"What did you just say?"
I abruptly rose from my seat at the words spoken by the man sitting behind me.
Crash—!
A loud noise rang out as I shot up from my seat, drawing the attention of everyone around me.
Ignoring their stares, I strode toward the man who had just spoken.
“Huh?”
The man looked flustered as I suddenly approached him, but before he could react further, I grabbed him by the collar.
“What did you just say?”
“Ugh!? What’s wrong with you!?”
“I asked, what did you just say!?”
“W-Wait, hold on! At least let go of me first...!”
He struggled, but he couldn’t break free from my grip.
I fixed him with a piercing glare, my eyes burning with intensity, and asked again.
“Say it again. Repeat what you just said.”
“What do you mean...?”
“The words you just spoke.”
“...The Azure Dragon Division?”
“And after that?”
“...Vice Commander?”
“Yeah. That one.”
“What’s the big deal about Divine Dragon becoming the Vice Commander...!?”
The man spoke as if he had been wronged. Hearing that, my face twisted, and I asked again.
“The Vice Commander of the Azure Dragon Division. Divine Dragon is from Shanxi? Is that true?”
“Ghh... Y-Yeah... It’s common knowledge...!”
“What the hell...”
Of all things to be well-known...
The absurdity of it made my grip loosen involuntarily.
Thud!
The man I had been holding dropped to the ground, collapsing into a seated position.
Cough! Cough!
“Jang-hyung...! Are you okay?”
His friends rushed to his side, concern written all over their faces.
“What the hell was that just now!?”
“Baek-ah, calm down... He’s a martial artist, after all...!”
“Urgh...”
Lifting a grown man with ease—it was clear I was dealing with a martial artist.
Even though they were indignant, they held back their words and simply gritted their teeth.
Seeing them like that, I threw something.
Clink.
A coin rolled across the floor and landed at the man’s feet.
“...My apologies. I was in a bit of a hurry.”
“Huh...?”
The man picked up the money, and his expression instantly brightened.
“Oh, no, no, it’s nothing...!”
He broke into a wide grin.
“Stuff like this happens in life, right? Hahaha.”
“...”
He had completely forgotten the assault from just moments ago.
It was just money conjured up using the power of the wind, but it worked perfectly to resolve the situation.
“Well, it looks like you came for the entrance exam to the Alliance, too.”
“...Exam?”
“You didn’t know? There’s an entrance exam today. With Divine Dragon’s recent rise, the number of applicants has shot up.”
“...”
My head spun.
I was hearing far too many bizarre things.
“...Haa. Anyway, my apologies.”
Feeling it was best to leave before things got even more complicated, I turned and walked away.
At that moment, I noticed a server carrying my dumplings toward me.
“Huh? Sir?”
“The customer over there will cover my bill.”
I gestured toward the man I had just paid off.
Then, without wasting a moment, I hurriedly stepped out of the establishment.
I needed to get out and think. That was the only plan I had at the moment.
But just as I was about to move—
Thud!
“Ghh!?”
I collided with someone.
The impact sent the other person sprawling to the ground.
Damn it.
I’m completely out of it.
Normally, I would have sensed someone approaching and dodged accordingly, but my mind was too clouded.
“Damn it...! Who the hell—!”
The person on the ground immediately snapped in anger.
It was my fault, so I moved to apologize—
“My apologies. I was in a bit of a hur— Hm?”
I narrowed my eyes at the person I had knocked over.
...What the hell?
A handsome young man with white hair and piercing blue eyes.
Something about his arrogant face seemed oddly familiar.
“Namgung bastard?”
“...What?”
A damned Namgung.
His face bore an uncanny resemblance to Namgung Cheonjun.
But he wasn’t Namgung Cheonjun.
Even though I knew that, his face was so familiar...
Where had I seen it before...?
Ah.
It hit me.
“...Namgung Jin.”
“Ha.”
The handsome young man got to his feet.
Then, with a smirk, he sneered at me.
“You knew who I was, and you still acted this rudely?”
“...”
It was Namgung Jin.
Heavenly Sword King, Namgung Jin.
The father of Namgung Bi-ah and Namgung Cheonjun.
The current head of the Namgung Clan.
“There’s no way you’d behave like this unless you’ve lost your mind.”
That bastard was glaring at me with a much younger face.
“You mean to tell me that even knowing I’m Sword Dragon Namgung Jin, you still decided to pick a fight with me?”
Not Sword King, but Sword Dragon.
And on top of that, he looked much younger.
At most, he only looked a few years older than me.
As I stood there in complete shock—
“Calm yourself, Sword Dragon.”
Someone beside him spoke, attempting to placate him.
When I turned to look, I had to suppress another wave of disbelief.
“If you make a scene here, it won’t end well for you.”
The one who stopped Namgung Jin with a composed demeanor—
He was none other than—
“...Moyong... Moyong Tae?”
“...”
