By Zephyria 
HF 70
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* * *
“Child. Promise me one thing.”
In a deep cave within the Eternal Snow Mountains, Ho-yeon could hear the voice of the Ice Dragon just before falling into a very long sleep. To save the dying Ho-yeon, the Ice Dragon had offered itself. Ho-yeon did not understand why the Ice Dragon would go so far as to sacrifice itself to save him.
Through the torn space, he thought he saw lava, a giant Fire Dragon, and the back of a man, but since Ho-yeon was already semi-conscious, he could not be sure if it was real. Rather, he figured he was seeing things born of his own desperate wish for even a single point of warmth. After all, there was no one left in the cave but himself and the Ice Dragon.
“You have become too weak to digest my inner core. Therefore, child, you shall fall into a very long sleep.”
Like a flickering ember, the Ice Dragon poured its energy into Ho-yeon, who was on the verge of death, in a thin, steady stream. The distance between him and the Ice Dragon remained vast.
Ho-yeon wanted to ask, Why? Why are you saving me? but his frozen lips remained stiff and blue.
“Since my other half has died, I can no longer exist separately. I will soon be seized by madness. However, by the time you absorb all of my energy, this body will have crumbled away.”
Right where it lay, the Ice Dragon carved a magic array into its own body, binding itself so it could not move an inch. The array, which used the Ice Dragon’s heart as a sacrifice, was one that could not be broken even if it lost its mind to madness.
“However, you must never reveal that I am the source of your power. If you do, you will truly become a human elixir. You are the only child I have chosen, and I do not wish for this power to fall into the hands of another. That is my final and only request.”
I will. I always keep my promises. Thank you for saving me.
…But what if I can’t hold on and I die? Worried that he might not be able to digest the Ice Dragon’s grace, Ho-yeon tried to squeeze out his voice somehow, but it was useless. He could barely twitch his lips. However, the Ice Dragon smiled faintly.
“Have you not already survived so admirably?”
Ho-yeon could no longer think. Like a child connected to life only by an umbilical cord in a mother’s womb, he simply fell into a deep sleep, faintly absorbing the Ice Dragon’s energy until he obtained a new life.
The Ice Dragon felt the curled-up, sleeping Ho-yeon from a distance through energy perception.
Among hundreds of children, the one who survived even while the dragon sacrificed itself was Wi Ho-yeon. The Ice Dragon felt fortunate that the one to inherit its power was none other than Ho-yeon. Since the Flame Polar Dragon was destined to die, madness was a foregone conclusion.
Originally, the Heavenly Ice Polar Dragon and the Flame Polar Dragon were a single entity with two heads on one body. Because their natures were completely opposite, they frequently clashed, often destroying or demolishing the areas where they resided.
However, the Ice Dragon was more altruistic toward humans than the cruel Fire Dragon. Deciding that humans should no longer suffer from their fighting, the Ice Dragon spent hundreds of years searching for a way to split its body from the Fire Dragon. The Fire Dragon equally desired to be separated from the Ice Dragon.
After a long time, they were able to meet the White Tiger of the West among the Four Divine Beasts. The White Tiger told them that if they could perfectly separate Yin and Yang, they could exist as separate individuals.
The Ice Dragon and the Fire Dragon spent another long period sifting through the energies mixed within their single body, and eventually, they were able to divide. Thus, the Ice Dragon headed to the North Sea where the Eternal Snow Mountains were located, and the Fire Dragon headed to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains where the Flame Mountain existed.
The Ice Dragon curled its body further, as if coiling.
The Fire Dragon, who had spent hundreds of years deep within the Flame Mountain, appeared in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains for the purpose of heading toward the North Sea. Since what was once one had been split into two, the Fire Dragon—unlike the patient Ice Dragon—suffered from madness first. This was because it was filled only with Yang energy, making it impossible to control the fire energy.
The Fire Dragon attempted to devour the Ice Dragon but was stopped by the Demon Sect. More accurately, by the man who would become the Heavenly Demon.
At that time, the Ice Dragon opened a barrier and made a deal with the near-death Fire Dragon. To save its child, it handed over a portion of its power in exchange for lava. It also placed a contract to ensure the Fire Dragon would not harm Ho-yeon.
The Fire Dragon, revived by the Ice Dragon’s power, became even stronger and once again engaged in an all-out war with the man. The Ice Dragon thought the man would surely die this time, but in the end, it was the Fire Dragon whose head was severed.
“Child who harbors the Demon God, I owe you a great debt for saving my child.”
The Ice Dragon felt guilt over its own selfishness.
Because he had been caught in the opened barrier, the man had also been cursed with regression.
The Ice Dragon had originally intended to trap the Fire Dragon in a loop of time it had created. Since the Fire Dragon could not harm the child receiving its energy, it was obvious that it would eventually meet its death, consumed by fire energy and madness. It was meant to lose its sense of self and completely self-destruct within the repeating time.
However, the one who emerged victorious from the battle between a human and a divine beast was the man. And the man consumed the Fire Dragon’s inner core. He would now be the one to suffer from the madness that burned the body in place of the Fire Dragon.
The loop of time created by the Ice Dragon was a curse that would only end when the child woke up.
Since there was no way to gauge when the child would wake, the man could be trapped for an almost infinite amount of time. A future of suffering within a horrific repetition of time, enough to collapse one’s sanity, was clearly envisioned.
