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In the Heart of the Sky (5)

The moment I stepped into the room, everything around me plunged into darkness, and my surroundings transformed.

I found myself standing alone in a vast, empty void.

It was as if I were the only being in existence, surrounded by an all-encompassing silence.

Looking down, I realized there was nothing beneath my feet. I wasn’t standing on solid ground—I was standing in the sky.

Then, a light flickered in the distance, revealing a single star.

That star was just the beginning. Soon, stars began to appear all around me, above and below.

“Wow!”

Standing amidst a sky full of stars was truly a wondrous and surreal experience. Hundreds, thousands of stars illuminated the space around me, and I felt as if I were standing within the Milky Way. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

A comet streaked across the sky, leaving a long tail in its wake.

[Wow! This is incredible.]

My awe was met with a voice from within.

[Don’t get too distracted. The test isn’t over yet.]

[Of course.]

We both knew that the most beautiful things could also be the most dangerous.

Just then, one of the lights shone brighter than the rest.

Whoosh!

It shot towards me with the speed of light.

Instinctively, I twisted my body, narrowly avoiding it.

Blood trickled down from my shoulder where the light had grazed me, and pain flared.

[Are you telling me I have to fight these starlights?]

As if responding to my unspoken thoughts, another light flashed and darted towards me.

Whoosh!

This time, it grazed my arm. The blood that flowed was hot and real, and the wound was genuine. The terrifying part was that my protective energy was useless here.

I understood then. If one of those lights pierced my heart, I would truly die. This wasn’t the world of celestial illusions; it was the real test of life and death.

Whoosh!

A third attack came.

Fortunately, I dodged it without injury.

The fourth attack also missed me. With each encounter, I was adapting to the speed and nature of the light’s assault.

This is the true mark of a master. When it comes to martial arts, one can adapt almost instantly.

I evaded the fifth and sixth attacks as well. With each attempt, it became easier to dodge, and I used minimal energy to do so.

A voice cheered from within.

[Oh! Well done!]

[Heh, this is nothing.]

[Alright, I’ll give you that.]

Then, suddenly, two stars began to shine simultaneously.

[No way, it can’t be…]

In the next moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two beams of light shot towards me at once. I dodged instinctively, but avoiding both was impossible.

Slash!

Blood spurted from my shoulder, the wound larger than before. My heart pounded with fear.

Despite my urgency, two more stars lit up.

I dodged desperately. The thought of dying if I got hit helped me narrowly avoid them.

Focus! If I concentrate, I can dodge them!

I evaded the next series of attacks. By focusing all my attention, I could see how to avoid them.

The lights kept coming, two at a time, from above and below.

After dodging two, three stars lit up.

“Damn it!”

Three beams of light came at me. I dodged two, but the third struck.

Slash!

A long gash opened on my side, the worst injury yet.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before I died.

But having come this far, there had to be a way to pass this test. There must be a solution.

Suddenly, the nature of the test dawned on me.

Breaking the mold.

That was the essence of this trial, as the voice had often told me. In previous tests, I passed by making unexpected choices.

Just then, three more beams of light came at me.

I dodged two and didn’t avoid the one coming straight at me. Instead, I sliced it vertically with my sword.

Swoosh!

Astonishingly, the light split in two, flying past me on either side.

I let out a sigh of relief. It was a gamble with my life. If I had been wrong, I would have been fatally wounded.

I made this choice because of a thought that crossed my mind.

The idea that light couldn’t be cut—wasn’t that just a preconception?

Perhaps the solution to this terrifying attack was to face it head-on and cut through it.

Now, four stars lit up.

Naturally, four beams of light shot towards me.

But knowing I could cut through the light with my sword, the beams were no longer more threatening than a swiftly flying blade.

I dodged two and cut through the other two. The severed beams brushed past me harmlessly.

As if testing my limits, the number of beams increased.

But I remained unfazed.

Could I withstand this attack?

I was confident I could. I had the martial skills to do so.

That confidence became the driving force to fend off the attacks.

When I deflected nine beams, the attack pattern changed.

All the stars around me lit up at once. Even I couldn’t fend off so many beams at once.

In a typical situation, I might have thought of death, but I watched calmly.

I trusted this test. Though it seemed merciless, it had a certain dignity.

I believed that the lights wouldn’t all attack at once.

And I was right.

The bright lights converged into one spot.

They formed the shape of a person.

It was a being made of starlight, a luminous figure.

I sensed that this was the final challenge of this room.

The voice spoke with concern.

[It doesn’t look ordinary.]

[It doesn’t.]

[Are you confident?]

[I’ll have to try.]

I couldn’t spend eternity here. I had a place to return to, and people waiting for me there.

The luminous figure charged at me. Its speed was like the beams of light before.

Thud!

I crossed my arms to block its strike.

Feeling the weight of the blow, I realized this fight wouldn’t be easy.

