And after waiting and waiting, finally, Bohyeonjin brought an old man with white hair.
On the outside, he seemed like a frail elderly person who could barely move, but his movements were vigorous, and there was a heavy weight to his steps.
Well, it’s natural since there is no light here.
If someone were to say they killed the Great Lord of Tongcheon, they would either be a madman lying or a true monster who killed the enemy. So, the fact that he didn’t drag himself out means he’s cautious.
However, if he didn’t sell the name of the Great Lord, it would be hard to know how much time it would take to meet someone like this, even if they were fake.
There’s no room for choice.
“Hello. You must be the Primordial Celestial Lord?”
“Ah, you found me, huh? And you say you killed the Great Lord of Tongcheon, right?”
The fake Primordial Celestial Lord said this and sat in front of the table. He made a face as he looked at me.
Being somewhat human-like, it was hard to tell his emotions just from his expression. It was hard to read his intentions from what he said.
Was he smiling, or frowning?
And when he spoke again, I realized it didn’t matter.
“Did you come to eat me?”
Ah.
At least, he knows that the Great Lord of Tongcheon is dead. But does he know the specifics?
“I never ate the Great Lord.”
“Well, if we say eating means absorbing the power of the target and practically using it, then what you did could be considered eating.”
No. Surprisingly, he understands it precisely.
Then the Primordial Celestial Lord easily turned his head and looked at a tool beside me. There was a flower. A flower made using something special from a human and a specific item.
“Twisting the body of a living creature to create what one wants is his specialty.”
Ah, that’s it. I’ve been found out. In truth, it makes more sense to think that I killed the Great Lord of Tongcheon and stole his technique, rather than that I’m inherently strong in this area.
The technology that exists in the field of biotechnology.
I’m not sure how it develops into a technique that refines souls to strengthen oneself, and I don’t really want to know.
“That seems oddly twisted for something like that. Do you usually think about putting your body inside a child made from an alien species?”
Bohyeonjin, standing beside me, seemed confused by what he heard, and the Primordial Celestial Lord’s expression remained unreadable.
It seems I could read it if it was on a screen, but robots or masks are difficult. Or maybe I can read it if I remember that kind of biological community.
“They’ve already twisted so much that they’ve become such a species. And you, right now, are in the body prepared by the Great Lord.”
After the Primordial Celestial Lord finished explaining, Bohyeonjin’s expression turned to one of confusion, as if he couldn’t identify the person in front of him. This person is so funny, but is it okay for someone whose expressions are so readable to be beside me?
“Strictly speaking, it’s the body that will give birth. What was prepared in advance by the headquarters was turned into a decoy by a fake company, and they unknowingly took it and used it for another purpose, which led to me entering Choseol’s body.”
This is all the truth.
The reason I’ve been explaining steadily is that while having this conversation, I’ve been searching for the figure in front of me, but I can’t see it. The Great Lord was easy to find because he was like a huge mass of light.
But here, I don’t see anything like that.
At this point, I’m starting to doubt whether the light would even be as massive as the Great Lord’s. It’s fortunate... I think?
“Well then, what is your name, the one inside the body?”
Ah. So, the reason for this long conversation was to pry into my true identity?
In that case, I’ll explain. Very few can travel outside the glass bottle. Even if they obtain memories, without reasoning intelligence, they won’t be able to make conclusions.
Reading detective novels doesn’t make you a detective, right?
It’s the same.
I always have a lack of head, and the plans I can make are always half-hearted. Instead of taking risks for great gains, I aim for small gains without loss.
I don’t lie, because of that.
“I don’t have a name. It’s not necessary. So, I’ve been using the name of the child I’ve covered up until now.”
There’s no need to create a new one. I remember the original name, but no one can say it.
Or, to be honest, I even doubt if that is truly my name.
I store the fragmented pieces of memories scattered over time in chronological order, so I know clearly.
The faded memory comes first. Then comes the darkness. Then the night sky and the sea. The small light that fell to the ground. And then the memories of when I rose up to the glass bottle.
The man in that faded memory begins for sure.
“Right, so you weren’t called by Tongcheon. You couldn’t have chosen to call someone with no name. Then, those ominous purple-colored creatures must be something you created, not Tongcheon.”
That refers to the Harvesters.
But that’s a bit strange. While alive, they still possess warmth.
“They wanted it. If they give me to the ones in need, they heal their wounds and gain better bodies and smarter minds. Are you saying that’s bad?”
When I take warmth, I usually take it from a dead opponent. I’ve taken warmth from someone who was once the general of a special organization in a country, alive, but I’ve done it a few times.
If I just release it, I’ll witness horrific scenes, so I don’t release it.
At that, the Primordial Celestial Lord chuckles.
“You don’t understand what you are, do you? If you knew, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
That’s true.
