The clock’s hands scratched the white flesh, as if leaving a destined wound. “How many times do I have to tell you? Nothing is going on between me and Lady Goldencup! It’s all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding, I’m telling you!” I blinked and saw the blond prince seething before my eyes. Since only the prince and I were in the audience chamber, his anger was probably directed at me. “You have a completely wrong idea of who I am!” It felt like a long time had passed. Or maybe not. Was my sense of time ruined? It felt like my hair was slowly melting in lukewarm water. Was I swimming in Raviel’s dream? Or was Raviel swimming in my time? It doesn’t really matter either way. There was no reason to distinguish between us. The crown prince raised his voice even more. “This is very unpleasant! You talk like I’m cheating on you. Me! The crown prince of this empire!” I looked past the crown prince’s blond hair. The ornate, gold-plated wall clock gnawed away at its own flesh, wasting time. “Wait. Where are you looking when I’m talking to you?” “My apologies. I was looking at the clock.” “The clock? Are you saying that you find our conversation a waste of time?” “No, it’s just that the clock keeps passing the same place it has already passed, as if it doesn’t know it has already been there. Maybe eternity comes with forgetfulness.” “What? What are you talking about?” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI★Fire.net “Yesterday’s nagging and shouting have already taken place, and yet they are now forgotten. The day before yesterday, the day before that, a week, a month, a year—they are forgotten over and over, discarded again and again. It’s the sight I passed by and where my hands lingered yesterday. Yet they feel as unfamiliar as new sights. Maybe this is how people live eternally. Forever. They did it a thousand years ago and will do it a thousand years from now, too.” “I really don’t understand what you’re saying.” The crown prince narrowed his eyes. “Are you admitting that you misunderstood the relationship between me and Lady Goldencup?” I held up my fan. “Your Highness, you aren’t the first to betray one’s love and make excuses, nor will you be the last. You certainly won’t be the first to claim that it’s a misunderstanding or a mistake and escape for a day, either. Those who do all met their end and are lying in their graves. Be a little wiser. Will your fate change if you get through another day?” “I already told you I don’t understand what you’re saying!” “Lady Goldencup can’t love you.” The crown prince paused. “What?” “She loves only herself. Do you not understand? Though she may have feelings for you, her true joy is to see herself secretly sharing love with you,” I said in a calm voice. “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t share your love. If you wish to share your love with her, you must become her servant and sincerely beg for her love, as if asking for mercy, and accept her affection as a gift. Only such a relationship will bring eternal happiness to you and her, Your Highness. But you’re the crown prince of this nation and should rise to the highest seat in this empire. Can you bow to a mere baron’s daughter? If you bow, your subjects and people will follow suit. Then the ruler of the nation will no longer be you, but Lady Goldencup, Your Highness.” I stared at my fiance. “Are you truly planning to offer the empire to her family?” Water dripped from the side of my head. The blond man stood before me, holding an empty cup and glaring at me. His insult was meaningless, but even if it was the insult of the most worthless person in the world, it still left a wound on me. My heart stung. “Why don’t you ever understand me? It’s hard for me, too. It is! The prime minister nags me every day, and I have to act solemnly in a place I’m not used to. Of course you don’t understand since you’re the perfect Ivansia! But—” I stared at the crown prince. “But what?” I wondered if I should replace him. The emperor was a good ruler, but there were countless examples of tyrants succeeding these good rulers and immediately ruining the country. If the empire only had one more generation left before its inevitable fall, then it was probably not a bad idea to lay the groundwork now. It was a last resort, but to ensure this outcome, I should plant spies throughout the country, assassinate potential obstacles, and prepare to start an uprising when the time came. I met his eyes. The crown prince took a step back without realizing it. “I’m the one who understands you best. Since I was a child, I’ve tried very hard to love you. My love may seem insignificant, but it’s the best I can offer. In my heart, I cannot kindle a fire greater than this. Push away Lady Goldencup from your side. It’s the right path for you and the country.” The crown prince grabbed the door handle. “Monster. You’re a monster.” A drop of water from my wet hair fell when the clock’s second hand moved. Suddenly, I realized that I had been betrayed. [Unable to locate your killer’s title.] Anger began to bubble from that boredom. [Unable to locate your killer’s real name.] Though my life couldn’t be more boring. [Unable to locate your killer’s appearance.] [Trauma recreation failed.] [Replacing the required data for the trauma recreation.] I blinked and realized that I was sitting in the lotus position. Had I fallen asleep in this position? Or had I briefly entered a trance but failed to grasp enlightenment and slipped out? “Lady Heavenly Demon.” The world’s sounds reached my ears. Slowly, I turned my head. The young man in black clothes trembled. I knew his name. “It’s you, Ghostfire Demon King.” The Ghostfire Demon King bowed deeply. “M-my apologies. I dared to interfere with your cultivation... Please kill me!” “No need for that. I’ve heard that enlightenment is a state of tranquility that cannot be disturbed by anything or anyone. If it can be disturbed, then it was never enlightenment to begin with.” I smiled. “It’s as if I’ve just woken up from a dream. I’d rather receive an apology for having my pleasant nap disturbed.” “Um... I’m s-sorry...?” “Tsk. You’re no fun to tease. Just go there and stand on your head.”