In a flash, the figure’s fist was aimed at my face. Its speed was truly like light.

Swoosh!

Slash!

My sword struck first, slicing through its neck. But the fist kept coming.

Thud!

I took a hit and was knocked back.

Meanwhile, light poured from the figure’s severed neck, and the wound closed.

The figure seemed immortal. At its speed and strength, I wouldn’t last long.

Desperately, I called out to the voice.

[Say something!]

[I want to flee from your body.]

[Is that what you have to say right now?]

[Do you think I have a solution?]

[Weren’t you the true darkness that faced the light?]

[Can you joke at a time like this?]

The situation worsened.

A sword of light extended from the figure’s hand. Even my sword might not withstand it.

[Pour water on it. Or cover it with a cloth. That should extinguish the light.]

[Are you serious? Is that your advice?]

Then, I had a sudden realization.

[Huh?]

[What?]

[You’re right.]

[What do you mean?]

[The opposite of light is darkness, and we, who have mastered the dark arts, are darkness, aren’t we?]

[What? Explain it simply.]

[Why am I fighting here? It’s already disadvantageous. I should fight on my own turf.]

I unleashed the sixth form of my dark sword technique.

Suddenly, darkness enveloped the area, and a rain of sword energy began to fall.

Swoosh!

In the darkness, the rain of sword energy descended.

It wasn’t ordinary sword energy.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The rain of sword energy pierced the luminous figure. It staggered but didn’t die.

Each time the sword energy pierced the figure, light spilled out. Normally, it would re-enter the figure and heal it, but in this darkness, it was different. The darkness absorbed and devoured the light.

The figure staggered through the rain, approaching me. The rain of sword energy continued to fall.

Swoosh!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As the sword energy kept hitting, more light spilled from its body, and the figure shrank.

I poured all my energy into this final battle. Even if there was another fight, that was a problem for later.

At least in this battle with the luminous figure, my choice was correct.

Before my energy was depleted, the figure vanished.

Boom!

The last remaining light exploded and disappeared into the surrounding darkness.

The next moment, as the rain of sword energy ended, the world brightened.

I was no longer in the void of stars but standing in the third room.

A smile crept onto my face.

Ahead of me stood the mysterious old man I had met before.

“Congratulations.”

“Does that mean…?”

“You are now the true successor of the Demon God’s Technique. The test you just completed was the final confirmation of your worthiness to become its master.”

At last, the trials of the Demon God’s Technique were over.

I bowed respectfully to the old man. “Thank you.”

“Come, have a celebratory drink with me.”

We sat across from each other at the table, and he poured a drink into a cup he had prepared in advance.

We toasted, and as I drank, it felt as if all the hardships I’d endured vanished with that single sip.

The old man, as if sensing the right moment, asked calmly, “Do you believe in the heavens?”

In the past, I might have answered ‘no’ or perhaps ‘I don’t know.’

“Yes.”

That was my answer now.

The old man smiled gently. “I believe too. The heavens I believe in are neither on the side of good nor evil. They always strive for balance and harmony in the martial world.”

His words seemed to relate to me, so I listened intently.

“When peace lasts too long, evil arises to disrupt it. Thus, when a villain appears to disturb the world, a hero emerges to stop them. That’s the way of things.”

“Am I a villain or a hero?”

“What do you think?”

“At the very least, I hope I’m not a villain.”

The old man gave a mysterious smile. “That’s something only time can tell. True judgment often comes after one’s life has ended.”

I nodded, having experienced something similar. Only after my death did I truly understand how the martial world viewed me.

Now it was my turn to ask. “Who are you, sir?”

Instead of answering, the old man posed another question. “How does it feel to be reborn?”

I was startled. Even though I had met the old man with the Heavenly Demon, I had never revealed my true identity. And it wasn’t like the Heavenly Demon would have told him.

“How did you know?”

The old man simply smiled.

“Was it you who did this?”

Goodness! What was I even asking? How could such a thing be possible? If it were, who exactly was this old man?

Sensing my curiosity, the old man smoothly changed the subject. “You still have a choice to make.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know the legend of the Demon God’s Technique?”

“Yes. I’ve heard that if you unravel its secrets, you can master the greatest martial arts of all time and even become a Demon God.”

“You have now mastered the greatest martial arts.”

I had learned the Demon God’s swordsmanship, a power beyond what could be considered human.

Achieving mastery and learning the final seven techniques would now depend on my own efforts.

“So, I’ve mastered the technique, and now it’s just a matter of becoming a Demon God.”

“Exactly.”

“What does it mean to become a Demon God?”

“It means becoming a god, quite literally.”

“Does that mean I can’t live in the human world?”

“You can live here, but you will lead an immortal life, never aging.”

”…An immortal life.”

I had never considered it before, so the concept felt distant.

But one thing was clear: I would have to watch everyone around me die. Who could truly believe in such a grandiose conversation?

“Becoming a Demon God is entirely your choice.”