I finished speaking and slowly observed Geunwon. He’s definitely an unusual guy. No matter how closely I looked, I couldn’t find a trace of emotion on his face. His eyes blinked periodically, almost as if it were a duty. On the surface, he looked like a small, cute elementary school kid, but his stiff, doll-like manner of speaking and acting was more like that of a sage who had lived for centuries.
His deep violet eyes calmly met mine. There was no emotion there either. If Han So-young’s blank expression was a natural byproduct of her heightened senses, Geunwon seemed as if he didn’t even know what emotions were. Or maybe he thought they were unnecessary and deliberately never learned about them.
“So, you’re saying it’s likely an abnormal phenomenon, but you don’t know the cause?”
Geunwon nodded ever so slightly, barely noticeable unless you paid close attention.
“Could it be a temperature anomaly? Or maybe seasonal effects…? In any case, could these factors be behind the phenomenon? Including most unexpected variables, of course.”
He seemed to share my thoughts but pretended not to know and asked anyway. Depending on his answer, I thought I might finally put an end to the nagging doubts I’d been wrestling with. Even if I couldn’t be certain.
After a moment, Geunwon spoke.
“At first, I thought the same. But the temperature hasn’t deviated beyond normal ranges recently, and the seasonal change is still premature. Nothing else seems out of balance. Only the sky has darkened.”
He emphasized the word “only.”
“Right, that’s what you’re saying.”
“However, there is no clear evidence to support this phenomenon.”
“No worries. I understood you perfectly.”
“……”
I clasped my hands together and smiled. Geunwon stared at me quietly.
“Understood.”
Then, he turned sharply and began walking slowly toward the door. I quietly watched his profile.
“Did you come here on purpose? As a warning?”
He didn’t stop walking and shook his head.
“Negative. Without certainty, issuing a warning is nonsensical.”
“Then?”
“I stated my purpose during my first visit. I was simply curious about others’ thoughts on this phenomenon.”
“Then…”
I paused briefly. Geunwon stopped abruptly in front of the door. When he turned to look at me, his gaze carried a strange mix of discomfort and connection.
“If I were to act with the goal of uncovering the cause of this phenomenon, would you join me?”
Geunwon didn’t answer immediately. He didn’t seem confused, but he tilted his head as if something felt off.
“Why?”
“It’s strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“The moment I heard your words and understood them…”
He trailed off, glancing at me sideways.
“I felt an inexplicable surge of excitement.”
“Is that so?”
I smiled faintly and gestured that he could leave. Geunwon kept looking at me for a moment, then opened the door and quickly disappeared. I didn’t get a clear answer, but there was no need to press further.
His willingness to participate was clear enough from what he said.
One day, two days, then three passed, and the phenomenon persisted. The clan members seemed unconcerned, but as I kept watching the sky, the moment it began to cloud over seemed to come earlier each day. Maybe it was just my imagination, but even the sun, now high in the sky, seemed to have lost some of its brightness. So gradually, so slowly that no one else would notice.
Maybe… someday soon, we’ll wake to a dark sun and sky even in the morning.
“If you’re so worried, why don’t you go out and check it?”
Suddenly, Hwajeong’s voice echoed in my mind.
“You got new gear, and it’s a good chance to test it out.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“Yeah. You’ve been worrying nonstop lately. If you’re that uneasy, you should go. Remember what I said before? A soldier who fails a mission can be forgiven, but one who neglects their watch cannot. What if something happens while you’re just waiting around?”
“Hmm.”
“That’s a good saying, isn’t it? You didn’t come up with it, so who did?”
“I don’t know, actually.”
Hwajeong was right. About fifteen years ago, a senior in the military said something similar. If you think you shouldn’t do something, then don’t. Conversely, if something needs to be done, you have to do it. And now is exactly that time.
But it’s still too early to act. When you act, you need a clear purpose, and to achieve that purpose, you have to answer the question: “How?” Actions without these two conditions are just a waste of time.
