Silence settled between them.
Time flowed as they locked eyes.
For a long while, neither spoke—only gazing at each other.
No, perhaps it wasn’t that long.
It didn’t feel like much time had actually passed, yet the heavy atmosphere made it seem as though an eternity had gone by.
Saaaaa.
As Taechon vanished, the dust it left behind scattered in all directions, drifting into the night sky before being swallowed by the aurora.
Then, as two moons slowly aligned to cast their light upon the two figures—
“...Ah.”
The first to speak was the woman—Yehwa.
What should she say? Where should she begin?
For a fleeting moment, she agonized over it.
How had he spoken that name?
Had he remembered?
Had the veil of forgetfulness finally lifted?
Countless questions swirled in her mind, drowning her in hesitation.
And then—
“Yehwa.”
“......!”
Gu Yangcheon, wearing an expression of exhaustion, spoke to her.
“Is that your name?”
“......”
Upon hearing his words, Yehwa’s tightly drawn gaze slowly softened.
She felt relieved that he had spoken, yet at the same time, she realized something.
To him, her name was still unknown.
**********
‘Remember just one thing.’
When all the choices had been made, my ancestor spoke to me.
‘When you return, speak only one word.’
What word? I couldn’t understand, so I simply stared at my ancestor.
“Yehwa.”
A strangely familiar sound left his lips.
Yehwa?
“Yehwa,” he repeated.
Somewhere—I had heard that name before.
Yes, it was a name. Someone’s name.
The syllables felt familiar as I unconsciously murmured them, before turning to him with a question.
“What is this? Whose name is it?”
Whose name could it be?
At my inquiry, my ancestor, eyes darkened, answered in a quiet voice.
“A name belonging to a pitiful soul.”
“A pitiful soul...?”
“Yes. A name that no one will remember.”
“What the hell—”
“Don’t ask unnecessary questions. Just remember it. If you refuse, I cannot respect your ‘choice.’”
“......”
In the end, I had to nod.
It wasn’t much.
All I had to do was speak a single name.
It was a simple, effortless command, so I nodded.
If that was all it took, then I would do it.
So I accepted, and when I opened my eyes, the name instinctively escaped my lips.
“Yehwa.”
Just two syllables.
A voice barely formed through half-lidded eyes, spoken from a body wracked with pain.
And immediately after—
Darkness surged in.
Was it night?
I think it was night before I lost consciousness.
Judging as much, I tried to open my eyes.
‘It’s cold.’
A strange chill wrapped around my entire body.
Where was this sensation coming from?
How could it be so cold—so dark?
Something was wrong.
This wasn’t just an ordinary night.
Dazed, I scanned my surroundings.
Squelch.
A subtle sensation registered beneath my feet.
Water.
Cool, sloshing water lapped against my legs.
Feeling unsettled, I looked straight ahead.
Where was this water coming from?
Tracing the flow back to its origin, my gaze settled upon—
A massive gate.
A towering black gate, seemingly made of iron, stood ajar.
From within, torrents of water gushed forth.
‘What is this?’
What was this water?
Just touching it filled me with a profound sense of nothingness, a sensation akin to floating.
Struggling to regain focus, I looked ahead once more—
And then I saw it.
A figure stood alone amidst the current.
Swaying as though about to collapse—yet motionless.
As I observed that fragile figure—
Swish.
The woman standing in the water turned to face me.
Our eyes met.
The moment I saw the sorrow in her gaze—
“Yehwa.”
Clank.
Rattle.
The instant I spoke, the sound of something locking into place rang out.
And then, the darkness receded.
Stars burst into the sky.
Under the radiant glow of the aurora, the world returned.
“......”
The darkness had vanished.
No—
It only seemed that way.
What I had thought to be disappearing darkness was, in truth, shifting.
It had now enveloped the woman’s body.
Ssssshh—.
Like flames, shadows cloaked her form.
Upon closer inspection, the shape of her robe seemed to blend seamlessly into the darkness.
What was that?
Beyond its peculiar appearance, her violet eyes, locked onto mine, jolted me to awareness.
‘Cheonma.’
It was Cheonma.
Though distant and unfamiliar in form, she was unmistakably Cheonma.
“Is your name Yehwa?”
Suppressing the discomfort that welled up just by looking at her, I asked.
“......”
No answer came.
Cheonma only widened her eyes before gradually returning to her usual expression.
Disappointment.
Even without sharp intuition, I could understand what that look meant.
Why did she look so disappointed?
‘Yehwa.’
What significance did this name hold?
Why had my ancestor told me to say it?
“...Who are you?”
