[T.L: punisher87]
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There were two exclusive Closed Training Grounds for the master of Hidden Palace.
One was in the "Hidden Palace within the Hidden Palace," accessible only through the power of Myriad Ice and Mort. The other was the top floor of the Hidden Palace.
Syris was about to open the latter.
The former had limited access since Syris hadn't yet fully mastered Myriad Ice, and it currently housed the sealed Elona Zipfel.
Opening the Hidden Palace within the Hidden Palace haphazardly and stimulating Misha and Elona could cause problems, and above all, if something were to happen to Jin inside, there would be no way to swiftly respond from the outside.
[Boong!]
Syris placed Jin on Mort. The faint pulse she felt from his wrist, which she held onto to support him, was too feeble.
'Jin must be facing psychic attacks on a completely different level than anyone else…'
Indeed, the psychic attacks experienced by those other than Jin were several steps lower in intensity.
Having bravely endured all that until now, Syris felt a profound respect for Jin, who now declared that he would go and fight alone.
Mort crawled up the walls, heading outside.
Although they considered teleportation, even the natural fluctuations while running through the snow garden would likely harm Jin in his current weakened state.
Valeria, Qwaul, and the other Hidden Palace members were already waiting for Jin at the top floor.
Finally, Mort reached the top floor.
"Hoo..."
Jin, descending from Mort's back, took a deep breath. The air was chilling, to the point of making his lungs ache, but Jin could hardly sense that sensation.
His senses in the physical world had dulled to an extreme degree. His vision was blurry, his hearing faint, and his limbs devoid of any strength.
Could they really send someone like him alone into the Closed Training Grounds? Observing Jin as he walked with the support of Gilly, his concerned comrades could only worry.
Jin gazed at his blurry comrades in his field of vision.
"Young master..."
Gilly's voice, filled with worries, trembled. It was hard for her to witness Jin, exhausted to his limits.
"You all waited for me, I see."
Jin wanted to speak in his usual confident voice, reassuring them not to worry and to wait.
But now, he wanted to share his true feelings, just a bit.
"If I don't come out of the Training Grounds after these few days... It means I've lost. And that would signify my death."
At that point, Gilly couldn't hold back her tears any longer.
Valeria gently patted her back, biting her lower lip.
For a while, no one said a word.
"To be honest, I'm not sure if I can win. But I won't leave any last words behind. I don't want a sad farewell as if it were the end. After this battle, there will be real battle that remain."
Jin made eye contact with Syris, signaling her with his eyes to open the door to the Closed Training Grounds.
As Syris took out Myriad Ice and inserted it into the door like a key, a wave of pure white energy surged from inside the Training Grounds.
As the door opened, an expanse of pure white, vast, and cold ground revealed itself.
"So, it can't end here..."
Jin slowly took steps, trudging forward. He pressed the ground with Bradamante, acting as a staff.
The bag containing the bare minimum of provisions didn't seem heavy at all.
His senses in the physical world were dulling at a rapid pace. Even though he had only taken a few steps, his comrades behind him already felt distant.
"Jin! Come back safely. I'm holding up well against the psychic attacks, so you can definitely win! When you return, I'll share my eel jerky with you!"
Surprisingly, the first and most accurate voice to shout belonged to none other than Darkflame.
Darkflame, among the small beastmen Hidden Palace, was the only one experiencing psychic attacks.
"W-What? W-What's happening? Why is that guy suddenly speaking so well!?"
Peng was taken aback, shouting in disbelief.
Even the bewildered comrades were momentarily startled by Darkflame's precise and rapid speech.
"I'll share my eel jerky! Eel jerky...!"
"Hey, Darkflame! Are you okay? Huh? No, you must be... right. You're not okay at all."
"I'll share my eel jerky!"
As Peng grabbed Darkflame's shoulder, he realized that Darkflame was tightly closing his eyes, clearly in the midst of psychic attack pain.
Amidst the foggy state of his mind, the fact that he said this to cheer Jin and that they were coming out in a rapid and smooth manner surprised him.
Darkflame was undeniably the weakest person in this Hidden Palace. Yet, he was exerting such effort.
The shouts of offering his eel jerky continued like an echo, unseen by his comrades, and unnoticed by Jin himself. Jin faintly smiled upon hearing them.
Once Jin fully entered the Closed Training Grounds, Syris closed the door with a heavy expression.
Now, there was only one thing his comrades could do for Jin.
They could only hope for his victory, like countless ordinary people in the world.
***
The training ground was pristine white, but in Jin's eyes, it looked like a night sea without a single glimmer of light.
He couldn't distinguish whether he was standing, sitting, or even lying down.
But what mattered to Jin now was not reality. The inner battlefield that had been fiercely raging without a moment's rest was more important.
