NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Heavenly Ordeal (5)
"Nayu!!!"
I rushed toward Nayu.
She was bleeding.
Not only that, she was laid upon something resembling a cold altar.
I cradled Nayu in my arms.
Her face, so pale.
Her hands, ice cold.
Just then, a voice called out from behind.
It was the voice of an old woman dressed in a hanbok.
"Yoo Hajin, please calm yourself. Nayu is already beyond help.""Who are you?"
"I am the leader of Heavenly Ordeal Sect, Nagu. I am Nayu's spirit mother."
Spirit mother. A term I was familiar with, coming from a shaman family myself.
A spirit mother is a shaman who becomes a mentor to young shamans.
While the biological mother provides bloodline, the spirit mother is revered more for passing down the divine lineage.
But that wasn't important right now.
Nayu is beyond help?
What nonsense is this?
"What do you mean she's beyond help?"
"Nayu has been taking on the Heavenly punishments of others since she was young. The fact that she's alive until now is a miracle."
Seeing my glare, Nagu continued.
"Ordinary shamans who soothe calamities rarely live past fifteen. Nayu was exceptional. Even so, she lived to twenty, which is a blessing from the heavens, wouldn't you say?"
Rage welled up inside me.
My fists clenched involuntarily.
Seeing my furious expression, Nagu hurriedly spoke.
"I understand why someone as powerful as Yoo Hajin is attached to Nayu. It's to gain enlightenment on the Heavenly tribulations, right? If that's the case, we can provide everything you need."
With a clap of her hands, someone appeared from behind her.
It was Nayu.
No, to be precise, it was young Nayus.
The young Nayus stared at me blankly.
What are they?
As I looked at Nagu in shock, she spoke.
"This is modern cloning technology. Unlike doppelgangers, these are true replicas of Nayu. We can offer you one of them."
Clones of Nayu?
Is human cloning technology real?
Wasn't that something out of a science fiction movie?
Why did they create clones of Nayu? As I pondered, Nagu continued with a smile.
"Nayu is a shaman of the heavens. As you know, Heavenly beings, clans, and sects do not want such monsters to exist. If Nayu had grown unchecked, another uncontrollable being like the Eternal Sage would have arisen. Thus, I received my orders."
Nagu smiled as she spoke.
"So, as her spirit mother, I trained Nayu. I ensured she had no will of her own and would completely obey the will of the heavens."
Nagu's expression turned cold as she looked down at the young Nayus. The young Nayus began to whisper.
"Big sister once got caught reading a picture book in secret, and she had to have thorns put in her eyes for a long time. It hurt so much that she cried, but the more she cried, the bigger the thorns they stuck in her body."
"Big sister once spoke out loud and had her throat operated on to stop her from talking. It was terrifying when she couldn't speak."
"Big sister had no legs and had to crawl around. She wasn't trying to escape."
Could those horrifying words be true?
I stared at Nayu in a daze.
But Nayu gave no response.
Instead, Nagu answered for her.
"Such measures were necessary to perfectly control Nayu. She was a monster that even the heavens and the great families feared. If the Spirit Invader hadn't attacked, Nayu would have remained under our control. And if the Earth Protector hadn't protected Nayu, we could have maintained our control over her..."
"Shut up with your nonsense."
Please, just shut up.
Because of you, I'm losing hope in this world.
But that wasn't the main issue right now.
"But those clones are much easier to control. They're weak. Yet, they can resonate with the heavens like Nayu, allowing us to continue our business. Nayu is now a worn-out business asset."
I placed my hand on Nayu's forehead.
Even so, her expression did not become peaceful.
What on earth is the problem?
At this rate, Nayu would really die.
"Even with someone of your level of power, eradicating someone's soul completely to avoid grudges and thus Heavenly punishment is rare. Most people in this world are ordinary. When they accumulate grudges, they eventually face calamities and Heavenly punishment. Our business will continue to thrive."
Please shut up. Every time you open your mouth, my hope for this world crumbles.
So please, just shut up.
Before I come to hate this world.
But Nagu's mouth did not stop.
"We are protecting this world. Everyone has both light and shadow. Even the great secular leaders who guide this world have shadows. If we lose those great leaders because of their shadows, the world would ultimately perish. I did not lie to Nayu."
Nagu continued speaking without pause.
"Yoo Hajin, join us. There's no need to cling to Nayu anymore. If you wish to gain enlightenment about the heavens and Heavenly punishment, join us and take one of these clones each month. Number 21, follow this esteemed guest."
A young Nayu was pushed toward me.
I looked at the young Nayu, referred to as Number 21, and spoke.
"Young Nayu, do you like this world?"
"I do!"
Since when?
Tears welled up in my eyes.
