Chapter 460 – Change.
White uniform.
A plum leaf pattern drawn on the chest. A scar that runs vertically across the neck and reaches the tip of the chin.
Sharp, slitted eyes and furrowed brows. Just looking at him, you can tell that he has an unusual temper.
It’s not my place to say this, but I would have to say that no one would view him as a political figure or a Taoist.
He was the most vicious looking human being I’ve ever seen.
Looking at this, it was the first time I had seen this person.
I knew who he was.
How could I not know?
He is the one who was making such a noise in my head.
I looked at the old man who was glaring at me as if he didn’t like me, and I called out to him cautiously.
“Noya?”
“joy.”
The old man snorts loudly at my call.
I rubbed the back of my head, which was still cold.
“Are you really Shin Noya?”
“Tsk tsk… How many times have I cleaned up and cleaned up your shit like that? And you’re asking me that?”
The old man takes a step closer.
He was considerably taller than I expected. I think he was a little under seven feet tall?
Is it really Shin Noya? If so, why is it here… .
No, do you need to know why I’m here seeing Noya?
“You’re thinking stupid thoughts again.”
“yes?”
“Should I hit you in the head one more time? Come to your senses!”
My body flinched at the sound of Shin Noya’s voice.
I don’t know what you’re talking about. What do you think I should be conscious of?
However, I felt like things that had been blurry were becoming relatively clearer.
I felt like something was happening. I was starting to feel that way little by little.
Noya purses his lips as if he still doesn’t like it.
“Oh my. That poor bastard.”
“…Why are you doing that as soon as you see me? Please tell me the reason properly.”
“That’s right. You’ve always been the type of guy who had to be fed everything.”
“…”
“Take a good look at your chest.”
I tilted my head at Noya’s words and looked down. Why was he suddenly telling me to look at my chest?
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“…!”
As soon as I saw it, I widened my eyes and reached out my hand.
I was so embarrassed that I started patting my chest.
It had to be that way.
This is because there was a large hole where the heart should have been.
“What the hell?”
What is this? Why is there a hole in my chest?
I was rolling my eyes here and there, wondering out of the blue what this was.
Haha.
“The vents are very airy.”
Shin Noya bursts out laughing because he finds my actions funny. His laughter was close to mockery.
“… What is this… thing?”
When I asked why my body was in this state, Shin Noya pointed behind me with his finger.
When I look back, I see the location of the giant egg I was looking at earlier.
Now, it was surrounded by plum leaves and its appearance was obscured.
“What is that…?”
“That’s what was in your hole.”
“… yes?”
I let out a gasp at Noya’s words.
Is that what was in my chest?
That’s….
“Wasn’t it my bowl…?”
Are you saying that my bowl was not embodied?
“The bowl and the heart are not very different. In the end, it’s the same thing.”
“… The vessel is supposed to be located in the dantian. How can you say it is the same?”
“If they both break, they both fall behind. So what’s the big difference?”
“…”
No, well, if you say it like that, then yes… .
I’m speechless. Shin Noya sighed deeply as he looked at me like that.
“A person was blocking it while shitting blood. It caused a really big accident.”
“You were stopping it?”
I listened to Noya’s words. You were blocking it? What?
As I began to question, Shin Noya immediately came closer to me.
Kuung-!
“Ugh!”
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He hit my forehead hard with his fist.
The body staggers with shock.
The pain was so intense that I had to sit down and rub my head.
“Ughhhhhhh… .”
As I was groaning and drooling, Noya spoke to me.
“The energy in your body is increasing, but the vessel cannot handle it. Shouldn’t something be used to support it instead?”
“… Those words… .”
The saying that the vessel God had placed in me was on the verge of breaking comes to mind.
Does Shin Noya’s words just now mean that he was preventing the bowl from breaking?
“Hey, since when?”
“I already know that expression. Why do you insist on asking?”
“…”
Around the time when Shin Noya started not talking to me anymore.
To be exact, it was from the moment the closing ceremony was over.
