Chapter XLVI – Second Awakening

The sound of buzzing insects, yelping frogs, shrieking birds, rattling leaves, and occasional gusts of wind painted a scene all too familiar to Arthur as he hiked towards the temple in the middle of the night. With a clear sky above him, the moonlight blessed his path with bright light. Tiny clouds formed with every deep breath he exhaled as the temperature dropped significantly.

It felt strange walking through the night without fear of the unknown. Within this world, no monsters existed. No demons that preyed upon those that wandered alone.

The two-kilometer hike was barely noticeable. Along the way, Arthur had the chance to closely observe the Steles that decorated the pathway leading to the entrance to Beomeosa.

He wasn’t sure if there was anyone at the temple, nor if he was allowed to enter on his own. However, he had no intention of asking for permission. So, as he reached the front of the temple, he walked along the left side with the idea of leaping over the short walls.

Without difficulty, Arthur returned to the spring of natural energy. It felt just as intense as it did when he initially saw it, an endless source.

Arthur was accustomed to cold weather. His journeys required him to be able to endure such harsh conditions for a long time. While his new body paled in comparison when it came to fitness and developed resistances, the Qi he’d channel would essentially warm his body as if he was running in the sun. Because of how intense deeper cultivation can get depending on the technique, some preferred to do so in snowy mountains or cold waterfalls.

Taking off his shirt, he felt chills running through his body. Sitting down with his legs crossed, Arthur closed his eyes and began to focus. With every breath he took, his body slowly adjusted to the environment and everything eventually went silent. It was as if he entered a void.

Arthur wielded absolute mastery over Qi and its cultivation. Unlike most, he could naturally replenish his outer Qi while resting or doing light activities without the need for meditation. The use of inner Qi never endangered him and instead caused him to feel exhausted when reaching its limit. Depending on how depleted it was, he would enter what was known as a slumber. During his first encounter with beings of cataclysmic powers, Arthur fell into a three-week slumber. Had it been his first time utilizing inner Qi with his newly reincarnated body, the effect of replenishing might’ve lasted even longer, if nobody infused their Qi into him. That’s the reason most preferred to use outer Qi which once depleted had no side effects.

He knew his supply of both inner and outer Qi was low due to negligence, but cultivating it now benefited him significantly. Within the spring, opening up the pathways was made significantly easier. He’d gain multiple health benefits as well as access to a lesser pool of outer Qi which he could apply to his everyday life that he’d replenish when sleeping. From improved natural senses to enhanced strength and speed, to trivial abilities like reducing the effect of intoxication when partying.

It wasn’t long, but the two hours he had gone by quickly. Still, it was enough for him to achieve his intended goal, before being forced to make his way down the mountain.

Opening his eyes and regaining a sense of his surroundings, Arthur got up on his feet and saw the flow of ocean blue energy run across the surface of his skin. He felt light as a feather. It was exhilarating.

“What time is it?” he asked himself looking at the night sky. “I probably have an hour before sunrise. . .”

While there was still light noise from the forest surrounding him, Arthur’s attention was stolen away by a sudden snap of a twig to his right side. Focusing on his senses by utilizing Qi, he noticed a human presence nearby.

“Who’s there?” he asked, but the person simply started running away.

Though barely visible, he could tell it was a younger girl wearing darker casual clothes.

Did someone from school follow me? Were my senses really that dull?

He sighed as he slowly walked over to the spot he was observed from. While she didn’t leave any footprints behind, she couldn’t really escape him. However, she did drop a small notebook behind.

Maybe there’s a name in it. . .

Opening it up, it was a sketchbook. Whoever it was, they had a talent for drawing. Going through the pages, Arthur flipped to the last few drawings only to see himself, both of which were him meditating. One at night and the other during the day.

How long have I been observed?

The other drawings were unrelated to him, but it was a newer notebook, so he had his suspicions that this wasn’t the first time something like this happened.

It was shocking how hard it was to sense her, even if he lacked proper Qi. To follow him up the mountain without him noticing either requires extreme skill or naturally low presence.

