The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-268

Raise…

Entranced, Seol reached his hand out to the door.

However…

All he did was flail his arms. He failed to get any closer.

‘Damn it… Even though I can see it, I can’t get any closer to it!’

No matter how much Seol swung his arms, the door remained out of reach.

‘I finally managed to see it, why can’t I reach it?!’

All Seol had to do was open that door to see everyone again.

Even though those on the other side were waiting for him to open the door.

“Kang Seol!” shouted Chi Woo, wildly. “Dodgeeee!”

Snapping back to his senses, Seol quickly arched backward, forming a bridge with his body.

Fwooosh!

The stone statue’s club completely whiffed Seol.

Fssss…

And instantaneously, the Void Door began to go away.

Did he rush himself due to his desire to open the Void Door? Seol had no choice but to refocus on the present.

‘I have to deal with the trial first.’

Seol resolved not to let something as absurd as being knocked out by a stone statue due to a distraction happen.

“There are more stone statues!” shouted Seol. “Focus your senses!”

“More statues? No wonder!”

Seol confirmed Chi Woo and Hye Myeong’s suspicions. They quickly leaped to his side.

Fwoosh…

Baam!

Fwooooosh…

[Chi Woo used Gust Sweep.]

[For a short while, elemental damage is transformed into physical damage.]

Chi Woo wrapped his arms with fierce winds.

Baaaaaaaaam!

Like a gunshot, Chi Woo slammed his palms onto the stone statue’s chest, imprinting his handprint onto it.

Cruuuush!

The stone statue began to crumble from Chi Woo’s attacks.

“I still can’t see it! So leave me to take care of the stone statues!”

“Got it!”

[Hye Myeong used Miscommunication.]

[For a short while, all attacks cause a shove effect.]

Fwirl!

Hye Myeong quickly spun his staff, striking the stone statues.

Bam!

Bam, bam, bam!

Hye Myeong pushed back the stone statues trying to surround them, and Chi Woo finished them off.

Cruuuush!

Meanwhile, Seol slowly brought down the number of invisible stone monkey statues.

Craaaash!

Baaaam!

“I feel like I’m going insane. Even though I can’t see them, I can hear them…”

“I’m getting the hang of it, though. I think I’ll be able to see them soon.”

“Y-Yeah, me too!”

- Chi Woo is 100% lying.

- Chi Woo’s definitely lying LMFAO

However, something unexpected happened.

Rumble, rumble…

The rubble from the broken statues began to gather and reassemble, returning them to their original forms.

‘This can’t be it then…’

Seol got the sense that they wouldn’t be able to clear the trial by just destroying the invisible monkey statues.

After all…

Rumble, rumble…

The monkey statues he worked so hard to destroy were also reassembled.

“Damn it, their numbers aren’t going down at all!”

“What the… monkeys? Why are there so many of them?”

It seemed that Hye Myeong could see them now as well, and he was also surprised by their numbers.

‘There are more than when we first started. Why? And why are they all monkeys…?’

Glance…

Seol recalled the eerie decorations he had seen when he first arrived in the room.

He looked up at the chains hanging from the ceiling.

Countless monkey statues hung from the chains. While they were indeed horrifying, Seol discovered a more important truth.

Among them was a particularly unique-looking statue.

The moment Seol saw it, he realized it was the true key to this trial.

‘A golden monkey!’

The golden monkey was being protected by the stone monkeys hanging from the chains.

Fwoooosh!

Crush!

“Krgh… Is there no way to clear this trial?” Chi Woo asked, struggling to defend against all the attacks.

“The ceiling!” shouted Seol. “The ceiling!”

Hearing that, Hye Myeong immediately looked up.

“I see it too.”

“Me too,” said Chi Woo. “This time, for real.”

Baaaam!

Cruuuush!

Chi Woo then crushed a monkey statue’s head as if to prove his words.

While they were all now capable of seeing the monkey statues, that did not improve the situation at all.

During the hesitation, the monkey statues had completely surrounded them.

“We’re going to the ceiling. At once.”

Clench…

Chi Woo grit his teeth as he gathered the wind.

Fwoooooosh…

His body then began to glow gold.

[Chi Woo used Whirlwind Kick.]

[There is a high chance that the target will be knocked over if the attack is successful.]

[Create a gust of rising wind.]

Fwoooosh!

Chi Woo began to spin, but the attack landed on no one.

However, it wasn’t as if he used this skill to strike anyone.

Fwooooosh…

A large gust of wind formed with him at the center.

Chi Woo then stopped before shouting, “Now!”

Immediately, Seol and Hye Myeong leaped toward his hands, placing their weight on them.

“Ahhhhh!”

[Chi Woo used Link: Ascending Dragon.]

[A storm based on elemental damage strikes all enemies within a certain radius.]

Fwooooosh!

Seol and Hye Myeong were both sent flying.

While it seemed like they were about to reach the ceiling quickly, an issue occurred.

Fwip!

Fwip!

The stone monkeys leaped toward them, blocking their path.

Still, they couldn’t give up on the opportunity Chi Woo worked so hard to create.

‘Damn it!’

As if they were constructing a stone wall, the monkeys climbed onto each other’s shoulders to stop them.