I still don’t know what I am. So for now, I’m just having this conversation.
This side is also heading toward not truly understanding my identity, so I’m considering whether to end the conversation.
Because I don’t know how the warmth flows, and I have no idea what happens to the light that has fallen to where I am.
“So, does the Primordial Celestial Lord know?”
At my words, the Primordial Celestial Lord shakes his head.
“I merely explore the truth and make inferences, but if I were to name it, I would call it the Half-Tai Chi.”
Half-Tai Chi?
I don’t think it means half.
Thinking of the Tai Chi symbol, wouldn’t it still be Tai Chi even if it’s reversed? Or does it refer to the rising of Yin energy?
“Primordial Celestial Lord, does that mean the power to destroy all the worlds?”
Bohyeonjin asked, eyeing me warily.
Meanwhile, I understood to some degree. That’s why I couldn’t use energy. The coldness was that.
Having understood that, the Primordial Celestial Lord shook his head.
Huh?
Is it not?
“Before Yin and Yang, there is existence and non-existence, and before that, there is chaos, which becomes the beginning of all things in this infinite world, and this is called Tai Chi. Originally, Tai Chi was considered the primal chaos without any direction, but now, even that has become an ancient law.”
Saying this, the Primordial Celestial Lord waved his hand.
A hologram appeared in the air.
It was a pitch-black image.
But soon, light flickered, and the world appeared. Then it showed the universe, stars, and planets, and in the center, Kunlun Mountain was shown.
When the Primordial Celestial Lord waved his hand again, the symbol in the upper left changed, and it spun backward, showing the world turning into a single point.
Then, it showed the sky filled with countless lights, erasing one light at a time.
Soon, it became pitch-black darkness without any light, and the space around the darkness was covered in a white space.
But it wasn’t a white space; it seemed to be showing nothingness, with a grid pattern drawn.
The black space floating above the white space disappeared into a point and then completely vanished.
Then, when the Primordial Celestial Lord waved his hand again, the symbol in the upper left returned to the original symbol from the beginning.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
Soon, a dark space appeared.
But there was a difference.
Outside the pure white box, a black sphere of exactly the same size appeared along with the darkness. The black sphere grew in the same size, with light appearing on top, and the bottom remained unchanged.
This is a scene I’ve seen before.
Yes.
I remember it. I realized when I was looking at the stars beginning to shine one by one in the sky that it was an enormous sea.
“That itself is the opposite of the world. It grew together from the shadow of the Tai Chi. It’s not destruction, but merely the opposite, and it is harmful to us. What you bring means plundering to us.”
The Primordial Celestial Lord pointed at me.
“You are destined to be the enemy of the world.”
That’s right.
So, I nodded.
“Yes. That’s right.”
But this isn’t enough.
Although it doesn’t fit the context, I still have to say what I must.
“I am always cold. Endlessly cold. Forever, unable to die, unable to go mad, or perhaps, I already went mad? That’s how I must live. But sometimes, when deep despair’s light falls to me, I feel it. When the light, full of hatred for the world, realizes that it can change nothing and falls into despair close to resignation.”
I smile.
“Meet me. The light is warm. When you touch it, just a little. Just a bit. But with that, it already gives a small warmth, enough to pull your gaze away from the coldness. But the warmth disappears in an instant.”
How things will unfold is already decided. The important thing is to gather information. Especially from the illusion in front of me.
I need others' help to understand myself. Since I’m not that smart.
“Life carries light in its body. And you call that light a soul. I hold myself within that light, do what they want, and wait until I die. And when I die, I take myself from within it, and I take the warmth too.”
Clap.
I clapped my hands to focus. Bohyeonjin was startled, but his response made me feel uneasy.
Anyway.
“I don’t take the light. I only need the warmth in it. Once I get the warmth, I don’t need the light, so I just leave it there. Will you criticize my actions? Why?”
This is a question about what warmth truly is.
From what the immortals said, it seemed like they didn’t truly understand, but the Primordial Celestial Lord’s words are quite persuasive.
So, I asked the question, hoping to learn more about warmth.
The Primordial Celestial Lord spoke.
“What would a soul without Tai Chi become? It would become nothing, standing still and slowly decaying, until all the remains disappear, forever.”
No, if Tai Chi is chaos, wouldn’t that be the origin of the world and the creation of souls? The Tai Chi within the soul is warmth? That doesn’t make sense.
But I couldn’t ask more.
“Therefore, we must resist you. Now, all the remaining immortals have evacuated, and only you remain. Bohyeon.”
Saying this, the Primordial Celestial Lord waved his hand, as if preparing to do something. Realizing he was trying to make Bohyeonjin flee, I raised the flower in my hand.
“Please take care of Kunlun.” “Bloom.”
The last words overlapped.