[1] “Ah! Yes!” the Ghostfire Demon King replied immediately, finding talking much easier. “Then I’ll report!” “First, we sent out messages throughout the land to evacuate the people,” the Ghostfire Demon King said, his head on the floor. Despite the fact that his head was supporting his entire body, his balance was good. He was indeed an elite member of my cult who had trained properly. “Many people didn’t believe that the recent plague is a divine punishment, so it was difficult to persuade them. But when we bound those already infected and paraded them around, even the most skeptical couldn’t doubt us any longer!” Several months had passed since the mysterious plague began spreading throughout gangho. This was still the world before I—Teacher—met the white end. “But even if they flee, they can’t escape the moving plague. We can’t build huts under the sea or pitch tents above the clouds. The edge of the beach under the sky will be the last refuge for people. You could have escaped to an island and survived one more day, but you paid your last respects to the people and consoled them. I’m proud of you all.” The Ghostfire Demon King straightened his posture and prostrated. Beyond him, hundreds of elite soldiers also prostrated. “This is the Heavenly Demon Cult’s murim!” Tens of thousands of followers knelt. “The world is owned by the grassroots!” A solemn echo resounded through the Heavenly Demon Cult’s headquarters. I sat on the stone platform and nodded in response. Before me was the Heavenly Demon Cult at their peak, having achieved their golden age. Yet it was all soooooooo boring. The world was on the brink of destruction, so what was the source of this boredom? It wasn’t that I considered trivial what was going on. I had never had such a narrow perspective on life, nor had I ever lived a leisurely life to find something boring. I had always lived with my life on the line, day and night, with no rest at all. Have I taken responsibility for what I was responsible for? Have I taken on responsibilities that weren’t mine? Did it feel good to hold my sword? I didn’t know. Slowly, I nodded. I could answer yes to all of these questions. All of the Demonic Heaven followers bowed. Only the sky could see me nod, so I used the white sky as a mirror and nodded to myself. I only have two answers to my questions. Perhaps, and I don’t know. That’s what bores me right now. “Namgung Woon,” I said. The Ghostfire Demon King looked up slightly. “Pardon?” "Send a letter to Namgung Woon, the Murim Alliance leader." The Ghostfire Demon King asked no more questions. He simply brought paper and ink and presented them to me. I wiggled my finger, and the paper floated, straightening itself. Since I had mastered Sword Telekinesis, I was less bound by tools. The Ghostfire Demon King let out a small gasp as I wiggled my fingers once more. My fingers became a brush, and the qi gathered at my fingertips became the ink. I gathered ink at a single point and swept it across the paper. The distance between me and the paper wasn’t a problem when it came to writing smoothly. Thus, the black letters, holding sixty years’ worth of qi, were written on the paper. I lowered my hand. “Burn it.” “Even if a plague ravages the world, the world will remain, and so will life when we wake up. That is my will. If what I said is true, it’ll remain even after it’s burned.” The Ghostfire Demon King trembled as he set the paper on fire. The candle flames quickly spread to the edges of the paper. After one bite of red flame, then another, the paper burned black. However, the flames couldn’t consume the letters. Instead, the letters burned because the qi within them held them in place. The letters became fire. Even if the base that they were holding onto was burned and burned again by the flames, the fire burned brightly in the air. They say that the world is sick and cannot be cured. But humans can console themselves for their sickness. A hundred years of life hang on a single second of death. My hundred years await you here. The Ghostfire Demon King trembled as he prostrated. I glanced at the words I had carved into the air. “I’ll write you one more letter. Send it to the leader of the Murim Alliance. Take it there yourself, and burn it in front of Namgung Woon and the rest of the alliance. My only regret is that I won’t be able to see their faces.” “Y-yes, Lady Heavenly Demon,” the Ghostfire Demon King stammered. I muttered, “When the letters are reduced to ashes, I’ll take it as a no to the Great War of Good and Evil.” My followers looked at the words engraved in the air and were filled with awe. They believed it was a miracle. It was no different from rain falling from the sky or flowers blooming on the ground, but the fire between heaven and earth was a sign. They seemed to find it as a permission to continue living. “This is the Heavenly Demon Cult’s murim!” they shouted. Something landed on my nose, so I looked up. “The world is owned by the grassroots!” Snow was falling from the sky. It was the first snow of the season. “This is the Heavenly Demon Cult’s murim!” Yes, Namgung Woon, you won’t betray me. “The world is owned by the grassroots!” But... can you make me happy? That had been, was, and would be my only remaining question. [Recreating your killer’s trauma.]