Subdued Soul Chronicle

The anger of the ghosts burst out.

Black energy began to attack them.

‘This cannot….’

Seol Young felt his head spin. Something which shouldn’t have happened had happened in a peace ritual.

The ritual they barely managed to make work was now ruined.

And what was this?

Didn’t Zaha convince them with his life on the line?

What would happen now?

‘No.’

At that moment, he could only think of one thing, so Seol Young turned around.

If he wanted to avoid the evil attacks, he could avoid them.

But he didn’t have the time. He left one side and reached his hand out to the other side.

Puak!

At the same time, Zaha’s sword split the goblin that suddenly appeared in half. But things had already happened.

Zaha frowned and looked away.

“How do we fix this?”

There was no answer, though. He thought Seol Young would have avoided it, but he unexpectedly knocked him down.

Zaha’s face changed.

“Seol Young-rang!”

Seol Young staggered to his feet, his blue spiritual qi rising.

Inside, there were souls that had been crushed by the goblin’s attacks. So Seol Young wrapped them in aura and held onto them, so they wouldn’t scatter.

“It disappeared, so what will you do with that?”

Zaha shouted as if he didn’t understand and made Seol Young sit up. Thoughts of anger were pouring around even then. They were screaming that these two wouldn’t be forgiven.

“Calm down a little!”

Raising the Dead Slayer sword, he stopped the evil thoughts, and a powerful demonic qi rose.

Even the thoughts attacking him couldn’t be penetrated. The souls’ attacks were tightly connected.

[You deceived us!]

All the eyes of the skeletons were wide. And it was an instant moment.

Behind Seol Young, who was shivering with chills, something shone.

It was a hum. It turned into an echo and spread through the chamber.

[Live! Now I live!]

[Thank you, Mr. Hwarang! Thank you!]

Some of the people’s voices sounded like a dream, and Seol Young raised his head.

‘What is this?’

At that moment, several faces came to his mind. These were the people who were kidnapped in the painting in the past.

When Seol Young and Zaha broke through the wall, they thanked and greeted them.

But why were they suddenly appearing here?

‘Is it because they are the refugees of Gaya?’

It did seem that way. He could read their memories if he looked through them with spiritual eyes and the eyes of the soul.

It seemed like the skeletons who were hating them accidentally found the voices of their descendants in Seol Young’s memory.

The souls who were in rage fell silent, and there was a moment of silence.

‘Thank God.’

Seol Young immediately scanned the hit that he got. His vision was blurry, and his head was hazy. But he didn’t miss this chance and quickly drew something on the ground.

As he infused spiritual qi into it, the pattern began to glow. Some of the light shone on the shattered souls, while others spread out in different directions.

Seol Young put his hands together, and his bloody lips trembled.

“Seol Young-rang, what are you doing?”

Zaha, who was spreading his demonic qi to stop the evil attacks, looked up. Even the skeletons looked puzzled.

Seol Young didn’t answer and focused. Soon, something amazing happened.

The shattered lumps of light gradually shone brighter. Then the vaguely faded shapes gradually began to take their true form.

It was as if the souls that had just been annihilated had been brought back to life.

[….]

The skeletons that were angry went silent, and Zaha looked at him with wide eyes as he asked,

“Is there a spell that can bring a dead soul back to life?”

“No.”

Seol Young answered.

“I am not a God. How do I bring one back to life?”

“Then?”

“This is the first one. They said that if one sings with their heart, even a soul can be attracted. Teacher Seo told me I had such a talent. That is all. I called the scattered souls back before it was too late.”

As he said that, the energy that was united formed a shape, and the chills stopped.

And Seol Young explained to the skeletons that they didn’t betray them.

“We did not cheat you. This thing interfered.”

He pointed to the dice that fell to the ground. The die was now broken, and it was slowly turning transparent.

With this, all the anger had been paid off.

And then…

There was nothing more in common between the hearts of the dead.

Miss Dohwa tried to take revenge by killing the children of her murderer. And those ashes in here who hated the people of Silla.

There was definitely something in common between the two.

‘Maybe that is why the dice finally managed to make itself useful.’

