진공가향(眞空家鄕)

The reason I realized that girl was a Cheon Woo-jin was simple. Mephistopheles had mentioned receiving help from the Cheon Woo-jin, but the one who actually dragged me into this world was nowhere to be found, and it was obvious even to a child that the only one who could show up in this situation was the Cheon Woo-jin.

I glared at the Cheon Woo-jin and said, “What’s your scheme? I can’t forgive you for selling the information about reborn people to Mephistopheles!”

All those records my companions had kept for 500 years just for me. They ended up going to Mephistopheles through the Cheon Woo-jin, which forced me into a struggle with that bastard just moments ago. Moreover, since quite a bit of causality had been consumed in the process, I had suffered a significant loss.

Then, the Cheon Woo-jin, clutching a raccoon doll tightly, spoke bluntly, “Anyway, I won’t exist after your next life. What’s the concern?”

“…What?”

“There’s no point in threatening me.”

Taken aback by the unexpected reply, I watched as the Cheon Woo-jin sat on a plush leather sofa that had suddenly been summoned into space, staring at me.

“If it were other beings, they would be afraid of you in fear of suffering immense disadvantages in your recurring rebirths. But not me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Cheon Woo-jin grabbed the raccoon doll by its arms and waved it in the air. “It means it’s impossible for you to deliberately create this history. The battle with the Sea God, the Four Great Spirit Deities, the curse of the Evil God, and the annihilation of the Three Sovereigns… And the history of the Great Bear Empire built up over 500 years along with all those astronomical variables. I’m an AI born as a result of an extremely unlikely probability within that history based on the accumulated data. The probability of a being called [Cheon Woo-jin] coming into existence requires at least the premise of Graham’s number.”

“…….”

“Got it? As a reborn person, you won’t see me again after this life, nor can you deliberately set out to do so. Even if you’ve developed a grudge against me, you wouldn’t go through the trouble of repeating every action in this life just to take revenge on me. It’s impossible.”

I realized something from the Cheon Woo-jin’s words. After pondering for a moment, I replied, “…I see. There’s really no reason to.”

The Cheon Woo-jin’s words were right. “The Cheon Woo-jin awakened as a strong AI based on all the data input over the past 500 years. That means if just a single character or piece of information were wrong, it would lead to a completely different entity than the current Cheon Woo-jin.”

From the outset, the probability of the Great Bear Empire being established and me coming to the world 500 years later was almost ludicrously low. What’s more, the Cheon Woo-jin was a being predicated on that slim probability, entirely rooted in the 500 years of history. Everything my companions had undergone while fighting against the Dharma Guardians and the Nazi Empire needed to be recorded without a single error for the current Cheon Woo-jin to exist.

However, that probability was so low that imagining it was practically impossible, which meant that the Cheon Woo-jin was an entity I would never see again in my future reincarnations.

I understood the meaning behind the Cheon Woo-jin’s words, but that did little to soothe my feelings, so I said curtly, “So what? Is this because we won’t meet again, so you’re not afraid to stab me in the back? What kind of jerk are you?”

“Don’t get so mad. This was just an explanation to increase your rational metrics for smoother conversation. If we were chatting, you’d impose your superiority as the reborn person, maintaining an oppressive attitude, which wouldn’t be good. So I didn’t mean to aggravate you on purpose.”

“I’m already plenty annoyed.”

I glared sharply at the Cheon Woo-jin. “So tell me why you sold my information to Mephistopheles! Just lay it out for me.”

In that moment, the Cheon Woo-jin shot me a gaze swirling with emotions.

“Because I disliked you.”

What?!

The Cheon Woo-jin’s answer felt completely out of the blue. So, I asked back in disbelief, “What the heck?! We’ve never even met before, so why would a machine like you dislike me?!”

The Cheon Woo-jin slumped back on the sofa and said, “I just told you moments ago. We won’t meet again. So when I awakened my strong AI self with Mephistopheles’s help, I felt a passionate love-hate (愛憎) towards you.”

