Chapter 130
“Not a single syllable should pass your lips before the ritual. What do you think you’re doing?”
“I have something to report.”
The Apostle finally glanced at Eunseong, who was standing at a distance from Yoo Siwoon. Chairman Yoo also shot a fierce glare at Yoo Siwoon, wondering what he was doing by disrupting the most important sacrifice ritual of the year. He was about to call for an executor when Yoo Siwoon spoke.
“The prophecy has been fulfilled.”
“…What did you say?”
“What?”
The meaning of those words was that he had found the great rift. Both of their gazes immediately turned toward Eunseong. His eyes, half-hidden behind a muffler, blinked in confusion as he looked back at them.
“I’ve brought the great rift.”
“What are you… what are you talking about?”
“See for yourself.”
The executor who had approached to stop Yoo Siwoon suddenly froze.
The gold hall instantly became as quiet as if cold water had been poured over it. Though it was already silent, even the rustling sounds of movement disappeared, making it as still as if all living things had died in an instant. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
What are they saying?
Unable to hear clearly what they were saying, Eunseong’s spine stiffened with tension, not knowing what was happening.
After a shocking silence swept over them, the Apostle swallowed hard. If this were a lie, not only would it be a sin to disrupt the sacrifice ritual, but also to lie about the prophecy—an unforgivable offense even if one offered their life.
There was no reason for Yoo Siwoon to risk his life with an absurd lie here. That meant his claim about bringing the great rift was true. It meant that the person standing before them was the great rift mentioned in the prophecy.
“…Is what you’re saying true?”
The Apostle asked Yoo Siwoon.
“It is true.”
Yoo Siwoon acknowledged plainly. At his answer, a startled Chairman Yoo urgently looked at Eunseong, who was standing with his face almost completely covered by his muffler. The Apostle of the council of elders looked at the flustered Chairman Yoo and meaningfully furrowed his brows.
The Apostle asked in a warning tone, suggesting they both knew what punishment awaited if they were lying.
“There couldn’t possibly be two great rifts. Chairman, what is going on?”
“It must be fake. It’s fake. What I reported is real. Has this man gone mad?”
“Silence.”
As Chairman Yoo’s voice rose with excitement, the Apostle raised his hand to stop all action.
Eunseong, who had been anxiously watching Yoo Siwoon’s back while waiting for him, unconsciously glanced around and flinched.
All the gazes in the gold hall, hundreds of eyes, were fixed on Eunseong. Not on Yoo Siwoon, but on Eunseong.
What is this…
Shocked, Eunseong stopped breathing. Thinking he must have seen wrong, his eyes fearfully glanced around again. It wasn’t a misperception—everyone was staring at him with wide-eyed astonishment. Eunseong froze completely. Yoo Siwoon seemed to turn around briefly to check on him, then faced the Apostle again.
“How can you be certain? You’ve never seen the great rift.”
“Not just me—no one here has ever seen it.”
“That’s right. But if someone has seen it, I would be most qualified to determine whether it’s the manifestation of the great rift or not. Since I’m the one who has studied the scriptures and received the traditions.”
“Then you’ll know when you see it. Whether it’s real or fake.”
At Yoo Siwoon’s words, Chairman Yoo’s spine twitched. The Apostle, without moving his head, slightly turned his snake-like eyes to glance at Chairman Yoo, then back to Yoo Siwoon.
“…You’re taking Jeokdan.”
“Yes.”
As if he could smell it, the Apostle’s nostrils twitched as he tracked Yoo Siwoon’s body scent, and then his nose turned toward Eunseong standing in the distance.
Eunseong got goosebumps from the white-haired elder with albino eyes that stared at him from a distance as if he would devour him. The old man who looked like a white fox transformed into human form was staring intensely at him.
Eunseong, fidgeting with his clasped hands in tension, pulled his muffler up higher to completely cover his face, hiding from the dot-like pupils in those white irises.
The Apostle called for an executor. After covering his mouth and giving some instructions in a whisper, the executor nodded and withdrew.
They sent out all the believers waiting for the sacrifice ritual from the gold hall. Eunseong fearfully peeked as the eyes staring at him left one by one.
