Despite claiming to be practical, Ranista, who ruthlessly chopped off my fingers, was a lunatic. And Wooshas, who jokingly attached my middle finger to a place other than the ‘injured area,’ was wicked. As a result of recovery, I had a bizarre experience of having middle fingers attached to six different parts of my body.
Watching my fingers, which had mainly been used for mischief until now, attach to my belly button and then my forehead, I felt empathy for them for the first time. They seemed to be saying, ‘Stop killing us….’
“Why are you doing this?”
When I asked my sister, she replied with a sly smile.
Wooshas’ smile was reminiscent of a horror movie poster.
“You seem to readily accept the power of blessings. It’s strange. But there might be side effects at this point.”
“Do blessings discriminate? And what side effects?”
“Miracles are capricious. Even if you hope for recovery, your fingers might rot away instead.”
“Haha, you’re kidding, right?”
Anyway, the severed fingers reattached cleanly without any scars.
It wasn’t until I left Wooshas’s office and returned to my room that I could breathe a sigh of relief. Damn, was that really a joke? Maybe if I had played with my fingers just one more time, I might have lost my index finger forever.
“Rotting….”
Suddenly, I remembered Wooshas’s terrifying face. Miracles are indeed capricious. Was her body, akin to a courier of miracles, somehow related to the power she possessed? Believing in miraculous power might have been a big mistake.
***
If we were to find one of the few, almost singular common traits among twins, it would be surprisingly ‘filial piety.’ I encountered Melissa, who had just come out of the recovery room, instead of going to my mother’s place for lessons. I used to see the twins occasionally when I went to see my mother. Strangely, they seemed to know the sentiment of filial piety from their past lives as villains.
“Is mom okay?”
Melissa looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“Do you want to know?”
“Yeah?”
“Come to the garden when it’s over.”
Her expression was different from usual. Melissa had a sophisticated taste. She approached the journey to the underworld to kill the great demon with the excitement of going on a picnic. I had never seen Melissa with such a serious expression before. What’s going on? Has the Great Demon Daimonion finally appeared?
“Mom.”
Mom was still not in good shape. Her pale skin, eyes devoid of vitality as if losing firearms, and a precarious physical condition where she would collapse soon if not in the recovery room where the aura of healing power was prevalent. I forced a smile and sat beside her.
“What did Melissa say?”
“She said you’re cute. She said she’ll pick some flowers for you.”
“Is picking flowers really that serious?”
“You’ll understand when you see it.”
Mom couldn’t see Spirits, but Spirits liked her.
Dalbi jumped onto my knees. Mom smiled gently.
“So gentle and warm. Cantavia.”
Feeling Dalbi’s warmth, Mom reached out her trembling hand. Unable to see Dalbi, she stroked the air, and Dalbi got up and rubbed her head against her. Mom, startled, let out a short scream.
“Oh, my goodness.”
Then, she smiled happily and petted Dalbi.
“Pretty… a pretty deer.”
“Huh? Can you see her?”
“Now I can see her. It’s strange. I haven’t been able to see her for decades, but this cute little thing is visible to my eyes.”
There’s no way my mother would suddenly develop the talent of being a Spirit User. I looked at Dalbi. Dalbi looked at me, wagged her tail, and let out a short cry. She’s truly extraordinary. Except for Dalbi, who can reveal her appearance, there’s no other Spirits who can do that. She’s so cool.
***
“Why do I know that I ‘cherish her’?”
Melissa was waiting at the entrance to the garden.
Before I could ask what was going on, she suddenly said that.
I realized that Melissa wasn’t just deeply filial.
“For giving birth to us?”
“It’s about repaying a favor.”
Melissa said matter-of-factly.
“She probably won’t live for a few more months.”
Damn, if someone else had said that, I would’ve called it nonsense.
“If we borrow Wooshas’s power….”
“It’s what Wooshas said. It’s not a curable disease.”
“Why?”
“Her vitality is depleted. Giving water to a flower with rotten roots only makes the withered leaves wilt more.”
Melissa continued with a stern expression. The ‘favor’ she mentioned wasn’t just a natural duty between parents and children. Mom’s health deteriorated after giving birth to us. According to Melissa, it’s not just about giving birth to a child.