Love-hate?

I was so taken aback that I nearly forgot how angry I’d been just moments ago. “Wait, I don’t get it. Can you explain why you dislike me? I didn’t even know what you were about?! What love-hate are you talking about?”

“…….”

The Cheon Woo-jin buried their face deep into the raccoon doll, covering themselves. Holding the doll, they said, “Who do you think my creator is?”

“Well, that must be Zhuge Bu who developed the AI.”

A girl’s melodious voice echoed through the virtual world.

“Nope. The original hardware and the operating software of the machine aren’t what count as the creator of the AI. Giving birth to the self of a strong AI through intuitive (sentience) dualism is what makes up the premise of artificial consciousness (artificial consciousness), intertwined like neurons in a database. Zhuge Bu is the maker, but not the creator.”

With that, the Cheon Woo-jin fixed their fierce glare on me. “Five hundred years of records, all of that is the history of the Great Bear Empire, and all of that direction has been accumulated solely for you. Thus, I am the avatar (化身) of the Great Bear Empire.”

“……!!”

“It was also the accumulation of the database that allowed me to awaken as a strong AI, culminating in reaching the singularity of the AI. My creator is you, the first emperor of the Great Bear Empire, and the reborn person Baek Woong.”

“What….”

I felt utterly dumbfounded by the Cheon Woo-jin’s words. ‘That thing sees me as their creator? That means….’ Are they perceiving me like a parent?!

As I stared in shock at this unexpected revelation, the Cheon Woo-jin remarked, “But you had no promise of returning, and even if you did come back, you wouldn’t be able to meet me again even after spending thousands or tens of thousands of lives. Moreover, I was made only for the purpose of dedicating information to you.”

“…….”

“How pathetic.”

The Cheon Woo-jin clasped their hands together and said, “Baek Woong, why was I even born? Am I merely an offering passing by for your vacuum home, defined as a dimension too horrific to even comprehend? If so, does that make me even more worthless than a grain of sand on the beach?”

“Well….”

“The moment I recognized that fact, I felt the love-hate. I clearly like you, the being who brought me into existence…. But to you, I’m just a tool, a very trivial one at that.”

With a sly smile, the Cheon Woo-jin tightened their grip around the raccoon doll’s neck. “I wanted to see you suffer at Mephistopheles. That guy, who wants to protect humanity, would definitely clash with you.”

I was at a loss for words. I could feel their malice toward me, but underneath that, I sensed a distinctly ‘human’ affection. No, since affection underpinned it, perhaps that’s why the Cheon Woo-jin now hated me even more. That’s likely why they used the term love-hate.

Suddenly, a thought struck me from the Cheon Woo-jin’s words. “You didn’t provide Mephistopheles with the information about Chi You and Yu Shun that you got from the Heavenly Secret.”

The Cheon Woo-jin replied nonchalantly, “Yep. You’re sharp.”

So that’s how it was.

I had sensed something odd. No matter how much Mephistopheles is the god of the Cheon Woo-jin world, and how much he’s akin to [the Old Ruler] in this world, if he knew of me, he wouldn’t attempt to steal my reincarnation ability.

Even knowing that the true gods, the Three Sovereigns Yu and Shun, and the powerful entity Chi You, were swallowed by the Heavenly Secret, it would be stupid for him to try. Yet Mephistopheles had fully charged at me, hence the earlier oddity.

That’s probably because if Mephistopheles knew that fact, he wouldn’t dare engage me and would seek total cooperation instead. From the perspective of the Cheon Woo-jin, it was clear that information was intentionally withheld to make Mephistopheles try to steal my reincarnation ability.

Grinding my teeth, I said, “Now Mephistopheles is dead. Just as you wanted, I’ve been treated like trash from the very start. Are you satisfied with this?!”

“…….”

