"Hyung!"
The child ran with all his might.
"Hyuuuung!"
His small hands reached out desperately towards a back that was slipping away. In contrast to the tiny hands, the broad back seemed infinitely strong in the child's eyes, but it kept getting farther away.
"Wait! Wait, Hyung!"
He shouted with all his strength, but the back only grew more distant. No matter how desperately he ran, the gap between them never closed.
"Hyuuuung!"
Realizing he could no longer catch up, the child screamed at the top of his lungs.
At that moment, the distant figure slowly turned his head.
The child, who had been running at full speed, hesitated and stopped. The look in the eyes of the one who had turned around seemed so indifferent.
- Go back.
The voice echoed, but there was not a shred of emotion in it.
- It's beyond you.
The child's clenched fists trembled.
"Why... why?"
The child's eyes filled with resentment.
"I might be able to do it, too! If I try harder! If I work even harder…."
- It's beyond you.
But despite the child's desperate cries, the man's gaze didn't change at all.
- Go back. Wishing for something beyond your means will only make you unhappy.
The child gritted his teeth and tried to scream once more. But the figure that had been far away had already disappeared like a mirage.
"Ah…."
The child's eyes wavered greatly.
"Hyung!"
Why? Why wouldn't he even give him a chance? He only wanted a chance to stand in the same place.
He didn't want to surpass him. He didn't want to prove his worth by overtaking him. All the child wanted was to be by his side. To walk alongside him.
But why wouldn't he allow even that?
"Ah…."
Was that why he couldn't have it?
No. He had it.
"You guys?"
In front of the child, others appeared.
Dressed in black martial robes with the plum blossom insignia on their chests, they were the ones he had finally found after a long journey—'the place where he belonged.'
"Samae… Yoon Jong, Jo Gul!"
It didn't have to be Jin Geum Ryong's side anymore. Now, he had people to walk the path with him.
But….
"Why are you looking at me like that…?"
The eyes of those who looked at him felt unfamiliar, colder than ever before. Those who once gave him warm gazes now stared at him as if a harsh winter wind was blowing.
"Guys?"
When he called out carefully, the three who had been looking at him simultaneously turned their backs. At the same time, they too disappeared like a mirage.
"Guys, where... where are you going!"
The child frantically reached out his hand without thinking.
But there was nothing to grasp. The place where those who walked with him had disappeared was now just an empty void.
"Why…?"
Why did they leave him behind? Why?
The child looked around in a daze. There was nothing to see. It was a desolate, barren space. In this dimly lit place, he was the only one standing.
"Where did everyone go!"
Fear began to creep onto the child's face. No, perhaps it wasn't fear, but sorrow.
"Why…."
The child desperately looked around. But there was nothing in sight, nothing but overwhelming emptiness.
"Ah!"
Then, he saw it—a faint light in the distance. It looked like it could go out at any moment, but it was definitely a light.
Without another thought, the child ran toward the light.
"Hah! Hah!"
His breath grew ragged, and his body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Even so, he ran with all his might as if his body would break apart, shouting the name of the one enveloped in that faint light with all his might.
"Chung Myung!"
The owner of that familiar yet somehow strange back slowly turned his gaze to meet the child's eyes.
"Chung Myung. I… I want to go with you! I want to!"
Chung Myung, who had been motionless as if immersed in indifference, slowly opened his mouth.
- Can you come?
"What…?"
- Can you really come?
The child's face twisted in anguish.
"I can do it! I can do it too!"
But Chung Myung's gaze didn't change in the slightest. His eyes, which seemed closer to inorganic matter than to life, pierced through the child.
- How?
"...What?"
- Can you really come? It looks like you have nothing left.
"What do you mean…?"
The child's eyes filled with doubt wavered. Then, for the first time, a mocking smile spread across Chung Myung's face.
- Do you really not know?
At that moment.
"Huh?"
The surroundings blurred in an instant. No, in fact, the child himself was crumbling.
Like black ink spreading from his toes to his entire body, the child's body began to literally disintegrate.
"Ah, ah…."
Looking down at his body being engulfed in pitch-black darkness, the child eventually let out a piercing scream.
"Ugh… Ugh, aaahhh!"
* * *
The blurry, vague vision slowly began to clear.
The sensation of floating followed the deep, sinking feeling, and the slowly returning sense of buoyancy wrapped around him, bringing a discomfort that squeezed his throat.
'Where…?'
It was unfamiliar. The scent brushing past his nose was familiar, but the sight before his still blurry eyes was completely unfamiliar.
Baek Cheon barely lifted his eyelids, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and slowly turned his gaze to the side.
He saw a familiar head of curly hair.
'Jo Gul….'
And next to him was someone a little less familiar… no, to be precise, it was someone whose appearance seemed unfamiliar as they lay on the bed, sleeping.
'Samae.'
As Baek Cheon quietly watched them, he slowly looked back up at the ceiling.
He had survived.
'I survived. I really did.'
A slight cough escaped his lips. The realization that he was still breathing brought a sharp, stinging pain to his entire body.
'How long have I been unconscious?'
It felt like there was a thick fog in his mind. His thoughts weren't clear. No surprise, the god of sleep began pressing down on him once more.
Just as Baek Cheon was drifting back into a half-conscious state, unable to fight off the sleep that threatened to consume him, the curtain around his bed was lifted, and someone walked in.
"Sasuk? Have you regained consciousness?"
