Chapter 175: The Weight of Karma (1)
“O scales of karma. Reveal your form.”
The moment I recited the incantation, the mirror-shaped object—Mirror of Karma—began to transform into the form of a balance scale.
And in the blink of an eye.
Both Jeok Rua and I were suddenly standing atop the enlarged plates of the scale.
It felt as though I myself had become a weight to be measured.
‘A compulsion of fate!’
This must be the mirror’s true power!
Jeok Rua, who stood on the opposite plate, spoke without hiding her awe.
“Amazing. Truly amazing. I can't even begin to imagine how you defeated him.”
Jeok Rua had not been invited into Mirror of Karma’s domain.
It was because of Hwan Yul’s selfishness—his desire to monopolize the mirror’s power without interference from anyone else.
“The Great Grandmaster may be powerful, but she’s a spellcaster at her core. If someone like us, a martial artist, went for her main body, it’s not too strange that this would be the outcome.”
Jeok Rua arbitrarily assessed the process, belittling my victory.
“Are you not going to fight directly? Why go through all this trouble?”
“Trouble? No, this is certainty.”
Jeok Rua spoke with conviction.
“You’re a monster who can create variables in any situation. There’s no need to fight head-on and risk being blindsided.”
What she valued above all was the result.
The process didn’t matter—only the fact that Jin Yeomyung had defeated Hwan Yul was important to her.
Even if her opponent had appeared on the verge of death, Jeok Rua would’ve activated Mirror of Karma just the same.
“I’ll give you one last chance before I activate Mirror of Karma.”
Jeok Rua gave me an ultimatum.
“Hand over the key to Heaven of Sacred Spirits.”
“…So this scale’s original name is Mirror of Karma?”
Back during my days as the Young Master Noble Player, I had once studied mythology for fun.
If my knowledge was correct, then Mirror of Karma's ability was to weigh a person’s “karma.”
Whether that karma remained confined to this life or stretched across past lives as well, I couldn’t be certain...
‘So that’s how it works?’
Surely this scale didn’t simply measure karma and end there.
It must be structured so that the side with the greater karmic weight had to pay the price.
“Fine. Let’s see who’s heavier.”
“…Don’t regret it.”
Grinding her teeth, Jeok Rua immediately formed a hand seal.
With that, Mirror of Karma’s second ability—the Scales of Karma—was activated.
*
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The sound of a clock's hands ticking echoed around us.
In an instant, the space surrounding Jeok Rua and me was dyed in shades of gray.
Time had come to a perfect halt.
A primordial void where no signs of life existed.
It truly felt like I had arrived at the very essence of chaos.
‘……’
Surprisingly, although my body was frozen, my thoughts remained fully active.
Because of that—
‘This is torment.’
The powerlessness of being trapped in time pressed down on me so heavily, I could feel it in my bones.
But.
‘If I can just stimulate my nerves somehow… I might be able to move.’
Even so, the most I could probably do was twitch a fingertip or toe.
I was just about to try moving in this frozen world when—
—Impressive.
A voice, heavy and aged, echoed from somewhere.
‘……!’
—A human capable of resisting within the domain of judgment?
I knew in that moment.
The voice speaking to me wasn’t from an ordinary being—it came from a transcendent existence that defied normal reasoning.
Most likely, “this thing” was the true owner of the object called Mirror of Karma.
—Ah, I see now. A savior who has surpassed calamity. So they couldn’t handle you and just tossed you in here. What rotten personalities they must have.
‘What is that supposed to mean?’
—Was it poison to fight poison? This situation might actually be a blessing in disguise. If they knew that and passed you on, I suppose they deserve some credit.
The voice had no visible form, simply resonating beside my ears.
Was it just my imagination, or did that voice sound like it carried a hint of resentment?
—The heart you hold for someone else—never forget it. As long as you remember that, we…
It sounded as if the speaker had lingering regrets.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Finishing its cryptic words, the voice struck a gavel, returning its focus to its “main duty.”
—Let the judgment begin.
Tshshshsh!
In that instant, countless elongated memory streams began to emerge from both Jeok Rua and me.
Clinging to those streams were unmistakably the “memories” of a single individual.
Blood Sect.
Once a group that soaked the Central Plains in blood and fear, by the time of Jeok Rua’s era, they had all but fallen into ruin.
Their total number of followers barely reached four or five hundred.
Compared to their golden days—when they led over a hundred thousand believers and swept across the northern regions—it was a wretched decline.
Jeok Rua was born during this time of collapse, as a direct blood relative of the Blood Sect’s priest, alongside her twin sister Jeok Hawol.
The Jeok sisters, being twins, were the focus of immense expectations from the sect’s elders.
The elder sister Jeok Rua had a rare talent for martial arts, while the younger sister Jeok Hawol had a gift for spellcraft.
In particular, Jeok Hawol possessed the qualities of a Blood Divine Saintess—a prodigy born once in many generations.
Given that the Blood Sect was rooted in spellcraft, it was natural that the younger sister was more highly regarded.
However, Jeok Rua surprisingly never envied her.
Her innate nature was cheerful and open, and since her interest lay solely in martial arts, she was content.
Rather, Jeok Rua was proud of her younger sister’s rare talent.
When the twins turned seven years old—
The aging high priest of the Blood Sect, so old he could barely move, summoned them both and said:
“You two shall bear a great seed in the future.”
“A great seed?”
Though the old priest could read heavenly secrets, he never revealed anything in full.
