Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
A pitch-black space where not even a speck of light could seep in.
The Murim Alliance's Underground Thunder Prison.
This place, reserved for the worst of the worst evildoers who had committed unforgivable sins against the orthodox martial world, now echoed with rough groans under the footsteps of an uninvited guest who hadn't appeared in years.
Drip. Drop. Drip.
Despite the relentless patter of water droplets pounding his head in the damp air that couldn't escape, the intruder didn't slow his pace one bit.
He had no time for that. No leisure. No inclination.
And so he walked and walked some more.
"Gwang-il."
Finally halting before his long-sought destination, the uninvited guest called out to his old rival in a voice heavy with gravity.
"...What is it? What brings you, Hye-jong, to this stinking hellhole? The Murim Alliance Leader, unifier of the world, no less..."
Kuh huh huh huh!
Directly in front of the gaze Hye-jong fixed with deep, profound eyes.
From beyond the thick iron bars forged from a single slab of metal came a stream of weak, wheezing laughter.
"Kuh kuh kuh kuh! To think you'd grace this wretched soul with a personal visit... I couldn't be more honored."
"..."
"Hey, baldy... Since you're here anyway, why not smash my skull in before you go? Leaving me alive with my dantian shattered like this—it's downright sadistic, don't you think? And you, of all people, a supposed man of Buddha."
Clank. Clank.
Even as he twisted the heavy iron chains binding his limbs this way and that, the man—Gwang-il—kept pressing his demand, his breath ragged and rough.
"Hey, you listening? Coming all the way down here alone like this... You must want something from me. In our evil paths, you see, what comes in must go out..."
"The Western Outer Evil Palaces have launched a lightning invasion of the Central Plains."
"..."
The low, sunken voice cut in abruptly.
Toward Gwang-il, frozen speechless, Hye-jong continued in that same profound tone, slowly recounting the outside world's dire straits.
"Gansu, Shaanxi, and Shanxi have already fallen to the North Sea Ice Palace. The Potala Palace has fully seized Sichuan."
"..."
"The South Sea Sun Palace swept through Guangxi and Guangdong, past Fujian, and has now reached Zhejiang."
"..."
"And the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace has pushed out from Guizhou, all the way into Hunan and Jiangxi."
"Kuh! To let those damnable beast bastards take that much... I always knew you lot were pathetic, but this is beyond imagination—truly pathetic."
Was it because he'd heard the names of his ancient enemies and blood-sworn foes?
Even though his dantian had been shattered years ago and all his limbs' meridians severed, a hellfire-like blaze surged fiercely in Gwang-il's eyes.
"You stupid baldy. Didn't I tell you plainly? This isn't the time for the righteous and evil paths to be at each other's throats."
"..."
"That stubborn pig from Mount Hua who refused to admit it even on his deathbed must be long gone by now. Kuh kuh kuh kuh! Pathetic. Utterly pathetic!"
The current state of the Central Plains sprang into his mind as if painted there in an instant.
And because of that?
A cold sneer settled over Gwang-il's face.
"All that's left are Henan, Hebei, Hubei, and Anhui. With Huangbo and the Ak family dead by my sword, Shandong will soon fall into the South Sea villagers' clutches."
"..."
"You'll be devoured from all sides without mercy, oh great Murim Alliance Leader. Kuh kuh kuh kuh! Kuh ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
The vast expanse of the Thunder Prison thrummed and reverberated with Gwang-il's boiling, savage laughter.
But that underground-shaking cackle didn't last long.
Soon, the mirth vanished from his eyes, replaced by a gushing chill and murderous intent from their depths.
"Didn't I tell you and your ancestors thirty-odd years ago? Ignoring my sect's crisis would cost you—paid in your blood and tears one day."
"..."
"If you hypocrites had just helped my sect back then, those Beast Palace animals wouldn't have dared ravage Yunnan. Then the Four Palaces wouldn't be closing in on you from all sides like this."
"..."
"Even if you'd just left our Evil Path Alliance alone... I could've stopped the Beast Palace and Sun Palace with these hands. At the very least, I'd have smashed the Beast Palace to pieces."
"..."
Even as the man growled his accusations like a wounded beast, Hye-jong merely kept his eyes tightly shut, murmuring Amitabha Buddha under his breath.
"You. You all ruined it. This Central Plains, the long history of the martial world—all because of you stupid hypocrites...!"
"Thus, I seek to start over."
As Gwang-il unleashed a torrent of curses and blame upon hearing this pathetic, absurd end...
Hye-jong, who had listened silently, spoke softly and drew a small bronze mirror from his robes.
At the appearance of this unfamiliar artifact, even Gwang-il fell silent, staring at it with wary suspicion.
"What trick is this now?"
"A treasured and ghostly relic of our alliance that pierces the fog of ignorance to reveal past and future. We call it the Wheel of Reincarnation Mirror."
"What the hell does that even mean...?"
"I intend to turn back history."
"...What?"
An absurd, ridiculous declaration.
Turn back history?
What nonsense was this?
Gwang-il, too stunned to speak, only regained his voice after the time it takes to sip a cup of tea.
"Baldy. Has senility set in amid this crisis? Turn back what?"
"I said, turn back history. This Wheel of Reincarnation Mirror holds the power to defy heaven itself."
