Absolute Regression

< Chapter 2: Did You Push Me Away? >

The merciless flow of time passed relentlessly.

The world was still Hwa Moogi’s. According to rumors, Hwa Moogi had become even stronger. He was continuously striving towards the ultimate truth of martial arts through endless training.

The world was governed by twelve of his most devoted followers, who were called the Twelve Zodiac Kings.(EN: Really tempted to change it to the Twelve Zodiac Knights, but I’ll endure)

Although the Absolute Master unified the martial world, life did not improve. In fact it grew worse. Injustice ran rampant in association with the Twelve Zodiac Kings. Those who pleased them gained fame, while those who defied them lost their lives. Life had become even harsher than when the factions were divided.

Meanwhile, the Martial Alliance, the Evil Alliance, and the Demon Cult still couldn’t lift their seclusion.

Everyone said that as long as Hwa Moogi remained alive, the gates would never open.

Just when the thought that he had died in some unknown valley became overwhelming, the nameless man returned.

When they first met, he was in his prime, but now he had become a middle-aged man with graying hair. He exuded a more mature aura than ever before.

He had changed. His face and body were tanned as if he had traveled the world, and he had new scars that were not there before. Despite his fearsome appearance, his eyes remained the same—cold yet clear, calm yet deep—just as they were when he first came to him.

“Here, this is the Core Essence of a 10,000 year Carp.”

Inside the box he handed over was indeed the Core Essence of a 10,000 year Carp.

“It really exists!”

Gwi Ryeongja’s voice trembled.

“How on earth did you get it?”

“I searched every possible place. I can proudly say that climbing mountains, swimming, diving, and camping—I am a master at all. I could draw a map of Zhongyuan with my eyes closed.”

“That’s truly remarkable.”

“The most remarkable is not that I got it, but that I didn’t go mad in the process.”

Gwi Ryeongja suddenly had a thought. Perhaps this wasn’t the Core Essence of a 10,000 year Carp, but the man’s will itself. As he imagined the sky-blue will emanating from the man and forming the Core Essence, the man urged him again.

“So, what’s the next ingredient?”

“Don’t you want to boast?”

What extraordinary adventures must he have had to gather the ingredients they had so far? If it were him, he wouldn’t be able to resist boasting about his success to anyone.

“I’ll boast later after I kill that bastard and drape his corpse. I’ll say it over and over, make him into a mummy, and boast about it for the rest of my life. Just to let everyone know that I killed him…”

“It’s strange to hear such jokes from you.”

Gwi Ryeongja wanted to laugh and chat with this man, discussing martial arts and life. But the man was always busy, as usual.

“So, what’s the fourth ingredient?”

“Money.”

At the unexpected answer, the man asked,

“How much do you need?”

“Five million nyang.”

It was an unimaginably large sum of money, but the man had a consistent reaction.

“I’ll get it.”

Gwi Ryeongja knew that even if it were ten billion nyang or a hundred billion nyang, this man would jump up and say he would go get it.

He might add a comment, jokingly looking at Gwi Ryeongja: Should I just kill him and quit everything?

But he was the kind of person who silently advanced towards his goal. Gwi Ryeongja was witnessing an extreme example of how terrifyingly strong one’s will could be when truly enraged.

“Wait a moment.”

“What?”

“I’ll cover the money. Our family has been saving money over generations for this technique. I’ll use that money.”

“Why?”

“Because succeeding in this technique is also the long-cherished wish of me and my family.”

“Alright. Thank you, truly thank you. This will save a lot of time.”

The man was genuinely happy.

“So, will you have a drink with me today?”

“I’ll have one drink and then leave.”

“You heartless friend.”

They brought the alcohol and sat side by side on a rock in the yard, pouring and drinking from large cups.

The two savored their drinks slowly.

“When we first met, both you and I were full of energy.”

“My body may be aging, but my heart remains the same. I’m desperately trying to live youthfully.”

“Why make such an effort?”

“Because I will return to my younger self. Whether I go back at fifty, sixty, or a hundred, I am the person who came to you that day. My time stopped at that exact moment.”

If he had heard these words when they first met, he would have thought, ‘The effort is admirable, but is it even possible?’ But now he knew better than anyone how remarkable the man’s willpower was.

“If this technique succeeds, and you can indeed return to the past, may I make one request?”

“Go ahead.”

“If you return to the past, please come and find me.”

“And then?”

Gwi Ryeongja let out a long sigh and said,

“Stop my marriage.”

At the unexpected request, the man burst into laughter.

“Hahaha.”

For the first time since they met, the man laughed.

“I’m not joking. Please, stop it.”

“Is that more important than five million nyang?”

