Chapter 119 : Chapter 119

Chapter 119: A New Path (2)

The Altar of the Abyss, dead center.

Amid the ceiling and walls studded with golden stars, between the braziers…

“Ah.”

I wasn’t the only one startled.

Kuhn flinched too, but what was even more absurd was the object in her hand.

‘Cleaning tools…?’

She was caught in the act of wiping a brazier with a white cloth.

“……”

“……”

We stood there, stiff as boards, staring at each other for a while.

·

·

·

It felt like a long time had passed.

Yet, we still hadn’t exchanged a single word, keeping our distance.

No, it’s more accurate to say we couldn’t.

What had changed was this:I’d barely managed to sit down, and Kuhn was kneeling, hands neatly folded.

At least the initial shock had somewhat subsided.

“Why are you here?”

I asked.

“I don’t really know.”

Oh, she doesn’t know.

Fair enough, that’s possible.

Hmm.

Nodding, I suddenly felt a bit foolish.

‘What if I wasn’t channeling my mental technique and just dozed off?’

In other words, this could just be a dream.

How startled must I have been to not realize something so simple and stay like this?

“Meeting you was unpleasant. Let’s never see each other again.”

With that, I opened my physical eyes.

I wasn’t lying down but sitting upright.

The room was silent.

‘…’

I fell asleep while trying to channel my technique and even had a pathetic dream? All while sitting up?

‘What kind of nonsense…’

I headed back to the Altar of the Abyss.

Standing in the middle of the wraith-filled corridor, I confirmed multiple times that Benkou Vision was indeed active.

And so.

“Ha.”

“……”

I met Kuhn again.

* * *

Kuhn was still kneeling at the center of the altar.

Her impassive face was unchanged.

Thanks to that, I realized something new.

Here, in the world of the unconscious, time flows the same as in reality.

I’d once heard that the mental techniques of a supreme master could transcend real time, existing in their own temporal realm.

But not me, not yet.

As long as I linger in this world, time passes the same in reality.

‘Anyway.’

So how do I interpret this situation?

“Here…”

Kuhn spoke.

My gut told me she’d been pondering for quite a while before opening her mouth.

“I met Yeats.”

“……”

“To be precise, it was Yeats’s spirit.”

Come to think of it, the air above the altar was clear.

Usually, after a battle, when I came here, the place would be filled with wailing spirits plunging into the braziers.

But this time, there was nothing.

“These braziers…”

Kuhn’s gaze slowly traced the braziers, flickering with vivid flames.

“I watched them get sucked in.”

At this point, I had to rub my face with my hand.

I needed to hide my dizzy expression and the sigh that slipped out.

So, she was saying that after dying by my hand, she’d been lingering here all this time.

“And sometimes…”

I flinched and looked at Kuhn.

What now?

“I saw what you saw. As if I were seeing the world through your eyes. Like fragments of a dream, sporadically.”

…Stay calm, Bihen.

I pointed at the brazier symbolizing ‘Imperial Swordsmanship’ with my finger.

Its ash-gray flames surged fiercely, the largest of the five.

“Get in.”

“What?”

“Get in and rest eternally.”

“……”

At least I didn’t add “filthy ghost.”

Swish.

Kuhn stood and walked to the brazier.

The sound of her robe brushing the floor was clear.

Thud—

She grabbed the brazier’s rim with both hands and suddenly turned to me.

Her eyes seemed to ask if she should really go in.

No chance.

I jutted my chin, urging her on.

Whoosh—

The ash-gray flames wavered once, barely stirred by a breeze.

Kuhn quietly immersed herself in the brazier.

Only her head peeked out, staring at me, her expression utterly calm.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Taking a hot spring bath?

* * *

I accepted that Kuhn was indeed a dead ‘spirit’ and, for some unknown reason, was parasitizing the world of my unconscious, accessible through Benkou Vision.

‘It’s probably morning outside by now.’

That’s how disorienting this was for me.

It wasn’t surprising that I, with the Curse of the Spectral Body, could see spiritual entities.

But encountering a dead soul that speaks and moves with reason, like a living person, in my mind (?)—that’s a whole different story.

“Haa.”

My hand, irritably scratching my head, paused as my brow furrowed.

Curse of the Spectral Body.

The innate constitution of the Benkou family had also progressed.

I could now see mana, once only vaguely sensed, in tangible form.

‘Could this be part of that progress?’

I quietly stared at Kuhn.

Having emerged from the brazier, she sat demurely as before.

…Right, the discomfort I felt came from treating her like a living person.

In other words, if I just treated her as a dead soul, that’d be that.

“Well, you can’t do anything stupid here anyway.”

As she looked at me, I shook my head as if it were nothing.

Alright, that’s better.

“About you. That day you died by my sword.”

Might as well ask since it’s come to this.

After all that chaos, she had a resigned look, as if everything was over.

That infuriatingly smug face still lingered in my mind.

“Why did you just die quietly? You could’ve resisted.”

Kuhn paused, as if caught off guard by the unexpected question, then lowered her eyes slightly, a faint smile on her lips.