‘Already from then?’
Just after I had my growth spurt.
That was the starting point when the silence that was expected to last a few months turned into several years.
No way, that’s not true.
“… Are you saying that you have been blocking it since then?”
“Your level did improve a little bit when you reached Hwagyeong, but you couldn’t hold out for long.”
“Then, what happened when you went to Vigo and saved me?”
Noya looks at me as if he is dumbfounded by what I say.
“So are you saying I should just let you die?”
“…”
“Oh, really. I helped you out, and now you’re telling me this. You’re still crazy.”
I didn’t really have anything to say about this part.
As I slightly averted my gaze, Noya let out a small sigh and continued speaking.
“Aesong-ah. Your bowl is definitely not small. Rather, it’s rather large.”
Noya was speaking again, looking at the egg behind him.
“You could say that a lot of energy was put into that vessel to make it this bad.”
The meaning that the vessel has so much energy that it is on the verge of breaking is different from the meaning of the amount of energy inside.
If you think back to your past life, it wouldn’t be surprising if the bowl broke several times because you made a lot of bets.
We should consider that it is not the quantity of energy, but the number of energy that is the problem.
The energy of the Nine Flame Wheel.
Pottery of the volcano.
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Magi.
youth.
At the end, there is even the energy of the Tuapacheonmu.
A total of five energies were contained in the vessel, so it was correct to say that the vessel had finally reached its limit.
… I just checked and there are quite a lot.
For a normal person, it would be impossible to have two energies.
It was no wonder the bowl was in danger.
“It’s not just that part that’s the problem right now….”
“yes?”
“That’s not important right now. I have to talk about something else first.”
Sarak.
Shin Noya stretches out his hand. It is towards the plum leaf that is covering the egg. Shin Noya’s fingertips touch it.
Hwaaaaak-!
The plum leaves reacted.
The color of the plum leaf that tightly wrapped around the egg fades and becomes translucent.
So that all the eggs inside can be seen.
“…”
The egg I looked at again was in a terrible state.
It was so cracked that it looked like it would break if you hit it lightly.
In the gap, unknown water was still flowing.
Fortunately, the plum leaves are covering the outside and barely holding on.
In other words.
You’re saying that it was like this all along and I didn’t know?
“Wrong.”
I turned my head in surprise at Shin Noya’s words.
“… Do you use poison or something?”
I clearly didn’t say anything. How did you know?
“I always say this, but you have such a bad face, dear.”
Noya looks at me like that and says, as if he finds me pitiful.
“It was originally no different from a rag.”
A rag from the mouth of a Taoist…? It is still an indescribable word.
“It would be right to see this incident as accelerating that process.”
“What is this?”
What does this mean? This is happening.
Did something happen to me?
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Noya was looking at me with sunken eyes for some reason, with a look of doubt on his face.
“Remember it soon. You don’t have much time.”
“So what…?”
“Or, would you rather forget?”
“It’s been a while since you showed up, and all you keep saying is nonsense….”
“I want you to remember why you are here.”
Why am I here?
I know.
Why am I here?
Why is my chest like this and what does it mean when it accelerates?
If Shin Noya is asking you to recall it, it seems like you know.
I don’t know.
Not a single one came to mind.
It feels like fog is creeping up on my mind again, which had been clearing up a little.
Shin Noya added a word while watching me stammer as if I didn’t know anything.
“If you’re going to worry so much and regret it later, I will respect your choice.”
“You lose?”
Lose.
Those words made me feel a prickle in a corner of my empty heart.
What do I have to lose?
The reason I came here… .
“Ugh… .”
I clutched my temples as a headache suddenly came over me. I felt like something was going to come to mind along with the pain.
And not long after.
“Ugh…!”
I had to gasp for breath and feel my chest with my hand, because the feeling of my heart being pierced by the tip of a sharp sword came back to me.
Only then do they come to mind one by one.
The moment the Heavenly Lord attacked, I was helpless and faced death.