“It’s more important to me. I can live alone, forever. Please do that for me.”

“Alright.”

Gwi Ryeongja, after telling him which year he was to marry, reiterated his plea.

“Promise me. Promise you’ll stop it.”

“I promise.”

The two finished the remaining liquor.

“What is the last ingredient?”

“It’s something you know.”

“What is it?”

“Secret Demonic Soul.”

Knowing what it was, the man’s eyes darkened.

“It’s your late father’s keepsake.”

“I know. My father never let go of it, even for a moment.”

“Do you have it?”

The man shook his head.

“Do you know where it is?”

“I don’t.”

“What if Hwa Moogi has it by any chance?”

“Then all the effort over the years would be in vain. Even if it fortunately remains with our Cult, it won’t be easy to obtain.”

Currently, the Demonic Cult was sealed, led by a new leader.

Although they couldn’t unseal it due to Hwa Moogi’s influence, the Demonic Cult had been strengthening itself over the years.

As the son of the former leader, he knew he wouldn’t be welcomed back. Rather, the new leader, who believed him dead, would try to kill him upon his reappearance.

“Let’s hope it’s still with the Cult.”

“Don’t take too long. I’m getting old, too.”

“Don’t die before I return. Thank you for the drink.”

After downing his last cup, the man left.

Gwi Ryeongja stood there for a long time, watching the man disappear into the distance.

The man who left like that did not return. There were no news of any disturbances in the Demonic Cult either. Still, Gwi Ryeongja always listened intently.

As the years went by, Gwi Ryeongja aged, and the flower of death bloomed on his face.

Even today, he sat absentmindedly on the porch, always looking at the spot where the man used to stand.

Then, Gwi Ryeongja rubbed his eyes, as if seeing an illusion.

Someone was painfully staggering towards him.

It was the very man who had left to fetch the last ingredient.

He had changed so much. His face was so badly damaged that he looked like a different person, and he had lost his right eye and left arm. His body, likely covered in scars, was drenched in still dripping blood.

Gwi Ryeongja was speechless at the sight.

After handing over the Secret Demonic Soul, the man collapsed on the spot.

“You… how did you manage to get the Secret Demonic Soul?”

“… Let’s go to the place where we can perform the technique.”

He didn’t even have the strength to respond.

Gwi Ryeongja supported him and led him to a space where the Great Regression Technique would be performed.

Everything was prepared there.

The final ingredient they had awaited for so long.

Gwi Ryeongja took the Secret Demonic Soul and placed it in the center. As soon as the finishing touch reached its designated spot, the formation began to shine brightly, strange images and characters appearing around it.

Gwi Ryeongja stood in front of it and began to chant.

Blue and red lights started to envelop the area. The Thunder Bell tolled, and incense rose from the Divine Incense Burner.

As Gwi Ryeongja’s chant reached its climax, the main ingredients combined and became one, creating a shimmering light cluster. It resembled an entrance leading somewhere.

“We did it!”

Gwi Ryeongja’s face overflowed with emotion. It was the moment the family’s centuries-old wish was fulfilled.

Gwi Ryeongja approached the man leaning against the pillar. Perhaps due to the excessive blood loss, he was unconscious. Instead of waking him up, Gwi Ryeongja spoke softly.

“… I’m sorry.”

He had resolved to return to the past.

“I’m truly sorry.”

He felt even sorrier knowing how hard this man had worked to gather the ingredients. But these materials were impossible to obtain again.

“I promise I will find you and warn you of the impending calamity.”

Gwi Ryeongja stood up and turned towards the shimmering light.

“Returning to the past has been our family’s lifelong wish. It was my wish too.”

Just as he was about to walk towards the light.

“Ugh.”

Gwi Ryeongja flinched and stopped in his tracks.

His Devil’s Hole Pressure Point had already been suppressed. He couldn’t even tell when it had happened. A languid voice came from behind.

“How could you do this?”

The man, whom Gwi Ryeongja thought was unconscious, had risen.

“H-Hey.”

Gwi Ryeongja’s voice trembled.

The man staggered forward and stopped in front of Gwi Ryeongja.

“Of all people, you… how could you do this!”

The man grabbed Gwi Ryeongja by the neck, his eyes full of bitter hatred and profound sorrow. The old and frail Gwi Ryeongja’s neck seemed like it would break at any moment.

“… I must have lost my mind. Uh, I’m sorry. Truly, I’m sorry.”

Gwi Ryeongja thought the man would kill him. Yes, if it were anyone else, it wouldn’t have mattered, but it shouldn’t have been him. Only Gwi Ryeongja knew how hard this man had worked to prepare the ingredients for this technique, how much he had suffered.

At that moment, the man softly released his grip on Gwi Ryeongja’s neck.

