Chapter 2: The Void

It was a soft bed.
Yeon was deeply asleep, rubbing his cheek against a luxurious blanket.
It was so comfortable that he wished he would never wake up from this sleep.
At that very moment.

Flash.

His eyes snapped open.
Soon, his surroundings came into view.
It was a desolate room, without need to look further.

Although spacious, there was no furniture except for the bed he was lying on, so it didn’t look like a place where someone lived.
No, at least ‘now’ it didn’t look like a place where someone lived.
For whatever reason, it seemed all the furniture had been recently moved outside.

‘This is a place I’ve never seen before…’

He flinched.

‘Why am I here?’

Yeon wondered and got up.
His bewilderment at the unfamiliar situation lasted only a moment, then memories of past events gradually began to resurface in Yeon’s mind.

Being framed while searching for the Musang Divine Arts.
The duel with Namgung Jehyun, where he sustained a fatal injury.
And finally, his self-detonation while embracing Namgung Gi.

‘Wasn’t I dead?’

Blink.

Yeon stupidly blinked his eyes, then first felt his own body.

‘I’m perfectly fine, nothing broken or burst?’

But questions arose before relief.

‘How? It was an injury that would be difficult to recover from.’

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

“…”

His body was strangely small.
His feet and hands were also small.
It felt as if his bone structure itself had become thinner.

“…What is this? Hmm, ahem!”

Moreover, his voice seemed to be ruined, hoarse like a boy going through puberty.
Didn’t it sound strangely youthful for a voice hoarse from a violent fight?

‘What on earth is going on?’

Yeon habitually tried to inject internal energy throughout his body to check his condition, when he suddenly realized that he no longer had any internal energy.

‘Ah, d*mn it.’

He had even detonated his innate energy to die with Namgung Gi.

“…”

But that made it even more puzzling.
He should have died after expending his innate energy.
For what reason had he woken up in this strange place in such an inexplicable state?

Muttering.

Noisy sounds could be heard from outside.

‘I should go out and see.’

Bang!

When he opened the door, an absurd sight met his eyes.

“Half price sale!”

“Oh, how much is this?”

What was this flea market?

He wondered where all the furniture in the house had gone; it had all been put out for sale here.
Though not well maintained, each item was quite valuable.

“Can’t you sell this item for a quarter of the price?”

People were haggling furiously to buy things.

“Tsk.”

He didn’t know what was happening, but it seemed this house was ruined.
Looking closely, it would be fortunate if they could survive another day or two by selling these items.
It was none of his business.
Yeon planned to find the owner of the house with a light heart and look around a bit more.
He had many questions for the owner, such as why he was brought here and what was going on.

“Hm?”

That was, until he saw the mirror in front of him.
A large mirror, put out for sale like the other items.
Shouldn’t his own reflection be visible?
But it wasn’t.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Startled, Yeon stumbled backward, tripped, and fell.

‘Did I see something wrong?’

Yeon, still on the ground, turned his head toward the mirror.
But an unfamiliar face was still reflected in the mirror.
And it was making a stupid expression.

It was the face of a scrawny, sickly boy he had never seen before.
He looked about 15 years old.

“What in the f*cking… “

His heart pounded with shock, and his stomach churned.
He bit his tongue to regain his senses in this unbelievable situation.
At the same time, the questions that had arisen in the room were answered.
The unbelievable recovery and his small stature.
Even the unfamiliar voice.

…It wouldn’t be strange if he had become another person.

“Ha!”

Realizing he was trying to comprehend such an absurd situation, a hollow laugh escaped him.

“…”

Yeon dusted himself off, stood up, and looked at the mirror again.
This time, he made an effort to remain calm.
First, his bright light brown hair caught his eye.
His eye color was the same.

‘…What is this?’

Next, his attention was drawn to his large, gentle, dog-like eyes and his pale complexion.
Overall, his features were delicate and small.
Although still young, his appearance was more suited to being called beautiful than handsome.

“Why do I look so unlucky…?”

Yeon summarized his appearance in one sentence.
He wondered if it was someone he might know, but nothing came to mind.

‘Who could it be?’

While he was trying to calm his chaotic mind.

Tap. Tap.

Someone spotted Yeon and was running towards him.
Yeon raised his head at the unusual presence.
His eyes met those of a young man with a kind-looking face.
His expression was filled with worry.

‘He seems to be coming towards me?’

The moment Yeon thought that, the other person spoke.

“Clan Head?”

Clan Head?
It was a title he was used to hearing, but never one he had been called himself.
Yeon felt bewildered.
At that moment, a splitting headache came over Yeon.

“?!”

Suddenly, the memories of the original body flooded into Yeon’s mind.

…A once prosperous but suddenly ruined family.
A father who took his own life out of guilt for disappointing his ancestors.
When there was no sign of the family rising again, the elders and seniors took their share and fled.
His mother, without even a moment to grieve, fell ill and passed away while trying to lead the family alone.
All that remained was a young boy, lacking the qualities of a Clan Head.
And only three retainers were left.

The boy was already born weak.

With the immense responsibility and pressure thrust upon him overnight, he grew scrawny and often collapsed.
Even with effort, it seemed unlikely the boy could revive this family, making the situation even more dire.
He only wished to escape this situation.
So, the boy earnestly prayed to the heavens.
Please, please…
Send someone to lead the ‘Moyong Clan’ in ‘his’ stead.

‘Wait, the Moyong Clan?’

An overwhelming amount of memories, too much to handle, flooded his mind in an instant.

“Keuk.”

Yeon’s face twisted in pain, and his body swayed as if about to collapse.

