I had long known that Father dreamed of the unification of Murim.
The crucial question was when he would draw his blade—a matter of timing, nothing more.
If Hyeolcheon Doma's speculation was correct, that time was coming sooner than I thought.
"We haven't even completely uprooted the hidden forces lurking in the various sects lately, have we?"
To think of war in this situation?
I knew well that Father was not someone who handled such great matters emotionally. Nor was he someone who would make a new enemy while already facing one.
How could Hyeolcheon Doma not know that?
Though they had grown distant now, Hyeolcheon Doma had been closer to Father in his youth than anyone. That was precisely why he knew Father better than anyone else. And yet, the reason he made such a speculation was exactly this:
"You know as well as I do that Murim has been peaceful for a very long time. There were no real fights. But this time, while facing those hidden forces, the Majon were awakened."
He was right. All the Majon had taken turns participating in the battle. They had experienced true combat against formidable enemies. For master-level experts like the Majon, an opportunity to face opponents of similar strength was a blessing one might hardly encounter a handful of times in a lifetime.
"By facing them, we naturally began full-scale war preparations."
Hyeolcheon Doma's astonishing words came now.
"And above all, the cult has gained a combat strength more powerful than anything else."
"What do you mean?"
Hyeolcheon Doma looked at me in silence.
"Surely you don't mean me?"
Hyeolcheon Doma nodded.
He was right. My martial arts had grown the most while facing the hidden forces.
"Thanks to you, the cult's chances of achieving the unification of Murim have grown much greater."
That was also correct. If I achieved the great completion of Guhwamagong and combined my strength with Father's, we could accomplish the unification of Murim far more easily than if he attempted it alone.
Finally, Hyeolcheon Doma added one more astonishing thing.
"Perhaps you are the one who awakened the Cult Leader's dream."
"!"
I could not refute those words. Whether it was true or not, Hyeolcheon Doma's argument was persuasive.
Because recently, I was the one who had influenced Father the most.
"Of course, my speculation could be wrong."
Father had changed a lot lately as well. Perhaps he had simply been influenced by how I treated the Majon and thought he should become closer to them. If that were the case, it would truly be a good thing.
If not, he might simply be placating the Majon in order to uproot the hidden forces. How wonderful would it be if that were his mindset?
Truly, nothing was as difficult as reading Father's inner thoughts.
Hyeolcheon Doma's final reason for this speculation lay in the distant past.
"The Cult Leader has dreamed of unifying Murim since he was young."
"Did you ever speak of it?"
The light in Hyeolcheon Doma's eyes deepened as he recalled the past.
"It was before he ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon. At the time, he roamed the Central Plains with Gwonma, fighting wherever they went. Just like you now, the two of them traveled around without any guards. Then one day, the Cult Leader returned to the cult with an excited face and spoke to me."
In that time when everyone was young, what had Father said to Hyeolcheon Doma?
Hyeolcheon Doma conveyed Father's words exactly.
"I shall have this Murim."
The moment I heard those words, the image of Father in his youth came to mind.
The appearance of him at the very first moment he held the dream of unifying Murim. What had been the catalyst for Father's dream? Had he seen a good side of Murim then? Or an ugly one?
"After that, the Cult Leader never brought it up again."
"It was likely the first and last time. Father is not someone who goes around revealing such dreams to just anyone."
When he had wanted to speak of the passion boiling in his heart, Hyeolcheon Doma had been that sole recipient.
Because of that shared past, Hyeolcheon Doma had once been able to say with conviction that while he could give up on children, he could not give up on him.
I grew heavy of heart. Could I make Father give up on a dream he had held since then?
"Elder."
"What is it?"
"If Father orders you to strike the Murim Alliance, what will you do?"
Hyeolcheon Doma lowered his gaze to his book. He was clearly troubled.
"Please speak comfortably. I am ready to feel hurt!"
I said it like a joke, but Hyeolcheon Doma did not take it as one.
"I am not ready to hurt you yet. Nor your father."