The one whom no one remembers.
The one deemed pitiful.
I wanted to ask.
Who exactly are you?
As if reading my thoughts, Cheonma curled her lips into a smirk.
“There is nothing as meaningless as expectation.”
Her voice was calm, her words crisp as she spoke through a dry smile.
“And yet, despite knowing this, I keep expecting things.”
No matter how much time passes—
It only proves that I am still weak.”
Ssssshh—.
The amount of flickering flames gradually increased on the robe draped over her shoulder.
“How did you know? No, you wouldn’t need water, would you?”
Cheonma spoke, as though realizing something, addressing me.
“It must have been him inside you, telling you. If that was out of consideration, I’d thank you, but tell him not to do it again next time.”
“......”
It was a strange sensation. The more I heard, the stranger it felt.
The more I saw that form.
I could feel it, and I realized.
“......You.”
The being before me now—
“Cheonma.”
This was not the naive woman I had come to know in this life.
This was the Cheonma I had known in my past life.
As I realized this, a smile appeared at the corner of the woman’s lips.
“Yes, that’s enough.”
“Enough? What do you mean by that? What happened? What are you?”
The Cheonma from my past life.
As I faced her, certainty washed over me. Yes, this was it.
Her presence was completely different from her current form.
A mixture of alluring charm and arrogance. Along with an overwhelming aura of a being who held supreme power, emanating an impossible energy.
“There are times when it’s necessary not to know something.”
“......What nonsense. That’s not what I asked. What are you really?”
I said, my face twisting. The body from which the words came felt somehow empty.
A broken vessel. It ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) seemed it wasn’t restored properly.
“Why did you make me reincarnate? No, did you have memories from the start?”
Did she have memories of my past life? If so, why had she been pretending not to know?
And, what was the reason behind making me reincarnate?
Cheonma responded with a dry smile, just as before.
“There was no other way. That’s all.”
“...No other way?”
There was no other choice but to reincarnate me?
Cheonma’s words made my face contort.
It wasn’t even a laughable excuse.
“That’s not a reason.”
“You reincarnated me because there was no other way?”
What kind of absurd excuse was that?
“What do you want from me? What’s your purpose?”
I had heard it from my ancestor.
When my fate was twisted, the one who had the greatest impact on it was Cheonma.
This was no coincidence, but destiny, my ancestor had said.
Cheonma knew everything and had nudged me into making that choice.
I couldn’t understand it.
“......Why?”
Why did you do this?
What was your intention behind all this?
I asked and asked, but Cheonma’s response remained the same.
Just a dry laugh and an expression of detachment.
Even then, I didn’t stop speaking.
“Fine. Whether you changed my fate or whatever, I’ll accept that. But.”
I glared at Cheonma.
“How do you know me?”
You said your name was Yehwa.
That seems to be Cheonma’s name, but—
‘I know this.’
I knew Cheonma’s true name.
Not exactly, but it seemed like I should have known it.
But I didn’t. I didn’t know, but I had to know.
This contradiction caused discomfort.
‘Why don’t I know?’
Why didn’t I know this?
Not knowing this felt maddening.
It made me unnervingly sensitive.
I furrowed my brow and spoke again.
“Do I know you?”
“......”
Cheonma closed her eyes at the question.
A moment of silence passed.
“Well...”
Cheonma spoke softly.
“Everything you ask... I can’t answer.”
She shook her head. Each time she did, the haze in the air seemed to fade.
“You have to remember it yourself. Otherwise, there’s nothing I can answer for you.”
“......Then who is supposed to answer it? Who should tell me what I don’t know?”
Cheonma just smiled without answering.
Then, she spoke.
“By the way...”
She said something completely unrelated to my question.
“There’s not much time...”
Though her voice sounded calm, there was something quivering underneath.
“Would you call me once more?”
“What?”
What did she want me to call?
I didn’t ponder long.
But even asking that in this situation, even saying she had no time—was absurd.
What was she saying in this situation?
I felt confused, my face contorting in disbelief.
But oddly, my mouth spoke another word.
“Yehwa.”
Two simple syllables, spoken calmly.
“Mm.”
At my words, Cheonma responded.
“Thank you. I missed you too. See you later.”
“What...?”
Just as I was about to speak, suddenly—
Thud!
The oppressive aura surrounding Cheonma dissipated, and she collapsed.
“......!”
Before she hit the ground, I rushed forward and caught her.
At that moment—
Rrrrrrip!
A tearing sound filled the air, followed by someone emerging from the rift in space.
“......”
A woman with brown hair and no words.
It was Yarang.
