After the great war was over, Chi-Woo had requested to meet up with Byeok. Having listened to everything Chi-Woo told her, she said, “Accepting fate is to obey the natural order and role of the universe. Rejecting fate?is the reverse, which is to go against the natural order.”

Chi-Woo listened to Byeok carefully and blinked fast.

“But in the end, that’s all from the perspective of a human. Think about the heavens that had set up that order. There can only be light with darkness. Without it, there will only be brighter and dimmer lights.”

Chi-Woo tilted his head right and then left in confusion.

“That is the basic principle of yin and yang.” Uncaring of how Chi-Woo was keeping up with her speech, Byeok continued calmly. “There can only be subordination when there’s domination and domination when there’s subordination. Thus, accepting and rejecting fate are two sides of the same coin, and the two are the same.”

“…Master,” Chi-Woo couldn’t bear it any longer and interjected, “Your dull disciple is too obtuse to follow what you are saying. Thus, I plead with you to share your teachings with me.”

“Didn’t I just share my teachings with you?”

“I beg you to explain things in simpler terms, Master. Right now, it sounds like you are trying to explain the rate at which entropy accelerates using probability theory.”

“…”

Byeok looked at Chi-Woo like he was pathetic and smacked her lips. “I suppose you can’t really call it teaching. There’s nothing beyond what you personally felt after hearing my words.” Byeok was one of the few figures who knew of the secrets intertwined with Chi-Woo’s birth. Thus, she knew this subject wasn’t something she should brashly talk about. “But if I must explain it in a way that someone as thick-headed as you can understand…” Byeok tapped her lips and continued, “You were walking toward one goal until now. But then, you realized that you’ve been walking on the opposite path the entire time.” This was the act of going in reverse.

“You realized this only recently and stopped walking. Then, you even turned around and changed directions.” This was the act of going on the right path.

“What are you going to do from now on?”

“Um…Shouldn’t I go to the path that I should’ve taken at the beginning?”

“You are going to chase after fate…?” Byeok said and shook her head. “That means you are still human.”

“What?”

“That’s what your heart feels, but not your body. This also could be called rejecting fate of sorts.” This didn’t sound good to Chi-Woo. But it didn’t seem like Byeok was scolding him either. He didn’t know what it was exactly, but it sounded like Byeok was telling him to make the decision now.

“Wherever each stream flows to, in the end, it ends up in the ocean.”

Chi-Woo still looked confused, and Byeok took her pipe from her mouth and hit the ground frustratedly. “Think about it. When did a change occur in your body and what did you feel then?”

Chi-Woo flinched and shrunk back. Tsk, tsk. Byeok clicked her tongue and let out a deep sigh. “Anyways, I can understand a bit better now why La Bella stuck the Core of Balance into your heart as soon as she saw you.”

Hearing this, Chi-Woo placed his left hand on his chest unconsciously.

“If things have been prepared since then…perhaps…you’ll surpass the limits of your vessel and make a new one.”

Vessel? What was she talking about now? Chi-Woo heard his master clearly murmur.

“Then perhaps…it’s better to empty it.”

***

In the white space, Future Yoo-Joo looked above her and thought about the conversation she had just had. ‘What? I should believe him one more time?’?Future Yoo-Joo smirked. ‘Is he stupid?’ She didn’t tell him all that to hear those words. She already believed in Chi-Woo. Yet she still told him that this was the last attempt because it would be the last one not only for him, but also for her.

Though she had called countless Chi-Woos and Yoo-Joos into this space, it didn’t make an impact on any of their individual worlds. Furthermore, though these countless numbers of people went into berserk mode many times, it didn’t inflict even the slightest damage on them. It didn’t make any sense unless Future Yoo-Joo had overturned the laws that had been established since the beginning of the universe; she had done just that and accomplished the unbelievable.

To be exact, she managed all the impact herself and was still doing that. Though she had only gone through a half-awakening, the power she had was already too great and grand that most couldn’t attempt to fathom them, and it was enough to flip the universe’s laws. Nevertheless, it wasn’t complete. It could be called a half-awakening, but at the end of the day, it was still a failed awakening. Yes, Future Chi-Woo and Future Yoo-Joo were all failures if they really thought about it; they both failed to perfectly control this mysterious power in the end. Thus, abusing such an unstable power would result in—

Crack!?A crack formed on Future Yoo-Joo’s cheek. It was only a small fracture in the beginning, but it splintered into countless cracks and spread out from the center.

“…Huh?” Future Yoo-Joo gasped. She knew this would happen, but it was happening much faster than she expected, which was something she had never experienced before. Future Yoo-Joo hastily looked up toward the ravaging light. Her eyes widened. “The light…”

It wasn’t in its berserk state. It was intense and rough like before, but only as uncontrollable as a young child’s whining. The light that Chi-Woo embraced was more stable than at any other time. What in the world was happening? Future Yoo-Joo looked around, flustered, and something came into her vision. It was the tree of light that she had created on the first day. She saw it then.

The tree of light hadn’t moved in the slightest until now, but it began to go through a change. It was a very small change. Then, one of its countless branches began to tilt slightly.

