In an instant, the pit Hallakgoong had fallen into filled with crimson flames.
Then, Hallakgoong’s anguished screams echoed through the Amethyst Cave where they stood.
“Aaaaargh!!”
“Hallakgoong!!”
It was Songje Great King who stopped Mujae from jumping in.
When Mujae looked up at him, the Great King—whose expression didn’t flicker in the slightest—pulled something from his sleeve.
A blue, blazing flame.
“!!”
The Great King threw that flame toward Hallakgoong. Instantly, the red flames surrounding Hallakgoong died down.
After confirming this, the Great King withdrew the hand that had held Mujae back.
Only then could Mujae and Zack leap into the pit to rescue their friend.
Even as Mujae lifted Hallakgoong and Zack pulled him up, Hallakgoong didn’t awaken.
Mujae quickly checked Hallakgoong’s pulse.
“He’s alive….”
At that, the strength drained from both Mujae and Zack, and they slumped to the ground.
Soon after, remembering the presence of Songje Great King, Mujae got back up and bowed low.
“Your Majesty, thank you for your help.”
“…It’s nothing.”
The Great King spread his palm toward the unconscious Hallakgoong and, as if scanning, lightly swept his hand through the air above him.
“You nearly became ‘The Star.’ For an ordinary demi-god, it wouldn’t have come to this, but it seems this child’s human heart is much greater.”
“‘The Star’…?”
“Yes, it’s also the final destination you must reach.”
Songje Great King straightened up and gestured for them to follow.
With Zack carrying Hallakgoong on his back and Mujae holding the filming equipment, they hurried after the Great King and exited the cave.
With the morning sun rising over Black Tortoise Lake, the place no longer felt desolate or frightening.
It simply looked like a clear mirror reflecting the sun.
Songje Great King was already aboard the boat they had arrived in. Zack and Mujae quickly moved Hallakgoong and their gear onto the boat, and as soon as everything was ready, the boat set off at speed.
Still bewildered, Mujae asked the Great King,
“Your Majesty… what did you ride to come here?”
“Me? I just came.”
Everywhere around them was the River of Three Crossings, an expanse of water and glaciers—what did he mean, ‘just came’…? Sensing Mujae’s lingering confusion, the Great King spoke again.
“I have no need of a boat. I am, after all, just one of these glaciers myself.”
“Pardon…? Seolpyo said this boat belonged to Your Majesty when he gave it to us??”
“It is mine, yes.”
Songje Great King let out a small, hearty laugh.
“I just use it as a cargo hold.”
“!”
The Promotion Team had been treated as baggage.
In some ways, it made sense… in others, not so much….
So, when he travels alone, does the Great King walk across the River of Three Crossings? Songje Great King spoke once more.
“I’m sorry I arrived late after inviting you here as my guests. I let that commotion happen.”
“No, Your Majesty, if not for you, it could’ve been disastrous.”
‘Where were you all this time?’
Zack tried signing to the Great King. He looked a little upset, and Mujae hesitated for a moment, unsure how to convey Zack’s feelings.
“I was sleeping.”
“What?!”
Yet the Great King answered serenely.
As Mujae reacted in surprise, the Great King seemed to read his thoughts and replied calmly.
“I don’t know sign language, but I don’t need to. I can usually tell what people want to say just by looking in their eyes. And I apologize to the Prince who came from afar.”
The Great King gave Zack a slight bow.
“The Aurora Terrace we’re headed to now is both my cradle and my tomb. I was sleeping deeply there, so I didn’t even know you had arrived.”
“…….”
“It was only when my Child Monk Seolpyo urgently contacted me that I hurried over, but this is the best I could do. The glaciers do not move swiftly, so please do not be angry.”
“Your Majesty, may I ask a question?”
Mujae finally voiced the anxiety he’d been holding in.
Even though they had gotten close to the truth, there was something he couldn’t bring himself to be certain about.
“The Hallakgoong who’s unconscious now—he is the same Hallakgoong we knew, right?”
Hallakgoong’s actions had seemed like those of another person.
He had spoken incomprehensibly and charged into the Glacier Labyrinth.
It seemed a stretch to think Hallakgoong’s guilt simply manifested here in the Northern Ice Hell. Songje Great King nodded slowly.
“He is.”
“Oh, thank goodness….”
“Even that unfamiliar self you saw yesterday was Hallakgoong.”
“What?”
Mujae’s relief melted back into confusion. Songje Great King let out a soft chuckle.
“Life comes in so many different forms.”
“…….”
“Your friend seems to have experienced something grave in the world of the living. But he is not a soul I must judge, nor is he just anyone—he is a guardian god of the underworld, the same as I.”
The gaze Songje Great King cast on Hallakgoong was warm, yet cold at the same time.
Mujae thought that perhaps the blue flame he’d seen earlier was a part of the Great King himself.
“It’s not polite to look deeper into him. However—”
The Great King glanced at Zack.
“What you saw in him yesterday was the eruption of anxiety, suspicion, and vigilance during a time of great hardship. Please understand that.”
Before they knew it, the glaciers surrounding them had changed.
Instead of the sharp, dark-tinted ice, there were now clear, blue chunks of ice floating on the water.
The morning sunlight made it look as if massive jewels drifted leisurely across the sea.
The geometric patterns in the ice grew more pronounced, creating an even more mysterious atmosphere.
Before long, the gray clouds disappeared completely, and in their place, faint rainbow lights began to dance.
Aurora—polar lights—filled the sky.
