Chapter 721 – Rays of Light (3)

Without realizing it, I rubbed my chin and fell into thought.
‘This is me too, but…’
It still feels unfamiliar.
‘It’s subtly different from looking in a mirror.’

Did my eyes always look this gentle?

“Hold still. You’re the kind that gives people too much to worry about.”

I examined the pseudo-incarnation with unusual thoroughness.
Why? Because this one, no matter how you looked at it, had to be the most blurred of all—the Lee Hoyeol of the very first run, whose legend had been given form.

‘It can’t help but be the most incomplete.’

I still hadn’t recovered the memories of every repetition. There was only one Lee Hoyeol per repetition, and even if I manifested them as legends, it was only natural that I’d come up short on numbers.

“Each and every one is precious, so I guess it can’t be helped. For now.”

In contrast, Vassago would be commanding an infinite number of incarnations. Which meant that on my side, each one had to be worth a hundred. I scrutinized another version of myself once more.

“By the way, why is your hair black?”

All the other Lee Hoyeols had perfectly normal silver hair. Though I suppose the standard for ‘normal’ has shifted. Still—did I have any dye left?

“Well, whatever.”

For a moment, I even wondered whether I should hastily dye it, or maybe coat it in frost with ice magic instead. Then I decided to stop calling it a “pseudo-incarnation.” It was annoying to say every time.

I’d just call it a clone.

I said to my clone—
to me, Lee Hoyeol’s clone—

“I can’t let other people see you.”

One thing I learned after manifesting my clones:

—“It’s time for the Dark Dragon to roar.”
—“I’ll burn everything to the ground.”
—“It’s time for discipline.”

Even if they were clones, I couldn’t control their damned loose mouths…! It was probably similar to how Vassago’s incarnation had once been revered on the Arcana Continent as the Great Sage, Rise.

‘Even I, a demon hunter, didn’t notice it.’

Even if they originated from Vassago, one of the Ten Thrones, it meant that incarnations themselves didn’t necessarily harbor malice. The same went for my clones.

‘They’re all Lee Hoyeol—but Lee Hoyeol from different repetitions.’

I could overlook their speech patterns being heavily influenced by someone else, but actions I couldn’t fully control were another matter. Well, in an emergency—

‘I can always deactive the manifestation…’

I spoke to the Lee Hoyeol of the first run.

“That won’t happen, right?”

In the end, all of us Lee Hoyeols shared the same goal. Still, sometimes a compromise was necessary. Even so…

Showing a black-haired version of myself to others was a bit embarrassing.

“I guess assigning you to a world swallowed by the Demon Realm is the only option.”

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*

*

Grandfell’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

‘…No.’

Black hair. This wasn’t the Hoyeol of the present. Even without the hair, there were plenty of ways to tell. The person before him was smiling—uncharacteristically so. The corners of his lips lifted without a trace of guile.

“You’re trying to wrap your head around what’s going on, aren’t you?”

Grandfell didn’t answer. What was going on… he felt like he understood it, at least a little.

He subtly straightened his shoulders. The weight that had long pressed down on them—the weight of karma—no longer felt as heavy. The immeasurable karma of Hoyeol that had made him close his eyes without realizing it—

‘It’s still there. But…’

It was noticeably lighter. Grandfell could not fail to grasp what that meant. The black-haired Hoyeol smiled and said,

“Where do you think my stubbornness would go, just because of repeating the cycle?”

Unlike Hoyeol, Grandfell was the one who remembered every single cycle, from beginning to now. That was why he could tell.

This was the you of the first run.

‘So you imitated an incarnation by manifesting a legend.’

Thanks to the eternity he had witnessed until now, Grandfell could instantly recognize Hoyeol’s specialty—scraping together everything, whether he had it or not, in sheer desperation. And because of that, he didn’t waver.

Didn’t he know?

‘Legends are nothing more than legends.’

You weren’t the real one.

“You were thinking exactly that, weren’t you? ‘A legend is just a legend.’”

At the black-haired Hoyeol’s words, Grandfell’s pupils twitched. To him, the black-haired Hoyeol spoke again, his face as bright and unshadowed as ever.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right about everything. A legend is just a legend. If we’re being precise, I’m just a ghost of the past. But don’t forget this, okay?”
“…?”
“My feelings for you are real.”

The black-haired Hoyeol said it without hesitation.

“Whether I’m a legend or not has nothing to do with it. I mean it. That’s why I came to see you like this! You know this isn’t easy, right? It’s weird saying ‘Hoyeol’ out loud myself, but anyway—Hoyeol’s order to me had nothing to do with you.”

Grandfell listened in silence. He had wondered about it himself. The black-haired Hoyeol pointed to his own hair.

“He’s probably embarrassed too. About showing this to others.”

That was when Grandfell finally spoke.

“What do you want?”

“Wow, that’s cold enough to hurt.”

“There’s no reason to be kind to a ghost of the past.”

Grandfell answered coolly. Otherwise, his judgment might blur. Fortunately—or perhaps predictably—the black-haired Hoyeol, the Hoyeol of the first run, was generous.

“Well, I can’t really complain if you’re cold to me…”

Instead of pushing further, he simply gazed at Grandfell. There were unmistakable emotions in his eyes—ones hard to find now, after so many reversals. Even that annoying, harmless slyness was still there.