From those words, I could understand his heart. No matter how close we had become, no matter how distant he had grown from Father, defying Father's order was never going to be easy. Leaving aside all personal matters, it was the relationship between the Cult Leader and a Majon.
The mere fact that he agonized like this showed how much he cherished me.
"I will not let you face a moment of choice."
It was not only Hyeolcheon Doma but the other Majon as well. I would not let them fall into such anguish, forced to disobey Father's command for my sake. This matter was between Father and me alone.
"How do you plan to do that?"
"Do you not know what kind of demonic path I dream of? I must persuade Father somehow."
Hyeolcheon Doma's gaze returned to his book. After staring blankly at it for a moment, he said quietly,
"One cannot live as everyone wishes."
Whether he was speaking to me, to Father, or to himself, I could not tell.
* * *
I told him I'd bring pajamas and sleep another time, then left Hyeolcheon Doma's quarters. I felt he would want to be alone.
I decided to think about this matter positively.
This opportunity marked the moment to advance my relationship with Father, and naturally with the Majon as well, to the next level. Becoming close is easy. The problem always comes after that.
Now we had stepped onto a new proving ground for our relationships.
When I returned to my quarters, someone was training in martial arts in the courtyard.
It was Jeogyeon, the leader of the guards. The news of my return must have already reached him, so it seemed he had been waiting at my quarters until I arrived.
I watched his training without interrupting. His skill had visibly improved compared to when I had last seen him. It meant he had been training relentlessly while I was in the Northern Sea.
When his training round ended, I revealed myself.
"You've improved a lot."
At my appearance, Jeogyeon greeted me formally.
"Young Lord! I have eagerly awaited your safe return."
His face was filled with joy.
"I was waiting after hearing word of your return. I sent back the other guards who wanted to stay, telling them to train."
Just hearing that, I could guess how diligently they had been training. They did not want to miss even a day of their scheduled practice.
"Take off your eyepatch first."
"I'm fine."
"I always say this, but I'm not fine with it."
When I see his eyes, I am reminded of Ian's Jeonsinseokhwagong. Feeling the hearts of guards who bear such pain to protect someone, I want to free them from their agony as soon as possible.
The moment the eyepatch was removed, I was startled.
His eyes had returned to normal.
"You've achieved great completion!"
As if he had intended to surprise me, Jeogyeon finally smiled.
"It is thanks to the Young Lord. Perhaps because you tended to my eyes from time to time, I made rapid progress in training the Ghost Eye Technique."
I knew it wasn't just that. He must have endured great pain and trained fiercely.
"But why are you still wearing the eyepatch?"
"It feels awkward to suddenly take it off."
"Take it off. If you do, the heroines will follow you around."
"Then I must wear it all the more. I plan to follow the Young Lord around, after all."
Perhaps because the pain in his eyes was gone? He felt much brighter than before.
Maybe because joking was unfamiliar to him, he hastily made his farewell.
"Then please rest."
"Jeogyeon."
"Yes, Young Lord."
I couldn't send him away like this when he had waited until late just to see me.
"You should at least have a celebratory drink."
I drank with Jeogyeon and we talked about this and that.
Just as I reported on what happened with Father, Jeogyeon told me everything that had occurred within the cult. He had gathered information one by one, hoping it might help me.
He also told me that the guards' skills had greatly improved. He spoke of how hard they were working.
"Perhaps because they all yearn to serve and accompany the Young Lord, everyone is training with all their might."
I always told them: to walk with me, they must become stronger.
Hyeolcheon Doma's words were right. The cult's strength was growing everywhere.
Especially everyone connected to me was growing stronger. Even Ilhwa Geomjon, who had not fought the hidden forces, had grown stronger through sparring with me.
Perhaps those words were really true.
That it was really I who had awakened Father's dream.
* * *
The next day, I went to Akingok to meet Geukak Soma.
My sleeping mat and his were still well-placed in Geukak Soma's quarters.
There were even newly added desks and chairs that hadn't been there before.
Geukak Soma was looking at something at the desk.
"I have returned safely."