Even the back of the Heavenly Lord who was heading towards the Demon Sword Master while breathing out life force.
The vibration rings.
Woohoo-!
It was a sound coming from the giant egg in front of my eyes.
Looking at that, I asked Shin Noya.
“… Am I dead?”
“I’m not dead yet. But I’ll be soon.”
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“…”
My heart is pierced.
The bowl was in that state, and it was said that it had just accelerated due to the influence of work.
This means that there is not much time left before it breaks.
After thinking about that, he turned his gaze to Shin Noya.
“What should I do?”
It’s a question about the method. I remember the look of bewilderment on Shin Noya’s face when he heard my question.
“I am on the verge of death, so how can you find a way for me?”
“You know the method, so why are you telling me this?”
“her.”
I don’t know what this space is.
I don’t know if my insides are a figurative space or some other space.
The important thing was that Shin Noya appeared here and spoke to me.
“Look at this shameless guy. Now he even demands that I clean up his poop every now and then.”
“Yes. Since you’re already cleaning it up, please clean it up one more time.”
“her.”
I said it as brazenly as I could, because I knew now that I didn’t have time to beg or do anything.
Kugu Palace.
In the egg, a more intense movement was felt.
Should I say that Noya’s energy is holding back something that seems like it might break at any moment?
“What should I do?”
“…Why do you think I know the way?”
“You must know that, that’s why you’re making that face.”
“…”
Noya’s expression becomes a little more crumpled after hearing that.
“There is a way, but it doesn’t seem particularly useful. But there are no other ways. That’s the general expression on his face.”
“… It seems like you are the one using the poison spell, not me.”
“Noyado, your expression is very expressive.”
Tsk tsk… .
Shin Noya laughs bitterly at my words.
It was definitely my first time seeing your face, but maybe because we were always together, it felt familiar.
That longing aside, there was something I needed to know now.
“… How can I overcome this situation? Please tell me. Noya.”
If it’s true that he died from a punctured heart, how on earth am I supposed to survive in this situation?
Noya, who was looking into my eyes, smiled and spoke.
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“That guy was just dazed. Now that he’s got a woman, his eyes are starting to come back. Tsk tsk.”
“…”
“There is a method… Yes, there is a method.”
I listened closely to Noya’s answer.
What could it be? Is it a way to expand the bowl when it is about to break?
Or maybe he’s trying to give us some chance.
I’m a bit anxious because I remember that I said that if I eat more here, it won’t be manageable…
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s impossible to expand the bowl or anything.”
This time, Shin Noya immediately gives me an answer, as if he noticed my expression.
“Even if I were to correct your unstable state, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“… Then what should I do?”
At the question-filled words, Noya again pointed to the egg behind him.
I wonder why you’re pointing that out right away.
“If it’s gotten to the point where you can’t hold it in any longer, then just let it flow.”
“yes…?”
Just let it flow? Does that mean, just leave it alone, whether the bowl breaks or not?
“If the bowl breaks, won’t you die?”
“I’m going to die.”
“Then in the end… .”
“You as a human being.”
“…!”
I had to widen my eyes at Noya’s cool words.
As a human, I’m going to die. What on earth is that…?
“Don’t you already know? It’s becoming difficult to call yourself human.”
“…”
“That is the last frame that keeps you human.”
The last frame.
“…That bowl is the final frame that allows me to live as a human?”
“What’s more, it’s your foolishness that keeps you from breaking so tenaciously.”
“Foolish…?”
“Yes, my last wish to live as a human.”
Kuk.
It felt like my fist was rolling on its own.
What foolishness.
Is that my foolish desire to somehow remain human?
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The water was flowing and soaking the floor.
It’s all my foolishness that I’m barely holding on to, trying to hold that water.
“…I don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. What matters is… the choice you have to make now.”
“… Noya.”
“The reason I’ve been holding it back until now is purely because of my greed.”
“If you say it’s greed.”
“If it was foolish of you to want to remain human, it was my greed to want to keep you human.”
