A fantastical landscape where the golden glow of the sunset mixed with emerald waves.
Behind Liu Bei's first steps toward a new era, a strange silence hung over the battlefield.
The monsters bowed their heads, and the soldiers dropped their weapons.
In that moment, everyone was overwhelmed by the miracle shown by the Hornless King, unable to even breathe loudly.
However, one man remained untouched by the atmosphere.
Thud. Thud.
The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, Sun Wukong.
He walked indifferently through the crowd that was soaked in emotion.
With Ruyi Jingu Bang resting on his shoulder, his steps were light as if he were out for a stroll, but to those in his path, his footsteps felt heavier than those of the Grim Reaper.
At the end of his gaze were two defeated figures, legs gave out, collapsed on the ground.
The Lord of this canyon, Liu Zhang.
And the leader of the cult, Zhang Lu.
The appearance of those who once reigned as king and god in this barren land was wretched beyond measure.
"Hee, eek...!"
Liu Zhang trembled like a leaf in the wind as he saw Wukong's shadow approaching.
If what Liu Bei showed was the light of 'salvation,' the figure of Wukong approaching now was the clear embodiment of 'calamity.'
The monstrous strength that beat tens of thousands of monsters with a single club.
The overwhelming power that tore through castle walls like paper.
'That... that is a monster. I must live... I have to please him somehow...!'
The survival instinct forced Liu Zhang's paralyzed reason to wake.
Dragging his lower body, which had mutated into giant tree roots, he crawled on all fours. As he slammed his head down in front of Wukong's feet, the castle lord's seal and various jewels he hastily pulled from his bosom spilled onto the ground with a clatter.
"Great, Great Sage! Oh mighty Sage!"
Liu Zhang's voice burst out as if squeezed.
"I, I was wrong! I was blind not to recognize the Great Sage...! I, I will give you this castle! Take all my fortune too! Just please... please spare this life!"
It was a pathetic plea for life.
The authority he had just moments ago, shouting at the soldiers on the walls to 'kill them,' was nowhere to be found.
Wukong looked down at Liu Zhang, who was prostrate on the ground.
There was not even anger in his golden eyes.
Only profound indifference, as if looking at bothersome trash rolling on the side of the road.
"You're loud."
Wukong clicked his tongue as if he found him pathetic.
"Who asked for the castle? Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn't take it, you piece of trash."
He didn't even glance at the seal Liu Zhang offered. Instead, he reached out towards the
"Huh, uh?"
Liu Zhang tried to scramble backward in panic, but Wukong's hand was faster.
He roughly snatched the Fragment.
Snap.
"Aaaaargh!"
Liu Zhang screamed.
The moment the brilliant
Crack! Rustle!
"My, my body! The power... the power is draining out!"
The imposing thorny vines and the dark green plate armor that covered Liu Zhang's entire body withered instantly like leaves losing moisture.
The giant root-like lower body that supported him and made him look colossal crumbled into black ash.
"Haa, haa..."
When the dust settled, the 'Lord of Thorns' was nowhere to be seen.
There was only a pot-bellied middle-aged man with balding hair and skinny legs, shivering in near-nakedness.
That was Liu Zhang's true form, the one he hid while acting arrogant with the power of the fragment.
"This is all I need."
Wukong glanced at the wretchedly transformed Liu Zhang, then approached Zhang Lu, who was muttering absentmindedly nearby.
Zhang Lu was staring into the void, drooling, in shock that the miracle he believed in had collapsed.
"My miracle... is not fake... the spores... Mother..."
Wukong stepped on the head of the staff Zhang Lu was clutching like a lifeline, breaking it without hesitation.
Crash!
With the sound of rupture, the
Sizzle...
"Kuaaaagh!"
As soon as the fragment fell, Zhang Lu twisted his body as if in a seizure.
The insane neon purple light that filled his eyes vanished like a light bulb going out.
The glowing mushrooms and mycelium that colorfully covered his skin instantly melted into black mold, emitting a foul stench.
"Co, co... cold... give... give me the medicine..."
The mysterious shaman was gone.
Only a skinny old man, reduced to bones by drug addiction, rolled on the ground suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
As the sweet hallucination shown by the fragment broke, all that remained for him was the body of a miserable and ugly old man.
"Collecting this too."
Having secured the two fragments in an instant, Wukong nudged the two old men, who were now less than insects, with his foot.
"Move."
Thud—!
A dull thud resonated.
At Wukong's kick, Liu Zhang rolled miserably on the ground with a squeal.
