In the northern city of Sungye, the Grand Library of the Celestial Archives was considered sacred. A vault of ancient scrolls, forbidden records, and martial secrets older than any sect. Scholars called it the Last Memory of the Martial World.
Jin Mu-Won had read every word in that library once. Three hundred years ago, before his name became curse and prophecy, he had walked those halls in silence. He remembered the smell of ink, the soft brushstrokes of truth buried in layers of dogma. Back then, he was a seeker.
Now, he returned as a correction.
He appeared at noon, when the sun was highest and the shadows shortest. He walked through the library gates, past startled monks and protectors in golden robes. They raised weapons, but none struck. Their instincts screamed louder than their loyalty.
At the heart of the library, an old man waited—Master Hyun Se, Head Archivist of the Celestial Order. He was not a warrior, but his cultivation was refined through stillness. He had been a child when Mu-Won was sealed.
"Jin Mu-Won," Hyun Se said, unafraid. "You came not to destroy the past, but to drag it into the light."
"Then you know why I'm here," Mu-Won replied.
Hyun Se nodded. "To unmake the lie."
In the deepest vault of the library, sealed behind nine formation doors, was a scroll known only to a few: The Doctrine of Balance. It was the document on which the Nine Heavens Alliance was founded. It was said to contain the absolute truth of martial order—a pact between clans to prevent another Heavenly Demon.
But Mu-Won knew better.
They didn't build peace.
They built a lie so powerful it rewrote history.
When Mu-Won stepped into the vault, the scroll unraveled itself. It pulsed with resistance, not from spirit, but from human intent—generations of leaders feeding their qi into it to anchor the lie deeper into the world.
He placed a single hand over the parchment. His qi surged—not wild, not violent, but honest. The ink bled. The golden words melted. Beneath the noble language, another script emerged.
It was a confession.
The Nine Heavens had conspired with outer clans to betray him.
They feared his philosophy more than his power. Because he taught others to become like him. And in a world ruled by legacy, they couldn't afford that.
"Truth cannot be destroyed," Hyun Se whispered. "Only buried. Until someone dares to dig."
Mu-Won burned the scroll.
Not with fire—but with a breath. A whisper of qi that turned paper, ink, and history into ash.
"Let them explain this," he said. "Let them scramble to defend what never existed."
As he turned to leave, Hyun Se knelt.
"Master," he said, voice breaking. "Will you teach me?"
Mu-Won paused.
"The truth is a path," he said. "If you're ready to walk it barefoot, follow."
The Celestial Archives didn't fall in flame. They transformed.
And the second lie in the world cracked.