Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 241

Tales of a Wandering Swordsman – 240

After pondering deeply, nothing came to mind. He couldn’t recall why he had acted in certain ways or what had led him to this point.

It seemed he had known at first, but now it was like a blank white page.

Or perhaps like pitch-black ink.

He remembered nothing at all.

“This can’t be happening.”

It didn’t make sense.

The higher his cultivation, the more he absorbed the energy of heaven and earth, awakening his brain and greatly enhancing his memory with just a single glance.

There might be differences from person to person… but only a few thousand years.

It was impossible to forget everything so completely after only tens of thousands of years.

Although he thought a lot of time had passed, this situation was bizarre.

And simultaneously strange.

“Or is it…”

But even that didn’t last long.

There was only a slight sense of loss from having no memories.

He remembered nothing.

Which meant.

He couldn’t even recall what he originally possessed, so he didn’t know what he had forgotten.

Soon, he shook off his worries and returned to his cultivation.

Whether he knew who he was or what he was didn’t matter for his cultivation, and he didn’t think it was particularly important.

Ten thousand years passed.

And then another ten thousand years passed.

He realized.

“It’s disappearing.”

The place where he was gradually disappeared.

There was land, and there was sea.

The sun rose in the sky, and as time passed, the moon rose at night.

He vaguely thought it was a place that would never change, but it wasn’t.

Over time, the land gradually vanished, and even the sky narrowed.

He couldn’t pinpoint where the end was, but it was slowly disappearing.

The more it disappeared, the more the forgotten questions sprouted and tormented him.

“Why… am I here?”

He had wanted to be here, but now that he thought about it, it didn’t seem so.

But he didn’t know why.

Nothing came to mind.

It was as frustrating as if someone had covered his eyes with their palm.

Someone’s voice and actions seemed to come to mind, but ultimately didn’t.

When he opened his fist, a beautiful treasured sword appeared with blue flames.

A sword filled with the scent of flowers.

“Hwaran.”

He was greatly surprised by the word he unconsciously uttered, and then greatly rejoiced.

“Yes, Hwaran! This sword is Hwaran.”

But that was it.

He remembered nothing but the name.

He slowly became afraid.

The world was gradually disappearing.

He couldn’t remember anything.

How could he not be afraid?

He was a being who couldn’t even remember himself, and the world was gradually disappearing.

“Am I also disappearing?”

* * *

“Fear… you say?”

“That’s right.”

To Choa, Bong’s words were like a ray of sweet rain.

“Then…”

“Your husband is not dead yet. Not yet, that is.”

Clang!

“R, really?”

Choa’s hand, which had dropped the teacup, was trembling like an aspen leaf.

“It’s true. But as I said before, I don’t know if he can overcome it.

The ordeal of the Wood Calamity, called the True Name Tree, is a different kind of trial than others. If he can’t overcome it, he will remain unchanged and become a tree, but…”

If he could overcome it, what he would gain would be limitless.

“Because that place is infinite, so what he gains depends on himself.”

It was difficult to understand the exact meaning, but one word was etched in Choa’s mind.

He was not dead.

If he overcame the calamity, he would come back alive.

That word was etched deeper than anything else.

“What kind of calamity is the Wood Calamity? I’ve heard a lot about the True Name Tree, but I’ve never heard of the Wood Calamity.”

“I suppose not.”

Bong gave a bitter smile as if it were understandable.

“Why is that? If the True Name Tree is a type of calamity, the Six Masters couldn’t possibly not know, but my husband didn’t seem to know at all.”

“Well, since no one overcomes the Wood Calamity, the stories that have been passed down naturally disappear, and they don’t even know it’s a calamity.”

“!”

It was an amazing story, but it was plausible enough.

If no one overcame the calamity, they would become trees and end their lives, so naturally there would be no stories passed down.

In the first place, wasn’t the term True Name Tree created to comfort those who couldn’t withstand the Wood Calamity and withered away?

Choa’s Adam’s apple rose and fell, having been relieved for a moment.

“As you can see, the body has become a tree, but the mind clearly maintains its ego.

