang-gong…?]
[I will never let you go again.]
Yeon So-hee could only stare at his smile in a daze.
[Why… Why would you…]
[Why, you ask? I am your husband. And you are my one and only wife.]
[…I have committed an unforgivable sin against you.]
[Who told you that was a sin?]
[…What?]
Namgung Jincheon gently extended a hand toward her.
[Because of you, I was able to endure until now. Without you, I would have crumbled and never risen again.]
[B-But…]
His fingers brushed against her face, wiping away her tears. He let out a small, sheepish chuckle before finally speaking his honest feelings.
[For all the effort I put in… rather than an apology, wouldn’t praise be more fitting?]
[You—!]
Yama roared in fury, slamming his palm down.
The dead in the Underworld are forbidden from exerting any power.
A sinner guilty of defying the heavens is to be obliterated at once.
Yama’s might pressed down upon Namgung Jincheon.
Namgung Jincheon furrowed his brows. Slowly, he withdrew the hand he had reached toward Yeon So-hee.
[I’m sorry. Just for a little while longer—just this once—please wait for me.]
[N-No, Sang-gong…! Yama is…!]
[My wife.]
Namgung Jincheon smiled.
Behind his back, a flowing azure robe materialized, draping over his spectral form.
A soul’s appearance is shaped by its deepest self.
Upon the shoulder of the greatest warrior in the world, a single sword manifested.
[Your husband does not kneel, even before the gods.]
BOOOOOM—!!
Yama’s hand came crashing down where Namgung Jincheon had stood.
[Sang-gong—!!]
Yeon So-hee screamed. It felt as though something inside her had been torn apart.
[It’s alright, my wife.]
As the dust settled, Namgung Jincheon’s face contorted into something monstrous.
[I’ll be back soon.]
With a light step, Namgung Jincheon launched himself forward, effortlessly piercing through space itself. The fabric of reality split open in his wake, creating a pathway.
Yama’s eyes widened.
[You dare…!]
A new god had awakened.
Namgung Jincheon stepped upon the void, and where his feet landed, ripples spread outward.
Whoooong—
The expanding azure ripples painted a sky within the Underworld.
[Here and now, I shall render judgment upon this great sinner!]
Yama clenched his fist. His will took shape, forming an immense sword.
RUMBLE—
The size of Yama, unrestricted by mortal flesh, defied all human understanding.
As he revealed his power, the divine sword in his grasp stretched wide enough to cleave across the entire Zhongyuan continent.
Namgung Jincheon tilted his head back. The descending blade filled his entire field of vision.
A punishment fit for a god’s wrath.
No matter how great a warrior, this was not something one could face.
Yet, Namgung Jincheon reached out his hand.
His cold, unshaken gaze met that of the god of the Underworld.
[Do not interfere.]
─────────────!!
A sword shot forward, tracing a blue trajectory.
It was a mere, insignificant sword. Yama’s blade boasted a size that could rival the continent. Before it, Namgung Jincheon’s sword was no more than a speck of dust.
It was Namgung Jincheon who would break. That was common sense.
However, to a god, common sense holds no value.
Screech—!!
The insignificant sword’s path stretched endlessly, carving through the air.
When the blade clashed with the massive sword, the great weapon shattered into countless pieces.
Yet, the small sword continued, piercing through the falling fragments.
Thud-!
The blue trajectory finally pierced Yama’s chest. To Yama, it was nothing more than a light scratch, barely noticeable.
Yet, his face contorted in pain.
[This…!]
Namgung Jincheon casually raised his hand. Empty-handed, yet it appeared as though he grasped an invisible sword in the air.
As his hand swept horizontally, Yama’s waist snapped.
Screech—!!!
The towering giant crumbled.
Namgung Jincheon paid no attention to the falling Yama. Carefully, he walked toward Yeon So-hee, kneeling before her.
He gazed into her teary eyes. In the blurry reflection of her gaze, his own face appeared. A sight he had longed for so much. His hand trembled with anticipation.
[My wife…]
Namgung Jincheon looked only at her, slowly extending his trembling hand.
[Will you come back… and stay with me?]
Yeon So-hee’s eyes fluttered. She saw Namgung Jincheon in them.
Her husband, whom she thought she would never see again.
Only guilt filled her heart. Because of her sins, he had become a sinner as well.
But Yama himself had called for her. She was someone full of shame. Yet this man, her husband, was calling for her so clearly.
Neither the Underworld nor Yama frightened her anymore. The man who had always looked at her with such devotion was here.
Her hero, the strongest man she had ever known, stood before her.
[Yes, Sang-gong…]
[Thank you, my wife.]
Tears flowed from her eyes. Tears of joy.
Namgung Jincheon, feeling himself become whole, whispered his divine name.
[Bi Ik Cheon ]
In the very center of the Underworld, the blue sky shone brightly.
The Bi Ik bird, which must be paired with its counterpart to fly, now unfolded its wings as it reunited with its lost half at the end of life.
[Ah…]
At the same moment, a radiant light wrapped around Namgung Jincheon, extending upward to the heavens. The complete soul swelled with a thunderous energy.
Namgung Jincheon, floating in the air, whispered the name of his perfected domain.
[Man Gae Hwa Ji Cheon]
Screeching—!!
A brilliant flower bloomed throughout the Underworld. The once empty, deep blue sky now filled with warmth, embracing the world with its newfound life.
[Nooo…!!]
Yama’s upper body stretched out, but it could not touch anything.
Yama’s form dissolved from the tips of his fingers, scattered into the sky.
A newly ascended god had completely overpowered the god of the Underworld.
Namgung Jincheon, holding Yeon So-hee’s hand, climbed the stairs of light. Flowers of the Underworld scattered around them as they ascended.
Yeon So-hee looked down at the Underworld, walking alongside Namgung Jincheon.
The Yama and his subordinates, caught in the blue sky, were vanishing.
Yeon So-hee instinctively knew that the sky, now colored by the Underworld’s power, would never disappear.
[Will it be alright, Sang-gong…?]
[It will be.]
That was merely one of Yama’s many avatars. Though there would be some permanent loss of strength, Namgung Jincheon had no reason to concern himself with such things.
[More than that, I have so much I want to talk to you about.]
He had already shared many conversations with her memories, those embedded in the sword.
It was his memory, and part of Yeon So-hee, yet not truly her. He had only conversed endlessly with the version of her within those memories.
He would remember those conversations, for when he met her again.
[Do you know? We have a son-in-law now.]
A deep smile spread across Namgung Jincheon’s face.
For a while, there would be no end to their conversations.
The Bi Ik Cheon god, Namgung Jincheon, and his wife Yeon So-hee ascended to the Celestial Realm.
A bright light transformed the scenery. A man slowly approached the couple, hand in hand.
“Welcome. I am Geum Hwi-je.”
The swordsman who had come to greet them wore a broad smile.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I had a dream…”
Tears streamed down Namgung Sua’s face.
“No, it wasn’t a dream…!”
Her face bloomed with a radiant smile, like a flower in full bloom.