The two eyes behind Geukak Soma's mask smiled brightly at me.
"You have come?"
Geukak Soma welcomed me with his usual unchanged demeanor.
"You've gotten a desk."
Of course, the desk and chairs were painted pure white.
"It is comfortable to have."
He then picked up what he had been looking at and showed it. It was a ledger with numbers written on it.
"These days, I am also studying something new."
Seeing him like that reminded me of when I went to the Central Plains with him in the past. Back then, Cheongmyeon had told him the contents through voice transmission, but now he was looking at it himself. He must have learned how to read a ledger in the meantime.
I thought it was a good sign. When master-level experts like the Majon ascended to the next realm, they sometimes drew inspiration from completely unexpected places. That was what made them fearsome. Hyeolcheon Doma reading books, Geukak Soma reading ledgers.
These were changes that had occurred since I brought the sleeping mat. I could feel what Geukak Soma's heart was in placing the desk.
My heart had simply been to lie down and sleep comfortably; he was answering with an even greater change. As though saying that thanks to me, he had changed this much.
"How was the Northern Sea?"
"It was a magnificent and beautiful place. You must have gone often."
Since Geukak Soma liked the color white, I had thought he surely went often.
"I went exactly once. I simply detest the cold."
I laughed loudly at the unexpected reason.
This time, Geukak Soma asked.
"Then you must have visited the Northern Sea Ice Palace as well."
"Visited? I stayed there for quite some time."
"It is known to not accept outsiders. As expected of the Young Lord."
I sat at the edge of my sleeping mat and told him in detail what had happened in the Northern Sea. I told him everything about Hyeolwang and his subordinates without omission.
Repeating the same story was sometimes tedious, but I did not mind. I believed that even a small piece of information could later become precious enough to save a life.
After delivering the story of the Northern Sea, I brought up the most important business of today's visit.
"I heard you met Father some time ago."
"Yes, I did."
"I am curious what conversation you had with Father that day."
A flicker of puzzlement crossed Geukak Soma's eyes behind the mask. After all, I was asking about a conversation between the Heavenly Demon and a Majon. No matter how close we were, it was not something to ask lightly.
"I know it is a rude question."
"You must have a reason, of course."
I did not hide the matter from him.
"I suspect Father has begun moving to unify Murim."
At the words "unification of Murim," Geukak Soma's eyes blazed intensely.
"I thought so after seeing him spar with Chwima-nim yesterday. I wondered if Father is finally drawing his blade in earnest."
Only then did Geukak Soma's eyes show that he understood why I had asked such a question.
"When he met me, he said nothing at all regarding the unification of Murim. It was merely matters within the cult and casual conversation. He spoke mostly of the Young Lord."
"Of me?"
"Yes. He asked me to look after you well in the future."
Father met Geukak Soma and asked him to look after me?
With my relationship with Father having improved lately, that was possible.
Yet my unease did not fade.
"Are you worried?"
"Honestly, I am worried. Worried enough to come visit you and be this rude."
Leaving aside my relationship with them, what thoughts did the Majon hold?
Since I regressed, they had truly changed a great deal from before. Their relationships with me had changed as well.
But had their perspectives and hearts regarding Murim changed as well? If I were to ask something like this:
Would Geukak Soma truly like a peaceful Murim? Or would he want to race across battlefields, unleashing demonic energy?
Could I be certain that he liked peace? Was the Geukak Soma before me such a person?
Then Geukak Soma spoke. It was as though he had read my mind.
"I can endure it."
I knew what heart spoke those words. This was Geukak Soma's heart for me.
"I do not wish for Soma-nim to live a life of endurance."
His eyes behind the mask asked: Is there a way?
"We must find it from now on. I will make it so that Father and the Majon say something other than 'I can endure it.'"
What words should replace "endurance," I did not yet know.
"Young Lord."
"Yes, Soma-nim."
Geukak Soma spoke quietly with clear, deep eyes.
"No matter what order is given, I will follow the Young Lord. The Young Lord's demonic path is my demonic path."