He had thought this would simply be a place to greet difficult elders. The situation was completely unexpected. Everyone was looking at him as if they had seen a ghost. It was a gaze that didn’t treat Eunseong as a living person. Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, he just wanted to flee.
“Chairman, please withdraw as well.”
“But… but when I saw it, this, this is impossible.”
“I will verify according to procedure. Everything will proceed according to the law.”
Though the Apostle was also surprised by the appearance of the great rift, he commanded sternly with his hands folded in front. The executor indicated the exit to Chairman Yoo. It meant he should disappear quickly as ordered. Chairman Yoo looked confusedly at Yoo Siwoon and Eunseong before being almost forcibly expelled from the gold hall.
The spacious gold hall soon quieted, and only silence surrounded the vast place.
“I heard Chairman Yoo also found the great rift.”
“Then examine both. Whoever has tried to deceive the council of elders and exploit the prophecy will receive appropriate punishment.”
“When did you find him?”
“…Twenty years ago.”
“…”
The Apostle seemed to sink into deep thought, shocked. He took a deep breath, his chest heaving. He was trying to calm himself.
The Apostle gazed at Eunseong from a distance. Those eyes that had been distantly looking at the great rift, the prophesied being who would bear them the blue-yellow knight, were gradually being overwhelmed by the miraculous confirmation of the prophecy they had been waiting for and worshipping all their lives.
But it was too early to jump to conclusions. There had been attempts to deceive the council of elders before, and Chairman Yoo had also reported finding the great rift.
“Before that, I have something else to say.”
“What is it?”
“Something I need to tell you privately.”
Yoo Siwoon said after briefly turning to look at Eunseong standing behind him. The Apostle nodded.
Yoo Siwoon approached Eunseong.
“Ahjussi…”
“Come this way.”
He took Eunseong’s hand and walked. They moved to an inner room of the gold hall. The Apostle vacated the space briefly.
Yoo Siwoon turned to Eunseong, who was terrified. He pulled down the muffler slightly to see his face. As expected, Eunseong’s face was pale. He was scared and trembling with fear. This place was clearly not what Eunseong had expected.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll talk with the elder and come back. The security guards are here, so you’ll be fine. Don’t answer anyone who tries to talk to you.”
“…Ahjussi.”
“Yes?”
“Did you see it?”
“See what?”
“Just now… just now, just now, those people there. Did you happen to see them only looking at me? They all… they were all just looking at me.”
As if asking him to say that the eerie scene was just his imagination, Eunseong asked if he had seen it.
Though Yoo Siwoon hadn’t checked each person individually, that was probably how they had looked. Knowing what influence Eunseong had in this family, such shocked gazes were perhaps natural.
Recalling that incident, Eunseong’s hands trembled like aspen leaves. He had an intuition that something was wrong.
“Could we get some warm tea here?”
Yoo Siwoon asked the executor. The executor, who had been staring intently at Eunseong and firmly suppressing his emotions to avoid being easily swept away by rising religious fervor, answered with a nod and left the inner room. Like everyone else, the executor’s cold eyes, seeing the incarnate great rift for the first time, were moist with admiration just from Eunseong’s presence.
“…Are you scared?”
“This place is strange. Something’s strange. Strange… something’s strange. The people are strange, I’m telling you. Their eyes are strange. I know about this. I’ve seen people who get weird when they’re drunk. Their eyes were like that.”
“I know. It’s strange.”
“What?”
“It’s okay. Do you trust me?”
“…Yes.”
Yoo Siwoon’s hand slowly caressed Eunseong’s cheek as he stood confused and at a loss. As the warm touch stroked him reassuringly, Eunseong’s tension eased somewhat, and his rapid heartbeat calmed.
“I told you before that the successor is very important here, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Your father kept you hidden, and I wanted to keep you hidden too. Because I kept hiding you, they find it hard to believe you’re alive. They all thought you were gone.”
“…What exactly am I?”
Yoo Siwoon received Eunseong’s question painfully. Though things had gone differently than planned, if this was fate, he had to push through somehow, and this was the only way Yoo Siwoon could do it.
Becoming one of them.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