The other young man turned to look at me.
He was Moyong Tae, the father of Moyong Hee-ah.
“That’s correct. I am Moyong Tae. It seems you recognize both of us. May I ask for your name?”
“...”
I instinctively took a step back.
This... this isn’t right.
My mind was in chaos. My thoughts refused to work properly.
Grit.
I clenched my teeth and immediately turned on my heel, leaping away.
“Hey!! You—!!”
Namgung Jin reached out to grab me, but my body was already in mid-air.
“Hah!! That bastard’s trying to run!?”
As I disappeared from sight, Namgung Jin gritted his teeth in frustration.
But just as he was about to unleash his anger—
“...Wait, what?”
A sudden realization struck him, and he tilted his head.
“What’s wrong?”
Moyong Tae asked curiously.
With an annoyed expression, Namgung Jin replied—
“...He looked like someone.”
“Who?”
“...Just someone.”
Namgung Jin clicked his tongue and turned away.
Those fierce eyes and that unique gaze.
His face was far better-looking than the person he was thinking of, but—
There was no doubt about it.
Namgung Jin scowled as an image formed in his mind.
The face of the person he despised the most.
**********
I left the town and returned to the forest. My mind was a mess. My breath came in short, sharp gasps as I tried to steady myself.
"Haa... Huff... Huff..."
What the hell just happened?
Gripping a tree for support, I darted my eyes around.
Namgung Jin. Moyong Tae.
And even that talk about the Shanxi Gu Clan—what the hell was that all about?
There was no denying it. Something had gone terribly wrong.
“...Don’t tell me this isn’t just another worldline?”
This wasn’t just a case of a different world. This was...
“...This is bad.”
No matter how many times I went over it in my head, the situation felt anything but normal.
A sense of vertigo washed over me.
Back then, it had been the world of my past life. But if that was the case—then what was this place...?
“...If my guess is right...”
Then this was somewhere I never should have ended up.
What do I do?
Why the hell did I suddenly drop into a place like this?
Even if it had been just Zhongyuan, it would have been a problem—but this wasn’t just any ordinary Zhongyuan.
"Ha."
Predestination.
I furrowed my brows as I recalled what my ancestor had said.
"Is this what you call Predestination?"
How the hell was this Predestination supposed to work?
What was I supposed to do here?
"Damn it."
I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, and now I was dealing with all this bullshit on top of it.
Smack!
I slapped my cheek.
It hurt.
I’d entertained the slim hope that maybe, just maybe, this was all a dream—but of course, it wasn’t.
And that meant the pain was real too.
"Damn it..."
What the hell was I supposed to do if this wasn’t a dream?
Namgung Jin. Moyong Tae.
Why here?
Why now?
What does Predestination want?
What had my mother wanted when she dumped me in a place like this?
No matter how many times I ran through it, I couldn’t make sense of it.
"......"
And given the situation, what was I supposed to do next?
It felt like there had to be something I was meant to accomplish, but I had no idea what that was.
"Damn it."
I dragged a hand down my face.
I didn’t have time for this.
Predestination, fate, whatever—it didn’t matter right now.
I repeatedly rubbed my face, as if trying to clear my mind.
I need to get out of here—fast.
That was the only conclusion.
Whatever else happened, I had to escape this place first.
But how?
I had already been through something similar before. If I failed to achieve what I was supposed to, I knew it would all be for nothing.
Which meant that, in the end, I had to accomplish whatever it was.
But how?
I had no idea what they wanted from me here.
What the hell was I supposed to do?
I shook off my frustration and forced my mind to think.
The Shanxi Gu Clan...
"It seems you’ve also come to take the entrance exam for the Alliance."
"Divine Dragon..."
"......"
I slowly lowered my hands and lifted my head.
"...No way."
I tried to tell myself it wasn’t possible.
I ran through the possibilities again and again.
"......"
But no matter how much I thought about it, there was only one answer.
If it weren’t for this, there was no reason I would have been sent here.
"......"
Besides, this wasn’t the time to debate whether it was true or not.
I had to do something.
If a choice had presented itself, then there was no time for hesitation.
"Remember this."
My ancestor’s words echoed in my mind.
"Nothing changes."
At the time, I hadn’t understood why he had said that.
"Damn it."
There was only one answer.
No matter how hard I tried to think of another possibility, there wasn’t one.
Honestly, even if it weren’t for Namgung Jin or Moyong Tae, I had already known the moment I heard that man’s words.
I didn’t know what I was supposed to accomplish here—
But I knew exactly who I had to meet.
Forcing myself to make a decision, I turned my head.
The town I had just left—
And beyond it, the massive structure standing in the distance.
The Main Alliance Headquarters.
I bit my lip.
No matter how I looked at it—
That was where I needed to go.
At the same time, an image flashed through my mind.
There was one person I absolutely had to meet in this world.
My father.
He would be there.
