Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 348

Chapter 348 – The Rumor (3)

“Yes. You are the one who will purify this tainted world with sacred flames and lead the foolish beings to the demonic path!”

“……..”

At her voice filled with joy, Mok Gyeong-un’s expression turned bland.

Although he had secured her because of the prophecy or whatever it was, she was rambling on about something he had little interest in.

So, Mok Gyeong-un coldly drew the line.

“I’m not interested.”

“What?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Ye Song-ah, the granddaughter of Holy Fire Priestess, couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

As a devout follower of the Fire Faith Order, although she had unintentionally inherited the ability of prophecy, she believed that everything she had seen through the sacred orb would happen in the future and that it was her duty to assist in it.

‘Why is he reacting this way?’

If what she had seen through the sacred orb was true, the person in front of her was undoubtedly the one from the prophecy.

But why was he showing such a cold reaction?

In fact, he was treating it as if it were someone else’s business from the beginning.

“The prophe…”

“Shh.”

“Huh?”

“What I’m curious about through you is not that. Is it true that you inherited the ability of prophecy?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Ye Song-ah felt inwardly disappointed.

She had been waiting for him for a long time, but he was quite different from what she had expected.

However, her disappointment didn’t last long.

Through the sacred orb, she had seen all of his disappointment, pain, sorrow, and anger towards the world.

Therefore, she considered it natural for him to show such an indifferent attitude.

Moreover,

‘Ahura Mazda is a dual-natured deity, so he can be both a Spenta (good god) and an Ahriman, that is, an Angra (evil god).’

He was not absolute good.

He could be good to someone, but he could also be evil to someone else.

That’s why he is called a dual-natured being.

“I…”

“Can’t you answer my question?”

“…If you mean the ability to resonate with the sacred orb, then yes.”

“Resonate with the sacred orb?”

“Yes. To be precise.”

“Did you say that you can only receive revelations if you have the sacred orb?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hmm. I see. And you saw me through that sacred orb?”

“Yes. I saw you. That’s why I ask you to lead us, the foolish beings, on the path you pave.”

At her request, Mok Gyeong-un scoffed.

He didn’t know what kind of revelation it was that drove him like some kind of savior.

He was far from being such a being.

“The path I walk is only stained with blood.”

“If that is the process of purification, I can accept it to any extent.”

“Purification?”

“The current world is utterly tainted. In your absence…”

“Ah ah ah. Let’s stop talking about that.”

Mok Gyeong-un waved his hand in dismissal.

In the first place, he didn’t even know what the being inside him was.

However, both Holy Fire Priestess and this woman seemed to have high expectations of that being.

But he was too different from the being they knew.

The only thing that drove him was revenge.

“Enough of that. Let me ask you one thing.”

“…Command me.”

“Do you know anything about the Secret Society?”

At this question, Ye Song-ah’s eyes flickered with surprise.

It seemed she also knew something about the Secret Society.

Soon, she opened her mouth.

“I don’t know how long they have been with the Fire Faith Order, the main sect. But according to my grandmother, no, Holy Fire Priestess, they are known to be like a shadow to the main sect.”

“Shadow?”

“Yes. But as far as I know, they are not with them now.”

“I already know that from your grandmother.”

“Grandmother?”

Ye Song-ah’s eyes widened.

She thought her grandmother was imprisoned in the Golden Prison of the Imperial Palace.

At her reaction, Mok Gyeong-un spoke with narrowed eyes.

“As I thought.”

“Pardon?”

“I doubt that the revelation can be called a prophecy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. If the revelation is a prophecy, shouldn’t it have known that the Secret Society tried to manipulate the Fire Faith Order as they pleased and betrayed them?”

“That’s…”

“Moreover, it couldn’t even foresee that Holy Fire Priestess would be released. I don’t know what prophecy or revelation is.”

“Are you saying my grandmother has been released?”

At that question, Eight Poison Snake Staff Guyang Sa-oh pointed to the back of the carriage with his thumb and said,

“She’s in the carriage following behind.”

At those words, Ye Song-ah’s eyes reddened.

It seemed she had no idea that her grandmother was so close to her.

Seeing her like this, Mok Gyeong-un judged that the credibility of the revelation and prophecy was diminishing.

What use was a power that couldn’t even read one step ahead?

‘It’s merely symbolic.’

He thought there might be some value in using the prophetic power since it had been transferred to the granddaughter, but it didn’t seem much different from the powerless Holy Fire Priestess.

With a disappointed gaze, Mok Gyeong-un spoke to her.

“I wanted to know what the leader of the Secret Society wants and where he is using the power of that revelation, but it seems that’s difficult for you as well.”

“Are you talking about what the leader of the Secret Society wants?”

“Yes. But I don’t particularly…”

“The leader of the Secret Society desires your death.”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un flinched and looked into her eyes.

Her reddened eyes had suddenly become serious.

“He wants my death?…What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the exact reason, but if what I saw in the revelation is true, the leader of the Secret Society fears you. That’s why he seeks to kill you.”

“…I can’t understand. How can someone who has never seen me fear me?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, she frowned.

Then, she carefully parted her lips.

