Chapter 1138

Jin Taekyung blinked quietly.

Where was he?

Everything was dark and hazy.

His small body sped forward on outstretched wings, but his senses were so dull they seemed to belong to someone else. He could barely feel the wind brushing over him.

That’s right.

He was a bird now.

Soon he would emerge from these damp, hazy clouds swirling all around him.

No—right now.

Whoosh.

With one powerful flap of his wings, the clouds that had filled the air around Jin Taekyung like bars vanished.

A night sky so dark it looked cold opened before him.

Brilliant, multicolored flames painted the vast sky.

Boom-boom-boom!

Explosions erupted without warning, all at once, swallowing the night sky.

From a distance, the sight might have seemed beautiful.

But with a bird’s keen eyesight, Jin Taekyung could see what lay beyond the dazzling lights.

Countless fighter jets tore through the sky, bursting through the compressed air. Bullets and beams of light streamed without pause from the ground and the sky.

And—

Shriek!

Gigantic monsters flew straight through that dense web of fire.

—Kieeeek!

With chilling roars, more monsters than the eye could count crossed the dark sky.

Killing intent tangled with killing intent. Every thunderous blast was followed by someone’s death.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

A blinding flash swallowed the sky.

Jin Taekyung was only a bird. All he could do was stare, dumbfounded, at the humans and monsters falling helplessly like scattered embers amid the ceaseless clash of steel and magic.

Then a sense that the whole world had gone dark seized him, and he looked up.

Hsssss.

At first, he thought it was a storm cloud.

A huge, dark cloud, big enough to blot out the moonlight.

But it wasn’t.

It was a wing.

A wing so enormous that anyone who saw it would forget to breathe. It belonged to a powerful being—and somehow, it was beautiful.

The moment he faced that overwhelming presence, Jin Taekyung felt his senses sharpen with astonishing clarity.

Perhaps that was why he thought he met the gaze of two eyes like black obsidian, looking down imperiously on everyone below, blotting out even the moonlight.

Fwoooosh!

Space warped in an instant.

A terrifying pressure, too much for a mere bird to withstand, crushed the air.

No. It wasn’t only Jin Taekyung.

Crack-crack-crack!

Countless fighter jets crumpled under the pressure.

As burning steel fell like a meteor shower, Jin Taekyung felt his consciousness fading.

At the same time, a sound he couldn’t make sense of grew ever clearer in his ears.

Tick.

A streak of pure white light raced toward him from far away and swallowed him.

The human brain is much like iron.

Just as iron needs enough heat before it can be reshaped, a brain that has only just awakened needs a little time to start working.

But the moment I regained consciousness, I could sense everything around me more clearly than ever.

Even what had woken me from that deep sleep.

Ding.

System

Sleep status has been lifted.

A clear chime rang softly in my ears.

I lifted eyelids that felt lighter than down. A face filled my vision, looking down at me and half-obscuring an unfamiliar ceiling.

“A-Are you awake?”

When I met his eyes, trembling with emotion, a thought came to me.

How long I’d waited for this moment.

As I realized it, a gentle smile spread across my lips. The nightmare that had clung to me like glue just moments ago was already gone without a trace.

“Yes, Master.”

“…!”

Jeok Cheongang paused at the effortless way I’d addressed him without a moment’s hesitation. Then he answered in a choked voice.

Tried to.

Until a crowd of uninvited guests came rushing in with a clamor of heavy footsteps.

“Yes, my—”

Crash!

A deafening crash swallowed the rest of his words.

A huge man smashed the door to pieces and charged into the sickroom. Familiar faces streamed in behind him.

“He’s awake!”

“He woke up!”

“He really woke up!”

“Wow! I’ve never seen anyone wake up after seven days!”

It took about one second.

That was how long the people staring at me with wide eyes, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing, took to start screaming like mad and pounce on me.

“Aaah! Benefactor!”

“Pavilion Master!”

“Caaaaaptain!”

“…”

Yeah. It was nice.

But maybe I should’ve slept a little longer.

It took quite a while for everyone who’d rushed over at the news of my awakening—especially the members of the Fire Dragon Pavilion—to calm down.

“I really wasn’t worried at all. I knew you’d wake up, Young Master Jin… I mean, Pavilion Master.”

