NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 860
Life and life, death and death.
The moment when the beginning and end confront one another.
In such moments, one often experiences the illusion that time has stopped.
The swaying movements of flames seem to move slowly, and even the spreading light feels distorted.
Each step forward feels as heavy as if struggling to escape an invisible swamp, as if a transparent giant has gripped me, making it impossible to move forward.
I muster strength, feeling the muscles in my arm straining as I hold the skewer, but despite that, the tip of the skewer merely swims slowly through the air.
And finally, the skewer, moving at that sluggish pace, reaches the flames.
And then, in the brilliantly blazing flames, it is instantly swallowed.
Is this what it looks like when a skewer made from scrap metal is plunged into a furnace?
The skewer is devoured by the fire in an absurdly quick manner, and the sharp point that seemed ready to pierce the sun vanishes, unable to withstand the heat and reaches the end of its lifespan.
Without even being able to perform the duty bestowed upon it at birth.
Thus, the skewer disappears.
Ah, is this how the warrior’s sword would be, unable to kill the target it was meant to?
Even someone heartless might click their tongue and shed tears at such a sight.
What remains is a man with reddened, overheated skin.
A man whose skin is roasting due to the sin of being too close to the sun…
The eyes of Ashtosh Singh and Park Jinseong meet once more.
The eyes of the old man spitting blue flames.
The eyes of the young man, turned white from being scorched by the flames.
At that moment, the old man’s wisdom whispers.
“You have won.”
“Your years have surpassed the years of the author.”
No matter how extraordinary one may be, it is a distant endeavor for someone who has lived a short time to overcome the wisdom accumulated over many long years, and that young man was no exception. All the experiences you have accumulated have overwhelmed the author.
Is it truly so?
Was the talent of that young man not sufficient to overwhelm him?
While it felt extraordinary, was it not genuinely exceptional?
So in the end, did he face a wall and become frustrated?
Like many people, did that young man also encounter such a wall, paying for it with his life?
Ashtosh Singh observes Park Jinseong as if studying him.
What lies within those sunken eyes?
The experiences and wisdom he has accumulated throughout his life whisper that Ashtosh Singh has triumphed.
In stark contrast to the blazing flames, his cold rationality declares that Park Jinseong has no chance for a reversal in the current situation.
Yet even so, Ashtosh Singh did not make hasty judgments.
He continued to watch, observe, and question.
Is it truly so?
Is there really no possibility of the author defeating me?
Was the ominous feeling I sensed from that shaman merely an unwarranted apprehension?
If the instincts of the old are indeed that trustworthy, how have I been led to such a future?
He doubts and doubts again.
Until the skewer Park Jinseong is holding completely evaporates, and the moment his body is engulfed in flames.
Up until the moment of confirming the fact that ‘he accepted the flames into his body without any means of defense,’ Ashtosh Singh continues to doubt.
Only then does he finally close his eyes, feeling certain of his victory, as if mourning the young shaman.
The young shaman, who did not know how to respect others, was full of vigor and had no compassion in his hands.
And the young witch who owed a debt that would be insufficient to repay in a lifetime, and had always strived to return the favor…
What had he said when he brought that young witch here?
What had he told that young witch about himself?
“Many people associate destruction when they think of flames.”
“But the land turned to ashes becomes fertile and sprouts anew, and in places where obstacles are removed, new foundations are created, which is also the way of things.”
“Fire possesses both the capacity for destruction and creation, and we call that resurrection.”
The purposes of Ashtosh Singh and Anastasia partially aligned.
Despite differences in means and preferences, they could clearly move towards that purpose together.
If Ashtosh Singh truly intended to kill Park Jinseong, how could he possibly walk alongside Anastasia?
Connections are something precious, and they become even more so as one ages.
Though one knows that connections can appear and disappear, and that a connection may be useful but also become useless, it remains a concept of clear significance—something precious.
Thus, how could Ashtosh Singh, as one who has aged, have the intent to deceive the little being whose feelings toward that young shaman were unknown?
“You shall not die, young shaman.”
Ashtosh Singh called forth Park Jinseong here.
He did not attack the Republic of Korea through any means, nor did he strike Park Jinseong’s dwelling with missiles from his connections, nor did he hire all manner of assassins to attack Park Jinseong. Rather, he gathered those who followed his intent and made sacrifices, deliberately calling Park Jinseong here.
If he truly sought to kill Park Jinseong, why employ such roundabout methods?
Ashtosh Singh had no desire to kill Park Jinseong.