Seol and Hye Myeong immediately exchanged looks, sensing something special in each other’s gaze.

‘...I feel like I know what he’s thinking.’

Though it was just a brief, momentary glance, they understood each other’s thoughts perfectly.

After acquiring Watala’s greatest weapon—the mind—the two could communicate on a level they had never reached before.

As if they were one person.

Fwirl!

Fwirl!

The two quickly spun their bodies, with Seol’s body facing the floor and Hye Myeong’s body facing the ceiling.

“Go!”

Fwooosh!

Hye Myeong pushed up with his hands as Seol met it, sending Seol flying even higher.

Clatter!

As Hye Myeong descended, Seol quickly swiped at a chain, catching it with his hands.

[Awakening! Your skill is improved.]

[Passive: Resonance has improved to Passive: Harmonization.]

Clatter!

Clatter, clatter!

Seol brushed past the chains as he flew forward.

Shocked, The golden monkey began trying to hide between the other stone monkeys.

Unsheathe!

Seol swung his sword in front of him.

‘Shit, I’m short!’

Caught up in the chains and blocked by the stone monkeys, Seol sensed that his attack would fall short.

However, his sword was Agony.

[I’ll reach it!]

Fwooosh!

Agony extended like a snake, slithering between the stone monkeys to reach the golden monkey.

While Seol’s attack would be weakened, he could still reach it like this.

Baaaam!

The tip of Seol’s sword landed precisely on the golden monkey’s forehead.

[I got it!]

Crumble, crumble…

Crumble!

Cracks began to form on the golden monkey’s body before shattering completely.

Thud!

All of the stone statues immediately froze.

“Haah… Haah…”

“Haah… Phew…”

Fwooosh…

Thud!

Seol landed on the ground and quickly adjusted his stance.

The stone statues on the floor started to gather, transforming.

Rumble…

Rumble…

The stone statues bent down and began stacking atop one another.

Rumble, rumble…

The stone statues formed a staircase leading to one side of the ceiling as it opened.

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

However, they weren’t the only ones struggling.

“Ahhh! Ahhhhhhhhh!”

A woman let out a horrific shriek as she slammed her head against a stool.

It was Mi Ah, a member of the Soul Eyes Tribe, who sent Seol and the others into the dream.

“Haah… Haah…”

The present-day Mi Ah began to grow thin as she underwent changes.

She was hit with a torrent of new memories.

Her original memories began to be replaced by the memories of three people from the Artifact Association and her journey with them.

Tremble…

Mi Ah shook and cried as she absentmindedly stared at the space around her.

“Ahh… Ah… I… I understand everything now.”

She realized the true identities of the three people from the Artifact Association in the past.

But was that really the correct way to describe it?

Shouldn’t they be considered new memories, given that the past had changed through her drawings?

Or were their journeys into her drawings destined from the start, something she was only now experiencing?

And if that were the case, were their fates all predetermined?

With no way to answer those questions, Mi Ah sat still.

Thunk…

Thunk…

Flutter…

The drawings she had gathered in the corner of her room transformed into petals, fluttering away in the wind.

These were the same drawings Mi Ah had left behind in the past, which Shade had burned.

“No… Don’t go!”

To Mi Ah, who was desperately clinging to the past, nothing was more valuable than those drawings.

They were, in essence, fragments of her memories.

And as this was the last time she could ever send someone to the past with her dwindling powers, there was no chance for her to recover them.

“Hrgh… Ahh… Don’t take those away from me… Don’t take his traces away…”

Mi Ah wept as she hopelessly tried to catch the petals. Though she had put up a strong front in front of Seol, she was sick.

It wasn’t a physical illness but an illness of the heart that had devastated her. Her cursed life was beginning to haunt her once more.

She thought to herself, wondering if crying would ease the burdens in her heart.

However, she had another worry—one even more pressing than her disappearing drawings.

“Oh my god… no… at this rate… at this rate…”

The three had left to the past to reclaim the Luminous Bell, but what was their fate?

The present-day Mi Ah was someone who had seen the final page of that story.

As she had memories of that past, she knew the things that would happen to them.

Was it a future that had yet to change?

Or a past that was already determined to fail?

What waited for them was…

“They… will all die…”

Unless they could change the past, everyone would die. Images of Shade brutally killing the three members of the Artifact Association flashed through her mind.

“Stop it… please!”

Was it a mistake for them to try and change the past?

Mi Ah continued to look for the answers.

* * *

Crackle…

Crackle…

“Are you okay not sleeping?” asked Hye Myeong.

“I recover quickly,” responded Seol.

“Hahaha! I guess we’re alike in that way.”

The two then shared stories by the fire.

After clearing the second trial, they walked up the stairs through the ceiling.

But there was nothing there. Absolutely nothing.

Due to the strangely long tunnel, Seol’s party was forced into a march.

And with that, it felt like their second day in the ruin had finally come to an end.

Only now, after arriving at the safe zone right before the next trial, were they finally allowed a break.

While Seol Hong was somewhat fine despite not having slept for two days, it had been practically hell for Mi Ah.

Seol, Hye Myeong, and Chi Woo were warriors.