“I’m a selfish person too. Because I only think of myself, I was able to gather all those ingredients. So, it’s okay. If it were someone else, I would have killed them on the spot, but I understand you.”

The man did not blame Gwi Ryeongja. Instead, he spoke warmly with soft eyes.

“Thank you for waiting for me all your life.”

Gwi Ryeongja teared up at the man’s heartfelt words. It was a mix of guilt and regret. They could have had a more splendid farewell. Truly, they could have. They should have.

At the exact moment Gwi Ryeongja’s tears fell, the world stopped as if it were a lie.

“What?”

The man looked around in surprise. Everything had come to a standstill. A butterfly in flight was frozen in mid-air like a picture, and blades of grass swaying in the wind were bent but did not rise again.

Gwi Ryeongja, who had been standing in front, was the same. Even the sincere tears he shed were suspended in the air, never to touch the ground.

The man wondered if he was hallucinating due to blood loss.

Just then, an old man appeared in the place where time had stopped, except the man himself.

“You have passed all the tests.”

The man asked in astonishment at the old man’s words.

“Who are you?”

“I’m someone who can send you to the past.”

“!”

“How could a human defy the laws of heaven with mere mystical objects and treasures? Did you think such things could make it possible?”

When the old man raised his hand, the five items the man had collected throughout his life reappeared and floated around him. These were the materials that had vanished along with the Great Regression Technique.

At that moment, the man realized the old man was a being far beyond human.

“The true ingredients of this technique are not these artifacts but the effort you put into gathering them.”

When the old man waved his hand, the items vanished like smoke.

“You have passed the test. You lived your life sacrificing yourself for a single purpose. And forgiving Gwi Ryeongja was the final test. In truth, it was the hardest test, yet you passed it the easiest.”

The man’s entire body trembled. He had always thought the heavens were indifferent, that there was no such thing as a transcendent will. But now, a being he considered as an incarnation of those same heavens was standing before him. The surprise quickly turned into anger.

“Are you a being that only responds after such extreme efforts? Are you that superior?”

“Do not be too angry. People can see me more easily than you think. There are even those who meet me every day. But your wish was not something I could easily grant, was it?”

The man agreed with that. It wasn’t about becoming rich or marrying a beautiful woman. His sole wish was to return to the past.

“Send me back.”

“To do what?”

“I will kill the one who must be killed and save those who shouldn’t die.”

Killing Hwa Moogi and saving everyone was the first priority.

And there was something equally important.

“And… I want to live my life properly. Perhaps the reason I desperately want to go back is not just my anger towards Hwa Moogi but also because I deeply regret my life.”

“What is so regretful?”

“Everything. My life, from birth until now, wasn’t led by me but pushed by something. I was pushed here and there, and it ended like that… Was it you? The one who pushed me?”

The old man asked with an awkward smile.

“After your revenge, what kind of life do you want to live?”

“I don’t know. Whether I become the Heavenly Demon following in my father’s footsteps, live quietly in seclusion, become a womanizer who conquers all the beauties of the world, leave the Cult to beat up scoundrels, or become a scoundrel myself… I haven’t decided anything.”

“I’m curious about what kind of life you’ll live. I look forward to that new life.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s have a drink together the next time we meet.”

With those words, the old man disappeared.

“Next time?”

He had a feeling that the old man might appear before him once again someday.

Simultaneously, the time that had stopped began to flow again. The butterfly that had stopped flapped its wings and flew into the sky, the grass swayed in the wind, and the tears of Gwi Ryeongja, which had been suspended in mid-air, fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry. Truly.”

The man silently watched Gwi Ryeongja, who was shedding tears of apology. He would never know. That his Great Regression Technique was a great technique that touched the will of heaven. The final decision would be made by heaven, but it was certain that Gwi Ryeongja’s technique was the medium that connected him to that heaven.

Gwi Ryeongja pleaded with a desperate face.

“Ah! I know it’s totally shameless to ask, but please don’t forget our promise! You must really stop my marriage!”

The man chuckled. Even at this age, facing death, he was making the same request.

“Is it still hell?”

“A hotter hell. I have no face to ask, but I still plead. If she doesn’t listen until the end, tear apart my betrothal document.”

“To that extent?”

“Even more.”

“That’s good. Then as punishment for trying to betray me, you shall suffer that hell once again.”

“Ah! No! Please! I beg you!”

Leaving behind the wailing Gwi Ryeongja with a chuckle, the man walked toward the light.

Watching the radiant light that began to scatter brilliantly, Gwi Ryeongja was overwhelmed with emotion, but in the end, this was all he wanted to say.

“I want to go too! Ahhhhh! I want to go too!”

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