Subdued Soul Chronicle

The thumping and roaring were too much. This couldn’t be happening unless there was a fuss going on outside.

They had to get out quickly.

Seol Young suppressed his anxiety and looked at the space again with the light from Blue Rainbow.

It seemed like they were blocked on all sides by thick stone walls.

“How do we get out of here?”

“Look.”

Zaha raised his spiritual qi and…

Bang!

The ceiling shattered with a roar. At the same time, the sunlight poured in.

Seol Young looked up in surprise, and someone was looking down.

‘Who?’

His eyes, which had barely adjusted to the dazzling light, were able to discern the appearance of the other person.

It was a Hwarang’s uniform with a dark purple color. The metal ornament on his head indicated that he was a leader.

His blunt-looking face and eyebrows said the guy was quite demanding.

It was Mu Won-rang of the Black Tortoise Troops.

‘Mu Won-rang?’

He also seemed surprised at the sight of Seol Young, and an awkward silence passed through them.

“Mu Won-rang!”

Zaha’s voice broke the silence.

“Ah.”

Mu Won nodded with a face that still couldn’t hide his surprise.

“High Governor, you are here?”

“Uh? High Governor?”

The voices of other Hwarangs could also be heard on the other side of the hole. They had to be the Hwarangs of the Black Tortoise Troops.

It seemed like they had broken the ceiling by using martial arts.

“Oh my! You are really in there!”

“Bring a rope ladder now! No! Can we get water too?”

The Hwarangs were making a lot of noise, which was odd. Seol Young looked up at them and seemed dazed.

In the Moon Palace, which was in ruins, the bodies of the Black Tortoise troops were scattered.

That sight was still vivid in his eyes.

‘He is actually alive.’

Even though they didn’t get along well because of their bad relationship in the past, seeing them safe like this put him at ease.

Seol Young sighed.

“I think the roar earlier was just the sound of them breaking the ceiling.”

“Having power is good…”

Zaha grumbled.

He chuckled at the thought that both of them had almost imagined the worst.

“Of course, I believe in your strength, but I cannot let go of my doubts since the opponent is too sly.”

He looked around after saying a couple of words to Zaha. Sunlight came in through the hole in the ceiling, and it shone around them.

As they had guessed before coming here, the tomb was right beyond the door. And Mita’s tomb was under the tomb where Seol Young grew up.

However, when they looked at the place with the light from their swords, they noticed nothing.

It was because the inside was different.

“It is odd.”

Zaha walked over and dug out the floor with his sword.

“Isn’t this supposed to be where the sarcophagus is?”

There was neither a coffin nor chains. In the middle of the space were just loads of dust and stone. Even so, when exposed to sunlight, they gradually disappeared, and soon nothing was there.

Seol Young looked at the place.

“Right. It is odd.”

They went outside the tomb and looked at it. Its structure was the same as that of the other world.

But the skull wall wasn’t there, and there weren’t any burial items. There was just fine dust in this place. Even the wind that occasionally touched them wasn’t there.

Seol Young stopped.

“There is nothing more to see. This tomb is empty. Everything has been shattered, and there are no traces left.”

Zaha stared at the dust on his fingertips.

“I see. In this world, we have awakened the God of Cataclysm. Every place she passed by must have been ruined.”

And then he added,

“When she got out of her grave, nothing must have been around.”

“Right.”

Seol Youn agreed with him then.

“So if we had found and entered this tomb too, we wouldn’t have found anything.”

“Right. If this is enough, it might be better to say that it is a coincidence that we were dragged to the other world…”

And when Zaha said that,

A rope ladder was thrown down.

“You can come up now.”

The Hwarangs who were above shouted, and when Zaha said that, he realized something.

“What chance is this? Had it not been for the Black Tortoise Troops, we would have been trapped deep beneath the earth, unable to come out, right?”

Listening to that now, it seems so.

Just like the legend of the monk who came back alive, even though a shepherd passed by, his voice didn’t reach him.

No matter how much they would have shouted in this deep hole, no one would have heard them. Seol Young felt goosebumps rise.

“These people really saved us. But why did they suddenly decide to destroy the tomb?”

“Didn’t you hear? Mu Won-rang looked at me and said, ‘You are really here’. And the other Hwarangs too. They expected us to be here.”

“But how?”

Zaha also thought about it as he headed for the hole.

And the two of them came out. There was a huge pit.

The Hwarangs had to dig deep into the ground and diligently worked on this.

Zaha asked them,

“How did you know we would be here?”

The troops answered,

“The Governor said so.”

Mu Won answered. A tall man was standing behind him. It was Jin Rim.

“High governor, I am glad you are safe. Seol Young-rang also seems to be fine.”

Jin Rim stepped forward and said.

Without hiding his surprise, Zaha asked,

“Governor, how did you know?”

“I had a strange dream last night.”

Jin Rim said,

“In my dream, I left the office and worked as an official of the ministry. Instead of me, the High Governor was the Governor, and Seol Young was the Aide.”

