628 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

"I did it! I really did it!" Jegal So Jeo held out a golden brush to me, like a child showing off their most longed-for birthday present to a friend. "Did you find a way to escape?" I was focused on Jegal So Jeo's pouches, watching them bob as she jumped around with a bright smile. I had seen swords emerge from pockets before, but I never imagined brushes, scrolls, or duplicates could come out. Even a blue multifunctional robot would be amazed by such capabilities. "Hehe! Yes, although right now I can only make a brush!" She exclaimed, while painting in the air. "Look! Look at this! Ignite with the power of fire!" As Jegal So Jeo moved the brush, a golden glow formed the character for "fire." And then— Boom! "Woah?!" In an instant, the obstacle before us was engulfed in flames. "It worked!" "Is this some kind of magic using characters?" Even in a world of fantasy, to be able to create substances and manifest phenomena through the concept of characters is extraordinary. You'd expect such magic to be the domain of dragons. "W-what? Magic, you say? Are you referring to some kind of dark arts? I'm not part of a cult or anything. This is just a kind of technique that happens to work in this world." Perhaps she interpreted my comment as implying she practiced dark arts. I quickly lowered my head, realizing I might have overstepped. "I spoke out of turn. But can you escape with that brush?" "Hehehe! I believe I can draw a door with it." "Ah, so you're able to create a door to anywhere!" "Yes, that's right." As a child, I always wanted a multifunctional blue robot that could produce anything on demand. Little did I imagine my dream would manifest in this way. I watched in fascination as Jegal So Jeo skillfully began sketching a door in mid-air. The moment her rectangular drawing took shape, it transformed into a door, and as she added the doorknob, it glowed gold. Could this finally be our escape? "It's complete... Eh?!" My rising excitement deflated with Jegal So Jeo's suddenly troubled expression. "What went wrong?" "It seems I drew it incorrectly. I-I'll try again." To me, it looked perfect. Then again, perfection is seldom achieved on the first attempt. Jegal So Jeo continued to draw and erase doors in the air. Hyangmae... It's not working, and she looks increasingly anxious. "This shouldn't be happening..." No matter how perfect it seems, what is the problem? I approached Jegal So Jeo, who was visibly defeated, and gently touched the doorknob. "Did you create just an ordinary door, not an exit? Ouch!" "Don't open it!" A cold breeze seeped through the door's crack—a weather I had once experienced. This was a familiar landscape. "Hyangmae! This is the outside world! Even though heavy snow has altered it, it's definitely Do Won Hyang! We only need to step through!" The place before us was unmistakably Jegal Se Ga's Do Won Hyang. "But..." "Take my hand. We're leaving together!" I extended my hand towards Jegal So Jeo, who looked uncharacteristically sorrowful. Why wasn't she reciprocating my gesture? Her voice was heavy with defeat as she spoke. "... We can't leave together." "What? What do you mean by that?" Why did Jegal So Jeo, after drawing such a perfect door, hesitate to allow us to escape? Jegal So Jeo looked at me with trembling eyes, then reluctantly shared a painful truth. "You... Kang Gyo Ja, you can't leave." ------ I can't leave? The shock of her words left my mind blank for a moment. "I'll draw it again. There must be something I've overlooked." Jegal So Jeo bit her lower lip and began drawing another door. Would the result be the same? Despite creating and erasing countless doors, none seemed to satisfy her. Ultimately, Jegal So Jeo hung her head. "This can't be happening..." "Jegal So Jeo." Barely emerging from my shock, I called to my companion. "Something's wrong. This is impossible!" "Hyangmae." "Please! This can't be how it ends!" Jegal So Jeo pleaded with the door, but the outcome remained unchanged. "Enough. It's okay. You can stop." I approached her slowly and embraced her gently, trying to console her. "You risked your life to save me!" Her voice was thick with tears. I could feel her chest rising and falling. Jegal So Jeo's entire body quivered with frustration. With a calm voice, as if it didn't concern me, I stroked her hair soothingly. "Hyangmae, calm down. Breathe deeply—in and out." "Sob... No matter what I do, it doesn't work. It should work. But it doesn't..." I felt wetness on my hand; Jegal So Jeo’s tears trickled down my arm. Disappointed enough to cry, she must feel guilty. Finally finding a way to escape, proudly raising the brush, determined to free us, only to realize she was the only one who could get out. But. "It's only natural. That door is meant for Jegal So Jeo." I replied calmly, with a serene smile. "What?" "Jegal So Jeo entered this world via the San Ha Sa Jik Do. Therefore, you can leave through it." "But you came here too." "I came through the backdoor that the San Ha Sa Jik Do opened." "The backdoor?" "Look over there." I gently turned Jegal So Jeo to point in another direction. "Over there? It's Do Won Hyang?" "Do Won Hyang is still shining." The door before us was the main entrance of the San Ha Sa Jik Do. So there was no need to question where the backdoor was. "Then let's just abandon the door and leave together!" "It's too late." We can't leave together. Jegal So Jeo was too focused on drawing to mention this crucial detail. "The world is..." The halted world was being devoured by the void. All around us, except for where we stood, darkness engulfed everything. At this rate, we’d be imprisoned in this world forever. "You have to go first." Soon, the world would shrink to a mere patch of ground. Remaining in this world was