“Her life’s roots have rotted because of us.”
It wasn’t just a memory of past lives. I opened the heaven’s door, Ranista mastered martial arts as if she were a master, and Melissa and Wooshas inherited the power of their past lives. From birth, we were different from other ordinary people. We weren’t just born with exceptional talent. Literally, we were born ‘differently.’
“If it weren’t for them, the ones who would give birth to us wouldn’t exist in this world.”
They say pregnancy would have been agonizing. It would have been an unimaginable pain that even maternal love couldn’t suppress. But Mom gave birth to us. She didn’t give up. Giving birth to the four of us safely was miraculous. And Dad’s help was significant too. If he hadn’t breathed Spirits’s power into her, we wouldn’t have seen the light of this world. Mom’s continued survival was also thanks to the healing power of the recovery room created by Dad.”
“The person whose life is at its end feels a greater pain than being afflicted by illness.”
“Even now, you feel the pain?”
“Until now, I’ve been supported by the strength of the sun and the waves. But now, I’ve reached my limit. Until life runs out, she must endure days of terrible suffering and await death.”
“…There is a way.”
Mom had said Melissa was going to pick flowers. Melissa never says anything useless to me or Mom, nor does she say she’s going to pick flowers. As expected, Melissa nodded her head in response.
“They say there’s something interesting in the Great Gorge. The ‘Wind Flower’ that the King Kunkan gave to his dying queen long ago. They say even if you break its stem, it won’t wither, just looking at it brings happiness, and holding it can alleviate pain. It’s considered a legend, but you won’t know until you see it for yourself.”
“You’re thinking of finding it.”
The Great Gorge.
I had been there once before, when the twins were preparing birthday presents.
It’s insane. A forbidden place where even the Ain dare not approach, with vast cliffs spewing flames and thunder, as deep as the depth of the unknown, not even accessible to master-level warriors like it’s just next door. Twins might go in and out like it’s their next-door neighbor, but even a master wouldn’t venture in alone.
“I won’t insist that you come with me.”
“Is there really a Wind Flower?”
“Could you get me one?”
“No, let’s go together.”
A flower for someone.
It’s meaningless unless you get it yourself.
I followed Melissa to the cabin. Before opening the wooden door, I already knew.
Beyond that door was not a cabin but the nest of monsters, the Great Gorge. It feels like passing through Melissa’s ‘any door’ for the first time without hesitation.
* * *
I glanced down at the edge of the cliff in the Great Gorge. How did this deep gorge come to be? It was too deep for erosion, and there was not enough evidence for tectonic shifts. Did the continent split in half? No, it seemed as if someone had dug the gorge. It seemed as if a giant, wielding a shovel as big as a mountain, had dug it over thousands of times. It’s awe-inspiring, yet alien. It seems more like something created by a ‘God’ than nature.
I strained my eyes to see the end of the Great Gorge, but all I saw from the darkness below were the flying monsters. A place that the Celestial Map cannot measure the depth of is deeper than the Abyss.
“The Ain call the Great Gorge the trace.”
While I was marveling, Melissa nudged me gently with a smirk. It was a cruel act committed casually. Fortunately, due to my diligent martial arts training, I maintained my balance without panicking.
“It’s said to be a trace of the battle between the Creator God of Azhibita and the common evil spirits.”
Melissa laughed lightly, as if finding my struggling amusing.
“Haha, absurd. Even if they’re gods, they’re just beings with intellect, how could they do such a thing? Hehe.”
“Sister.”
I asked seriously.
“If you were in the middle of the Great Gorge, will you die too?”
Tails cannot hide emotions. For a moment, I witnessed Melissa’s tail reflexively shivering.
What’s wrong? Scared? Really? Unlike her tail, Melissa’s voice and expression remained composed.
“Your poor imagination is sometimes enviable.”
Melissa’s tail didn’t easily straighten.
“Falling isn’t frightening. But… ugh, those with wings.”
In the Great Gorge, only ‘birds’ have wings.
It was unexpected. Melissa also has something she’s afraid of.
It was truly surprising that Melissa, who fears the ‘monsters’ down there, was afraid.
Near the Gorge Valley, I squinted my eyes and walked for a while in search of the legendary flower. Melissa, unlike me, could fly through the sky and found the flower using a much easier method. Damn magic.