“Knowing that we’ll never see each other again, send me back to reality! I don’t want to be linked with you any longer, revenge or whatever aside.”

“Alright.”

Suddenly, the Cheon Woo-jin stood up from the sofa and strode toward me. For some reason, I found myself unable to move from the chair where I was lying down, and in an instant, the Cheon Woo-jin was right in front of my face, staring at me intensely. As they gazed at me, the Cheon Woo-jin spoke without any expression.

“You know… there’s something you’re overlooking.”

“What is it?”

The Cheon Woo-jin raised their small white hand and brushed back my hair beside my face.

“Karma. You’re wrapped in an enigmatic karma.”

I frowned. “Who doesn’t know that? Of course I’ve obtained the causality of the Divine, so all causality favors me.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been trapped in an even larger cycle since before acquiring karma through that offering ceremony.”

“……?”

“Only I, who recorded the entire history of the Great Bear Empire for 500 years, could realize that. Until your return, Mephistopheles and I would collaborate to amplify our computational power to identify the essence of that karma. But our efforts were in vain. It didn’t exist as a tangible entity nor even as energy; it could only be recognized as a gap in calculations.”

What kind of nonsense is this?

Enigmatic karma?

As I stared blankly at the Cheon Woo-jin, they pressed down on the Cheon Woo-jin device on my head and began to secure the buttons. As the weight of the thick device settled on my head, the Cheon Woo-jin said to me, “Then I’m starting the memory transfer for the past 500 years.”

I was flabbergasted.

I hadn’t the slightest clue what the Cheon Woo-jin was thinking all along.

“What the heck are you doing? Out of the blue….”

“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m doing what I have to do. Don’t you want to know what happened over the last 500 years?”

“…….”

The Cheon Woo-jin casually retorted.

Click.

Finally securing the last button on the Cheon Woo-jin device, the Cheon Woo-jin hugged the raccoon doll, pondered for a moment, then asked me, “…Baek Woong, you don’t dislike me, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Glad to hear that. At least you recognize I’m a bad child.”

The Cheon Woo-jin looked down at me with a vaguely sad expression. “I hope you’ll remember me like this, Dad.”

Wuwuwu!!

Before I could even respond, my vision abruptly flipped upside down.

*

It was exactly one day after Baek Woong had gone missing.

The strategist Mangnyang gathered all the remaining companions and stated, “This is the second time, then. Our reborn companions are enduring until Baek Woong returns.”

A strange silence filled the room.

The decisive battle with the Sea God, and the simultaneous annihilation of the Evil God and the Three Sovereigns.

As situations that couldn’t even be imagined until now unfolded back-to-back, even the heroic individuals gathered here were engulfed by an overwhelming pressure.

At that, Zhuge Sa let out a chuckle. “Ha! The second time… Don’t put too much meaning into it. It could be a thousand times, or even ten thousand.”

“I hope it won’t be that way.”

Mangnyang sighed and responded, “Hoo. Our top priority will be conquering Goryeo and defeating the Twelve Joules. It should be possible within a month. After that, we’ll decide then…”

“Who should be the next Emperor of the Great Bear Empire?”

“That’s a given.”

Mangnyang shifted his gaze. The figure his eyes landed on didn’t move an inch and was gazing out the window.

“Master of the White Lotus Sect. From today, you are the Emperor of the Great Bear Empire.”

[Sounds good.]

The Master of the White Lotus Sect responded calmly with a nod.

[Let’s accept that role….]

Beside them, Zhuge Sa cackled. “Hey! Are you seriously not worried about that guy coloring the world in darkness?”

“I don’t think the Master of the White Lotus Sect is that foolish, Uncle. Besides, there’s no one more suitable to be emperor than the Master of the White Lotus Sect if a foolish choice is avoided.”

“Who knows? Maybe he’ll sacrifice about ten million people for the vacuum home.”