suicide. Jegal So Jeo had to escape. "We have to go together!" Jegal So Jeo's eyes trembled, determined not to leave me. Gripping her shoulders, I spoke with resolute confidence. "You can escape if you go alone." "...!" "Even in a world full of darkness, I can discern truth from lies. So, go ahead." As the Blade Master, I was confident. In a world of fantasy, even an abyss would not deter me. "But you can't know for sure that it's the exit!" "There’s no time to debate this." I had already steeled myself for this. I lifted Jegal So Jeo firmly. Normally, I wouldn't even dream of such a feat, but as the illusory, skill-gifted Kang Yoon Ho, it was possible. "Kang Gyo Ja!" "Hyangmae, I promised to take responsibility, didn’t I?" I opened the door—not to the mythical Do Won Hyang, but the real one. I reached out, hoping, but all I felt was emptiness. If the exit wasn’t meant for me, at least it should be for those it allowed. "No, don’t! Kang Gyo Ja! Please!" It was regrettable causing Jegal So Jeo pain; her cries tore at me. "Convey my apologies to your father, for not being able to bring you out safely." "Kang Gyo Jaaaaa!" I had to ensure at least she survived. *** "How long has it been already?!" Jegal Ga’s patriarch, Jegal Geuk, slammed his hand on the table, confronting his aides with a face full of rage. "Calm down, Patriarch." "How can I be calm? My daughter has been trapped for three days! Yoon Ho entered risking his life, and there's no word from him! And you say we can't even penetrate the place?!" "It’s the realm of Celestials. Specialists are exerting all efforts from various angles. We will surely find a solution." "Right. An anomaly was just detected in Do Won Hyang; perhaps good news is forthcoming." "An anomaly?" "A sudden eruption of golden light. It appears people have entered the field of San Ha Sa Jik Do. We should hear something soon..." "Patriarch!!!" A breathless warrior from Jegal Ga’s retinue burst into the room. "What happened?" "The lady—" "What? What about Hyang?" "She’s been found in Do Won Hyang!" --- "Bring blankets now!" Do Won Hyang had opened. With a column of light, the blizzard subsided. The bone-chilling cold persisted, but the visibility was much clearer in Do Won Hyang, now bustling with the warriors of Jegal Ga who had rushed there. "Move the lady quickly!" "No! We can't leave! Absolutely not!" At the center of Do Won Hyang, by the serene lakeside, Jegal Hyang appeared with the light, yet refused to move. "My lady. You need to calm down!" "Absolutely not!" "Hyang!!!" Patriarch Jegal Geuk rushed at hearing his daughter's news. "Dad..." "Are you alright? Are there any injuries?!" "Kang Gyo Ja... Kang Yoon Ho!" Jegal Hyang, holding back tears as if they would burst at any moment, embraced her father. "Kang Yoon Ho? Yes. Kang Yoon Ho must have come out with you." "He... told me to tell you... Father!" "Speak calmly. What on earth happened?" "He said he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise... Sob!" "What?!" "Because of me! It's because of the likes of me!" Listening to his daughter's sobs, Jegal Geuk barely managed to grasp the situation. It was a shocking reality that even the mighty Jegal Patriarch couldn’t immediately face. "Kang Yoon Ho... deliberately trapped himself to save my daughter?" —— "I've done it." As Jegal So Jeo escaped, all doors disappeared. Though I had tried to act composed and heroic before the woman I loved, I couldn’t hide a bitter smile. "Time to go." Before the darkness concealed everything, I had to run while there was still ground beneath me. There was a reason I had hurried Jegal So Jeo out first. I hastened towards Do Won Hyang. "What?!" The darkness rushed in like a pack of wolves waiting for an opening. My view quickly dwindled. The pitch-black sky spread over a sea with no starlight. It felt like I was walking on a night sea with no reflections. Instinctively, I could feel where to step like floating markers on the ocean, but it seemed I would soon lose my balance. "Hey! San Ha Sa Jik Do!" I shouted with all my strength, but my voice didn't echo. In this eerily quiet place, I felt a chill creeping up on me. If it weren’t for the column of light visible in the distance, my courage might have faltered. "The world isn't gone yet! You can hear me, can't you?! You said there was a gift! Is trapping people your idea of a gift?!" Is a promise to the master just words? Even if I haven’t prepared toilet paper, a promise is a promise; a gift should be given. "If you won't give me a gift, at least let me escape!!!" Desperation filled my shout as it reverberated. "A lighthouse?" A small lighthouse emerged. Exactly four. Like guiding lost souls to their destination, the lighthouses illuminated a winding path toward Do Won Hyang. "At last, that’s more like it." The light from the lighthouses wasn't abundant, but it was enough to reinforce my resolve to reach the destination. I set off once again down the winding path. It seemed like a path meant for those striving toward the pinnacle of martial arts. Heading quickly, I arrived at the first lighthouse. The next segment shouldn’t be tougher, should it? No rough patches will emerge, right? Getting cautious, I decided to rest briefly before moving on. "What... what's this?" I was catching my breath when suddenly the lighthouse transformed into light and started shrinking. No, it wasn’t merely shrinking. It was taking on a human form. "What... what is this?" From the light, a voice both familiar and unforgettable came forth. Golden light scattered and gradually transformed into a purple hue. Then, a pair of radiant green eyes emerged, framed by sharp yet somehow gentle features. "What? W-w-w-what?!" As the light faded, standing before me was a woman. "Yoon Ho...?" "Hwa Rin." It was Hwa Rin, whom I had missed so dearly.