"...You. A baldy monk, spouting 'defying heaven' like it's nothing."
When faced with an utterly baffling situation, the mind refuses to turn easily.
Hye-jong's unpredictable words and actions— from the lifelong rival he'd always known—were exactly that for Gwang-il.
Regardless, Hye-jong, his resolve firm, simply murmured on with what he'd prepared.
"Using this mirror's power, the subject can return to the past they most desperately desire."
"..."
"And so, I plan to send you back."
"You bastard...!"
He knew all too well that the man before him never spoke empty words.
He'd seen and experienced it since his days as a young disciple.
Even these fantastical claims couldn't be dismissed lightly now.
"What bullshit have you been spouting?! Me! The Dark Heaven Emperor Gwang-il—are you here to mock me?!"
Clank! Clank!
Concluding he'd been toyed with, Gwang-il thrashed wildly, spewing venom.
"You filthy scum! Now even you dare to...!"
"No mockery. No jest. Certainly no lie."
"?!"
Hye-jong had slipped through the solid bars like chopsticks and now wore a faint, benevolent smile befitting a monk.
The deep regret, sorrow, and faint hope in that small smile halted Gwang-il's furious struggles cold.
"You may not know it, but I've wrestled with anguish for a long time. When my sect elders chose to abandon Point Cang... and when you, the sole survivor, rallied the evil paths into the Evil Path Alliance."
"..."
"I lacked the courage to defy the greater tide. Truly cowardly and foolish. Amitabha Buddha."
"..."
"Nor do I have your proactive spirit or the courage to right every wrong. So call me baldy—what can I say?"
Heh heh heh heh heh.
Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, Hye-jong's weary gaze turned back to his old comrade, whose face twisted like a wrathful demon.
"No need to understand. This cowardly, foolish monk merely seeks to burden you once more."
"...I can't make heads or tails of a word you're saying."
"Heh heh heh! You'll understand in time, whether you like it or not. You've always adapted well to what's thrown at you."
"Send me to the past? You think I'd let you hypocrites off the hook then?"
If he could truly return to the past he yearned for in his memories.
If he could see his senior brothers and master again...
"I'd chew every last one of you to pieces. You still want to use that relic on me?"
Amitabha Buddha. "If that's how it goes, what choice is there? Better you tear us apart than be shredded by the Outer West's predators."
"..."
"But you won't have the luxury. You haven't forgotten when the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace invaded Yunnan, have you?"
How could he forget?
How could he erase that day from his mind...!
Gnashing his teeth at the sudden flood of horrific, despairing memories, Gwang-il growled.
"With your nature, you couldn't abandon the evil path donors you once yielded territory to. You couldn't stand by while the South Sea Sun Palace ravaged them."
"Well aren't you bold, saying such things. Using a man this ruthlessly—makes me doubt if you're really orthodox."
"Call me what you will. You'll go to the past, save Point Cang by any means. Then, as I said, scramble to save the evil paths."
"..."
"Go. Once you've driven out the demons from the Outer West, do as you please after. Punish those Nine Great Sects you despise, whatever."
Amitabha Buddha—!
The invocation grew a touch louder.
With it, the hand carefully lifting the bronze mirror turned toward Gwang-il's bound face.
"Please, return to the past and stop this tragedy."
"Three Lives as One, Without Beginning or End..." "In the Wheel of Reincarnation Mirror, shatter karmic bonds..." "With this mirror's wish, transcend the six realms..." "Radiant light illuminates, returning to primal origins..."
⟨ Wheel of Reincarnation Mirror ⟩
As the murmured incantation continued, strange lights began flickering one by one over the old, tarnished bronze mirror.
'For real...?!'
For Gwang-il, who'd harbored faint doubts, it was a miracle that made his eyes bulge wide.
Amid it all, Hye-jong's unwavering voice steadily transformed the mirror into something entirely other.
Before he knew it, his gaze was irresistibly drawn.
As he stared fixedly at his reflection in the mirror, a torrent of brilliant golden light suddenly poured down like a storm before Gwang-il's eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Ugh..."
The body clutching its throbbing head and rolling sideways suddenly froze stiff.
Flash!
His eyes snapped open wide, and he bolted upright.
"Hah, haaah!"
Thud!
As if to mock his springing up, the body collapsed limply back onto the bedding.
Fine tremors shook his entire frame without cease.
"This... is real?!"
A familiar space he'd never forgotten, even in dreams.
A nostalgic scent that pierced his soul.
Relishing what had turned to ashes long ago, Gwang-il's gaze slowly turned to his own hands.
"Hah...!"
The meridians in both hands, severed by Mount Hua's mad pig, were intact.
Not just that—the leg meridians sliced by Wudang's Tai Chi Sword Immortal were whole too.
No, more than whole; his limbs were noticeably slimmer than before...
"...What year is this?"
As he groped his body, piecing together when this dreamlike moment might be...
"Ah, Eldest Senior Brother! If you don't hurry, there really won't be any soup left... Huh? Eldest Senior Brother? What are you doing?"
"You... you're...!"
"Eek?! What the—? What's with the creepy antics first thing in the morning?"
A familiar-faced boy backed away with a suspicious frown.
"Ah... ahhh...!"
The face of the junior brother he'd longed for endlessly.
A joy beyond words bloomed across Gwang-il's face as they met eyes.
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