He needed to immerse himself deeper into his inner self. To the extent that not a single trace of sensory perception from the outside world remained.
That's why he chose the Closed training ground. He needed a space where he could completely focus on the inner battlefield, without even the slightest external stimulation.
Jin was carefully sinking into a deep trance, heading towards his inner world.
It was like walking on the boundary between life and death.
If he deviated even a single step, forgetfulness and death would engulf him.
'Do you think that's right?'
'Do you think that method is correct?'
'And do you think you can reach me through it?'
'Can you save all those people from me?'
Occasionally, amidst his journey to the inner world, Rosa's voice would echo in his ears.
Every time her dark voice invaded his consciousness, he shuddered with unease.
He regretted it at times. He even felt the urge to turn around and leave immediately.
As he approached his inner world, the fear grew stronger and stronger.
A colossal fear that he had never experienced in his past lives or present was devouring Jin's self.
'You trembling with fear is something I've never seen before.'
'It's just the first time you see it. It happens to me often.'
'Is that so?'
'When you were human, you must have felt the same way.'
'I have never succumbed to fear. So, show me. Show me that you can do the same.'
At first, Jin had thought of fighting alone to do so.
But as he delved deeper into his inner world, Jin quickly realized.
In this desolate and lonely world, to overcome fear, he had to become a monster just like Rosa.
Without becoming a monster to some extent, he could only succumb to the fear of solitude in his inner world.
A white line entered Jin's field of vision.
He instinctively recognized that it was a kind of door leading to the deepest part of his inner world, where Rosa's self was supposed to be waiting for him.
Moreover, that white line was also a crossroad of choices.
Depending on the intention with which he pulled it, the outcome would change.
If he pulled it with the intention of becoming a monster, he would become one, and if he wanted to remain human, it would simply open.
'But by remaining human...'
'You cannot defeat me.'
Rosa could now penetrate Jin's thoughts just like Lingling did in the past. It was because their selves that touched the inner world had become closer.
'Now, you should be able to read my thoughts too, my son. This internal battle is a gift I have prepared for you. Before forming an attachment, this mother wanted to make you a more perfect being. A being capable of fighting me on equal terms.'
Open the door with the intention of becoming a monster. That is your only hope of defeating me.
Rosa was saying that.
Jin held the white line with caution. But just as he was about to pull it with the intention of becoming a monster, he flinched and stopped.
When he looked back once, the road to the inner world that he had walked so far, was shattered and blown away like dust.
But a rustling sound suddenly came from his ear.
It wasn't Rosa's gloomy voice, but the whispers of people outside, like a murmur, tickling Jin's ears.
He couldn't hear the content at all. It felt like a cool wind blowing in his ears, but it was enough to make Jin think again.
'I almost gave up the one thing that makes me superior to you, just to become like you, to oppose you.'
Because humans have the emotion of fear, they protect themselves from danger. They can flee because of fear, and they can confront properly because of fear. It was the human way to struggle while trembling with fear.
'Even if I become a monster and defeat you... nothing more than another evil god will appear in this world.'
Due to the prolonged psychic attack, Jin had neglected the obvious fact. Jin cautiously grabbed the white line and as the door opened, what appeared was not Rosa's ego.
It was neither an empty space nor vague darkness. It was the back of a sitting man.
"Father…?"
It was the back of his father, Chiron Runcandel. The reason he was standing in the place where Rosa's ego should have been was because Jin had not become a monster.
"Jin."
There had never been a time when Jin earnestly wanted to see his father like this. Strength returned to his trembling limbs, and his hazy mind felt as if hot blood was rushing through it. Jin found himself running towards Chiron without realizing it.
However, he couldn't reach Chiron. A deep and massive chasm, like a cliff, separated Jin and Chiron. When Jin stopped in front of the cliff, Chiron turned around and looked back. It was indeed the face of his father that he hadn't seen in a long time.
Father and son gazed into each other's eyes for a while.
"You endured well."
With those words uttered by Chiron, Jin suddenly realized.
In this lonely and agonizing inner world, Chiron had been watching over him from the beginning to the end.
"There will be a day when we meet again."
With those words, Chiron turned around and started walking away.
As if saying, let's return to our respective battlefields.
Jin watched his father, walking towards a deeper and darker place, for a long time.
It didn't seem appropriate to add any more words to his father at this moment.
When Chiron's figure disappeared and Jin turned around again, he saw that the shattered paths of his inner world were reforming.
Like Chiron, Jin silently walked up that path.
When Jin finally escaped his inner world and regained his senses of reality,
Four days had passed outside, and the psychic attacks of Rosa that had been tormenting the world had completely disappeared.
Jin, filled with more energy than ever before, opened the doors of the training ground with all his strength.
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