That thing wanted Seo Kangrim.

It wanted to swallow him whole, from head to toe, and make him its own.

Seo Kangrim wanted to flee from it.

But instead of retreating, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

‘If I run from here, I won’t be able to find Shin Sooa’s Identification Tag.’

Besides, since the original body would sustain injuries when attacked, the shadow could not kill him.

There was a real chance he could win.

[Special Ability ‘Fortune Stealing’ activates!]

[Stealing all fates within range!]

[Spending Merit Points to increase ability stats!]

[‘Strength’ grows to Level 29!]

[‘Stamina’ grows to Level 30!]

[‘Agility’ grows to Level 30!]

[‘Senses’ grows to Level 30!]

[‘Magic Power’ grows to Level 30!]

He swiftly stole fates from the surrounding corpses, then invested every Merit Point he had.

Feeling power surge through his body, Seo Kangrim activated ‘Fighting Instinct.’

[Special Ability ‘Fighting Instinct’ activates!]

As ‘Fighting Instinct’ activated, he felt his field of vision expand.

Sight, hearing, touch.

Every sensation across his body was maximized, and he could perceive things that had been imperceptible moments before.

And Seo Kangrim realized.

That he had misjudged.

[The hostile target is too powerful!]

[‘Fighting Instinct’ sends a warning!]

His instinct, his entire body, was screaming.

He could not defeat that thing.

It was stronger than any human or Demon Beast he had encountered in this Education Facility.

The moment the shadow took a step, the sounds of numerous Special Abilities activating reached his ears.

[Special Ability ‘Dragon’s Majesty’ activates!]

[Special Ability ‘Gravity’ activates!]

[Special Ability ‘Vacuum Control’ activates!]

[Special Ability ‘Strong-Weak-Weak-Strong’ activates!]

[Special Ability ‘Suppression’……]

-Kwang!

And in that same instant, Seo Kangrim crumpled to the floor without putting up a single resistance.

The surrounding ground was on the verge of collapsing under the pressure.

The crushing force, as if his organs were about to burst, left him unable to even breathe.

‘This……. This is my shadow?’

He had expected his Karma to strengthen the shadow.

But he never imagined the gap would be this severe.

Moreover, the shadow had stolen countless fates throughout this Demon Realm.

While he struggled to break free from the binding, the shadow had already closed in to arm’s reach.

It loomed over Seo Kangrim.

As Seo Kangrim thrashed, the shadow grew larger and larger until it engulfed him completely.

He tried to scream, but no sound came out, as if his mouth had been sealed shut.

Whether he opened or closed his eyes, nothing was visible.

Nothing could be heard.

Soon, complete darkness consumed Seo Kangrim.

* * *

A child who looked about ten years old was cradled in a woman’s arms.

The child’s face was flushed red with fever.

It was clear the fever had left the child’s consciousness fractured.

The gaze drifted through the air, unfocused, and even maintaining breath seemed overwhelming for the child.

A shaman seated before the woman and man spoke.

[“It is spirit sickness. The child can only be cured by receiving Divine Descent.”]

Spirit sickness.

That illness, which descended upon those chosen to serve the divine, could not be cured by medicine.

An illness that could only be cured by receiving Divine Descent.

The child’s parents had come to the shaman only after seeing countless doctors.

Not a single doctor could find the cause of the illness, nor could they improve the symptoms.

And so, as a last resort, they had come to the shaman.

Even though they must have anticipated this to some degree, despair was etched across the woman’s face.

The woman clutched the child and cried out as if pleading.

[“That cannot be. You speak of Divine Descent for this young child!”]

[“The will of the divine cannot be defied. If you continue to refuse Divine Descent, not only the child but those around them will suffer harm.”]

[“I heard a Suppression Ritual could be performed!”]

[“Not with me. The deity seeking to descend upon this child is too powerful. Perhaps my master could manage.”]

The woman and man sat in silence, unable to speak.

The child merely blinked, then looked up at the woman and spoke.

[“Mom, what is Divine Descent……?”]

[“It means becoming someone who conveys the words of the divine.”]

[“Then I’ll receive Divine Descent…….”]

The woman could not answer immediately.

She looked at the child with eyes brimming with tears and spoke.

[“But if you receive Divine Descent, you will have no path in life other than becoming a shaman.”]

[“You would have to abandon your dreams, Kangrim. You could only have a family with the divine’s permission, and you could not do anything the divine does not permit.”]

[“You would have to live by the divine’s will until the day you die.”]

Resentment soaked the woman’s voice.

Whether the child understood or not, the gaze remained vacant.

The woman brushed the sweat-soaked hair from the child’s forehead and asked.

[“Do you still want to receive Divine Descent?”]

The child shook his head at the question.

The woman smiled as if that settled it.

It might have been a cry.

[“Alright, I understand. Mom and Dad will figure something out.”]

But they could not keep that promise.

At the funeral, the woman’s and man’s memorial portraits hung side by side.

The child, dressed in mourning clothes, merely stared quietly at the rising incense smoke, as if still unaware of what had happened.

The mourners’ shadows watched the child and whispered.

[“How did such young people end up like that…….”]

[“I heard they were in a traffic accident on their way back from visiting a shaman with their child. The condition of the bodies was beyond words.”]

