Dancing on the golden ashes

This world had proven itself to be ruthless—a dog-eat-dog kind of place where survival came at the expense of others. Trust was a luxury no one could afford, and safety was a fleeting illusion. Gaining his soul pouch was already a significant achievement, but taking further risks? That was out of the question.

"Did we go too far?" Eun-Woo's voice broke the silence, laced with doubt.

"Maybe," I admitted, "but leaving him alive would've been a bigger mistake. The second we reached his sect, he'd sell us out without hesitation. It'd be like digging our own graves." Repeating my past mistakes was something I couldn't afford.

I'd encountered plenty like him before—smooth talkers who sweetened their words with compliments. They'd tell me how good I was, how I was destined to win, and how I had their unwavering support. But when everything crumbled, they were the first to turn their backs, acting as if they'd never known me.

He shot me a sidelong glance, his expression unreadable, before quickly looking away and sighing. "You know, we've changed a lot—or at least I have. Back on Earth... I could never have taken another life. But here? In this world? It feels impossible not to." His tall frame seemed to shimmer with latent power, his words heavy with unspoken emotions, each one a testament to the weight he carried.

"I know," I replied softly. "If you ever need someone to blame for all this, then let it be me. After all, I'm the one responsible for dragging us into this."

"Not at all," he said firmly. "I chose to follow you of my own free will. Even if I hadn't, I'd have ended up in situations like this anyway. So no—I don't regret it, not even a little. In fact, it's... fun."

He walked over to the scrolls scattered on the ground, his tone light, but his words left me uncertain. I could never quite tell what was truly going on in his mind.

Jieun crouched beside the pile of scrolls, her small frame almost disappearing among them. We each picked one up to inspect, the scrolls emitting a faint, otherworldly aura. They appeared to be crafted from bamboo, their ancient texture radiating an air of mystery.

"The whole concept of cultivation is incredible," Jieun mused, unrolling her scroll carefully. "But I wonder… is it really worth learning anything right now? After all, we seem to advance in cultivation stages just by leveling up. It's so much easier—and faster—that way."

"I think that's exactly what the so-called Creator wants," I said, my voice tinged with bitterness. "He's deceived the people of this world, only to cut them down shortly after. But for what purpose..."

Or was it something unexpected? That's what puzzles me the most. He's going to appear soon—any day now—in that city. He'll spread his system there, and after that, the world will begin to unravel. Or at least this area will, when the goddess brings her wrath. If we don't find a way out before then, we're as good as dead.

"Don't dwell on it too much," Eun-Woo said, his voice steady and grounded. "As we are now, we're in no position to uncover any secrets."

He picked up one of the scrolls, the faint aura around it reflecting in his eyes, and sat down cross-legged on the ground, his expression calm but unreadable.

"Let me read this for you both. Listen closely—this cultivation is truly fascinating. We've already learned about the first three stages, but here, I've found another seven." His tone was calm and measured, carrying the seriousness of a teacher imparting wisdom.

I settled onto the ground, and Jieun sat beside me, her small head gently resting on my thighs. She must've been exhausted—not just physically, but mentally as well. She trained relentlessly every day without pause, and now she had witnessed two more lives taken by my hands.

"After the Soul Orb stage comes the Soul Split stage," he explained, pausing briefly to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Apparently, in this stage, we're supposed to split our soul into three parts. Each part will undergo three challenges. But... there's not much information here about how to actually do it. It only says that one needs a catalyst—the blood of a demon beast."

He frowned, his brows furrowing as he scanned the scroll further. "It says you must find a beast that represents you the most and refine its blood? I don't fully understand any of this..." He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Well, let's keep going."

Splitting my soul into three sounds cool, I mused, but I wonder if that would mess with my mental state.

"Right after that comes the Heavenly Soul stage..." Eun-Woo continued, his voice faltering slightly as he read on. "It says one must comprehend the laws of heaven to advance to this stage. Each challenge is overcome by understanding more of these laws. I... I don't understand any of this. Is this even real? Maybe some fake scrolls got mixed in..."

His frustration was evident, and he seemed on the verge of a mental breakdown. Perhaps this cultivation stuff was too overwhelming for him. To be honest, I wasn't faring much better. Without proper guidance, how could we possibly comprehend the mysteries written here?

"Just tell us the names of the stages. We can go into more detail later—right now, none of this makes any sense," I said, gently brushing Jieun's hair with my hand.

