Chapter 444
It was a success.
Se-Hoon let out a breath of relief at the sight of Li Kenxie. Although he had replicated the conditions from when he had interfered with Wurgen’s trial to a tee, it had still been uncertain whether he would truly succeed.
Wait, I was confident, though?
Reflecting on it, Se-Hoon realized that, for some reason, he had felt a confidence that he couldn’t explain in a way he’d accept. It brought about a strange sense of disconnect, which he had been feeling lately and was still turning over and over.
But then Se-Hoon stopped, shaking his head. There’s no need to think about this alone.
After all, what was the point when the question would naturally be answered during his imminent face-to-face conversation with Li Kenxie? Believing that, Se-Hoon suppressed that same baseless certainty rising in him again and stepped closer to Li Kenxie, who sat still in silence.
“...”
Li Kenxie didn’t even look at him, let alone speak. At a glance, it seemed like Li Kenxie couldn’t see him at all, but when considering the initial reaction Li Kenxie showed upon his arrival, it was clear he was simply being ignored.
“...” Instead of saying anything, Se-Hoon, too, just observed Li Kenxie’s condition up close, then sat down across from him.
“It’s been a while—oh, wait. This should be our first time meeting here, right? Then I guess ‘Nice to meet you’ is more accurate.”
“...”
“The atmosphere around here is pretty intense. This is the trial before the final ascent, right? It’d be a problem if I crossed into a different timeline.”
Se-Hoon didn’t hesitate, openly revealing to Li Kenxie that he came from the future and that they knew each other. Unlike before, he was already aware of the situation, and knowing Li Kenxie’s personality, he figured that being direct wouldn’t cause any issues.
“...”
But contrary to expectations, Li Kenxie remained unresponsive.
Did something happen to his senses? Se-Hoon frowned slightly.
Sure, he had been standing some distance away at first, so it was possible Li Kenxie had mistaken him for an illusion or something. But now that they were face to face, Li Kenxie should have clearly recognized him to be a real person. Why was he still being ignored?
Puzzling over it, Se-Hoon suddenly remembered what Li Kenxie had muttered when he first arrived.
“Unfamiliar faces are now showing up, huh?”
Going off those words, people—but only those familiar to Li Kenxie—had already appeared. Realizing that Li Kenxie’s final trial seemed somewhat unique, Se-Hoon decided to look around for a bit—
“Hm? Who might you be?”
Visibly surprised by the man who appeared out of the blue and was walking over with a confused look, Se-Hoon spun to look at him.
Caden Miller?
But Caden should have died just a week ago, consumed by Sacred Flames. Why was he also here, walking around the Tower of Heroes like nothing had happened?
Is he an illusion? No... it doesn’t feel like that.
Both his movements and presence were far too natural. Everything about him gave the impression of a living-breathing person.
As he stared in disbelief, Caden approached and bowed politely.
“My name is Caden Miller. I’ve been studying under Master Li Kenxie. Might you be an acquaintance of my teacher?”
“...Yes. Something like that.”
“I thought so,” Caden said with a nod, then glanced briefly at Li Kenxie. “Master is currently in seated meditation, on the verge of a significant enlightenment. If it’s not an urgent matter, perhaps we could speak outside instead?”
Instinctively, Se-Hoon glanced around them. Just like before, all he could see was a raging inferno. What could Caden be referring to when he said “outside”?
Does he mean outside the Tower? Hmm... no, it doesn’t seem like that.
Se-Hoon didn’t know exactly what was going on, but it was clear regardless that Caden was deeply connected to Li Kenxie’s final trial. Because of that, Se-Hoon closely observed Caden’s every movement, determined not to miss even the smallest clue.
“...!”
Se-Hoon saw it. Caden’s eyes shifted between Li Kenxie, him, and the surrounding space. Watching those movements, Se-Hoon realized something: his and Caden’s perspectives were entirely different.
He’s not looking at the fire.
More accurately, Se-Hoon had noticed Caden was looking past it—at something above the flames. Falling into thought for a moment, Se-Hoon then placed his hand on the ground and activated Metamorphosing Dream.
Swish-
Countless dreams flickered by in an instant, allowing Se-Hoon to synchronize with the wavelength of the surrounding flames soon after. And at that moment, the fire-made world gradually became transparent as a small workshop appeared above it.
So this is the world that Caden is seeing.
Understanding at last, Se-Hoon cut off the synchronization and returned his view of the world to its previous fiery state.
“Um—”
Just as Caden opened his mouth again after witnessing what Se-Hoon did, Se-Hoon spoke first. “I’ll speak with Li Kenxie directly, so you don’t need to worry,” Se-Hoon cut off, not allowing Caden to comment on what he had just done.
“But...”
“He didn’t say anything else, did he? Then don’t you think this isn’t something a disciple should interfere with?”
“...”
Falling silent, Caden turned to look at Li Kenxie, who still hadn’t acknowledged either of them, and let out a quiet sigh.
“...I understand.”
