Absolute Regression

Chapter 2

Episode 2 Did you push me?

The merciless time passed helplessly.

The world still belonged to fire weapons. According to rumors, fire weapons have become even stronger. He walked toward the ultimate purpose of martial arts through endless training.

The absolute masters of twelve of his followers ruled the world alliance. The world called them the Twelve Kings.

Although the Absolute unified the martial arts world, life did not improve. All kinds of injustice were rampant in relation to the kings of the zodiac. If you look good to them, you gain fame; if you disobey them, you lose your life. In fact, life has become more difficult than when the two were divided into two major factions.

Meanwhile, the Murim League and the Sadoma League were still unable to solve the seal. Everyone said that unless Hwamugi died, the seal would never be released.

Just when I thought he might have died in some unknown valley, the man came back.

When I first met him, he was young, but now he was an adult with gray hair below his ears. The man was showing a prayer that was incomparably more mature than before.

He had changed. His face and body were tanned as if he had been around the whole world, and he had several invisible scars. He had changed horribly, but his cold, clear, simple, yet deep eyes were the same as when he first came to see me.

“Now, here is Mannyeonhwari’s inner altar.”

The box he held out really contained the inner altar of Mannyeonhwari.

“It really happened!”

The ghost’s voice trembled.

“How on earth did you get it?”

“I searched every possible place. I can confidently say that I am an absolute expert at Santagi swimming, diving, and camping. “You could probably draw a map of the central plains with your eyes closed.”

“It’s really amazing.”

“It’s not that you saved it, but that you didn’t go crazy in the process.”

The ghost suddenly had this thought. Perhaps this may not be Mannyeonhwari’s internal plan, but this man’s will. While I was imagining a strange dream of sky-blue will flowing out of the man’s body and forming an inner circle, the man urged me again.

“Now what’s the next ingredient?”

“Don’t you want to brag?”

What a great adventure it must have been to obtain the ingredients obtained earlier. If it were me, I would not have been able to resist bragging about this success story to anyone.

“Boasting, I’m going to kill him later and feast on his corpse. I will say it again and again, turn it into a mummy, and do it for the rest of my life. “So that I can kill you…”

“It’s strange that you make such a joke.”

The ghost wanted to laugh and chat with this man and talk about martial arts and life. But the man was busy as always.

“Now what is the fourth ingredient?”

“It’s money.”

The man asked in response to an unexpected answer.

“How much do you need?”

“Five million nyang.”

It was an unimaginably large amount of money, but the man’s reaction was the same.

“I’ll be back.”

Even if it’s 100 million nyang, even if it’s a billion nyang, the ghost knows that that man will jump up and say he’ll come back.

I guess he added it as a joke while looking at himself. Should I just kill them and beat them all up?

However, he is a person who silently moves towards his goal. The ghost was looking at an extreme example of how terrifying a person’s will can be when properly pissed off.

“Wait a moment.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“I will pay for it. For this Dafa, my family has been saving money for generations. “I will spend that money.”

“The reason is?”

“Because making Dafa a success is the long-cherished wish of me and my family.”

“Okay. Thank you. I really appreciate it. “It could save a lot of time.”

The man was really happy.

“So, would you like to have a drink with me today?”

“I’ll just have one drink and then I’ll leave.”

“You are a mean friend.”

We brought some alcohol, sat side by side on a rock in the yard, and poured it into a large glass and drank it. The two drank slowly, savoring the drink.

“When we first saw each other, you and I were very cheerful.”

“My body is getting older, but my mind remains the same. “I’m desperately trying to stay young.”

“Why do you make such efforts?”

“Because I will return to the way I was when I was young. Whether I return at the age of fifty, sixty, or one hundred, I am the same person who came to you at the time. “My time stopped that day.”

If I had heard this when I first met him, I would have thought, ‘The effort is incredible, but is it worth it?’ But now I know better than anyone else how great a man’s willpower is.

“If Dafa really succeeds and you can go back to the past, would you mind asking me one favor?”

“Please speak.”

“If you ever go back to the past, be sure to come visit me.”

“What if you go?”

The ghost let out a long sigh and said.

“Please stop my marriage.”

The man burst into laughter at the unexpected request.

“ha ha ha.”

The man smiled for the first time since we met.

“It’s no joke. “Please stop me.”

“Is that more important than five million nyang?”