“Could it be…that the incarnation has no memory of him at all?”

“Incarnation?”

“Yes. As far as I know, you are his incarnation. Have you not accepted him who resides within you?”

“……..”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un’s expression turned somewhat bland.

At this, she spoke, sensing his mood.

“I thought you had stepped forward because you had regained the power you had lost.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Ah…Ahhh. It’s still too early.”

At her sighing reaction, Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a sharp voice.

“Please speak in a way that’s easy to understand.”

“The revelation that comes through the sacred orb shows all the possibilities that may unfold in the future in fragments. That’s why even I don’t know when it will happen or if it will definitely happen.”

“Isn’t a possibility just a prediction?”

“Prediction is imagination, but possibility is one of the many paths that can happen.”

“One of the paths?”

“Yes. This is a simple principle yet very complex. Although we met today, if by any chance my luck was bad and I had died at the hands of the Tang Clan Leader, there would have been a reality where I didn’t meet you.”

“It’s a hypothesis.”

“It can be called a hypothesis, but it’s a possibility. Because in some path, the reality where I died and didn’t meet you can happen.”

“Hmm.”

No matter how intelligent Mok Gyeong-un was, it was difficult to fully understand what she was saying.

It was like trying to grasp a fleeting cloud.

“There are countless variables in the human world, so even a single discrepancy creates numerous branches of flow. Those chosen by the sacred orb read the possibility that comes closest among those branches of flow.”

“In other words, it’s not something that will definitely happen, but the possibility with the highest probability of happening.”

“That’s right.”

“So, in the possibility you saw, was I that being called ‘him’?”

“…That’s righ…”

-Flinch!

She couldn’t finish her words.

The moment their eyes met, her entire body froze, and it was difficult for her to even breathe.

Why was she reacting this way?

Unable to understand, Mok Gyeong-un said to her,

“I am myself. Don’t identify me with that being called ‘him.’ Of course, I have no intention of silently accepting what you call ‘him’ either.”

It was a kind of aversion.

Why were they projecting that being called ‘him’ onto him when he knew nothing?

Moreover, after learning the truth that even his grandfather had considered him to be that being called ‘him’ and had hidden it from him until now, he felt as if his existence as Jeong was being denied.

“I…absolutely…don’t think…like that…”

“You don’t think that way? Really?”

“It’s…true…I…even if…you…as an incarnation…don’t accept…yourself…I believe…that you…ugh…”

Seeing her suffering, Mok Gyeong-un suppressed the energy he was exuding.

Then, as if it became easier for her to breathe, she exhaled roughly and continued speaking.

“Haa…haa…I have no doubt that you are the one who will lead us. If you ask me to offer my life here, I will do so.”

At her blind devotion, Mok Gyeong-un snorted.

Although she said she would sacrifice her life for him, it didn’t evoke any particular emotion in him.

Rather, it made him want to distance himself even more.

“Haa…haa…”

“Anyway, you’re saying you don’t know why the leader of the Secret Society fears me.”

“That’s right.”

“…You’re not helpful at all.”

-Clench!

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, she bit her lip tightly.

It hadn’t been long since she realized that the power to receive revelations had been passed down to her due to the misguided choice of her grandmother, the current Holy Fire Priestess.

And because there were those who sought to exploit that power, she had desperately tried to hide it.

But hearing such words from the one she had been waiting for made her feel overwhelmed.

“If you desire, I will resonate with the sacred orb and receive a revelation.”

“Didn’t you say it’s just a possibility anyway?”

“Reading that close possibility is the duty of us Holy Fire Priestess. I will directly prove to you that I am a person you need.”

“Oh. That’s very reassuring.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s sarcastic remark, she trembled.

‘Oh my.’

Watching this silently, Guyang Sa-oh scratched his head and smacked his lips.

It seemed like she would cry at this rate.

The lord he served in his later years seemed to have no hesitation regardless of whether it was a woman or not.

So, he carefully interjected.

“By the way, did you say your name is Song-ah?”

“Yes!”

“Where is that sacred orb? We already retrieved your belongings from the Tang Clan, but we couldn’t find anything that could be called a sacred orb.”

At his words, she answered.

“I don’t have it with me right now.”

“You don’t have it?”

“Yes. I couldn’t keep it with me because there was someone who coveted the power of the sacred orb.”

She thought of Tang In-hae, the Tang Clan Leader.

Reading his hidden greed, she had judged that she shouldn’t possess the sacred orb.

“Oh, so you hid it somewhere?”

“Yes.”

“Then where is it?”

“It’s in a cave on a cliff near Zaoyang in the northern part of Hubei Province.”

At those words, Guyang Sa-oh frowned.

Then, he exclaimed in surprise.

“Wait…If it’s a cliff near Zaoyang, isn’t that where the Spiritual Sword Sanctuary is located?”

“…That’s right.”

“Oh my.”

At Guyang Sa-oh’s reaction, Mok Gyeong-un asked curiously.

“Do you know that place?”

“Of course I do. The Spiritual Sword Sanctuary is known as the holy land of the sword.”

“The holy land of the sword?”

“It’s a place where countless sword masters who wield swords must visit to seek teachings.”