To put it simply, the content of the calamity is that the mind awakens in an isolated space and gains a deeper understanding, but…”

He frowned, crossing his arms as if something was still bothering him.

“No matter how infinite the time is, it ultimately depends on one’s own mind. As time passes there, the existence itself can wither away as the gradually depleting mental strength reaches its limit.”

Like an old tree dried up in a drought.

“I, is there anything I can do to help?”

But the answer that came back was firm.

“No.”

The calamity can be postponed, but once it has started, no one else can help.

“Useless actions are 오히려 [rather] poison.”

“Then…”

Unfortunately, all she could do now was trust him and wait.

“The collapse of the world is the same as the collapse of one’s own mind… when the time comes, he will have to make a choice.”

“What choice…”

“Well… only he will know.”

“…”

Choa, with a regretful face, took a deep breath and steeled her heart.

Bong’s words were somewhat difficult to understand, but if it wasn’t over yet, as he said, this was not the time to be넋 놓고 [spacing out].

“Will you prepare for 승선 [ascension]?”

“I have to.”

Bong nodded and handed her a small wooden box from his arms.

“Your husband told me to give this to you.”

“This is…”

“It’s a Sipsaengdan [elixir of life].”

She took the Sipsaengdan with a dazed look and approached the True Name Tree.

“What are you trying to do?”

“That too, but… that 얄궂으신 [strange] person asked me to do something before he became like that. I want to do at least that for him.”

“A request? Can you tell me what it is?”

“I’m going to make a swing.”

“…What?”

* * *

The annihilation of existence.

Instinctive fear.

It covered him as if it would devour him.

Sitting on the cliff, he pondered in the cold wind.

He had forgotten a lot over tens of thousands of years.

First, himself, and second, those around him.

He had become able to cause 천재지변 [natural disasters] by overturning the heavens and earth through cultivation, but what good was 수도 [cultivation] if he had forgotten himself and those around him?

It was utterly 허탈 [hollow].

What he had realized while contemplating the laws of time was that the flow here created a strange sense of incongruity.

But he could not do anything about time.

He could not stop the flowing time, nor could he go against the flow.

It was not difficult to train his gongfa [cultivation techniques] or 신통 [supernatural powers], but it was difficult to grasp the laws even after tens of thousands of years.

But he couldn’t rest.

“Law…”

At the same time as contemplating the laws of nature, he forgot and remembered who he was.

If it hadn’t been for the laws, he wouldn’t have even remembered that.

So he clung to the laws as if they were a lifeline.

Causality and 척 [karma/affinity].

It was not difficult to grasp the threads of so-called attraction and repulsion.

This was because the 태천외양신공 [Great Outer Universe Divine Art] itself was a 신공 [divine art] created by applying causality and 척 [karma/affinity].

The very act of creating the sun was based on countless causes and 화 [transformation], and 공간 [space] and 척력 [repulsive force] 끼어들어 [intervened] into it, making it even more so.

But time.

No matter what he did, he couldn’t grasp the 갈피 [direction] of time.

Ordinary humans may feel the wind, but they do not control it.

The same is true of fire and water.

It’s a simple matter for 도사 [Taoist masters], but he was not able to do so.

“It’s 참 오묘해 [truly profound].”

He felt time, but how could he know how to control it?

There was no way to know.

Even after a day, a month, he sat 좌선 [in meditation] on the cliff and remained 요지부동 [motionless].

He had been there for several years, but enlightenment did not come to him.

It was as if something was blocking him, a thick wall, a foggy 망망대해 [vast ocean].

“Haa…”

The space, which he thought was infinite, was gradually crumbling, and the sea was 꺼지고 [receding].

The land, which was like a continent, had become a huge island.

The more it did, the more 초조함 [anxiety] he felt.

And the more 초조함 [anxiety] he felt, the more difficult it was to 수행 [cultivate] quietly.

He just watched the flow without catching the 흘러가는 [flowing] time.

After a few months, he got up with 탁해진 [clouded] eyes and suddenly 끌어 올렸다 [summoned] a huge 영력 [spiritual power].

He had a face that looked 개운해 [refreshed].