Bowing his head, Caden turned around and walked away under Se-Hoon’s gaze, vanishing into the flames like he had never appeared.
“The flames around us... they’re all your doing, aren’t they?” Se-Hoon asked, turning to Li Kenxie.
“...”
“From what I can tell, these flames contain the essence of certain environments or people. They must be fragments of memories, emotions, or pieces of your synesthetic mindscape.”
First separating a part of oneself internally, then manifesting it physically to sever it permanently—Li Kenxie had mastered such a technique in the past while crafting the Five Element Equipment. And now, Se-Hoon was witnessing it in action.
“Didn’t you already purge all impurities when you forged the Five Element Equipment? At this rate, there’ll be nothing left of you...”
“...”
Even though Se-Hoon spoke of what no ordinary person could possibly know, Li Kenxie still showed no reaction whatsoever. But by now, such a reaction was more than strange, making Se-Hoon narrow his eyes.
Does he think I’m also an illusion?
If Li Kenxie truly believed Se-Hoon was a hallucination born of his mind, then it made sense why even talking about secrets wouldn’t matter. That meant, to speak with Li Kenxie properly, the first thing Se-Hoon had to prove was that he was a real person.
Reaching that conclusion, Se-Hoon pondered a solution before just choosing the simplest one.
Smack!
With a loud crack, Li Kenxie’s head snapped backward. He trembled for a bit, holding that position, before slowly straightening his posture again.
Drip-
Se-Hoon was completely stunned—he hadn’t expected Li Kenxie to start dripping blood.
“Wait, what...?”
He was the man who used to smash his forehead against a cliff whenever he hit a wall? Why did he suddenly seem so physically fragile? Flabbergasted, Se-Hoon just stared blankly until he abruptly remembered the reason just as he reached out to treat the wound.
Oh, right. He put his physical capabilities into the Five Element Equipment, too, didn’t he?
“You...” Face smeared with blood, Li Kenxie looked at him indifferently—he finally spoke—and said, “Something’s... different about you.”
The sensation of fingers touching his forehead, the skull-splitting pain, and the spinning vision mixing with the blurry figure before him. Only now did Li Kenxie realize that Se-Hoon wasn’t a hallucination from his own synesthetic mindscape.
He slowly opened his mouth.
“You bastard.”
Thud!
And just like that, he collapsed unconscious.
***
As consciousness resurfaced, so too did the flood of sensations. Li Kenxie’s head throbbed, dizziness tugged at his mind, and a chilling heaviness blanketed his body as if it were drenched in water.
Feeling the discomfort he hadn’t experienced in a long time, Li Kenxie grimaced.
“Hmm... F-grade? No, maybe just barely E-grade? No wonder your body’s aging.”
On top of it all, there was an annoying voice in his ears and fingers poking at him from all directions. With a small ember of rage igniting deep inside him, Li Kenxie forced his heavy eyelids open.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
“...Move.”
Shoving the grinning Se-Hoon to the side, Li Kenxie pressed a hand to his aching forehead.
Did he treat the wound...?
There was no swelling and pressing on it revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the pain lingered, making Li Kenxie sigh and begin refining himself.
Fwoosh!
A pale flame, a color even lighter than the surrounding ones, rose from his body. Then, a moment later, a darker flame emerged from his forehead and began separating from him like something being severed—
Swipe!
Se-Hoon swiftly reached out and grabbed the flame. It didn’t radiate heat, instead giving off an odd type of resonance.
Examining it, Se-Hoon matched its frequency, and almost right after, pain from his forehead along with a wave of anger directed at himself came rushing in.
So this is how it works...
The physical pain had already been healed, but the memory of the experience—and the emotion that came with it—had fused into a single fragment. It was fragments like it that accumulated, gradually shaping and evolving the synesthetic mindscape.
Li Kenxie, however, had been tearing them out at the root.
No wonder he treats his life so lightly.
Having found out the reason behind Li Kenxie’s warped values, Se-Hoon’s brow furrowed.
“Who exactly are you?” Li Kenxie questioned, extinguishing the flame and focusing on him.
Now it felt like he was truly meeting the Li Kenxie of the past. Wasting no time, Se-Hoon gave him the answer. “I’m Lee Se-Hoon, from the future—no, from reality.”
“Reality...”
Li Kenxie echoed the word with a murmur, as if something caught in his thoughts, and his eyes sank deep into themselves.
“I see. So I’m the impurity.”
“Huh? No, it’s not to that extent...”
Se-Hoon was taken aback. What kind of mental gymnastics could lead to that conclusion? To answer that question, Li Kenxie looked at him without much emotion.
“If the version of me who conquered the Tower of Heroes is in reality, then of course the one left behind must be the impurity. Am I wrong?”
“Well, hmm...”
Se-Hoon hesitated, not sure how to answer. He wasn’t completely certain yet, but he suspected he wasn’t exactly within the Tower of Heroes. Although he definitely was, he was more specifically in a record of it that had been stored in the Golden Ring.