“…!” Future Yoo-Joo stared at it in shock and blinked madly. Then, she clenched her eyes shut and opened them to stare at the tree again. She was sure of it. The branch had changed directions. Not long afterward, a look of understanding and resignation appeared on Future Yoo-Joo’s face. Though it was a very small change, it was enough.

‘…It’s true.’?Future Yoo-Joo looked up at the light again. ‘It’s real this time.’ She was curious about what was happening inside the light and wanted to hear the details personally when it was all over. Though she felt regretful that she couldn’t do that, it was fine. It was enough that she had witnessed the change just now. Of course, no one could tell what the changed future would entail. It could be better than the predestined future or worse. In other words, it was all up to Chi-Woo from now on. But in the end, he really succeeded in clutching his own destiny in his hands.

‘As I thought.’ She hadn’t seen wrong. This man was truly amazing.?‘Still…it’s a bit regretful.’?Future Yoo-Joo swallowed back her feelings of regret and quietly closed her eyes. Her whole body cracked and split like a field in a drought. There was a bright smile tugging her lips; for the first time since forever, it felt like she would have a good dream.

***

Like how sudden news often came in the night, a great commotion arose in the small hours at Seven Stars. Everyone was sleeping peacefully when they suddenly felt a strange surge of energy. El Lache Teresa, who had drunk and eaten her full today at the celebration for her promotion, got up while clutching her head. When she felt the enormous wave of energy from the window, she kicked the door open and rushed outside. The closer she got to the source of the energy, the more she leaned forward.

‘Isn’t this place…?’?It was where the Seven Stars leader resided. She had been told that the Seven Stars leader was dealing with some personal business, so outsiders shouldn’t enter the building recklessly. She passed over the matter, thinking he was abstaining from all contact to wholly devote himself to training, yet today, all the Seven Stars members were gathered in front of his door.

“What happened?” Teresa asked as soon as she arrived at the scene, but no one could answer. They all seemed to be wondering the same thing.

“It seems…we will have to enter the door to find out.” Evelyn judged that they needed to go in to check before it was too late, and she stepped forward. Eval didn’t say anything. They had been told to wait, but things could’ve gone wrong. If that was the case, they needed to go save their leader as fast as possible and take the proper precautions. Evelyn took Eval’s silence as approval and clutched onto the door lock. Eventually, she opened the door without hesitation, and they all saw what was happening inside. Every single one of them froze in their spots.

***

Chi-Woo was surrounded by light just like before. As if he was floating on the ocean, he let his body get carried by the waves. He stayed still and gave up control over himself. As a result, he was able to experience something that had never happened to him before. The tidal wave of negative emotions that had pushed toward him washed away instantly, while surging power continuously rushed in without stopping. It was an unfamiliar sensation and experience. Usually, Chi-Woo would’ve resisted since the beginning, and the unknown power would’ve run wild the more he tried to push it back.

That had been the case up to this point. But now that Chi-Woo had changed his attitude and mindset to accept everything instead of refusing it, this power also changed. Negative emotions were nothing but the cover this unknown power wrapped itself with whenever it popped out. They weren’t what it was. This power was himself—not him from another world, but Chi-Woo. It was simply and wholly him.

They weren’t two but one from the beginning. They should’ve been born and grown together, but for some unknown reason, they were separated. One had been isolated by outside forces and became unable to come out to the world all this time. At least that was what it thought until a gap suddenly formed, and it rushed out at the chance to get out. Though they became two, it wanted to return to one like how they originally were. But it was rejected.

Not knowing the reason, it persisted. It was angry that it was rejected when it finally managed to get to this point. This was the reason it had pushed harder the more Chi-Woo pushed it away. It was asking Chi-Woo why he was rejecting it when they were one. Chi-Woo only realized this fact now. He didn’t need some great revelation or rise to the peak to figure this out. Along the same line, there was no need for him to exert dominance or be subjugated. He simply needed to acknowledge that they were one and accept it.

Thus, he needed to go through an emptying process. He needed to empty his mind and body so that he could accept this power for itself without any prejudices or resistance. Of course, that wouldn’t be enough. After he acknowledged and accepted this power, he would fill himself up with it. This process was long overdue, but it was fine. Because he was finally taking the first proper step in the right direction after countless meaningless steps. Chi-Woo was no longer afraid of this. After all, no one would be scared of themselves.

A while later, his body filled up with the power limitlessly pouring into him. It filled him up to the brim so that there wasn’t even the tiniest gap. He felt a strong sense of regret then. It was as if the power was telling him, ‘Only this much? I have so much more.’ Chi-Woo made a faint smile.

‘I’m sorry…’?he thought. ‘I think this is my limit right now…I’m too lacking…’ He was addressing himself. ‘Could you…wait a bit longer…?

‘It won’t take long…because I’m not going to stop here…’ Something strange began to happen. “So next time…I will for sure…’

Did Chi-Woo’s sincerity reach the power? The power that had been forcing itself in stopped. It was the first time this had happened ever since Chi-Woo learned of the power’s identity. It seemed to accept the situation as long as Chi-Woo wasn’t denying its existence and roughly pushing it off. Instead, he was simply asking the power to wait a little longer for a complete reunion.

—If that’s the case, of course I will wait! After all, it’s a request coming from ‘me’!

Its answer clearly reached Chi-Woo.

Flaaaaaash!?Chi-Woo’s eyes burst open.