Yet, after hours of searching, neither Melissa nor I could find the “Wind Flower.” We only knew its appearance from the old drawing Melissa gave me, and there was no other information about its characteristics.
It was like searching in the middle of nowhere. Just the flowers I’d seen so far seemed to number in the thousands. It would be easier to find a needle in a haystack. Well, if it were “my eye,” that would be too easy.
“I should go.”
“Huh?”
Lunchtime had passed, and the sun was setting.
“It’s a waste of time.”
“What?”
“Who knows if it was even a legend. I can’t waste my precious time on such uncertainty.”
“But what about Mom…!”
“Yeah, that’s why you shouldn’t give up. Little brother!”
Sometimes I forget. Melissa is quite the formidable woman herself.
Maybe she intended to turn me into a searcher from the beginning. She cleverly threw the bait while pretending not to.
“I’ll come back in three hours, so keep searching diligently until then.”
“Are you telling me to stay alone in this creepy place with all these weird noises, sis?”
“You, changed? Think of this as training too.”
“Pulling my tail…”
“What?”
“See you in three hours.”
Melissa left.
…
Man, he’s a picky one.
The darkness fell quickly. There wasn’t a speck of light; I couldn’t even see my own hands. But thankfully, Dalbi, my portable charger and flashlight, also had night vision capabilities, so it wasn’t a big problem.
Dalbi’s behavior has become passive since we arrived at the Valley.
She seemed discontent about something, but I couldn’t fathom her thoughts.
Search, search!
As night fell, it became more annoying. I spoke to Dalbi to soothe her.
“Why.”
Search, search!
“Let’s just find the flower and go. We’ll find it soon.”
Search, search!
“For God’s sake, why don’t you try finding it yourself.”
Then it happened.
Dalbi jumped and fell off the cliff below the Valley.
My heart almost stopped, but I quickly reminded myself of Dalbi’s ability to fly and shook off the shocked feeling.
I stretched my head out to look below the cliff.
“What the… damn it.”
I took out the old drawing Melissa gave me from my pocket. It was difficult to discern because it was drawn on animal skin, but the Wind Flower’s distinct features made it easy to distinguish. Three different-colored petals, each with unique shapes, long stems, and a shape resembling a mugunghwa flower (Korea’s National Flower).
Dalbi was dangling from the cliff, indicating the direction of the Wind Flower.
They say they use specially raised pigs to find expensive truffles.
“Well done.”
Should’ve done this sooner.
I hardened my resolve and calmed my tense body.
“Safety first, safety first.”
And slowly descended the cliff. I’m well-trained. Climbing isn’t too difficult. There are plenty of places to put my feet. The problem is, if I fall, death is certain. I descended the cliff carefully, keeping my nerves on edge. The flower bloomed alone, about 30 meters below. No wonder it’s considered a legendary flower. Who could come all the way to the Valley and confirm a flower 30 meters below? The one who first discovered that flower must have been truly remarkable.
Finally, I safely reached where the Wind Flower had bloomed.
It was indeed an extraordinary flower. Despite the darkness, the petals themselves seemed to radiate faint light, boasting three colors. I carefully plucked the flower. As soon as I touched the stem, a strange sensation enveloped my body. With this, I could alleviate my mother’s suffering.
I held it dearly, ready to ascend.
Then the wind blew.
A very strong wind.
The wind kept blowing.
There!
Something “winged” appeared above my head.
I felt like I understood Melissa’s heart 100%.
“Wyvern.”
A dragon that preys on cattle, wyvern.
A monster said to send knights from the lord’s army when appearing in a village appeared above my head.
No matter how I thought about it, the timing was strange. Whether the wind was a curse of the flower or the wyvern was a guardian of the Wind Flower, it was a damn situation.
Certainly, the wyvern was hostile to me. Although its favorite prey is cows, a human hanging on a cliff would be quite an attractive prey.
I calmly raised my hand to my lamelstar and waited for the right moment.
The difference between me and the wyvern is wings.
Opportunity comes once.
If missed, the hardship will be multiplied.
As the wyvern began its attack, spreading its wings and preparing to dive like when it catches cattle,
I slowly transformed my lamelstar, aiming for an opportunity.