“Yin and Yang, Yang and Yin are originally as one; I hope that you too may find salvation through the arrangements I have left behind.”
Though it spoke of salvation, the Ice Dragon was certain the man would become a madman.
Having consumed the Fire Dragon’s inner core, the limit a human body could endure would be a few months at most.
How petty a guilt this was.
* * *
Ho-yeon slowly opened his eyes.
Occasionally, he had dreams of the time he spent in the cave of the Eternal Snow Mountains, but upon waking, the memories scattered like mist, as dreams usually do.
Ho-yeon pressed his hand firmly against his solar plexus. He could vaguely guess why his dantian, which contained a vast amount of internal energy, was blocked. The Ice Dragon had blocked the energy to save him.
If extreme cold consumed the body, one would die shortly thereafter. Humans must naturally maintain a harmony of Yin and Yang energy.
Perhaps that was why his body felt so comfortable when he was by Mu-gyeong’s side. Ho-yeon shook his head at the sudden thought of Mu-gyeong. He then slowly stood up and stepped out of the cave.
“I’m sorry. I was asleep—”
“I wonder if you even want to go to the North Sea.”
Howi, who was roasting a snake on a wooden skewer, muttered as if talking to himself. Ho-yeon’s face immediately flushed bright red with embarrassment.
“I promise I won’t sleep for more than three shijin(1) from now on.”
In his heart, he wanted to say two shijin, but he did not utter a promise he could not keep. Looking at the snake skewer Howi offered, Ho-yeon lied and said he wasn’t hungry. He then scooped some water from a small nearby stream to rinse his mouth.
Perhaps it was because the Cult Leader liked snakes, but the cult members seemed to prefer them as well. While Howi devoured all the snakes, Ho-yeon appeased his hungry stomach with beef jerky. He had brought fasting pills, but he intended to eat those only when there was truly nothing else.
After roughly finishing a late breakfast, they once again rode Tae-pyeong through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Since several days had already passed and they were taking shortcuts by avoiding all the magic arrays, he could feel they were gradually approaching the lands of the ethnic minorities.
Unlike the rugged mountain ranges that had stretched endlessly, gentle hills began to appear once they crossed the northern border.
After camping for several more days and entering a vast prairie, Howi still did not send Tae-pyeong back.
“We’ve… left the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains now, right?”
No matter how he looked at it, there was nothing left that could be called a “great mountain.” It was clearly the same as the prairies he had seen while heading toward the Demon Sect from the North Sea. This was the land of the ethnic minorities, where the laws of the Central Plains did not apply.
Although no answer came from behind, Ho-yeon asked again.
“Shouldn’t we send Tae-pyeong back now?”
“If you’re planning to walk.”
The man’s voice was still full of a metallic rasp.
“Ah…”
However, Han Hee-ryeong had told him that after leaving the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, they would send Tae-pyeong back and Howi would carry him while running. That was why he hadn’t considered asking to be carried using lightfoot techniques, but saying it out loud felt too shameless.
“Won’t the Cult Leader be angry? He must cherish this horse very much.”
Puhing! Suddenly, Tae-pyeong snorted as if mocking him. For some reason, it felt as if Tae-pyeong had answered instead of Howi.
“I’m just worried about Howi-nim…”
Ho-yeon, who had been chatting incessantly, could not hide his gloom, perhaps feeling the strain of the journey.
Then, Howi suddenly pulled Tae-pyeong’s reins to stop the horse and hopped down to the ground.
Wondering what was happening, Ho-yeon looked around. Since the vast prairie stretched out, there was nowhere to hide, but it seemed they hadn’t reached the minority camp yet. This was because no mobile dwellings were visible nearby.
However, the minorities living in this land had exceptionally keen eyesight and were masters of horsemanship. Even if he hadn’t spotted them, the minorities might have already discovered them.
Ho-yeon looked at Howi with slightly anxious eyes. He was a man with an ordinary appearance, but his body temperature resembled that of Cheon Mu-gyeong.
“Why… did you get off?”
The moment Ho-yeon asked, Howi grabbed his arm and pulled him down. Then, he gave Tae-pyeong’s rump a hard smack. As if in pain, Tae-pyeong lifted its front legs high and began to head back the way they had come, leaving the two behind.
“Y-you can’t just send Tae-pyeong away like this…!”
“Focus.”
“Pardon?”
Howi shifted his gaze to one side for a moment before looking at Ho-yeon.
“Imagine every breath filled with internal energy descending to the Yongcheon point. Don’t think of it as stepping on the ground, but as gliding off a leaf.”
Lightening the body was the beginning of the art of lightness. However, the level Howi was describing was ‘Grass-Walking’ (Chosangbi), an advanced lightfoot technique. Confused by the incomprehensible words, Ho-yeon blinked and replied.
“Are you talking about lightfoot techniques? I don’t know how to use them.”
At that moment, the sound of galloping hooves began to be heard from somewhere. It wasn’t Tae-pyeong. It was clearly the sound of dozens of horses stamping their feet. Turning his head to check, the sound was coming neither from the front nor the back, but from a diagonal direction.
Cheon Mu-gyeong—seeing Ho-yeon turn pale at the sight of the minorities—firmly tucked him under his arm.
“Learn through practice.”
And with that, he dashed forward on his own two feet.
Footnote:
Approximately 6 hours.