“It’s more important to me. Just live alone for the rest of your life. “Be sure to do so.”

“I understand.”

The ghost told us which year he was getting married and asked again.

“I promise.” “I will definitely stop you.”

“I promise.”

The two emptied the remaining drinks.

“What is the last ingredient?”

“You know this too.”

“What is it?”

“Secret demon soul.”

The man’s eyes sank as he knew what it was.

“It’s a sacred item from your late father.”

“I know. “My father never let go of it for even a moment.”

“Do you have it?”

The man shook his head.

“Do you know where it is?”

“I don’t know.”

“What if, just in case, Hwamugi has it?”

“Then all these years will have been in vain. Fortunately, even if it remains at our school, it won’t be easy to obtain.”

Currently, the Demonic Cult was closed and led by a new leader.

Although it was unable to release the seal due to the force of the fire weapon, the demon religion had been strengthening its strength over the years and strengthening its internal stability.

As the son of the previous religious leader, there was no way he would be welcomed back. Rather, when he appears, who was thought to be dead, the new leader will try to kill him.

“But let’s hope it stays at our school.”

“Don’t take too long. “I’m old now too.”

“Don’t die until I come back. “Thank you for the drink.”

After pouring out the last of his drink, the man left.

The ghost stood there for a very long time and watched the man walk away.

The man who left like that did not return. There was no news that trouble had occurred in the Demonic Church. Still, I always listened.

As time passed and the ghost grew older, the flowers of the underworld were in full bloom on his face.

Today too, I was sitting on the floor blankly, looking at the place where the man had always been standing.

Then the ghost rubbed his eyes as if he had seen something in vain.

I saw someone staggering towards me.

It was that man.

The man who left to get the last ingredient has returned.

He had changed so much. His face was so badly disfigured that he looked like a different person, and he had lost his right eye and left arm. When she took off her clothes, her body, which seemed to be full of wounds, was soaked in blood.

Seeing that sight, the ghost was speechless.

After handing over the Bimahon, the man sat down on the spot.

“You… how on earth did you save Bimahon?”

“… Let’s go to a place where Dafa can be practiced.”

He didn’t even have the energy to answer.

The ghost supported him and went to the space where the Great Law was to be practiced.

Everything was ready there.

The long-awaited final ingredient.

The ghost took the Bimahon and placed it in the center. Then, the Bimahon, which had become a dragon-like peak, began to shine brightly, and all kinds of strange pictures and letters began to appear around it.

The ghost stood in front of him and began to recite a spell.

Blue and red light began to surround the surroundings. The sound bell rang and incense rose from the Sinnoh incense burner.

The moment the ghost’s spell reached its peak, the main ingredients merged and became one, and a shimmering cluster of light appeared there. It looked like an entrance leading somewhere.

“I did it!”

The ghost’s face was overflowing with emotion. It was a moment when a family’s long-held wish that had been passed down for hundreds of years was fulfilled.

The ghost approached the man leaning against the pillar. Was it because a lot of blood was shed? I had lost my mind. Instead of waking him up and supporting him, the ghost spoke softly.

“… I’m sorry.”

He decided to go back to the past.

“I’m really sorry.”

I felt even more sorry because I knew how hard this man worked to get the ingredients. However, these materials could never be obtained again.

“I will definitely come to you and inform you of the trouble ahead. “I promise.”

The ghost got up and turned towards the light.

“Going back to the past has been our family’s lifelong wish. “It was also my long-cherished wish.”

When he was about to walk towards the halo of light.

“Ugh.”

The ghost was startled and stopped in place.

Before I knew it, the demon blood had been suppressed. I couldn’t even tell when I was subdued.

A drowsy voice comes from behind.

“How could you do this?”

The man who was thought to have lost his mind stood up.

“Look.”

The ghost’s voice trembled.

A man walking unsteadily stopped in front of the ghost.

“You, no one else… How could you do this!”

The man grabbed the ghost’s neck. The old and decrepit ghost’s neck looked as if it might break at any moment.

“… I must have lost my mind. Ugh, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

The ghost thought the man was going to kill him. Yes, others may not know, but I shouldn’t have done that. Because only he knew how hard the man worked to prepare this Dafa material.

At that time, the man released his grip on the ghost’s neck.

“I’m a selfish person too. Since I was the only one who knew, I would have been able to gather all the ingredients. So it’s okay. “If it were someone else, I would have killed him with a single blow, but I understand you.”