According to his theory, when a hero reached the top of the Tower and had it fulfill their wish, their synesthetic mindscape was engraved onto the Golden Ring. And at that moment, it would separate from their true self and become something eternal.
That’s what people call a “law” or “power.”
If that theory held, then it would explain everything from Wurgen’s evolving power to how Se-Hoon could enter such a place even after the real Li Kenxie’s death.
Because of that, Se-Hoon was practically certain. However, that was his thought. How the Li Kenxie in front of him would interpret it was a separate issue altogether.
Judging by how he’s calling himself an impurity so casually... I definitely need to tread carefully here.
If he ever decided that his existence was meaningless and erased himself, the power of Anatta might become unstable—or disappear entirely. Giving it deep consideration for that reason, Se-Hoon took a while to give his answer.
“That might be wrong, or it might be right.”
“So you’re saying you’re not sure?”
“More like... it’s a matter of perspective. It’s one of those things that you can’t really explain, no matter how hard you try.”
“I see what you’re saying.” Calmly nodding, Li Kenxie looked at Se-Hoon again. “Then can I take that to mean you won’t interfere with my choices?”
Looking in Li Kenxie’s eyes, it was clear—he was about to burn everything down in the next second.
Yet, even then, Se-Hoon nodded nonchalantly.
“I won’t.”
“You won’t?”
Was there someone else involved? As Li Kenxie glanced around at the flames, in search, Se-Hoon placed a hand on his chest and retrieved a red orb from the Dream Storage.
“That’s...”
“It’s a legacy left behind by you, sir—or more precisely, by the Sacred Craftsman Li Kenxie.”
Originally, the orb—the incomplete vessel obtained at the end of the Offering Ritual—was supposed to be a blend of the Seeker’s heart and Li Kenxie’s essence. However, due to Meirin’s interference, it had split in two and left only Li Kenxie’s essence behind.
Technically, it is about ninety percent of him.
In terms of composition, Li Kenxie accounted for the vast majority, therefore making it fair to consider it his legacy.
“...”
Staring intently at the transparent red orb, Li Kenxie slowly turned his gaze back to Se-Hoon.
“To think you’d use my future self as a cautionary tale... how arrogant.”
“Should I not, then?”
“Are you making fun of me right now? You arrogant brat.”
“...”
So showing it was arrogant, but not showing it was also arrogant? Miffed, Se-Hoon gave him a look of disbelief.
“Give it to me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
If it made sense, he’d accept it. If not, he’d sever it before it could influence him. Realizing Li Kenxie had come to that kind of decision, Se-Hoon handed over the orb.
“...”
The moment Li Kenxie laid his hands on it, something passed through him that drew Li Kenxie’s curious eyes toward the orb. Then, a beat later, he summoned a flame and placed the orb within.
Woong!
The orb glowed red, like heated glass. And soon after, faint mirages started rippling within.
That...
When Se-Hoon had inspected it in the workshop, nothing like that had appeared. Se-Hoon tensed, not knowing what was happening, and just watched Li Kenxie stare deep into the orb silently.
“So that’s what it means to reach the top...” Li Kenxie muttered under his breath.
In the haze of the ripples, he had read the arrangements left behind by his future. Closing his eyes, Li Kenxie let it all sink in.
Like that, a long silence passed before he opened his mouth again—his thoughts now organized.
“You came to change the power of Anatta, didn’t you?”
“...Yes, that’s correct.”
The power of Anatta could heal inner collapse, polish one’s mind, and even ignore fire resistance, but it had a fatal flaw: it couldn’t be controlled. Even worse, it also triggered without warning, and those that perished under its effect couldn’t be resurrected by the Blessing of the Eternal.
In nearly all aspects, it was arguably the worst power.
Sure, Defiant Ember can help manage it, but if I can fix it structurally, that’d be better.
Reshaping it, however, would depend on if the Li Kenxie of the current moment could truly reshape his values and synesthetic mindscape accordingly.
“Let me just say this upfront: it can be changed. Ordinary setbacks I would have let pass—but that kind of absurd ending? I won’t let such a thing repeat.”
Judging by Li Kenixe’s words, the change in his synesthetic mindscape was evident. Still, to achieve what he came to do, Se-Hoon would ask for more details—
“But... are you truly fine with this?” Li Kenxie asked all of a sudden, looking him straight in the eyes.
“Huh? With what, exactly?”
“With changing the power of Anatta.”
Still not understanding, Se-Hoon tilted his head in confusion.
Is he worried that his power will weaken?
Did Li Kenxie ask him out of worry that he wouldn’t be able to adapt? Unsure, Se-Hoon fumbled to figure it out—a sight which soon made Li Kenxie’s eyes widen in realization.
“I see... So that’s why you left those arrangements behind.”
“Huh? Huh?”
“Lee Se-Hoon. Listen to me carefully now.”
Li Kenxie’s voice was full of calm clarity, and he looked straight into Se-Hoon’s startled eyes.
“You have already conquered the Tower of Heroes once.”