She obviously isn’t skilled, otherwise, she wouldn’t’ve dropped this in the first place. Still. . . I should catch up to her. It’s nighttime and I have no clue if there are wolves or anything up in the mountain. . . Though, I haven’t heard any. I wonder if I can get answers out of her.

Considering she was running, Arthur decided to pick up the pace after rolling up the notebook and pocketing it.

Leaving the temple behind, he wondered if he’d ever return.

She gained quite a bit of distance to his surprise as he already started descending the mountain. Had he not used Qi to track her, Arthur might’ve considered the possibility that she misled him. However, enhancing his sense of smell and vision, he could see reddish energy form a trail in shape of a translucent smoke.

“Let go of me!” a young female voice echoed through the quiet mountain.

Instinctively Arthur rushed sensing danger ahead.

Along the path towards the hotel, Arthur saw two men standing next to the girl. She didn’t appear panicked, but rather feisty and frustrated by her predicament.

Although he doesn’t remember meeting her, she seemed familiar. She wore black tracksuit bottoms, and a black hoodie with blood-like writing spelling “SAVAGE”. Black and red perfectly described her, as even her nails were polished black, and her hair was long ombre black to red. Even her eyes were dark.

Dwarfing her in size and holding her by the wrist was a man in his mid-thirties who appeared to be drunk. He was a bit taller than Arthur and larger, holding a bottle of alcohol wrapped in a paper bag.

Accompanying him was another man similar in age, but his appearance unlike that of the man holding the girl was much less threatening. If anything, he was scrawny and surprised by his friend’s actions. He too was drunk.

“Hyung, just let go of her. . . Please?” asked the scrawny-looking man.

“Nah. . . It’s love at first sight,” he chuckled with a mischievous grin, clearly out of his mind due to alcohol.

“Let go of me you pig!” she ferociously yelled at him, though her voice was quite feminine and lacked impact.

“I’d let her go if I were you. . .” Arthur said calmly, though he couldn’t help but form a fist with his right hand.

“Who the fuck are you kid? Some kind of boyfriend?”

“Hyung! Please calm down. . .” his friend remained panicked more than the girl. “You’ve drunk too much and you know how you get.”

“You’re hurting me!” she said hitting his arm while gritting her teeth due to him squeezing harder. “Fuck!”

“Last chance. . .” Arthur warned getting impatient.

“Everybody just calm down!” the scrawny man yelled as he stepped in between Arthur and the other two. “I’m sure we can resolve this all peacefully.”

“Get him to let her go and nobody has to get hurt.”

“I’m trying, but he doesn’t listen when he drinks! Just give me time. . . Please,” he pleaded repeatedly.

“Why are you taking his side?” the man holding the girl became infuriated as he started twisting the girl’s arm.

“Augh!” she yelled out tearfully.

“Hyung! Just let her go!”

With him holding her, Arthur had little room to act, but she was clearly in pain and the smaller man remained useless.

Defending herself, she took the initiative and kicked the man in the shin with everything she had. Even though it didn’t affect him at all physically, it provoked him to act out in anger. He yanked her closer before roughly shoving her away from him making her fall to the ground. She tumbled for a bit and it looked painful, but it created an opening that Arthur needed to channel some of the Qi he gathered to close the distance within seconds.

Rushing past the scrawny man before he could even react, Arthur delivered a powerful spinning back kick that sent the man flying a few paces back before tumbling to the ground.

“Hyung!” the man behind him yelled out, but Arthur gazed at him menacingly, freezing him in place.

He knew that if he approached, the same would happen to him.

Arthur made his way to the girl to check up on her, but before he could the guy he just kicked got up.

“Damn kid! You shattered my bottle. . .” he gritted his teeth pulling out a pocket knife.

He isn’t even aware of the pain he should be feeling due to the alcohol. This might be a problem. . .

The girl finally appeared scared as he pulled out a knife, but she felt somewhat reassured knowing Arthur was there.

“Put down the knife,” Arthur said, though deep down knew it was pointless.

“Shut the hell up!”

Without saying anything else, Arthur once again darted towards the drunk. This time around, the man had enough time to react as he swung his knife in a downward motion, but his sense of distance was heavily distorted and he missed before Arthur had even reached him. Grabbing his wrist, he twisted the knife out of his hand before elbowing a pressure point around his neck, knocking him out in a single strike.