“I told you. My duty was done. I only succeeded in half of my two tasks, so I was already a dead woman. Still, my family back home will survive, so I have no regrets.”

“Stop acting like you’re the only one with a story.”

“I didn’t, but if you felt that way, I’m sorry.”

“Hypocrite. Countless people lost their lives unjustly because of what you did. Even now, innocents are suffering, paying for your actions. Do you even realize that?”

“I, too, was tormented and afraid of the karma that would come for me. That’s why I could face my end at your hands willingly.”

The haze rising from the brazier’s flames wavered between us.

Beyond it, her face looked infuriatingly shameless.

I had to take a deep breath.

Raging at a ghost was ridiculous, and even when alive, she was this emotionless.

“Must be nice, being so at ease.”

“That’s not…”

“Killian’s dead, and the Gunbel Trading Company warrior who came for him fell by my hand. Callence will soon die by Adeline’s. The chaos you boasted about will vanish from Conwell without a trace.”

“……”

“Go on, keep acting superior.”

I just wanted to crush that smug attitude.

So that everything I’d been through wouldn’t feel trivialized.

Kuhn slowly raised her arm and touched the corner of her eye.

“That’s a relief.”

* * *

“Sir… are you listening?”

“…Huh? Oh, sorry.”

Clang—!

It felt like the hammer struck my head, not the anvil.

My eyes snapped open.

“Keep going.”

I rubbed my face and spoke.

This was Gaff’s forge.

Henry had arranged the appointment through the inn’s errand boy.

Thanks to that, I hadn’t slept a wink.

“As you probably expected, repair is difficult. Not because of me—it’d be tough even for an Imperial craftsman.”

Gaff got straight to the point.

He explained, pointing out each damaged part of my sword.

His hands, rough like a wild bear’s, moved over the blade with a careful, almost tender precision.

“Ho ho, really.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a pity. Judging by the wear and corrosion, this blade had plenty of life left. Aside from the broken part, it’s been impeccably maintained.”

As always, entrusting a cherished weapon to a skilled blacksmith made me feel exposed under their sharp, indifferent gaze. The sword carried every trace of my journey.

The blood of fallen foes, the sweat from training, the tears shed in hardship—all of it.

“This one’s surpassed its limits many times. You can see the marks of its desperate effort to meet its master’s expectations.”

“……”

“In simple terms, it met the wrong master. Hahaha!”

I couldn’t laugh like Gaff.

He was right.

Was it just Sword Aura?

Frost Sword, Quake Earth—these were powers too

overwhelming for a mere sword to bear.

“Isn’t there… any way?”

“There has to be.”

After a moment’s thought, he spoke.

“Honestly, making a perfect Imperial Sword is near impossible. Not due to smithing limits, but because of the fundamental difference in materials. Not all iron is the same. It grows from the land it’s born in—air, soil, water, even the flame’s temperature and breath. The metal feeds on all of it.”

I nodded.

I’d already suspected as much.

“Expecting that would be greedy.”

“And this is just my opinion.”

“…?”

Gaff looked at me.

His eyes flickered like a spark in a forge.

“I think diversifying your arsenal could help improve your swordsmanship.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Exactly that. I heard about your situation from Henry. It’s been a while since you came to the Kingdom, hasn’t it?”

I unconsciously straightened my posture.

They say a seasoned blacksmith’s keen eye can see through even the subtle habits swordsmen don’t notice themselves.

“Speak freely.”

“Your swordsmanship has likely changed. Some might call it disharmonious or impure to wield Imperial techniques with Kingdom weapons, but I see it differently. I think it could open a new path.”

My eyes widened.

I’d had similar thoughts—that harmonizing Imperial and Kingdom swordsmanship might be the key to the next realm.

But when the Imperial Sword broke, what did I do?

Trapped in the thought that I couldn’t unleash my full power with a Kingdom weapon, I didn’t even try to move forward.

Blaming the situation was an excuse.

If I truly aimed for the supreme realm in this life, I should’ve found a way to break through.

That’s what a true master swordsman would do.

“So, forcibly recreating an imitation Imperial Sword would only harm you. Clinging to a half-baked replica and being tied to the past will only hinder your progress.”

For a moment, it was as if a halo shone behind Gaff.

“Combining an Imperial and Kingdom sword to create a new weapon would be best. It won’t be easy, of course. But I’ll craft a masterpiece worthy of a Sword Fiend. This will be a challenge I must solve.”

“…Thank you, Gaff.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m just repaying a debt. I should have it ready around the coronation.”

Gaff clasped my knee with his rough hand.

“It’ll be a companion for the new path you’ll walk.”

* * *

I left the bustling blacksmith district and returned to the inn.

Gaff’s advice had cleared the thick fog in my mind.

‘A new path.’

I sat in meditation and headed to the world of the unconscious.

“A new path needs a milestone.”

“…What?”

Kuhn, writing calligraphy in the middle of the altar, blinked.

Wait, where does she keep getting that stuff?

Well, I’ll ask about that later.

“The Empire’s plan to invade the Kingdom. From now on, tell me everything you know.”

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