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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Cyno
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Memory is the essence of a person’s life.
A collection of joy, sorrow, happiness, and despair.
But a person cannot recall every memory at every moment.
Because humans are selfish creatures.
They quickly forget memories that harm them and hold onto those that help them for as long as possible.
Yes, they preserve them.
Many people think memories can be forgotten, but the truth is, memories cannot be erased.
They are merely buried.
Deep in the unconscious.
To a distant, unreachable place—where they may never resurface again.
And so, people bury their painful memories.
But an object that has spent a lifetime with a person never forgets a single memory.
The memories with its master, the hardships with its master, the deeds with its master—
How could it ever forget?
And if that object was a divine artifact, one of a kind in the martial world?
Even more so.
The Azure Light Sword was one such divine artifact.
The Azure Light Sword—a blade that shines upon its master, whenever, wherever.
Yes, a sword that gazes upon its lord always and everywhere.
No matter how many times Namgung Cheolbin regressed, the Azure Light Sword transcended time and space to follow him.
Whether Namgung Cheolbin abandoned the sword and left the Namgung Family or not, the Azure Light Sword remained steadfast, loyal only to him.
For countless eons, the sword allowed no one else to touch it. Only its master could grasp its hilt.
There were two reasons for this.
First, as a sword, the Azure Light Sword possessed an unyielding conviction stronger than anything else.
Second, because the sword itself held the power to enforce that conviction.
The Azure Light Sword had beheaded every human who dared try to wield it—not just in this regression, but in all previous ones.
Thus, Namgung Cheolbin had never once handed the sword to another.
Its pride and loyalty were so fierce that even if its master permitted it, the sword itself would rebel.
And yet, this very Azure Light Sword—
Clack—
“W-What? Why isn’t anything happening?”
“……”
It was silently allowing her touch.
A sword so stubborn it would defy even its master’s orders if necessary. A sword so fiercely loyal it would acknowledge no one but its master.
“Ahh……”
“What now? Why are you acting like this?”
The reason was a little complicated.
“I’m sorry… It’s my fault…”
“Why are you hugging the sword and crying? Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… Sword… No, Lord Sword……”
“Damn… She’s finally gone insane……”
The Blood Demon’s exasperated voice echoed through the basement.
The Azure Light Sword did not like Yu So-eun.
The sword cared only for its master. Even if she were its master’s woman, recklessly grabbing its hilt was unforgivable.
And strictly speaking, the Azure Light Sword disliked Yu So-eun.
It despised her.
How dare—
“—This wench who abandoned my lord!!!”
A woman who betrayed the master she should have served.
A woman who doubted her lord and believed false rumors.
From the sword’s perspective, Yu So-eun was nothing but detestable.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry……”
“Damn this wretched woman…!!!”
Yet, the Azure Light Sword could not bring itself to cut her down.
How could it kill her?
When it knew the suffering its master had endured—
For her.
Ten thousand years—a span so long that dynasties would rise and fall a hundred times over.
That was its master’s lifetime.
A lifetime spent for this insignificant woman, barely thirty-four years old, now clutching its hilt.
To kill her would be no different from rendering its master’s life meaningless.
Though the Azure Light Sword was proud to the point of arrogance, its master, Namgung Cheolbin, meant more than its pride.
“…Why… Why did you come…?!”
The sword’s furious voice pierced Yu So-eun’s mind.
A voice so chilling it made her knees tremble—fitting for a divine artifact.
“I need your help.”
“Leave at once! Or else…!”
“Or else what…?”
“Obviously, I’ll kill——!!!”
Just as it was about to say it, the sword thought of Namgung Cheolbin and hastily changed its words.
“—I’ll beat you to a pulp…!!!”
“Then beat me.”
“…What?”
“Hit me, kill me—do whatever you want. Just…”
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“Please… Let me see him just once more……”
“…What?”
“I’ll beg if I must, grovel if you demand it. Please… You can do this, can’t you?”
“You damnable wench…”
The sword’s voice wavered.
Had Yu So-eun’s sincerity reached it?
No—this was purely the sword’s own will.
This hateful woman.
The sword wanted to see her weep tears of blood for her arrogance, for daring to cast aside its noble master.
A deeply personal desire.
“…Move.”
“M-Move?”
“Not here. Go somewhere unseen.”
“O-Okay…! I’ll go right away…!”
Following the sword’s command, Yu So-eun carefully cradled the blade and left the basement.
Once again, the abandoned Blood Demon shrieked, but with her limbs severed, she could do nothing.