What is with my rotten luck to run into people like this all the time. . .

“Please. . . Don’t kill us,” the scrawny man pleaded as he got on his knees and begged.

Arthur felt confused, not knowing how to feel about the whole situation. Instead, he focused on making sure the girl was okay.

“You’re not going to harm us?” he looked at Arthur confused.

“Why would I do that? I should however probably call the police,” he threatened but knew that things would get complicated for him if he did. After all, the two were not supposed to be there in the first place.

“Please understand that he isn’t usually like that. . . Recently he’s been having a rough time and has been uncontrollably drinking. Whenever he drinks, I take him up the mountain to relax since nobody's around. I’ve tried to get him to stop but he wouldn’t listen. It’s all because-”

“Spare me the story, I don’t care. . .” Arthur interrupted him as he reached the girl. “You okay?” he crouched down next to her.

“Yeah. . . Thanks,” she averted her gaze.

Arthur threw the knife into the forest before offering her a hand to get up. Grabbing him, she stood up but almost fell over from the pain in her right leg.

“So much about being fine,” he said crouching down once more and grabbing away at her sleeve. “May I have a look?”

She nodded but kept looking towards the man that shoved her who now laid on the ground unconscious. As he rolled the sleeve up to her knee, he noticed it was bleeding as her skin bruised and tore.

“Hop on,” he told her while turning his back to her, letting out a sigh.

She looked at him flustered. “There’s no need for that. I can walk. . .”

“There are two kilometers until we reach the hotel. . . I ain’t gonna let you walk with an injured leg. It’s far from a major injury, but it’ll be painful to walk.”

The man next to them remained quiet, seeing as they paid no attention to him. The girl sighed and listened to Arthur as she wrapped her arms and legs around him before he lifted her.

Leaving the two men behind, their slow descent down the mountain began.

They walked in complete silence for a few minutes before she finally mustered the courage to clear her throat.

“Thank you. . .”

“It’s fine. Just my rotten luck.”

“Sorry about that.”

“You’re Sophie’s friend, right? Haven’t I seen you in the selfie you took with her at school in the morning?”

“Yeah. . .”

“Still not gonna tell me your name?”

“Yeona, Gan Yeona. . .” she mumbled.

“Pleasure meeting you Yeona, my name is Arthur,” he said while keeping his eyes on the path ahead of him.

She was extremely light, but he maintained a slower pace to learn more about her and what she was doing there.

“I know who you are. . .” she sounded a bit disheartened.

“Obviously, since you followed me all the way up. Why’d you do that though?”

“Ah. . . That’s right. . . I’ve dropped my notebook.”

“It’s in my pocket. Sorry, but I had to roll it up to fit.”

“That’s fine. . .”

She spoke with a low voice the entire time, sounding uncomfortable. Then again, so would he had he been caught following someone in secret and then being forced to be carried by said person.

“You still didn’t answer my question.”

“It’s hard to explain. . .”

“We have time.”

“Can I keep it a secret?”

“I prefer if you didn’t.”

“Fine. . .” she sighed. “Sophie would kill me if she learned the truth.”

“I won’t tell her if you tell me everything.”

“Right. . .” she mumbled doubtfully. “Long story short, we used to know each other before your accident. But then you lost all your memories.”

“I see. . .” Arthur mumbled. “Were we close?”

“Depends how you look at it,” she tightened her hold of him while relaxing the rest of her body, resting her head on him, and closing her eyes. “We only really hung out in an abandoned construction site. We knew each other’s names and stories, but not much past that.”

“When did we meet?”

“Two years ago. . . Both of us were depressed, and unhappy with how the world treated us. However, since the accident, you didn’t remember so I haven’t spoken to you since. Turned out I was enrolling in the same school you were already attending and eventually, I befriended your sister to try and get closer to you again. But, I never mustered the courage to come over when she invited me. . .”

“You’re not telling me everything.”

“Of course, I’m not. . .”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re better off not knowing.”

“That’s for me to decide.”

She remained quiet for a bit before letting out a sigh.