Seol Young thought that. It always hurt his heart to think that Miss Dohwa had such an end. So he prayed once again for her.

The souls that had fully recovered were forming into a mass of light. Everyone was returning to where their skeletons were.

Seol Young grabbed Zaha, who was next to him, and got up. Standing in front of the wall, he said,

“I think you must have noticed the history of that dice by now.”

[…]

“I know you have a deep grudge, but I still don’t think you should take the life of someone who wasn’t directly involved in the crime. And my thoughts then and now are the same.”

The skeletons went silent.

They were no longer going to attack.

“I knew it would work. These are the souls who died protecting the nation until the end.”

Zaha said. He also pulled back his demonic qi.

Everything was normal now. Because of the sudden variable, everything almost got ruined. But fortunately, they had another chance.

Seol Young looked at the skeletons piled up.

“It doesn’t matter who we are. What matters is you. All of you who have suffered for so many years.”

Then he raised his hand and pulled up his spiritual qi.

A silvery blue light shone up on the walls of the tomb.

“I just want you to be comfortable.”

Seol Young drew a talisman in the air.

“Forget about the pain, anger, and hatred, and be reborn.”

In the darkness, a clear light stretched out. Then a bright pattern was drawn, as if coloring the air.

Even Zaha’s eyes shone.

He raised his spiritual power to his fingertips and spoke.

“May you all be reborn.”

Brilliant golden flames rose over the light shining in the air, and the dazzling light spread everywhere. Seol Young frowned.

The two of them were standing side by side, facing the skeletons, and it reminded him of the past.

When they first met in the tombs, they had to fight together, not knowing who the other person was. But of course, the situation has now changed.

‘But somehow, it doesn’t seem like much has changed between us then and now.’

With that thought, he looked at the majestic form in front of his eyes.

It was a powerful talisman that Seol Young had never seen since his birth.

Ugh….

The inside of the tomb began to vibrate. A strange scent spread from the ground, which was stained with blood. Then the murals came to life and moved.

There was a figure in dazzling light.

It had just one meaning.

Rebirth in Paradise.

Jung Myung told them about it.

She was able to leave and be reborn after receiving guidance from the talisman of rebirth that Seol Young wrote.

This talisman would guide these lost souls. It would lead them through darkness and be reborn in a good place.

The peaceful glow of the talisman reached the corners of the walls and shone through the dark skulls. It seemed like they were agitated.

Hundreds of years had passed, and everyone was exhausted.

“Everything is inherently empty.”

Then Zaha mumbled as if he had suddenly remembered it,

“There is no sorry, pain, hunger, thought, action, consciousness….”

It was the sutra of Buddhism that the Queen once recited for the twelve children.

Clack.

The skeletons began to move little by little, and Seol Young continued the next verse.

“Our hearts are so free from being caught. Let us forget our fears….”

He put his hands together and bowed his head.

“May you enter the world of Nirvana.”

Both of them said that at the same time, and at that moment, the talisman with the word ‘yes’ above the skeletons burned up.

The spell was activated, and dozens of talismans burned.

Then, as they exploded together, a blinding light shone.

It was a sight to see.

“….”

Both Seol Young and Zaha looked at the scene without saying another word. A huge halo of light appeared as if the entire land was white.

Among them, the old Gaya people began to escape one by one.

Their faces looked grim. Ones with arrows, tattered limbs, missing eyes, heads that had been cut off….

But when the light touched them, their appearance changed. The wounds healed, the blood stains erased, the cuts were cleared, and broken bones joined.

Everyone was back to their original appearance.

[You were here?]

[You too?]

The sound of chattering loudly rang out, as if they had forgotten that they had died, and they all looked at peace.

Then they disappeared one by one, as if leaving. Only the shadows remained.

[We lose the nation, we lose everything. We cannot collapse.]

[Ah, how can this be! The Great King is murdered!]

[These people! Are they even human? They are animals!]

[What did we do to die like this?]

From the shadows left behind, deep cries resounded.

Looking at them, Zaha lowered his head.

“I apologize.”

The skull wall collapsed right then.