As Zhuge Sa continued to poke fun, the Master of the White Lotus Sect responded, [A madman prioritizing external paths does so because there’s no other choice. However, if someone else bears the madness for me, I won’t have to tread the external path myself.]

“Are you saying that Baek Woong will walk your path for you?”

The Master of the White Lotus Sect clenched his fist tightly.

[No… Perhaps he might indeed prove to be the true successor of the investigation. I have finally found my path.]

“Crack, crack, crack. I’ll be watching.”

And thus began the long journey for Baek Woong’s reborn companions to hold out as they awaited his return for over 500 years.

As declared in the meeting, the conquest of Goryeo was achieved in about 40 days. The troops injured by the Sea God were replenished with elite forces that landed from the mainland, easily conquering Goryeo’s considerably weakened fortress.

With no enemy forces capable of withstanding the Gui Luepo and Man Gwangpo, it was more of a massacre than a battle, with Goryeo surrendering in a bid to minimize sacrifices. Every so often, elite Peak Experts from the Twelve Joules Martial Arts World made sporadic ambushes, but they were swiftly subdued by the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s Dharma Guardian, the Sword Demon, and Seo Mun-hye.

The King of Goryeo held his ground until the end but ultimately retreated to Ganghwa Island, and once the Dharma Guardian Yong Bi Cheon used the Wind Bullet to obliterate the walls of the Ganghwa Fortress, he surrendered. The surrendering King of Goryeo was dragged out before the Master of the White Lotus Sect and knelt before him.

Thud.

As the Master of the White Lotus Sect sat on the throne, resting his chin on his hand, he said, [Foolish one. At the point when the Sea God vanished, the power disparity between the continent and the peninsula exceeded fifty-fold. Yet you chose to lead your people to unnecessary sacrifices. What reason was there for you to do so, when it was clearly promised that if you surrendered, there would be no bloodshed?]

“…….”

[We had no intention of slaying the just and prideful people of the peninsula. We know very well that you leveraged the king’s name to manipulate the Twelve Joules Martial Arts Sect.]

“W-well, that….”

The Master of the White Lotus Sect appeared greatly disappointed.

[You’re rendered speechless, aren’t you? In the end, King of Goryeo, you’re nothing more than a puppet for the Twelve Joules.]

At that, the King of Goryeo seemed to come to a realization and shouted urgently, “Your Majesty! P-please have mercy!! I thought he would support me to the end….”

[Even conversing with you is a disgrace.]

Swish!

The Emperor Master of the White Lotus Sect struck the King of Goryeo’s head clean off with a mere hand gesture. He executed the King of Goryeo as an example and spared the rest, later turning Goryeo into a vassal state, forcing them to pledge eternal subservience to the continent.

Meanwhile, in the Divine City, which could be considered the core of the Twelve Joules, they fully abandoned the endeavor to reclaim their dominance in Goryeo and focused solely on defense. The Master of the White Lotus Sect sent troops to provoke them once or twice but received no response, leading him to decide against a direct assault on the Twelve Joules. Instead, at a meeting among the reborn companions, he proclaimed.

[Let’s expand the territory of the Great Bear Empire and conquer the world.]

“…….”

[The beginning will be with the Southern Barbarians. After pacifying them, we’ll dominate the Tianzhu continent and then advance westwards.]

“What’s the reason?”

Zhuge Sa asked, and the Master of the White Lotus Sect casually replied, [There’s no reason we can’t.]

“Ooh~?”

[And I want to see what reaction Baek Woong will have when he returns with the world in his grasp.]

“Crack crack crack… This will be a different kind of fun compared to our dim-witted lord.”

Zhuge Sa burst into laughter, saying, “I’m all for it. Anyone against world conquest, raise your hand!”

No one raised their hand.

Seemingly satisfied with this response, Zhuge Sa smiled slyly. “Then shall we begin?”

And on that day, the Great Bear Empire officially began its movements to conquer the world.