Ju Hwaran sniffled as she spoke. Beside her, Song Ilseom added calmly, “She cried her eyes out. Kept saying you might never wake up.”

“I-I did not!”

“Yesterday. The day before. All seven days.”

Song Ilseom kept pelting the bright-red Ju Hwaran with facts. Then, in an instant, he changed his tune.

“Ah. I must have mistaken you for someone else.”

“You heard him, right? I didn’t cry at all.”

“…”

Ju Hwaran spoke with such confidence that I could only pretend I hadn’t seen the weighty money pouch she’d slipped Song Ilseom a moment ago.

Even without that cute little farce, voices were coming at me from every direction. I could barely catch my breath.

“I’m glad you’ve regained consciousness, Pavilion Master.”

Sama Pyo, whose ability to express emotion was about on par with an artificial intelligence’s, fell silent after that awkward remark. Taishan, whose emotions were closer to a wild animal’s, burst into tears.

“Taishan glad Pavilion Master awake. Worried so much, only ate three meals a day for seven days.”

“That’s incredible.”

I wasn’t being sarcastic. I was genuinely impressed.

It sounded insane at first, but considering Taishan’s usual appetite, that was practically a hunger strike.

The old man perched on Taishan’s shoulder as if it were his assigned seat sighed.

“Three meals a day is normal, you crazy bastard…”

“I cried so much, now hungry. Pavilion Master, I go eat.”

“Put me down before you go, you damned nuisance.”

Of course, Taishan paid him no mind.

He vanished like the wind. The old man clung tightly to the back of Taishan’s neck for dear life, his screams fading into the distance.

Someone else stepped into the space they left behind. He’d been waiting his turn, wrapped head to toe in bandages like a mummy.

“Captain…”

His voice was thick with tears.

I looked at him, moved.

“You…”

“Yes. It’s me. Your right arm. Your heart. Hyuk Mujin.”

“Right. You’re still alive, my little toe.”

“…”

“You look half-dead, but somehow you’re still breathing.”

Above the bandages, Hyuk Mujin’s eyes, which had looked ready to overflow with tears, went cold.

“What? What’s with that look?”

“…You know you’re really too much, right?”

I frowned at the hurt in his voice.

“Too much? You’re the one who was about to throw our promise away like it was worthless.”

“What?”

“You forgot? The promise we made before the battle.”

“Oh.”

I’d told him plainly: if he was going to die, he had to do it in front of me. Then I’d make sure to avenge him.

But Hyuk Mujin apparently hadn’t intended to keep that promise.

He’d fought recklessly, foolishly, even putting his own life on the line.

So there was only one thing I could say to him now.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Hyuk Mujin had been about to reply, but his eyes widened.

Or perhaps it was the look on my face and the quiet tone of my voice that stopped him.

I forced a smile and went on.

“And… thank you. For staying alive.”

“…!”

“…!”

The air in the room quivered.

Everyone who’d been chattering a moment earlier fell silent as if on cue and looked at me.

They knew. Those few words weren’t only for Hyuk Mujin. They were for all of them.

And this clumsy expression of emotion was the best I could manage right now.

“Well, that’s all. I just felt like I had to say it.”

Something stirred in my chest.

I smiled faintly, trying to hide my joy, my sorrow, and a swelling feeling I couldn’t name.

The others seemed to feel much the same. Some smiled back. Some cried quietly. Others watched them without a word.

The ones who’d been through all this long ago were the ones who watched. They hadn’t grown used to it. They’d grown numb.

“Come to think of it, I have something urgent to take care of.”

Jeok Cheongang rose, muttering as if to himself.

“Might take about half a shichen¹.”

With that, he left the sickroom. Two others who had appeared at the door at some point, watching us quietly, went with him.

Sometimes, a thought occurs to me.

Sword Saint Mae Jonghak, about to turn away with the Slaughter Saint, moved his lips.

Perhaps being able to laugh when you can, and cry when you want to, is a great blessing.

The old men had walked that road before. Now the young were walking it.

That was why they were giving us some space, if only for a little while.

So we could feel everything this moment held, knowing it might be our last. So we could accept both the joy of surviving and meeting again and the grief for those who had left us, then continue on our way.

“Get some rest. I’ll be back.”

I nodded quietly.

By the time they returned and our conversation was over, the whole world had sunk into darkness.

Just like the nightmare I’d had before waking.