“…”
“Because I wanted you to remain human.”
There was a faint bitterness in Noya’s voice.
“Now, it is too late for you to choose.”
What do you mean, I should choose? I faced Noya without hiding my wavering eyes.
“If you wish, you can die here forever as a human being.”
“…!”
As Noya speaks, the plum leaves fluttering in the air gather at his fingertips.
What was gathered together in a handful and formed into a single shape was none other than a sword.
The tip of the purple sword in Noya’s hand was pointed at me.
“So, choose. Whether you will end it here and now, or live on without being human.”
“…”
Life and death.
Telling people to choose between them is actually skewing the scales to one side.
How could it not be? That’s what life is like.
Even though I knew all that, I couldn’t come up with an easy answer.
Become non-human.
The pressure from those words was making me keep my mouth shut.
“…If you are not human…what do you mean?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that if you choose that, you will definitely regret it.”
“If I choose this, will I survive?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“What is that…?”
“Your body will be resurrected, but who knows if what’s inside that shell is really you.”
Those were truly terrifying words.
‘I might not be me?’
What does it mean if it’s not me or what’s in my body?
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I was also afraid of the warning that I would definitely regret making this choice.
I thought I would give up anything for the peace I desired.
Now that I look back, it seems like that wasn’t the case.
‘I see.’
I thought as I watched the crumbling egg.
‘I guess I wanted to live as a human.’
Because I lived an inhuman life as a mine in my previous life.
I wanted to live this life as an ordinary human being.
I guess this was a wish I didn’t know about.
Does this mean that if I give up on this, I will end up regretting it?
Probably, definitely it will be like that.
And yet.
I walked with an indifferent expression.
“…”
Noya, who saw that, also didn’t say anything, he just watched me silently.
The destination is where the eggs are.
The egg that I looked at up close was still a mess. It looked like it was about to collapse at any moment.
It was just like my life.
A life covered in many colors, crumpled and ruined.
The shape of the egg seemed to represent my life as a human being.
I slowly reached out my hand there.
widely.
The texture was rough and there was no softness anywhere.
It looks like my master’s temper.
Ignore it and push in deeper.
Bam-!
The outer surface was broken and my hand could easily dig into the inside.
The feeling inside was…somewhat warm.
“… My dear.”
In that situation, Noya calls me in a weak voice.
“yes.”
“Do you have any regrets about that choice?”
I laughed when I heard Noya’s question.
Do you have any regrets?
“No. I want to quit right now.”
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“underneath.”
“One. There are so many things that are more important than my pitiful pride.”
Rather than the foolishness and pride of wanting to live as a human and die like that.
Those who wanted to find peace with my fucking life were more important.
“It would have been much easier if my death and the world were on the scales.”
I’m a person who values my pride more than saving the world. If that were the case, I would have chosen it right away.
Unfortunately, the opponent was too strong.
“… under.”
Noya laughed in vain after hearing my answer.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, but you’re still the same.”
“Noya is still the same.”
“What am I.”
“You still have a bad temper.”
“… This kid?”
Knock knock-.
Just as Noya was about to approach with a distorted expression.
Tsk tsk tsk-!
A large crack splits in all directions from the point where my hand dug in.
In the long and thick gold, water gradually began to flow out.
“…”
A situation where one has a feeling that something huge will happen soon.
I swallowed the small fear that was welling up inside me.
“Oh, right. Noya.”
I spoke to Noya.
“What is it?”
“I’ll see you again later.”
“huh?”
As he continued talking, the egg shell shattered into pieces and the water inside gushed out.
Kwaaaaaaaah-!
Just before being swept away by the powerful current, he smiled broadly and spoke to Noya.
“I think we have something to talk about with Mrs. Dangjemun.”
“…”
When the topic of the Tang Dynasty comes up, Noya’s facial expression becomes something to behold.
That’s fine.
I’ll hold on and tease that old man.
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For now, this feeling was enough.