The man did not reprimand the ghost. Rather, he spoke warmly with sincere eyes.

“Thank you for waiting for me all your life.”

The ghost’s eyes filled with tears as he heard the man’s sincere words. Sorry and regret were mixed. I could have had a better farewell. I really did.

It was the exact moment when the ghost’s tears fell.

The world stopped like a lie.

“uh?”

The man looked around in surprise. All movement stopped. The butterflies that were flying were floating in the air like a picture, and the blades of grass that were shaking in the wind were lying down and not getting up.

The same was true for the ghost standing in front. The tears he shed were also floating in the air.

The man wondered if he was seeing something in vain because he had lost a lot of blood.

It was right then. An old man appeared in a place where time had stopped except for the man.

“You passed all the tests.”

The man asked in surprise at the old man’s words.

“who are you?”

“Someone who can send you to the past.”

“!”

“How can human power defy the laws of heaven? “Did you think that mere spiritual objects and musical records would make that possible?”

When the old man raised his hand, the five objects he had collected throughout his life came into existence again and emerged around him. These were materials that had previously disappeared along with Dafa.

At that moment, the man knew. That the elderly are beings beyond humans.

“The real ingredients of this Dafa are not these objects, but the effort you put in to gather them.”

When the old man waved his hand, the objects disappeared like smoke.

“You passed the test. I sacrificed myself all my life and lived for only one purpose. And forgiving that ghost was the final test. “In fact, it was the most difficult test, but you passed it with the greatest ease.”

The man’s whole body trembled. All my life, I thought the sky was indifferent, so I thought there was no such thing as sky. An entity that is considered heaven exists before your eyes. Soon surprise gave way to anger.

“Did you have to work so hard to respond? “Are you that proud?”

“Don’t be too angry. People can see me more easily than you. Because there are people who meet me every day. “But isn’t it easy to grant your wish?”

The man agreed with that much. It is not about becoming rich or marrying a beautiful woman. His wish is to return to the past.

“Please let me go back.”

“What if you go?”

“I will kill those who should be killed and save those who should not be killed.”

The first thing is to kill the fire weapon and save everyone.

And there is something equally important.

“And… I want to live my life properly. Perhaps the reason I want to go back so desperately is because I regret my life as much as my anger toward Hwamugi.”

“What do you regret so much?”

“Everything. From birth until now, my life has not been one I led, but one in which I was pushed around by something. I was pushed here and there, pushed around, and it ended… Is that you? “The person who pushed me away?”

The old man smiled awkwardly and asked.

“What kind of life do you want to live after revenge?”

“I don’t know either. “Will I follow in my father’s footsteps and become the Demon of Heaven? Will I quietly turn my back on the world? Will I become a lecher who takes over all the beauties in the world? Will I leave the church and live a life of beating up trash? Or will I become trash? I haven’t decided on anything.”

“I wonder what kind of life you will lead. “I’m looking forward to that new life.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s have a drink next time we meet.”

With those words, the old man disappeared.

‘next time?’

He had a premonition that one day the old man might appear before him once again.

At the same time, the time that had stopped passed again. The butterfly that had stopped was flapping its wings and flying in the sky, the grass was shaking in the wind, and the tears of the ghost that had stopped in the air fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry. really.”

The man stared in silence at the ghost shedding tears of apology. He won’t even dream. That his Dafa is a great Dafa that touches the will of heaven. The final decision may be made by heaven, but at least the Great Law of Ghosts was definitely a medium that connected them to heaven.

The ghost asked with an anxious face.

“ah! It’s a shameless request, but don’t forget the promise you made to me! “You have to stop my marriage!”

The man chuckled. Even though he was old and close to death, he was making the same request.

“Are you still in hell?”

“It’s a hotter hell. I don’t have any shame, but I still ask you a favor. “If you don’t listen to me till the end, I’ll tear up my cargo.”

“That much?”

“It’s more than that.”

“Good. “Then the punishment for trying to betray me will be enough, so go through hell again.”

“iced coffee! Hey! please!”

The man walked toward the group of lights, leaving behind the howling ghost.

The ghost was overcome with passion as he watched the bright light beginning to disperse, embracing him, but in the end, this was what he wanted to say.

“I want to go too! Aaaah! I want to go!”