“Woooow…!”
Mujae gaped in awe, while Zack hurriedly pulled out his camera.
The boat slid softly over the ice, then bumped gently—thunk—against something. They had already arrived at Aurora Terrace.
By the time Mujae snapped out of his daze, Songje Great King was already off the boat, climbing the hill at his usual unhurried pace.
“Time is almost up. Hurry.”
“??”
Mujae and Zack exchanged glances. Hurry? What else could there be? Carrying the still-unconscious Hallakgoong, they climbed the hill.
The aurora shimmered and danced above their heads.
They climbed for a while. Just as sweat began to bead on Zack’s brow despite his sensitivity to cold, Songje Great King stopped walking.
“We’re here. Prepare your cameras.”
“F-For what…?”
Mujae looked around in the direction the Great King indicated. Below their feet stretched an endless expanse of ice, while above, the aurora painted multicolored streaks across the sky. It was the breathtaking scenery they’d already been filming—what more were they supposed to record here?
Just then, as Zack was carefully laying Hallakgoong down, Hallakgoong let out a groan.
“…The Star.”
“?!”
Instinctively, Zack looked up at the sky—and was met with an unbelievable sight.
Stars were rising from the ground to the morning sky.
One, two, three… countless points of light soared upward from the earth to the heavens.
As if reversing the path of shooting stars, the lights defied gravity and vanished into the dawn sky.
Mujae realized what the stars were.
“Those are… are those the sinners?”
“No. They are not sinners.”
Songje Great King calmly denied it.
“They are those who are freed from the Northern Ice Hell. When their frozen hearts are completely melted, they become stars and ascend to the sky like that.”
Tears welled up and fell from Hallakgoong’s eyes as he sat up. Songje Great King spoke words of comfort.
“Your heart has already melted completely. Don’t lock yourself up in your guilt any longer. That is not the way to atone for you.”
“…Thank you.”
Hallakgoong lowered his head again. Perhaps because he had experienced too many emotions in too short a time, he seemed unable to contain himself. He asked, his voice still trembling,
“Even if a soul loses its memories… will the hole left in its heart still remain?”
“It will.”
“Then how can I fill that hole?”
“No matter how much you try, a trace will always remain.”
Hallakgoong’s face was streaked with tears, as if he had cried for a long time. Even at that pitiful sight, Songje Great King maintained his usual expression and shook his head slightly.
“…I understand your feelings for your mother, but that’s not the only hole you made.”
The Great King’s gaze lingered on Mujae for a moment, then shifted to the horizon over the River of Three Crossings.
Watching the glaciers sparkle like jewels in the morning sun, tears prickled in everyone’s eyes.
“All of us live by leaving traces and filling them in turn.”
“You’re all safe!!”
Though it had only been two days, it felt like a week since they’d seen Seolpyo.
Since no communication worked where the Great King resided (his mere presence caused interference, apparently…), Seolpyo had just worried and paced anxiously. Now, he ran up and hugged Hallakgoong tightly.
“I’m so sorry!! I should have checked ahead and told you everything!”
“…It’s okay….”
Could you let go now, please? Hallakgoong still hadn’t regained his strength.
Dizzy, he leaned into Zack’s shoulder for support. But as Zack sniffled and then sneezed loudly—
“Achoo!”
“Whoa! Hallakgoong!”
Hallakgoong nearly toppled over, but Mujae quickly caught him. Hallakgoong whispered to Mujae,
“Let’s just go home….”
It had been a rough, unexpected business trip in every sense. Mujae nodded furiously in agreement. Seolpyo clasped his hands together and nodded, a little regretfully.
“It must’ve been really tough… You could rest here, but I’m sure you’re longing for home.”
Seolpyo pointed to the boat prepared beneath the glacier.
“This is the best boat! Please, board quickly!”
“…Isn’t there anything else besides a boat?”
The Promotion Team felt seasick just thinking about it.
Having seen nothing but boats and ice for days, they wanted to avoid another boat if possible. Seolpyo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh… well, there is one other way. It’s much faster and better than the boat. You’ll zip right back home.”
“Really?! Then let’s do that one!”
“But, I’m not sure Hallakgoong will be okay…”
Seolpyo looked worriedly at Hallakgoong. But Hallakgoong, who wanted to escape fastest, waved his hand firmly.
“It’s fine. I’m absolutely fine.”
“He says he’s fine, so please give us the fastest one.”
“Alright, then wait just a moment!”
Seolpyo dashed down beneath the glacier.
Shivering atop the ice, the Promotion Team felt their excitement and anticipation growing.
“Let’s hurry home and eat some hot bean paste stew and rice.”
They were dreaming of a warm meal at the Seocheon Flower Garden when suddenly, something rumbled beneath them.
—Thud.
[Ah—ah—.]
The voice through the loudspeaker, just like when they’d first met Seolpyo.
In an instant, the Promotion Team was swept up in anxiety.
At some point, a net had been drawn up from beneath their feet.
“?!”
[Watch your step, we’re taking off right now!]
Just like when they’d first arrived at the heart of the Northern Ice Hell, the Promotion Team was caught like fish in a net.
Mujae called out urgently to Seolpyo.
“Um, Seolpyo, wait—!”
[One, two, three!]
A giant hand seemed to grip the net and move it with all its strength. None of the Promotion Team had expected to be tossed this way, and they all screamed.
“Aaaaaaaaah—!”
“Have a safe trip!”
Seolpyo’s cheerful farewell echoed behind them until the very end.