It was a very 시원한 [cool/relieved] face and eyes, as if he had put an end to what he had been 고민 [agonizing over].

쿠구구궁!! [Sound of rumbling]

A huge energy swirled around, causing thunder, lightning, and storms.

The 천지원기 [spiritual energy of heaven and earth] 녹아있는 [dissolved] in the atmosphere was also 끌어당겨져 [drawn in], and 비구름 [rain clouds] 몰려들고 [gathered] and 태풍 [typhoons] 휘몰아쳤다 [raged] in an instant.

A low but 또랑또랑 [clear] voice, as if reciting 불경 [Buddhist scriptures], echoed day and night, and 오색 빛 [five-colored light] appeared on his body without 쉬임 [ceasing].

And then.

A blue light flickered from his fist, and a dazzling 광채 [radiance] 새어 나왔다 [leaked out].

The size of a fingernail.

But it was a small sun created by his 태천외양신공 [Great Outer Universe Divine Art].

휘이이이이잉!! [Sound of wind]

The sun gradually increased in size.

It took a long time and 심력 [mental effort].

It took a thousand years to make this fingernail-sized thing the size of his palm in an instant.

The thousand years quickly flowed into ten thousand years, and the size of the sun became the size of his head.

But he was not satisfied and continued to 키우고 [grow] and 키웠다 [enlarge] the size of the blue sun as if it would 집어삼킬 [swallow] everything around it.

The reason was simple.

The world he was in was gradually disappearing.

He had 무의식적으로 [unconsciously] feared it, but after much 고민 [deliberation], the decision he made was 이상할 정도로 속 시원한 결론 [strangely refreshing conclusion].

“If it’s a world that will disappear, I’ll 부서트려주지 [destroy] it all with my own hands.”

If he did, wouldn’t something happen?

His memories too.

His world too.

“I’ll 부숴버리고 [smash] everything and make it again.”

The only time 사라짐 [disappearance] is 아쉬운 [regrettable] is when something remains.

All he had left was himself.

There was nothing else.

So he would 지워버릴 [erase] everything.

Who knows?

Maybe he would change if he did.

It was not an easy decision.

All he had was this sky, this land, and this sea, to himself who couldn’t remember anything.

Wasn’t there an 불확실한 불안감 [uncertain anxiety] and 두려움 [fear] that 지워버린다는 [erasing] these things would also 지워지게 [erase] him?

It was a 뭔지 모를 본능적인 두려움 [an unknown instinctive fear].

It was his own self that existed under the 사라져가는 [disappearing] sky.

It was a 묘한 공포 [strange fear], and 묘하게 [strangely] he didn’t 선뜻 손이 [readily reach out].

무형의 무언가가 [Something intangible] 막아서 [blocked] his choice, and it was a 기묘한 기분 [bizarre feeling].

It was then.

Suddenly, a strange 풍경 [scene] 내비쳤다 [appeared] in his eyes.

“…”

What he saw was a large tree.

There were many trees because it was in the mountains, but what was 내걸린 [hanging] on that tree was 퍽 신선했다 [quite refreshing].

“It’s a swing.”

He saw two 줄 [ropes] on a thick 가지 [branch] and a 판자 [plank] connected to the 줄 [ropes].

It seemed to be the swing that young 소녀들 [girls] 자주 타는 [often ride].

“How could something like this be here…”

It was a 참 신기한 일 [truly amazing thing].

But at the same time, his head 지끈거렸다 [throbbed] as if something was 생각이 날듯 말듯 [on the verge of coming to mind].

“What is this…”

His head ached.

As his 심기 어지러워지자 [mind became disturbed], 기세 [aura] 뿜어졌다 [emanated] from his body 자연스레 [naturally].

The 기세 [aura] turned into wind, and the swing 흔들리고 [swung] back and forth, and the 수풀 [bushes] 부닥치며 자아냈다 소리를 [collided, creating sounds].

The sound was like someone’s laughter, and he stared blankly at the swing.

The swing, 흔들린 [swayed] by the wind, 흔들렸는데 [swung] slowly as if someone was 타고 있는 [riding it], and strangely, his 마음이 편안했다 [heart felt at ease].