This desire stemmed partly from the subconscious belief that Park Jinseong would aid in achieving his goals, that Park Jinseong’s spirit held value, and that he was associated with the witch named Anastasia, with whom he had a connection…
And most importantly—
He perhaps thought that there was no need to kill him.
There was no reason to kill, it was difficult to do so, and problems would arise afterward.
Thus, not killing him but keeping him alive seemed the better option, so Ashtosh Singh summoned Park Jinseong into this collective unconscious.
Ah…
So many variables abounded, and it was a more arduous task than he expected.
Yet despite that, he succeeded…
Now, the consciousness of that young man shall ignite.
Up to the minimum allowed by the collective unconscious, to the minimal conditions necessary to be recognized as human, Park Jinseong’s consciousness will ignite.
In that process, much shall be forgotten.
Knowledge, wisdom, memory, emotion…
Most of the elements that constituted the human known as Park Jinseong will vanish, and the author shall live on with only the minimum conditions that could be termed ‘human.’ Perhaps he will be closer to a beast than a person, and it will be almost impossible for him to survive without someone’s help.
But that’s alright.
For the young witch, who had walked alongside him, exists.
The young witch named Spring wished to aid Park Jinseong.
She longed for the opportunity to repay the kindness she had received, longing for that chance.
And her wish came true.
Having burnt away most of his mind, Park Jinseong will struggle to maintain his daily life now, making it nearly impossible without Anastasia’s help. Thus, from this moment on, Anastasia’s wish will be as good as fulfilled.
He will be able to repay the favor splendidly.
Among imaginary creatures exists one called the “Biikyeonri,” a bird with only one eye and one wing, needing the male and female to cooperate to fly.
The little witch will now live like a Biikyeonri.
She will slowly repay the debt that would take a lifetime to repay, and her once ambiguous feelings will also become clear, ultimately allowing them to rely on one another for survival.
And with their happiness, Ashtosh Singh will gain a great benefit by eliminating the person who had interfered with him.
This is a conclusion where everyone can be happy.
This is an ending that satisfies both Ashtosh Singh and Anastasia.
To this end, Ashtosh Singh worked hard.
And at last, he succeeded—
He thought this as he closed his eyes.
And as he imagined what he would say to Anastasia, who would face the almost brainless Park Jinseong, he began to change the direction of the flames.
To remove that foreign entity that entered the collective unconscious—
Clearly sent to curse and obstruct him.
Swosh!
The flames reignite.
The belly of the fire serpent that whispered malevolent wisdom to Park Jinseong swells, and limbs sprout.
Massive wings resembling those of a bat rise from its back, and its eyes, filled with greed, gaze upon the trees.
“Fangs full of poison and wings. Eyes brimming with greed. A swollen belly that feels hunger no matter how much it eats. The poison dragon has descended upon the trees to end their life. Even if the tree withers, whether it be cut and fall to the ground or its body laid bare, that greed shall not dry until the moment of death.”
The hands upon that tree shall show no mercy.
Not just to the extent of turning into simpletons; rather, it will burn everything to ashes.
The tree will either lose its human qualifications and scatter into pieces within the collective unconscious or burn in flames, disappearing without a trace—
It shall be one or the other.
Ashtosh Singh sent the dragon, entwined in God’s flame, toward the tree.
* * *
Within the mind exists a space of calm, devoid of grand resonances or loud sounds, which we call Samādhi.
Within that tranquil void, Park Jinseong speaks.
“No matter how one tries to purify pure white, it remains pure white without a speck of dust.”
“No matter how one completes purity, it remains pure for there is no mixture.”
“What does it matter if nature is delineated?”
“No matter how one seeks to purify, how could one purify what is already clean?”
His will inscribes itself as lines in the void, accepting the flames that seek to consume him as they are.
The sacred intent to purify what is wrong cannot cleanse Park Jinseong.
Due to consciousness and self-realization, Park Jinseong has already been sufficiently purified.
The properties and heat of the flames cannot burn Park Jinseong.
To Park Jinseong, adorned with the symbols of hell’s existence, the flames are a part of daily life.
He suffers no harm from the flames of Ashtosh Singh.
The firewood and forge he used stabilized Ashtosh Singh’s flames as a single property.
Hahaha—
Park Jinseong laughed.
Now, he stood within the inner sanctum of the divine flames.
Inside the disguise of the flames that had swallowed him whole.
“I desired to become one with God, so I shall have that wish granted.”