Seol Hong had received some training and managed relatively well, but Mi Ah, still a young child, had come down with a fever and ached all over.

That was why they had taken a break—so Mi Ah could rest and recover, at least somewhat.

However, Seol and Hye Myeong stayed vigilant and awake. They recognized that the situation could change at a moment’s notice.

“Haah…” Hye Myeong sighed, watching the fire.

“...Sounds like you have something on your mind,” said Seol.

“Stop trying to read my mind like that. Watala’s powers aren’t meant to—”

“No, you just let out a long sigh,” Seol interrupted.

“...My bad.”

Hye Myeong then turned around to see Mi Ah sleeping.

‘It must be that worry,’ thought Seol.

It was an option that never ceased to come up while Seol controlled Hye Myeong.

A problem Seol eventually had to address, as it continued to arise after meeting Mi Ah.

“Could you listen to what I have to say?” asked Hye Myeong.

“...Of course.”

“It’s about Mi Ah. Well, I guess it’s about me?”

“I think you mentioned it before.”

Despite knowing what was gnawing at Hye Myeong, Seol feigned ignorance.

“It’s different from that. Have I ever mentioned Mi Ah’s powers to you before?”

“...No. You only told us she had been kicked out of her tribe.”

Hye Myeong stiffened his expression before continuing.

“Mi Ah’s drawings are dangerous.”

“......”

“They have the power to change the past. Leaves you at a loss for words, doesn’t it?”

“I see why the Soul Eyes Tribe kicked her out. Her powers are too strong for even her tribe to protect her.”

“Yeah, it’s just that dangerous.”

Hye Myeong seemed like he lacked energy, as if he wasn’t sure of what to do.

“To Mi Ah, drawings are everything. She says that she has the most fun when drawing, that she was glad to have been born… haha…”

His face then began to contort.

“I… don’t want Mi Ah to draw ever again.”

“......”

“I even went against my precepts to kill everyone who knew where she was. But… I…”

“You plan to leave, right?”

“...Yes. One day, I will have to leave her.”

And he would.

Hye Myeong was incapable of protecting Mi Ah forever. The younger Seol also believed this was the right decision.

Hye Myeong was destined to leave Mi Ah someday.

‘But that decision… might have been wrong.’

In the present, Seol had reunited with the Mi Ah, who had been left alone. After Hye Myeong’s departure, she had given up drawing and was clearly struggling with something.

This was the future that Hye Myeong—no, he—had given Mi Ah.

‘We’re alike.’

In some ways, Seol and Hye Myeong were in the same situation.

Hye Myeong would leave Mi Ah, and Seol would leave Seol Hong. There would come a time when they would both have to make an important decision.

“If Mi Ah no longer draws… the world will be safe,” said Seol.

“...Yeah.”

“But at the same time… her own world will be destroyed.”

Seol spoke as if he knew what would happen, causing Hye Myeong to quickly face him.

“Why… are you saying that as if you know?”

“That’s…”

Would giving this advice to Hye Myeong now be able to change his decision in the past?

Seol wasn’t sure either.

If Hye Myeong had been a piece who followed Seol’s commands exactly, this would have been a waste of time. However, he was never a piece that moved according to Seol's orders.

‘He was stubborn.’

Hye Myeong shook his head, as if he was snapping out of something.

“Well, I guess that just makes sense at a second thought. Tha—”

Hye Myeong wasn’t allowed to finish those words.

Seol cut him off.

“Oh my god… Quickly, we have to wake everyone up…”

“...What?” asked Hye Myeong. “What are you saying all of a sudden…”

Crackle, crackle…

Seol trembled as he got to his feet.

The immense ghost energy he sensed from afar woke up his senses.

‘Shade… How?!’

There should have been at least another day before the doors to the ruin opened.

‘Don’t tell me…? Did he just force the doors open?’

Seol only had more questions with each second that passed.

Judging by how he didn’t sense any other ghost energy, there was a good chance that it was only Shade who made it through those doors.

‘Damn it…’

Seol then looked at the direction of the energy.

“He… forced his way through the doors,” said Seol.

“He…?” asked Hye Myeong, shocked. “Is that the thing that chased…”

“...Yes.”

“How?! We should have had another day! Did he force his way in…? Is that even possible?”

Seol then turned his gaze once more, toward the direction of the Luminous Bell.

Acquiring the Luminous Bell was no longer Seol’s main concern. His primary focus had shifted to escaping the ruin alive.

Too many things had changed.

Time only served to trap them ever further.

Rumble, rumble…

The ruin began shaking as if Shade were breaking down the doors.

Suddenly, Seol’s vision shifted.

He found himself surrounded by darkness, as if a large curtain had been drawn over him.

He looked down and saw the darkness creeping up to his ankles.

Thud…

Thud…

Thud…

The large door began to shake, as if legendary monsters were charging at it, trying to break free.

Seol then heard a voice from beyond the door.

- I see that your hesitant personality hasn’t changed at all.

“You…”

- Do you need me to break it down again?

He then heard an eerie laugh coming from behind the door.

Rumble, rumble, rumble…

The laughter caused the door to shake violently.