[“The child was with them too, right? The child doesn’t seem to have a scratch…….”]

[“From what I heard, the son refused Divine Descent. That’s why they were struck down.”]

The divine was a merciful yet cruel being.

When humans refused Divine Descent, the divine chose to break them with despair rather than coax or tempt them.

Refusing Divine Descent meant suffering from spirit sickness, bringing harm to those nearby, and enduring relentless pressure from the divine.

If one refused to the very end, the next generation would have to bear the consequences.

【These are the first humans to die because of you.】

As I looked down at my young self, a voice echoed from within the darkness.

The soft and gentle voice made my shoulders tremble.

【And since then, you have accumulated countless Karma.】

The voice came from where the memorial portraits were placed.

I turned my head toward it.

Before I knew it, another frame had appeared beside my parents’ memorial portraits.

A woman’s face, smiling quietly.

It was Shin Sooa’s memorial portrait.

And with every blink, another frame appeared beside it.

Yoo Harang’s memorial portrait, Jang Taeheon’s memorial portrait, Kang Dohyun’s memorial portrait, the Flying Tiger Sect’s memorial portrait, portraits, portraits…….

Hundreds—no, what looked like thousands—of memorial portraits covered the entire wall.

The scent of incense had turned to the stench of blood.

Countless faces, countless gazes were fixed upon me.

I found myself stepping backward without realizing it.

【Your Karma nurtured the shadow. Look at the consequences it has wrought.】

As I retreated, my foot caught on something.

I spun around in alarm and found myself standing in the middle of the Saw Bone Room.

Amid the scattered corpses, something stood.

A shadow. It was the shadow.

The shadow crawled slowly between the bodies.

Red lines marked the shadow’s neck and limbs.

It wandered among the corpses, stealing Special Abilities.

Like an insect.

Vile. Repulsive.

But it was also what I had been doing.

Rummaging through people’s corpses to steal their Special Abilities—my actions were no different from that thing.

【They are all creatures of your making.】

The shadow had appeared before me before I knew it.

It wore my face.

My face broke into a slow smile.

【How foolish, child. Despite committing countless wrongs, you have once again chosen the wrong answer.】

The shadow was mocking me.

Not just the shadow—the entire darkness was laughing at me.

【Because of you, your parents died. The people of the Flying Tiger Sect died. Those who entered this Demon Realm died.】

The shadow condemned me, yet its voice was eerily soft and tender.

Like this darkness itself.

The darkness swallowed my fingers one by one, pulling me downward.

My body slowly sank.

It felt like sinking into a warm swamp.

【These things happened because you refused the divine. You know this well, do you not?】

I could never forget the divine’s voice that whispered in my ear when my parents passed away.

It had declared that if I did not accept it, it would take the people around me.

As if to prove those words, the divine brought calamity and death whenever I grew close to anyone.

Accept the divine, and those around me would be safe.

But I could not bring myself to receive Divine Descent.

How could I serve the very being that had murdered my parents?

And so, I chose to walk alone.

I tried to keep no one at my side, so the divine could take no one from me.

Or I tried to keep only those by my side whose deaths the divine would find acceptable.

And yet, before I knew it, things had come to this.

I had lost everyone.

【At this rate, you will lose your comrades once more.】

My shadow was no different from me.

If my shadow—not some other entity—harmed my comrades?

I could never allow such a thing to happen.

【Even without receiving Divine Descent, there is a way for you to save your comrades.】

What could that possibly be?

【You die here.】

The shadow spoke tenderly, as if instructing a child.

……Yes, that was the simplest solution.

If I died, my shadow would vanish.

Not just the shadow, but every threat that would come hereafter would disappear as well.

Once I was gone, the divine would have no reason to harm the people around me.

【Child, even now you can choose the right path. Sleep here. Then you can prevent the Karma yet to come.】

My body was gradually pulled beneath the darkness, but I did not resist.

If my life ended here, I could prevent the Karma I would otherwise accumulate.

I could save people.

【Yes, how wise. This place, unlike the world outside, will be peaceful.】

The darkness covered my face, sealing my mouth and nose, yet breathing felt oddly comfortable.

If I died here, I would never enter the Flying Tiger Sect, and Baekyoung would have no reason to target it.

If I died here, I could save the many lives that would otherwise be caught in my wake.

If I died here, I could prevent the Karma yet to come.

But what about the Karma I had already accumulated?

【Forget the Karma of the past.】

At those words, my eyes snapped open.

Forget my Karma.

The faces of those who had died before me were still vivid.

I had not yet atoned.

Shin Sooa was still out there.

I had not yet confirmed her safety.

-Jilpeok……!

I gritted my teeth and clawed my way up through the darkness.

Every inch of my body screamed in pain, as if being torn apart.

The moment I barely emerged from the darkness, I collapsed.

As I lay there gasping through the pain, the shadow wearing my face looked down at me with contempt.

【Do you intend to choose the wrong answer once more? Die here. That is the only good deed you can perform.】

“Dying would be the wisest judgment, as you say. However…….”

I glared at the darkness and spoke.

“Even if I die, I intend to send Shin Sooa out of this Demon Realm first.”