"Huh? Yes?"
1111
At those words, Jo Gul, who had been dozing off, was startled awake and lifted his head. As soon as he saw Baek Cheon opening his eyes, he jumped up and hurriedly moved closer to him.
"You're really awake? No, Sahyung! I wasn't sleeping, I was just…."
"Shh."
Yoon Jong gently pushed Jo Gul aside and asked Baek Cheon with a stern expression.
"Are you alright?"
Baek Cheon's eyes, which had been half-closed, struggled to open again. When he parted his lips to speak, they cracked from dryness.
"Water! Gul ah, get some water!"
"Here it is, Sahyung."
Jo Gul, quick on the uptake, was already pouring water from the kettle into a bowl. Yoon Jong carefully poured the water into Baek Cheon's mouth.
"Cough, cough."
Baek Cheon started coughing again.
It felt like he was swallowing thorns rather than water, the foreign sensation was overwhelming. But on the other hand, the pain seemed to sharpen his dimming consciousness a little.
"Sasuk."
"Sit…"
His words didn't come out easily. Baek Cheon bit his lip hard and tried again.
"Sit me up…"
"Gul-ah."
"Yes!"
Jo Gul quickly moved to the other side of Yoon Jong. Together, they carefully lifted Baek Cheon's upper body.
"Can you sit up?"
Baek Cheon nodded weakly. His cracked lips let out a faint, raspy voice.
"How long… have I been… unconscious?"
Yoon Jong hesitated slightly before replying.
"You were unconscious for five days, Sasuk."
"That long…"
"Yes. It was very dangerous."
Baek Cheon faintly nodded and then asked again.
"Where are we?"
"We're at Wudang."
"And… the Evil Tyrant Alliance?"
"They retreated. There hasn't been any movement since."
Baek Cheon stared at Yoon Jong intently. Yoon Jong, feeling the pressure, started to explain more without being asked.
"Don't worry, Sasuk. All the sahyungs are safe. Some are injured, but they'll recover soon."
"…"
"And… Wudang has suffered great damage, but we avoided the worst-case scenario. As long as Wudang's disciples work hard, the sect can continue. It's all thanks to you, Sasuk."
Baek Cheon's eyes gradually darkened.
"Yes, Sasuk. You really did something great. I mean it."
Even Jo Gul, who usually never engaged in flattery, started praising him awkwardly.
"…"
Baek Cheon, who was staring blankly at the two, slowly shifted his gaze.
Yoo Iseol, his samae, was silently watching him from the foot of the bed, unlike the other two. Her usual indifferent gaze now held a strangely melancholic look.
Yoon Jong spoke again.
"Right now… you may feel heavy, but that's because of the severity of your injuries. They say you've been treated well, so you'll recover soon."
Instead of responding to those words, Baek Cheon asked a different question.
"Where is Chung Myung?"
"Ah… that guy… Where did that bastard go when Sasuk has woken up?!"
Jo Gul immediately burst out in anger.
To Baek Cheon, this whole scene felt strangely surreal. It was as if they were all wearing clothes that didn't fit, acting in a play.
"You guys…"
As Baek Cheon moved slightly, the cloth covering his upper body slipped down. He instinctively looked down and then tightly closed his mouth.
Even though his body was wrapped in bandages, its shape was evident. His arms, which were once strong, were now thin and weak, far different from what he remembered.
"Ah."
Jo Gul hastily grabbed the cloth and pulled it back up to Baek Cheon's neck.
"Your body isn't in good shape right now, so you should rest a little longer."
"Gul-ah."
"After a bit more rest…"
"Remove it."
"Sasuk."
"Hurry."
Though his voice lacked strength, it was firm. The repeated urging left Jo Gul looking to Yoon Jong for help.
But what could Yoon Jong do? After a moment of silent contemplation, Yoon Jong closed his eyes tightly and nodded.
Jo Gul let out a short sigh and reluctantly removed the cloth covering Baek Cheon's body.
In the ensuing silence, Baek Cheon's eyes darkened further.
A withered tree branch.
That was the first thing Baek Cheon thought of. His arms, wrapped in bandages, were no longer what they once were.
Yoon Jong tried to hide his distress as he spoke.
"It's because the injuries were severe, Sasuk. The Sogaju of the Sichuan Tang Family is doing his best, so soon…"
"Remove the bandages."
"Sasuk. Right now…"
"Yoon Jong."
"…"
"Take them off."
Yoon Jong bit his lower lip. Then, as if he had resolved himself, he reached for the bandages wrapped around Baek Cheon's arm. His movements were slow, as if reluctant.
Silence followed.
Eventually, Baek Cheon's arm was revealed.
The withered, discolored arm was thin, like that of a frail old man, leaving only bones and skin. The sight of it painfully etched itself into Baek Cheon's mind.
"Sasuk."
"…"
Despite Yoon Jong's call, Baek Cheon remained silent, staring at his arm for a long time. Then, he slowly lifted his head.
Yoo Iseol silently drew back the curtains around the bed. Through the wide-open window, the clear sky unfolded.
Baek Cheon fixed his gaze on that sky.
'So it's like that…'
His fingertips didn't even tremble. His will no longer resided in his arms.
'So that's how it is…'
– It seems you have nothing left now, doesn't it?
This was the broken, shattered wings of a bird, and the bars of a cage that held a bird that could no longer fly into the sky.