But the young Nayu smiled brightly and spoke.
"Big sister likes this world too. That's why she wanted the scary lightning not to hurt the world. I'll do the same."
"But then, you'll suffer like this..."
"Yes. I really hate the pain..."
The young Nayu pouted.
However, she smiled again.
"But big sister likes people more than the pain. And most of all..."
At that moment, a finger touched my tear-streaked cheek.
It was Nayu's finger.
Nayu was comforting my tears.
The young Nayu spoke.
"Because people live on. Especially because it's the world you live in, big sister and I will keep protecting it. We won't let those countless lightnings destroy the world."
"Even though you suffered because of people, you'll still protect this world."
Nayu's responses were gradually fading.
Her breathing was becoming rougher, and her hands were getting colder.
What on earth should I do?
I wiped away my tears and looked at Nagu.
"Why does Heavenly punishment take the form of lightning? Isn't Heavenly punishment more diverse?"
"T-that's because lightning is the most basic form of Heavenly punishment."
"I saw on my way here that the origin of Heavenly Ordeal Sect was to prevent calamities from befalling kings and nobles."
Misfortune is not a word that solely means lightning.
It signifies a fateful disaster.
I know this because I come from a shaman family.
Misfortune manifests in various forms of calamities.
Therefore, the ultimate form of misfortune, Heavenly punishment, also appears in numerous forms. Failed enhancement, becoming impotent, stock market crashes, etc. Getting struck by lightning is not the only form of Heavenly punishment.
So that’s it.
It was Heavenly Ordeal Sect that transformed Heavenly punishment into lightning.
More specifically, it was that woman who did it.
"I searched the Anomaly Response Headquarters website before coming here, and it said that the leader of Heavenly Ordeal Sect, Nagu, resonates with lightning, right? Such a person brainwashing the shaman of the heavens could fix the form of Heavenly punishment as lightning, correct?"
"Wh-why are you approaching me suddenly?"
In that moment, Nagu attempted to flee by flying. But when I grabbed her ankle as she tried to take off, Nagu fell straight to the ground.
"How could you, how could you grasp lightning?"
Had Nagu transformed into lightning?
But that wasn’t the main issue right now.
I stomped on Nagu and spoke.
"You used Nayu to convert all misfortunes into lightning that you could control, didn’t you? As you said, lightning is the most basic form of Heavenly punishment, so it wouldn’t have been difficult. It wasn’t that the day of awakening made Heavenly punishment appear as lightning; you fixed it so that all Heavenly punishments were lightning."
There’s a reason why people say someone deserves to be struck by lightning.
Lightning is indeed the most basic form of Heavenly punishment.
And when the one who deserves it gets struck by lightning, that’s Heavenly punishment.
Even though lightning is a Heavenly punishment, only the heavens can retract it. That’s why the Heavenly Ordeal Sect needed Nayu.
From the beginning, beings like the heavens or the great families would have tried to kill Nayu. I don’t know much about them, but why would they let a dangerous element live?
I pressed down on Nagu's chest and spoke.
"You used those lightnings to threaten the world, deceiving Nayu by saying that the world would be in danger if she didn’t deal with those lightnings. Torturing young Nayu."
"That’s right. But what will you do about it?"
Nagu, caught by me, shouted.
"Nayu already made a vow. She vowed to take on all the Heavenly misfortunes handled by the Heavenly Ordeal Sect. Watching you search for Nayu, she solidified her resolve."
She vowed to take on all the Heavenly misfortunes handled by Heavenly Ordeal Sect?
I looked back at Nayu.
Seeing this, Nagu laughed mockingly.
"She made a fundamental vow, so the lightning won’t fall from the sky but flow through the internal gate of hell. I don’t know what kind of miraculous trick you used to block Heavenly punishment... but now it’s unstoppable. Nayu is finished."
"No, she’s not finished."
Nagu still looked at me with a mocking smile.
"What nonsense. No one, no one can break this heavenly law."
"If the law means that a kind soul like Nayu has to die, then screw that law."
I formed a hand seal.
Of course, if I had to form a seal, it had to be this one.
The Seal of Subduing the Demon. A seal that subdues the demon residing on earth with the power of the heavens.
Does that mean that those who live on earth must submit to the unreasonable heavens?
No, it does not.
People ultimately reach out to the heavens.
People weren’t born to kneel and bow.
I took the Seal of Subduing the Demon.
And the finger that pressed the ground now pointed to the heavens.
It was a gesture with the intention of defying the heavenly laws from now on.
I named this seal.
"The Seal of Defying the Heavens."
And then I chanted the incantation.
"Heavenly Descent. Rejection of Evil."
– – – The End of The Chapter – – –
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