"Right..." Eun-Woo sighed in relief, as if the lecture had been too much for his brain to handle. "The remaining five stages are as follows: Soul Lord stage—"

Soul Lord? My thoughts froze for a moment. That sounds like my title... Could it just be a coincidence?

"Soul Fuse stage, Eternity stage, Immortal stage, Immortal King stage, and finally, Immortal Emperor stage," he continued. Then his voice hesitated. "But there's a line here that puzzles me. It says cultivation has no true end, and that there are more stages beyond these, lost to history. That's... all it says."

Eun-Woo's voice trailed off, his earlier confusion deepening.

"It seems we have a long way to go. We're only at the very beginning," I said, glancing at the horizon. "Let's move somewhere else. But before that, I need to figure out how to use this soul pouch—since we can't rely on our system inventory anymore."

I reached down and picked up the pouch from the ground. With a single thought, I directed my soul energy into it. The pouch reacted immediately, but to my frustration, I couldn't store anything inside—it only allowed me to withdraw.

Wait… what if I wrap the objects I want to store in the pouch itself, then direct them inside with my energy?

My second attempt was successful—all of the scrolls were quickly sucked into the pouch. There's one more...

I pulled out a small golden plate I'd tucked away inside my dress and placed it carefully into the pouch.

"Now we can move," I said, a hint of pride in my voice.

"Good job, big sister Gaon!" Jieun cheered, her voice filled with genuine enthusiasm, as if I'd just performed a magic trick.

Her excitement made me smile, just a little. It was silly, but somehow, spending time with them like this made me feel... great. As if, for the first time in a long while, I truly belonged somewhere.

After a while, we left, leaving nothing behind but ashes on the ground. Several days passed, and my hunger started to gnaw at me. I tried eating meat with Eun-Woo and Jieun, but it didn't help—I wasn't satisfied. My hunger was deeper, something beyond physical.

Another five days went by as we ventured farther from the city. That's when something strange happened. Eun-Woo walked straight into an invisible wall, hitting his head and falling flat on the ground.

"It seems... the world has limits," he muttered, rubbing his head in confusion.

With no other option, we decided to map the area as we searched for anything that could lead us to an exit—something akin to the statue from before. We had to return soon, as our meeting with Kim Seong-Hoon was approaching. At least we knew the way back now, which would only take a day.

Unfortunately, our search yielded nothing. No clues, no hidden pathways—nothing but endless wilderness. With heavy hearts, we turned back.

In those fifteen days, we'd grown much stronger. If I had to estimate, I'd say my power was now at 80% of what it was when I could rely on the system. Eun-Woo was slightly behind at around 70%. But Jieun? She was a prodigy—already at 95% of her former strength, perhaps even surpassing 100% soon. Her talent for cultivation was astounding.

But when we returned to the meeting square, Kim Seong-Hoon was nowhere to be found.

"Where is big brother Seong-Hoon?" Jieun asked, her voice tinged with worry as the night dragged on.

"I don't know... where is he?" I muttered, a sinking feeling growing in my chest. Stay tuned with empiren/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

We waited until morning, but he never showed. Eun-Woo's anxiety was palpable, and Jieun was on the verge of tears.

"Did he leave us forever? Or did something...?" Her voice cracked as she started crying.

These two...

"We must go now! Let's find him!" Eun-Woo roared, his desperation boiling over as he prepared to rush off blindly.

Before he could, I stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

"Where will you go? Do you plan to search the entire world?" I snapped, frustration flaring.

"You don't have any feelings! What the hell would you know!?" he shouted back, his harsh tone cutting deep.

His words made me step back. I don't feel anything? Right... I never did.

Eun-Woo's face softened as he realized his mistake. "I... I'm sorry, Gaon. I went too far. I'm just worried about him," he said, his voice apologetic as he stepped closer.

I shoved his hand away. "It's fine," I said curtly. "Let's just ask the guards if they've seen him. If he entered the city, they'd know."

I didn't want to dwell on the argument anymore.

"Gaon—!" Eun-Woo called after me, but I was already running toward the gates.

I knew it. I'll never find anyone who truly understands me. You're so stupid, Gaon... trusting people only to get hurt again. Good job.

When I reached the guard station, I wasted no time.

"Sorry," the guard said. "After you left the first time, he never came back. We did, however, receive a report of a conflict involving someone from the White Tiger Sect and him. After that, he disappeared."

Those words hit me like a tidal wave.

The White Tiger Sect again?! Just you wait. If you've hurt him, I will destroy every single one of you!