Jeok Rua, simple as she was, simply nodded without much thought.
But then—
“Especially you, Hawol…”
The high priest called Jeok Hawol closer and whispered something quietly into her ear.
After listening for a while, my sister nodded silently with a resigned smile.
“If that is fate…”
“…I’m sorry.”
It seemed there was a shared understanding between those spiritually attuned, something only they could grasp. But I had no idea what it was.
All I could sense from their expressions was an indescribable foreboding.
“The role of our sect, which has lasted over a thousand years… is soon to come to an end…”
Back then, I was still a child, trembling with fear that my current life might be shattered.
Yet surprisingly, over a decade of peace continued without interruption.
The only unusual thing was that the adults regularly took my sister away to some unknown place and brought her back.
The high priest’s ominous words faded from my memory after a few years.
And then, more time passed.
The former high priest died, and I ascended to become the new Priestess of the Blood Sect.
And then—
‘That man’ appeared.
“I followed the thread of celestial fate and ended up here… To think it would be the Blood Sect, rumored to have been destroyed. The world truly is full of surprises.”
“Who are you?!”
At that time, I was recognized for my martial prowess and was serving as the captain of the guards stationed at the sect’s entrance.
So when a young man around my age, dressed in flamboyant attire completely unfitting of a traveler, suddenly appeared, I couldn’t hide my confusion.
“Leave at once! This is no place for outsiders!”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then death is your only option!”
I unleashed the secret sword art of the Blood Sect, aiming straight for his vital point.
As the crimson sword qi split into multiple streams, the intruder watched with great interest.
“Oh? The basic structure is very similar to the Blood Stream Demonic Spirit Sword Art of the Demonic Blood Clan. Even after a thousand years, it hasn’t deviated much, I suppose, given it shares the same root?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“But compared to the version refined endlessly by the Demonic Blood Clan, your technique falls significantly short. Well, I guess that’s to be expected.”
He dodged easily while smugly critiquing my swordsmanship. It was infuriating.
I fought desperately to kill him.
“Urgh!”
But the difference in our levels was so vast that I, along with the other guards, was subdued in a single blow.
“The threshold of Master Level… You do have some potential.”
“Y-You bastard…”
“Well, my father—who’s trying to marry me off—is a bastard, but still, your words are a bit harsh.”
He stroked his chin as if deep in thought.
“Hmm, what should I do with these ones…”
I realized in that moment that he was seriously considering a total massacre.
Then—
“That’s far enough.”
From deeper inside the entrance, my sister emerged alone, wearing her ceremonial robes.
“Hawol! Run! He’s not someone we can handle—!”
Pa-pa-pa-pak!
“Tsk tsk, no need to be so noisy.”
In an instant, my major blood points and a few surrounding meridians were sealed, cutting off my voice entirely.
The intruder walked up to Jeok Hawol and gave her a strange look.
“It’s you. You’re the one who drew in my karmic force.”
Jeok Hawol met his gaze without hesitation.
“And you… You must be the ‘giant’ our elder spoke of, the one who would bring the Blood Sect to its final chapter.”
“That, I don’t know. But could I rely on you for a while? You see, I’ve run away from home.”
“…Gladly.”
I couldn’t understand what this so-called “runaway” meant, but that’s how the intruder—Cheon Taejong—first set foot in the Blood Sect.
“The elder said that the Blood Sect’s time had passed, and that it was destined to fade into the annals of history.”
Cheon Taejong muttered, grimacing as he looked over the current state of the sect.
“Well, I suppose it does look pretty poor. Honestly, you lot wouldn’t look out of place hanging around with those ragged folks from Eunru Valley.”
His merciless commentary made a vein twitch on Jeok Hawol’s forehead.
She might not know much about Eunru Valley, but she clearly understood his words were an insult.
“…The elder said that I would be the last born through the Blood Divine Saintess’s lineage to inherit the title by blood.”
“And?”
“Before he passed, he gave us two paths. One was to submit to the state and return to life as a commoner…”
Her eyes locked directly onto Cheon Taejong.
“…Or to align with a demonic sect and continue the bloodline.”
“So you figured out I came from the Heavenly Demon Cult, huh?”
“I’ve heard the Heavenly Demon Cult has done a fine job preserving its purity over a thousand years.”
Cheon Taejong nodded in agreement.
“That’s true. The Heavenly Demon Cult, especially the core clans, aren’t much worse off than the Blood Sect was at its peak.”
“And if we bind ourselves to such a demonic sect, the elder said there’s a chance the spiritual essence of our sect might one day be reborn.”
“Well, he wasn’t wrong.”
Though whether that possibility would bloom in a hundred years—or a thousand—was anyone’s guess.
“So, does the priestess of the Blood Sect now wish to latch onto my cult?”
Despite Cheon Taejong’s mocking tone, Jeok Hawol’s expression didn’t change.
“Whether I want to or not, it’s not something I can decide alone.”
Whatever the case may be—if the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art, founded on blazing flames, represented yang—
Then the spellcraft of the Blood Sect, born from the same root, represented yin.
There were offshoots like the Nine Moons Blade Hall, mere dregs, but…
For the Heavenly Demon Cult, the reuniting of yin and yang held significant meaning.
Before the Heavenly Demon Cult even existed—
There was a time, long ago in ancient history, when an order truly protected the people of the Central Plains.
Though they eventually fell into dark rites and demonic practices, leading to their collapse…
Even a thousand years after their downfall, their remnants still cast a powerful shadow.
“The rebirth of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect…”