After hearing Geunwon, I had a clear purpose, but I still couldn’t answer the “how.” Do I have to find the cause of this phenomenon? But I can’t just guess blindly.
If this had happened suddenly, I might have been lost for a long time. But thankfully, I had a clue. Not a certainty, just a hunch, but something to speculate on regarding the cause of the abnormality.
“Monster Summoning Box 4.”
When we opened those boxes, I ordered two of them to be closed: one containing Thanatos’s Flower, and the other the Ancient Evil God. When the Ancient Evil God was summoned, the sky darkened rapidly. It was so strange that even Hyung noticed. When we closed the box, the sky returned to normal. So maybe this phenomenon is related? Or perhaps…
Could it be connected to demons again?
I can’t jump to conclusions, but I can’t ignore the possibility either. During the “Tomb of the Barbarian King” expedition, I never imagined demons would be involved. The future has changed so much, I can’t predict what they might do.
“Hwajeong, I have a question.”
“Yeah?”
“The Thanatos’s Flower you mentioned before—could it have awakened after almost being summoned from the box?”
“It probably already has.”
“What?”
“Why are you surprised? A being like that will awaken eventually unless it chooses not to.”
“What about the seal?”
“Oh, I get what you’re worried about. Don’t worry. And don’t underestimate the gods. Several gods participated in the sealing process, and they considered the possibility of Thanatos’s Flower awakening. So whether it awakens or not, the chance it breaks the seal and escapes on its own is zero.”
“So it’s safe?”
“As long as no one interferes intentionally from outside, I can guarantee 100%. Do you think the gods would be careless? And just so you know, don’t even think about messing with Thanatos’s Flower.”
I had no such intention. I was just asking for comparison. What I really wanted to know was something else.
“What about the Ancient Evil God?”
“Hm?”
“Did you seal the Ancient Evil God too?”
“That one? No, I don’t think so. That child… Ah.”
Hwajeong hesitated for a moment. It seemed she finally understood what I was really asking.
“Hmm, it’s possible… yeah, that might be it…”
“Stop mumbling and explain.”
“Okay… this might seem random, but listen. Humans have incredible potential. Some even reach the level of gods.”
“Hm.”
“Of course, such humans are extremely rare. Only a handful in thousands or tens of thousands of years.”
“Who, for example?”
“Like the God of War, Chiwoo Cheonwang.”
“Chiwoo Cheonwang? The armor I bought last time is…?”
Hwajeong nodded and quickly continued.
“The point is, throughout history, exceptional humans have appeared from time to time. Powerful enough to rival gods. Especially when the world was in chaos or danger, they always showed up. Almost like magic.”
I wasn’t sure what Hwajeong was getting at, but I decided to listen. There had to be a reason she was explaining this.
“But, to be honest, humans aren’t perfect like gods. They have great potential, but they’re still imperfect. That applies to all humans.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Let’s go back to the beginning. As far as I know, the Ancient Evil God was sealed by a human, not a god. Sealing a god requires an incredibly powerful barrier, obviously. But…”
“But?”
“The problem is that a human did the sealing. Perfection can’t be guaranteed. No matter how great that human was, it can’t compare to a seal made with countless gods involved. Right?”
“So…”
“Exactly. The Ancient Evil God probably awakened during the box incident, weakening the seal. Maybe someone interfered from outside. In any case, it’s reasonable to suspect this caused the abnormal phenomenon. …Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“……”
I wanted to hear it, but I also hoped it wasn’t true. If Hwajeong was right, if my guess was correct… then we’d be facing a high-ranking god. I felt like I’d found a clue, but at the same time, a heavy gloom settled over me.
“The Ancient Evil God…”
Even to my own ears, my voice was a weary sigh.
“Ancient Evil God, Ancient Evil God…”
I felt like I’d heard the name before, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recall clearly. Should I scour the secret library? That would take a lot of time.
…Wait, wait.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind like a ray of light. It was a thought that came without warning or omen. Yes, I had recently ‘read’ something related to this. Not in my first run, but in the second.
Clack.