What?

The two were shocked.

Could it be that Jin Rim experienced what they did in his dreams?

Jin Rim continued,

“But the Governor had entrusted a certain mission to me. It was to find out about a small nation called Gaya.”

“So?”

“I searched through the records within my dreams and informed you. Then, when I woke up, no matter how much I thought about it, it felt more like reality and not a dream. It seemed like the High Governor was trying to say something to me through the dream. So I sat on the bed and began to think about it. The fact that I met Seo Geom-rang in the dream…”

“Seo Geom-rang?”

Jin Rim nodded.

“When we met in front of the Hwarangs’ Hall. The Seol Geom-rang in my dream said this to me, ‘After destroying the old tomb, the Governor and the Aide are investigating the underground. The location is said to be a secluded trail in Mount Toham.’”

“…”

“I immediately climbed Mount Toham and found the place that Seo Geom-rang had told me about in the dream. So there really was a tomb? I wondered if the High Governor and Seol Young-rang were trapped there. So, I urgently called the Black Tortoise Troops to break it down and dig the ground. But you really did end up being here…”

Jin Rim looked at the two of them like he couldn’t believe it.

“What happened?”

“The Governor saved us.”

Zaha patted Jin Rim on the shoulder.

“After all, you aren’t the Governor for nothing.”

“So mysterious.”

Seol Young also helped out from the side.

“I heard you started looking for us as soon as the dream came. Didn’t the Governor think that the High Governor and Seol Young-rang could be fake?”

“Hmm?”

Jin Rim’s expression changed.

“What do you mean? Fake?”

“The High governor and Seol Young-rang, who replaced us while we were gone. Those two were the fakes from the other world. Didn’t the Governor notice that? Isn’t that why you sent them out for us?”

Zaha explained it to him. However, Jin Rim’s face couldn’t be recognized.

“I don’t know what you mean. The High Governor and Seol Young-rang from another world? We didn’t see a thing.”

“You didn’t see a thing?”

“Literally.”

Jin Rim replied honestly.

“Why did I stay awake all night? It is because the High Governor and Seol Young-rang went missing yesterday afternoon. The Hwarangs saw you go into the archives behind the hall, but no one saw you come out. And you had been missing since.”

“….”

Seol Young and Zaha were at a loss for words. How could that happen?

They had no doubt that the other world’s Zaha and Seol Young had crossed over here.

Even if they weren’t in an illusion, they thought someone had taken their place.

‘But they didn’t?’

Their minds were complicated. At that moment, a sudden thought came to his mind, and Seol Young asked,

“Did Baek Eon-rang, Song Ok-rang, and Hyo Wol-rang know I was missing?”

“Of course.”

Jin Rim replied.

“Even if that wasn’t the case, I contacted them the moment we found you in this tomb earlier. Maybe by now…”

“Governor!”

As if waiting, Song Ok’s voice came from above the pit.

“Who is inside the tomb? Is it the High Governor? What about Seol Young?”

Clumps of dirt rolled down at the sound of the loud question. At the same time, Baek-Song-Wol’s figures appeared.

When they found Seol Young in the pit, they were relieved.

“As I thought!”

The three of them jumped down right then.

“High Governor, are you alright?”

After greeting them, they immediately surrounded Seol Young.

“You were safe. Even if you went missing, the High Governor was with you, so I didn’t worry…”

As always, Baek Eon had a calm voice.

Seol Young was filled with emotions. Forgetting that others were watching them, he stretched out his hand and grabbed Baek Eon’s face.

“Great-rang!”

“Yes!”

Baek Eon responded calmly.

“Right. Seol Young. It is me.”

Seol Young fumbled and checked him. His brother was not an illusion. He was alive and healthy.

And he went to the side.

“Second-rang and Third-rang!”

“Right. Right. We are here.”

Song Ok and Hyo Wol were all fine too.

“Yes, you too.”

The cruel sight he was shown in the visions was finally erased from his mind.

Even in Seol Young’s heart, all the worries in the world vanished.

“Of course we are.”

Hyo Wol laughed.

“If anything, you are the one who went missing and came back.”

“I know.”

Baek Eon and Song Ok smiled.

Seeing their faces, Seol Young realized something.

Certainly, it wasn’t a dazzling smile, just like in the other world where the God of Cataclysm didn’t exist. But it was still warmer.

Even after searching through a billion worlds, there was only one real brother for Seol Young.

Seol Young cried again.

“I really wanted to see you. Really…”

“Right. Right.”

Baek-Song-Wol didn’t know why, but when they saw Seol Young’s face, they also felt moved. And the four of them stretched their arms out like they wanted to embrace.

But then they felt a gaze.

Seol Young looked back.

“…”

Zaha was looking at them. It was an expression that didn’t change a lot.

“It is such a great friendship, no matter how much I see it.”

He whispered to Jin Rim and Mu Won.

“Even I might cry.”

Seol Young’s face contorted.