The Love That Remains

"The trick is to defeat the demon lord." I look around. After a few minutes, we have been transported out of the lust domain. This blank space is the region between the lust domain and the next one. I have not seen the monk and the others. It looks like we have been transported to different locations when we entered the lust domain. I don't know whether they survived or not.

"I think, there are no rules to get out of the circle. You just have to get out by hook or crook. But, it seems that defeating the boss is directly breaking the circle's lock." My young fellow pokes the spongy wall. "This place is different from the last one."

"What's that?" I point at his upper arm.

"Noona, it's proof that we crossed two circles of hell." He points at my arm. "You have those too."

I pull up my sleeve. There are two similar rings on my upper arm. "Will we get nine of them?"

"Maybe." He looks up at the ceiling. He seems to be concentrating on something.

"Can you hear someone else?" There is only two of us here. The door to the next circle hasn't appeared. For a place that has no rule, this 'five people rule' is rather weird.

"I can't hear anyone," He tells me. "Noona, the five people rule is just a way to delay us from getting to the next level. It makes no sense that we can't even fight as a team when we pass through the door."

"You knew that they would separate us?" I narrow my eyes on him. The kid is young, but he is smart and mature. "Is that why you decided to hold my hand?"

"Yes." The kid keeps poking the spongy wall. It makes funny 'Oink-Oink' sound like the pigs. "I knew that the magician has a weakness for women. The Fae doesn't like humans. The monk was a good option, but I would rather stay beside you. It looked like you needed my help. You are someone who can't cultivate heaven's energy. However, why aren't you cultivating the dark energy here?"

"Oh!" I seem to have forgotten. This is hell. It's full of demons. It should be my playground. I should be able to raise my rank here. I slap my forehead. It will become tough when we reach deeper levels of hell.

"You should become stronger, Noona." He sits down the floor. "I am relying on you."

I give him a nod and sit down on the floor. The floor is spongy, warm, and comfortable. I have never imagined hell to be comfortable. I can sense the dark energy around me. If there is spiritual energy, there is something that is opposite to it. This energy is wild and chaotic, unlike the spiritual energy that is calm and serene. The flow of this energy is smooth. It flows inside me, rushing through my veins like a river and filling me. It doesn't take long before my energy sea is full. I stop before it leaks out. Adding more will hurt my human side.

A cultivator can become a demon or a god depending on what he chooses after crossing the hell. If he chooses the path of darkness, he becomes a demon and cultivates the dark energy. If he chooses the path of the light, he becomes a sage and cultivates heaven's energy.

Things are different for a part demon. Rather than one big bucket to hold spiritual energy, a part-demon has two smaller buckets. One bucket can carry the spiritual energy and the second bucket can carry the dark energy. Only demons can cultivate this dark energy. My demon side can let me cultivate this energy, but the real problem is that my human side cannot store heaven's energy.

It's more like heaven doesn't want its energy to stay inside my body. Instead, spiritual energy hurts me more than anything. I have been abandoned by heaven because I am a lawbreaker like Reis. He turned back the time. I am someone who came back from death. In heaven's eyes, I should have stayed dead and the time shouldn't have been turned back. Though Reis has done his penance and taken responsibility, things are difficult for me.

When I use your powers too much, there is nothing to take the recoil of the dark energy. It's my human side that's hurt because the human side cannot bear the intensity of that energy. It's like punching someone, then hurting my hand because you used too much strength. If I break my fingers each time I punch someone, my hand might become useless someday.

"Noona, you think that the spiritual energy can protect your body with from the recoil of your demonic energy. How about this? You fill your both buckets with the dark energy and create a shield of dark energy that can take the recoil. Then, you can use your powers without any limitation."

"But, my human side cannot tolerate dark energy." I frown at him. "If I fill both buckets, then my human side should get hurt."

"Have you tried it though?" He turns his head to me. "You have been cultivating slowly, but you have not died. Instead, the spiritual energy can hurt you because of the heaven's will. If heaven has abandoned you, you should also turn away."

It makes sense. Why didn't this occur to me before? "Are you really ten years old?"

"I should be thirteen years old by now. I have been stuck here for the last three years. I have not grown at all..." He looks bored. "Noona, have you thought what would happen if you are stuck here for years? The time flows differently here. Your husband might be dead already. He might turn into an old geezer when you go back. If that's the case, you should marry me after we leave."

I laugh at his words. "He is a cultivator. He has already reached the king rank. I am sure that he will be alive when I go back."

If I can survive until the end, I will be able to see you again. You better not die, Sung Jun.