He 저도 모르게 [unconsciously] followed the swing with his eyes.

It was a 참 신기한 일 [truly amazing thing].

His 아팠던 머리가 [aching head] 식어갔다 [cooled down] just by 바라보는 [looking at] the 흔들리는 [swinging] swing.

He 보고 또 보았다 [watched and watched] the swing 흔들리는 [swinging] even when the 밤이 어두워지고 [night darkened] and 달빛 [moonlight] 마중 나왔을 [came out].

The swing, 비춰지며 [illuminated] by the 달빛 [moonlight] and 흔들리는 [swinging] 홀로 [alone], also 보였다 신비로와 [looked mysterious].

He was 마냥 바라보고 [simply watching] it, and it seemed as if 누군가 타고 있는 [someone was riding] on the swing, and he 바라보고 또 바라봤다 하염없이 [watched and watched endlessly].

“What could this be.”

Strangely, what he 품은 [held] while looking at the swing was 갈피 잃은 그리움 [a lost longing].

It was 참 오묘했다 [truly mysterious] that he felt 그리움 [longing] without even knowing what he was 그리워하는 [longing for].

But he 왠지 [somehow] didn’t 싫지는 [dislike] that.

“The swing would be 좋겠다 [nice/good]…”

That was the 돌연 떠오르는 말 [suddenly emerging words].

“Why is the swing 좋지 [nice]?”

He also 품으며 [held] such 의문 [question].

He 곱씹었다 [pondered] the 떠오른 말 [emerging words].

He 되뇌였다 [repeated] the 말 [words] he 떠올린 [recalled], 매달리듯 곱씹으며 [pondering as if clinging to them] 저도 모르게 [unconsciously].

The swing was 더 이상 흔들리지 않았으나 [no longer swinging], and he could feel 작은 안식 [small comfort] and 안정을 [stability] while 보고 [looking at] it.

He also 내버려두고 [abandoned] the 태양 [sun] he made, and 잡았다 [grabbed] the 그네 줄 [swing ropes] as if he was 홀린 무어에 [possessed by something].

The 줄 [ropes] could not 버티지 [withstand] his 힘 [strength], and 가루가 되어 사라져버렸다 [turned to dust and disappeared] into 먼지로 이내 [immediately].

“Ah…”

It was a 탄성이 묻어나는 안타까움 [sigh filled with regret].

He 놀라며 [surprised] at the 탄성에 [sigh] he 뱉어낸 [uttered] 저도 모르게 [unconsciously], and 이내 둥글게 입가를 [soon rounded the corners of his mouth].

“Is that so.”

He 떠올렸다 [recalled] the 푸른 태양 [blue sun] 빛나는 [shining] in his 손 [hand] with 맑은 눈동자로 [clear eyes] as if he had 깨달은 무언가를 [realized something], and 떠올렸다 [raised] it 하늘로 [to the sky].

The 푸른 태양 [blue sun] 발광하며 [emitting light] 눈부시게 [dazzlingly] and 밝혔다 [illuminated] the 하늘 [sky].

The 푸른 태양 [blue sun] 올라간 [ascended] 천천히 [slowly] 집어 삼키고 [swallowing] the 본래의 해 [original sun], and 삼켰다 [swallowed] even the 달 [moon].

His 태양 [sun], 키우는 [growing] 점점 크기를 [increasingly in size], became another 태양 [sun] 자리한 [positioned] 바깥에 하늘 [outside sky] and 밝혔다 [illuminated] the 세상을 [world] 푸르게 [blue].

And 잠시 후 [after a while].

The 푸른 태양 [blue sun] 집어 삼키고 [swallowed] 천지를 [heaven and earth] and 집어 삼켰다 [swallowed] 또한 그 보란 듯이 [also as if showing off].

He 확신했다 [was certain] his 죽음을 [death], 사라져가는 [disappearing] 되어 가루에 의해 태양 [becoming dust by the sun].

And 동시에 그 [at the same time].

He 깨달았다 [realized] 태어남을 새로이 [a new birth].