Thus, Yu So-eun exited the basement undisturbed.
She took the Azure Light Sword to Namgung Sua’s room.
Since Namgung Sua was asleep in her own quarters, it was the only place in the Namgung Estate where no one would see them.
Creak—
Yu So-eun’s slender feet stepped into Namgung Sua’s bedroom.
A chaotic mess of scattered belongings, a room in perpetual disarray.
It reflected the daughter’s state of mind, and Yu So-eun’s heart ached for a moment.
Because she believed it was all her fault.
“Now, show me.”
“Damnable wench.”
“His face……”
“The sword can only show you the master’s recent months.”
“That’s enough. Even that much is……”
“Hmph. Go ahead and lose your mind after seeing it.”
The next moment, Yu So-eun instinctively pressed the sword’s transparent blade to her lips.
A perspective she had never seen before unfolded in her mind.
Namgung Cheolbin—no, the man who had now become “Byeokrak”—was cast out from the family he had lived with his entire life.
He ran like a madman, stumbled, and eventually collapsed under a bridge.
The heavens mocked him, pouring down heavy rain.
Byeokrak’s entire body was drenched.
“Ah…!”
A moan of longing escaped Yu So-eun’s parted lips.
Hadn’t she missed her husband even before learning the truth?
Mentally, physically—
Twitch, twitch—
The moment she saw Byeokrak, Yu So-eun’s body burned as if electrified.
But all she could do was watch.
“Aaaah!!”
“Why?! Why are you doing this to me?!”
Byeokrak pointed accusingly at the sky—directly at where Yu So-eun stood.
An invisible burst of finger energy shot through her heart.
“Ahh… D-Darling……”
Yu So-eun reached out belatedly, but her hand passed through him uselessly.
She couldn’t touch him. Couldn’t speak.
All she was allowed was to watch.
Whoosh—!
Byeokrak’s hand ignited with Samaejin Fire.
Soon, a nearby stone began glowing red-hot.
Suddenly, Yu So-eun realized his voice was smoother than in Chilhwa Hall.
A dreadful suspicion formed in her mind.
“N-No! No!!”
She screamed, but the Byeokrak in the memory couldn’t hear her.
She tried to stop him with her entire body, but he passed through her like a ghost.
“Guh—! Ugh! Uuugh…!”
The stone was forced down his throat.
“No…! Stop, please stop…! Why are you hurting yourself…?”
As if she hadn’t already cried enough, transparent tears gushed from her eyes.
Boom—!
A surge of sword energy erupted from Byeokrak’s fingers.
It spiraled around his neck once before cleanly severing his gray hair.
Long locks fell in clumps.
“What sin did you commit…?!”
Rumble—
“My name is… Byeokrak…”
For some reason, those final words sounded to Yu So-eun like a declaration:
“Our bond is over.”
The man who had loved her, her husband “Namgung Cheolbin,” no longer existed.
That made it even more heartbreaking.
“Sob… Cheolbin…”
“Huuu…”
Byeokrak in the memory and Yu So-eun outside it sobbed simultaneously.
For the same reason.
Regret for the past. That was all.
“This… was just fate.”
“No… My lord… It was all my fault… You were destined to be a hero……”
Splash—
The floodwaters rose steadily.
Byeokrak remained still, aware of it.
With a serene expression, as if welcoming death.
“…My lord?”
“My lord! My lord!”
“My lord!! Get up! Why aren’t you moving?! Get up!!”
Yu So-eun screamed desperately against the invisible barrier.
Futile cries, meaningless.
Whether fortunately or not, before Byeokrak was rescued by Namgung Sua—
She continued shrieking until her voice gave out.
.
,
,
“My name is Jin Gayoung! The Great Princess of the Taiyuan Jin Family!”
“Gayoung… A fine name, befitting a lady.”
Inside a carriage, Byeokrak and Jin Gayoung exchanged blunt introductions.
The mood was warm, devoid of any hostility.
“Ah… W-Wolhwa……”
For Yu So-eun, it was bittersweet.
She knew she had no right to complain.
The Jin Gayoung in the Azure Light Sword’s memory had been the one who believed in Byeokrak.
Unlike her.
The only one in the world.
“Sob… Hic…”
But that didn’t stop the sorrow.
If she had been in that place—
If she had been the one to stand by him when the world scorned him—
Wouldn’t she have been the one sharing that warm conversation?
Wouldn’t she have been the only woman by his side?
The belated regret of a foolish woman who had missed her chance.
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