I opened the drawer straight away, and my eyes landed on a fan bathed in a blue glow. Instinctively, I activated my third eye.
The Dancer of the White Night
(Explanation: Originally, a dancer was simply a woman who performed dances, and in ancient Hall Plain, they were seen as offerings to pray for prosperity and peace. But after the appearance of the Dancer of the White Night, that perception changed completely. This extraordinary dancer’s origin traces back to a time when the sun was swallowed by darkness, when a woman emerged on her own from the Valley of the Divine Maiden.
She traveled across the entire continent, tasked with warding off misfortune and disaster, while protecting good fortune and blessings. Her elegant dance soothed the deadened land, and with a single flick of her fan, she dispelled the darkness that covered the sky, earning the reverence of all humanity.
In the end, she was defeated by a powerful evil spirit and fell into degradation, but ultimately, she chose the tragic path of surrendering herself to that evil spirit, descending into ruin. Though her end was far from beautiful, there is no doubt that she was a beautiful miracle who saved the world.
The Dancer of the White Night is rooted in supernatural existence and folk magic that prays for mystical power, especially embodying an absolute antagonism toward evil.)
The moment I read the explanation, I couldn’t help but let out a breath—maybe a sigh.
“Hah…”
A chill ran down my spine.
I couldn’t be certain. Maybe it wasn’t true.
But if I assumed this current phenomenon was an abnormal sign, and combined it with Hwajeong’s explanation…
“This extraordinary dancer’s origin traces back to a time when the sun was swallowed by darkness…”
“Dispelling the darkness that covered the sky…”
That part sounded eerily similar to what’s happening now.
“A woman who emerged on her own…”
“In the end, she was defeated by a powerful evil spirit and fell into degradation…”
The woman was the extraordinary human Hwajeong mentioned. The powerful evil spirit was the ancient evil god.
“Ultimately, she chose the tragic path of surrendering herself to that evil spirit, descending into ruin.”
“Though her end was far from beautiful, there is no doubt she was a beautiful miracle who saved the world.”
She chose to fall, sacrificing herself to seal the ancient evil god.
Could it be interpreted this way?
—Whoa, this is…
“How does it look?”
—The darkest place is right under the lamp. It matches our prediction perfectly.
“Damn.”
—Are you going?
“…I have to.”
There was no question about it. If our prediction was true, the responsibility lay with us. I bought the box and instructed Ansol to open it. Even if I tried to deny responsibility, we had to go. It was a situation I didn’t want to think about, but if the ancient evil god fully awakened, who knew what kind of nightmare would unfold.
Exhale.
It’s over. The goal became clearer, and the method was found. Of course, it’s still incomplete, but at least the course of action was set. Now, all that remained was to act.
“Hwajeong, if this ancient evil god fully awakens, can I win?”
—At your current state? You’d lose 100%. But if you use the Flame of Purification ability, you have a 70% chance to overwhelm it for five minutes.
The Flame of Purification, huh. That made sense. It had even allowed me to hold my own against that monstrous Gehenna for a while.
“But you said never to use it unless death is certain?”
—Of course. That ability uses your life force as collateral. It’s a kind of mutual destruction. So unless you’re sure you’re going to die, don’t use it.
“So basically, you’re telling me to die.”
—Can’t be helped. We can only pray the seal hasn’t been completely broken.
I guess that’s all there is to it. I’ve uncovered everything I can here. The rest I’ll have to confirm in person.
I stood up with determination. This wasn’t the time to hesitate. I needed to gather all the data, prepare as quickly as possible, and set out.
The destination: the Valley of the Divine Maiden.
Just before leaving the room, I glanced out beyond the terrace.
“……”
The sky was still dark.
Author’s Note
The Joara interview will probably be posted on the Joara blog about a week from now.
Rather than a stiff, formal interview, I wrote it roughly and wildly, like a typical afterword.
I put a lot of effort into answering some of the more… interesting questions, so please look forward to it. Bow.
Wishing all readers a peaceful night. :)