“C-Clan Head! Are you alright?!”

Realizing the Clan Head’s condition was unusual, a servant rushed to support Yeon.
Yeon was in pain, but the sheer absurdity of the situation made it difficult to collect his thoughts.
These emotions and memories, flooding in as if they were his own, proved that ‘he’ was now ‘someone else’.
Even in his confused state, Yeon tried to look around.
The Moyong Clan.
Wasn’t it once a prestigious clan representing the Central Plains, but one whose fortunes had rapidly declined?

‘No matter what, is the family in this much of a mess?!’

And most importantly.
If this was the Moyong Clan…

‘Am I the Moyong Clan Head?’

No, why?!

‘Why of all places, the Moyong Clan?!’

…The truth was the kind that Yeon found hard to accept.
Yeon’s eyelids kept closing, and his vision went black.
His overloaded brain pleaded for rest.

‘Ah… no! Just a little more!’

With a desperate hope, Yeon sifted through the pouring memories and then screamed internally.
And finally.

Thud.

His stiffly held head dropped, falling onto the servant’s shoulder.
Yeon had lost consciousness.

One shijin later.

Yeon, with a haggard face, was sipping the tea a servant had brought him.

Slurp.

“…”

He had finally regained consciousness, but he was still just as hazy.
Looking down at the chipped teacup, like a house with nothing intact, a sense of absurdity still welled up, but he put that aside for now.

Sigh.

He wanted to believe it was a dream.
But the situation he was experiencing felt painfully real.
Yeon sorted out the situation.

‘Hard to believe, but I’ve come back to life in this body.’

How could that be possible?
Yeon found it hard to be certain, but one thing came to mind.
The golden characters that flashed before his eyes the moment he thought he died.
They were the cultivation techniques of the Musang Divine Arts.

‘Did this happen to me because of the Musang Divine Arts?’

Or had Moyong Yeon’s wish truly come true?

‘Even so, why of all people…’

His head ached.
It wasn’t something to be simply happy about, this life given back to him.
From the fragmented memories, Yeon could now tell where this was and who ‘he’ was.

Moyong Yeon.
A very sickly young Clan Head.
He had a timid and dependent personality and wanted to escape the current situation.

‘Coincidentally, even the name is the same.’

But it wasn’t something to make a fuss about.
It wasn’t an unusual name.
Rather, the situation was bitter.
Moyong Yeon’s plight, having lost his parents early, brought back painful old memories for Yeon.
D*mn it, it’s such a mess.
If he was going to live again, why couldn’t he have been a guy living happily in a good family?
A young Clan Head of a ruined house, of all things.

“Clan Head? Are you alright?”

When Yeon remained silent, the servant spoke.
His tone was filled with concern.
Yeon’s gaze naturally turned to him.
He had a sturdy, good physique, but his face had a boyish charm that made him seem cute, a youthful man.
The servant, whose appearance somehow kept reminding Yeon of a gentle, dog-loving person, was named Il-Woo.
He was one of the three remaining members of the ruined Moyong Clan, serving the frail Moyong Yeon and acting as his companion.

‘This guy, he was the one Moyong Yeon relied on the most?’

He was as kind and easygoing as he looked.
On the other hand, the other two subordinates, though in a master-servant relationship, had low loyalty to the Clan Head.
They remained in the family, but it was unclear if it was out of loyalty to Moyong Yeon.

“Ask me a few things.”

“Yes!”

Il-Woo brightened when Yeon spoke to him for the first time after waking up.
But his joy was short-lived.

“This is the Moyong Clan, right?”

“…”

At the absurd question, Il-Woo’s complexion instantly darkened.
Il-Woo thought, ‘He’s finally lost his mind!’, but Yeon paid no attention to Il-Woo’s reaction.

“Could you answer me?”

“Yes, yes… Since young master is the Moyong Clan Head… this is naturally the Moyong Clan.”

Yeon frowned.
It meant that the memories that had poured into his head, making it feel like it would burst, were not false.
Then it was time to ask what he truly wanted to know.

“Do you know Blood-Hand Sword Ghost?”

“Huh? Blood-Hand Sword Ghost??”

He flinched in surprise, reacting as if Yeon had asked something he shouldn’t.

“H-How could I forget that b*stard! We ended up like this because of that monster…”

What was he talking about?
That he had caused the Moyong Clan to become like this?
He quickly searched Moyong Yeon’s memories, but they were incomplete, so there was no clear information.

…Was it because of that incident?

An forgotten event came to mind, and a momentary sense of debt began to surface, but only for a moment.

“I still feel uneasy, even after several years!”

“Several years?”

“Yes. It’s been ten years this year. Since the Blood-Hand Sword Ghost vanished from the battlefield…”

“…”

Had he misheard?
Ten years? Ten years had passed?
Somehow, Yeon’s and Moyong Yeon’s memories subtly contradicted each other.
Yeon was astonished.

“It’s been ten years since the Blood-Hand Sword Ghost killed Namgung Gi and vanished…?”

He mumbled to himself.
His head was complicated by the bewildering situation.
But that wasn’t the only absurd thing.
Because Il-Woo, who heard Yeon’s mumble, answered with puzzlement.

“Clan Head, it seems you’re mistaken about something…”

“?”

“Although he suffered a fatal injury from that fellow, I believe he recovered well…”

“What? Who?”

“N-Namgung Gi.”

You f*cking son of a bich…

What in the hell was this nonsense?

“Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in the position of Namgung Clan Head right now…?”

Yeon’s eyes instantly squeezed shut, his head reeling from a shocking blow, as if someone had just smacked him from behind.