Coincidentally, the place he rolled to a stop was at the feet of Liu Bei, who was standing with the emerald halo behind him.
Wukong stuffed the collected fragments into his pocket and jerked his chin towards Liu Bei.
"Hey, hornless one."
"..."
"I took what I needed, so you handle this waste disposal. Kill them or save them, you are the master of this land now."
Liu Bei silently looked down at Liu Zhang prostrated at his feet.
The giant monster that treated him like a bug and tried to trample him just moments ago was gone, and only a terrified, shabby human remained.
When Liu Zhang looked up and met Liu Bei's eyes, he hurriedly avoided his gaze and curled up.
He couldn't bear to face the eyes of the 'hornless one' he used to despise and chased away.
Because that gaze was closer to pity than anger, Liu Zhang felt even more miserable.
*
"Now... only one left?"
Wukong, having pocketed Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu's fragments, slowly turned his gaze.
His eyes stopped at Liu Bei's chest.
The
It was still emitting a hot golden glow in time with its owner's heartbeat.
"...!"
The air around them froze again.
The soldiers watching breathlessly from the walls and the refugees standing behind Liu Bei all swallowed dryly.
Everyone knew.
The Great Sage Sun Wukong came to this land for only one purpose: to recover the scattered fragments of the Scripture.
If he takes even that power, what will happen to Liu Bei?
And can this miracle be maintained?
"No!"
At that moment, Lucifela urgently blocked Liu Bei's front.
She spread her arms with a pale face.
Although she had used up all her divine power and barely had the strength to stand, her eyes were desperate.
"This person... not this person. Without this power, the people here right now..."
"Move."
Wukong waved his hand as if annoyed.
"Kyaa!"
It was a light gesture, but Lucifela, drained of strength, flew sideways helplessly like a fallen leaf.
With the solid obstacle gone, Wukong approached right up to Liu Bei's nose.
Gulp.
Liu Bei swallowed dryly down his burning throat.
The spirit of Wukong facing him up close was like a giant mountain.
Instinctive fear in front of an overwhelming predator.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
But he did not back down.
Because he swore not to run away.
Wukong locked eyes with Liu Bei, staring piercingly at him.
His golden eyes seemed to scour Liu Bei's insides.
Soon, the corners of his mouth curled up in a smirk.
"Don't worry. I won't take it."
"...Pardon?"
"No, I can't take it. It's already too late."
Wukong poked the spot on Liu Bei's chest where the fragment was embedded with his index finger.
"Ugh...!"
Even though he poked lightly, Liu Bei's body staggered from the heavy pain resonating in his bones.
"Do you feel it? You think that's just stuck in the shell?"
Wukong growled low.
"It has already taken root in your heart. It has dug into every blood vessel, every strand of nerve. If you try to pull this out by force now, your heart will burst and you will die."
It wasn't a simple threat.
It was a cold diagnosis that only one who saw through the nature of the fragment could make.
Liu Bei clutched his chest.
The spot where the fragment was embedded felt hot as if burned.
That heat was a blessing that gave life, but at the same time, a curse that gnawed at life.
"Keep this in mind. That is not free power."
Wukong's golden eyes shone coldly.
"It will give you the authority of a king during the day, but every night, it will give you the pain of your heart burning up. It will hurt so terribly that you won't even be able to sleep."
"..."
"Think of that pain as the screams of your people and endure it. If you can't endure it and go crazy... you just become a monster eaten by power."
The weight of the crown.
It was a terrible punishment hidden behind glorious glory, one that had to be endured every night.
Liu Bei's fist trembled.
He was afraid.
He wasn't sure if he could bear that pain for the rest of his life.
There were times when he just wanted to live normally.
But he was conscious of the countless gazes he felt behind his back.
The eyes of children looking at him.
The breathing of refugees struggling not to lose hope.
If he collapses, they collapse with him.
Liu Bei bit his lip hard enough to burst it, steadying his wavering gaze.
He lifted his head and looked straight into Wukong's eyes.
"...I will endure."
His voice was small, but it no longer trembled.
"Until the day my heart stops... I will carry that pain."
Hearing that answer, Wukong's expression changed subtly.
A look containing a shred of expectation beyond simple interest.
Wukong withdrew his poking finger and turned his back, chuckling with satisfaction.
"Tough guy."
As Wukong stepped back, only then did Liu Bei gasp for the breath he had been holding.
The Golden Fragment embedded in his chest was emitting a soft light, as if responding to its master's resolve.