“You know collective punishment is bad, right? I’m the very first Lee Hoyeol. If someone has to pay for sins, it should only be for what I did. So don’t be too cold.”

…A flinch.

‘Blimey. I let my guard down.’

It didn’t show on the surface, but Grandfell nearly let out a dry laugh. It had been far too long since he’d seen Hoyeol like this.

Grandfell thought,

‘Is this a development that never happened before?’

Not bad. Even if the arrangements had gone awry, it was a positive change. Following a familiar course only meant repeating failure. Suddenly, Grandfell clenched his fist.

‘…This really might be the end.’

Thinking that way, he couldn’t help but be affected—even knowing the being before him was a ghost of the past. Perhaps that was why he grew curious.

“You know, I was already plenty unsettled. Truth is, I came to see you in violation of the order that present-day Hoyeol gave me. Oh—do you know what that order was? He threw me into a world swallowed by the Demon Realm so that no one could see me like this!”

That made sense. He must have realized this ghost was unstable.

‘Your talent still shines brilliantly.’

As Grandfell briefly indulged in that shameless praise to himself, the Hoyeol of the first cycle let out a short laugh. A different emotion lingered at the corner of his eyes.

“Watching that, I started to feel sorry for present-day Hoyeol.”

The original sin of the first-cycle Lee Hoyeol.

Compared to the sins of any other cycle, it was inevitably greater. After all, it was the first-cycle Lee Hoyeol who had provided the cause for all of this to begin.

So Grandfell didn’t twist the meaning of his words.

—“You know collective punishment is bad, right?”

That wasn’t telling him not to hate him. It meant he should hate only him. That the other Hoyeols bore no guilt.

Especially the present one…

“Don’t corner present-day Hoyeol too much.”

After organizing his thoughts, the Hoyeol of the first cycle said that. He wasn’t expecting an answer. He knew better than anyone that Grandfell’s stubbornness wouldn’t disappear. Suddenly, he felt his senses growing dull.

‘There’s no time to talk leisurely.’

A legend as faint as memory—made worse by the fact that it was moving by its own will, not the manifestor’s. It couldn’t remain corporeal for long.

“Well then. Is it time to answer the question?”

He shook off stray thoughts and focused on the present. The past—meaning his own memories—he let go of.

‘They must be a distant memory even for Grandfell.’

In the end, because he was the same Lee Hoyeol, he knew what had to be done. The Hoyeol of the first cycle raised a finger.

“So you’re curious, right? Why the Hoyeol of this run manifested me—the Hoyeol of a previous cycle—and stirred up all this trouble. Well, he didn’t explain it to me directly, but… I’m probably right.”

Seeing Grandfell show interest for the first time, he added,

“He decided that all the karma accumulated so far shouldn’t be borne by you alone—that we should bear it. Present-day Hoyeol, that is. Don’t ask how I know. It’s just a hunch.”

Grandfell paused.

‘So the reason the crushing karma felt lighter…’

Was it because you took it back upon yourself? It was only natural to worry. Reclaiming karma meant drawing the hatred of all worlds.

‘…Don’t tell me.’

Did you stain your hands with blood again—for my sake?

Because he was facing the Hoyeol of the first cycle, and because he had recently witnessed the memories of that first cycle through a manifested curse, afterimages rose before Grandfell’s eyes.

Hoyeol sacrificing countless lives to resurrect himself.

The moment Grandfell’s pupils wavered, the Hoyeol of the first run shook his head.

“Do you seriously think I’m that stupid? Even so, do you think present-day Hoyeol would repeat the same mistake? He’s been slyly manipulating the Arcana system, you know.”

That was true.

Simply put, the present Hoyeol’s clones had only revealed their will to fulfill the ‘prophecy.’ They hadn’t taken any concrete action.

The Hoyeol of the first cycle puffed out his lips.

“Still, even after repeating this regression, I really haven’t changed. Isn’t he trying to solve everything with that damn bravado again this time? Honestly, the way his pathological bluffing shows—you’ve got to admire it.”
“……”
“And you haven’t changed either.”

You’re desperately trying not to show it, but it’s obvious—your eyes give you away. It seems this cycle’s me hasn’t noticed yet, but that can’t be helped.

‘You only show emotions in front of me.’

The me of this cycle hasn’t ever truly faced you directly, so of course he wouldn’t know. Still, maybe because he lumped me together with himself—

“What, was that really so unpleasant to hear?”

It wasn’t unpleasant so much as belatedly grabbing hold of emotions. But Grandfell had no intention of explaining that. And the Hoyeol of the first cycle had no time left.

“Well then. I guess this really is the end.”

The release of manifestation.

As the Hoyeol of the first cycle began to fade, Grandfell once again failed to hide his emotions. He hadn’t even properly spoken with this ghost of the past—yet now he made such a face.

‘Still despicable, as ever.’

He wanted to tease him, but it was time to speak honestly.

“You can do it.”
“…!”

The me of this cycle can too. But it doesn’t mean you can do it alone. You know that, right? It’s our karma.

The Hoyeol of the first cycle—

“We’ll definitely reach it. So…”

Leaving those final words behind, he disappeared.

“Believe in the present me. In Hoyeol.”

…A pause. Without realizing it, Grandfell withdrew the hand he had stretched toward the ghost of the past.

‘We’ll definitely reach it.’

He turned those words over and over in his mind before finally speaking.

“It may be you—not me—who has always remained unchanged.”

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