“You’ve changed so much. . . I’ve watched you shift into an entirely different person. You used to complain about everything, hate on your family, including your so-called unbearable sister. . . And now. . . You’re unrecognizable.”

“What do you know about the accident?”

“The fact that you’re asking me that means you already know the truth. . .” she sighed again. “Are you going to make me admit it?”

“Yes,” he answered but her wording made it somewhat confusing, had he not known it was a suicide attempt, he would’ve assumed she was behind it all.

“You came to the site one night and kept talking about killing yourself. It was unfair. . .” she squeezed Arthur tighter. “No matter what I told you, you kept insisting that you were going to go through with it. I could’ve reported it, but I didn’t. . . I was overwhelmed with guilt when I visited you in the hospital and saw your sister crying. . . I couldn’t even say a word to her.”

“It’s not your fault. . .”

“Still. . .”

“It was a choice that the old me made, and nobody else is at fault for it. Though, that doesn’t explain why you were following me up the mountain.”

“I was getting to that. . . Though, isn’t this enough already?”

“I’m carrying you to the hotel, might as well tell me the whole truth. . .”

“Unbelievable. . . Fine, it’s not that complicated either,” she opened her eyes and looked deep into the dark forest, the sun still not showing itself. "Ever since you’ve regained your consciousness, I’ve been observing you as you’ve changed. When I heard about what happened to your sister, I felt helpless to help, but then I watched you fight off Hana’s brother and his gang. . .“

“You were there?”

“That’s the place we used to hang out all the time. . .”

“Huh. . . You’re hard to spot.”

“I was just out of your view. . . Anyway, ever since that moment, I’ve kept a close eye on you. Seeing you grow into this new person has left me in awe. I drew you because I found you inspirational. . . Please don’t mistake my friendship with Sophie though! She is such a sweet girl, I’d never stay friends with her just to use her. . .” she sounded genuine. “It’s just that. . . Ah, fuck it. . . I’ve fallen in love with the new you. . .”

“I see. . .” he sighed. “I’m flattered, but I can’t accept your feelings.”

“Is it because of Irene? There are rumors you two are dating, but I’ve never seen you two kiss. Oh god, that sounded even creepier than it did in my head. . .”

“Yeah, it did. . .” he chuckled for the first time. “It’s fine though, just don’t follow me around like that from now on. While I can’t accept your feelings, it’s not as if I will ignore you if you ever wish to say something to me. Besides, as you said, you’re Sophie’s friend. As for Irene and I, we are not dating, but I do like her. . .”

“Figured as much,” she sighed but smiled as the tension slowly disappeared.

“So is that all?” he asked.

“What more do you want to hear at this point. . .” she rolled her eyes.

“True. . .” he chuckled again as the hotel came into sight. “We’re here. Can you walk the rest of the way?”

“I could’ve walked the entire time. . .”

“Right. . .” he slowly let her down.

She had a bit of trouble standing, but it was good enough to make it to her room.

“Thanks. . . Again.”

“Yeona, I indeed am not the same person you once knew. I don’t know that person, and I’ll never be that person. So if you ever wish to get to know me, I won’t say no, but if you’re looking for what was once there, just give up.”

She nodded and walked past him towards the hotel. Though, her eyes weren’t those of someone who was about to give up easily.

With the sun slowly appearing, Arthur made his way back to his room. Max was still dead asleep, so he quietly snuck back into the bed. When the teacher came knocking on the door, everyone from their group felt exhausted and hungover but managed to get on the bus.

“Slept well?” Irene asked.

“Not at all. . .” Arthur said while squinting his eyes due to oversensitivity to light. “You go by the window by the way.”

“But I told you that’s the best part,” she raised her eyebrow with her arms crossed. “Fine. . .”

Irene sat next to the window knowing that there was no point in arguing with him. Arthur flopped down next to her. As the bus started to head back for Seoul, Arthur closed his eyes and leaned onto Irene’s shoulder, falling asleep within seconds. She smiled grabbing his hand with the one he leaned on while using the other to painlessly glide her nails across his forearm back and forth. Irene peacefully looked out the window while he slept, listening to music as their trip came to an end.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.