Chapter 80 – Going home

Sunday morning, April 6th. Around 5 AM.

Suho had just gotten up for the day to go head towards the Novice Training Facility for his morning workout.

Ideally, he would have dragged Jonghak or someone to spar with, but most people were out on holiday or lazing about.

As for Jonghak himself... surprisingly, the guy had a date. And with that senior he mentioned last time too.

Apparently, the allegations that Jonghak swung for the other team finally got to him and he decided to do something about it.

'Well, good on him at least.'

Suho was absolutely looking forwards to the fireworks that would unfold later when Nayun and Yeonha found out that Jonghak were just keeping them as 'options' when he already had someone he really liked.

But for now...

"Should I visit home?"

...Suho idly got up to make a cup of coffee and thought about what to do for the day.

It was Sunday. Ever since finals ended, Suho had been pretty much training nonstop to catch the epiphany he gained in fighting against Lee.

And Suho was pretty sure he had a good handle on it.

While he wasn't sure 'how' to do it just yet, Suho knew that he could cut more than just physical things.

And it was apparent in the name of his changed Gift: <Sword that Cleaves Fate>.

If Suho focused, he would be able to cut even that intangible scripted end that people called 'destiny' and 'fate...' somehow.

It was a work in progress.

Either way though, Suho had managed to refine his fighting style to adapt.

Defense was worthless to him. In the first place, the point of defending was to evade lethal blows and buy time to land one of your own.

Suho's every attack was lethal.

It was his opponent who needed to defend, not him. Especially when his sword had just become a focus for his 'cut' and not really the tool for the cut.

"Mm... I'll think about it some more."

Suho sipped on his cup of coffee and reflected on it a bit.

While he wanted to ask Lee and pick his friend's brain about more combat details and theory, Suho felt that this was something he had to reach on his own.

Or rather, that if Lee spoke on what Suho could do, then Suho would achieve something 'else' and not what he was currently working towards.

While that wasn't a bad thing, Suho had finally caught a glimpse of something wholly his own, so he didn't want to let it go.

Sipping on his coffee again, Suho murmured, "It's pretty interesting."

The reason that Suho had been subconsciously rejecting his own Gift... it probably came from his past.

He failed his duty as a knight to protect his liege. He ended the life of the one who held the throne. Wielding the sword meant to protect, he had murdered the one he swore to gurad.

The final memories of his past life had been Suho staining his own hands with the sin of ending the royal line.

But he also remembered his first memories of this life. Born to parents who named him 'Suho,' meaning to protect. Wanting to live a normal life, but finding himself drawn to the blade again and again until he became enlightened to his Gift.

It was a blessing and a curse... Or so he thought.

But now...

"Lee Shin. A different belief..." Suho murmured.

A sword was something you used to cut down your enemies and to protect others.

That was what Suho believed. In his past life, he had failed both. And in this life, he swore to not fail again.

But Lee had pointed it out to him.

The sword meant different things to different people.

In his past life, the sword was Suho's everything. His pride, his duty, his honor... and he lost all of it when he used that sword to end the life of the ones he was sworn to protect.

But Lee had said it plainly. To him, a sword was just a sharp metal stick.

So the sword didn't inherently have meaning unless you gave it one-

"Ah."

Suho's eyes widened.

There was something there. He could feel the verge of an epiphany. Especially due to the fact that his Gift had changed from <Sword Saint> to <Sword that Cleaves Fate>.

"...I think I get it." Suho quietly set down his cup of coffee. "Sword Saint... I was trying to be a saint to make up for my sins. I wanted to wipe away the blood on my hands by living well in this life."

Quietly erasing the past. Not accepting it, but rejecting it. Pretending that it didn't exist...

That was what Suho tried to do.

But he couldn't.

Because he couldn't change what he was at his core.

And that was clear in the name of his Gift: <Sword Saint>.

He wasn't a man skilled enough with the blade to be called a Sword Saint. He was a Sword who tried to become a Saint to wash away the blood staining it.

But that was meaningless.

Instead...

"Sword that Cleaves Fate... Right. Just like how Lee didn't accept his circumstances of being unable to use magic power and made a way to fix it... I shouldn't reject my past either."

There was no way to change it.

There was no way to atone for it.

What had happened would still have happened.

Even if time spun back in some miracle, it wouldn't change the fact that Suho had chosen to sin with his own hands, wielding his own blade.

But what he could change was the path he took going forward.

And he knew now... No. He *vowed* now.

This time, if he was faced with an impossible choice. If he was being presented with the absolute ending that told him he had to kill those he swore to protect. If it looked like he wouldn't be able to protect anyone...

"...Until my last breath." Suho murmured. "If I continue until the bitter end, a path will open."

A soft click echoed in Suho's mind.

And for the first time...

"...It feels light."

...The burden on his heart completely vanished.

Suho placed his hand over his heart and thought about the past.

At that time, on that day... if time spun back. Would things have changed? Would he have made a different choice?

"...No. I wouldn't have."

The confession wasn't an absolution. But Suho felt something settle deep inside himself.

The knight that he had once been. That man in his past life.

He was different from who Kim Suho was now.

Seeing no other way, that knight had wielded his blade out of rage and desperation.

...No. He had already been building up desperation and rage.

Through his entire past life, Suho had been wielding a blade heavy with dreams, expectations, beliefs, and more.

Because of that, when faced with the bitter end and a desperate situation, that blade had swung itself.

Rationalization had made it seem like it was inevitable...

But Suho could have held his hand.

He could have chosen to listen to that princess who had lost everything.

He could have taken a step back and pointed his blade towards the enemies instead.

He could have properly taken a side instead of blindly following his beliefs and ideals.

He could have done so many things.

But Suho had simply written it off as 'something that must be done' as a knight.

Suho stared at his coffee that had become cold while he was lost in thought. Then he quietly sipped on it. "...I get it now. Why I was so drawn towards Lee's swordsmanship."

From the first time Suho had seen Lee, he had sensed that Lee could use a sword. And he had sensed that there was something in the way Lee used a sword that Suho could learn.

When he sparred against Lee, Suho was a bit irritated that Lee was taking it so lightly.

But now, he understood it. And the words that Lee had left him at the end of that duel.

"A sword simply cuts. The one wielding that sword gets to determine what that cut means." Suho laughed, his heart feeling light and free. "Right. It's not that serious. It never was."

Duty, ideals, protecting others...

Those were lies.

Because Suho's past life had been empty due to being an orphan at a remote temple and raised by nuns, he had clung to the ideal of being a hero of justice and knights. He filled his heart with distorted views of how the world worked and chased after them because he had nothing else.

He wanted to protect without even knowing what it meant to protect someone.

In short...

"...All I ever wanted was to keep the ones I cared for safe. That was my mistake, wasn't it?" Suho murmured as he stared at his empty cup.

He had filled his heart with his ideals. But he had met people and relationships that filled his heart too.

Because he wasn't able to let either go, he lost both in the end.

But it was different in this life.

No. Not different.

If Suho hadn't met Lee, he would have continued chasing that ideal of 'protecting others.'

But now, Suho knew what he wanted.

His heart, once empty, had been filled with bonds carried from the start.

So...

Suho picked up his phone and called a certain number.

"...Suho?" The sleepy voice of his mother echoed on the phone. "Is something wrong?"

Suho felt his heart warm and he said, "Nothing's wrong. But I have some time off. Can I come home?"

"Of course! Do you even have to ask?" Suho's mother chuckled and said, "You're our baby boy. You're always welcome here. Even if your dad says otherwise."

Suho laughed. "Alright. Then, I'll see you soon. ...Love you."

Suho's mother didn't respond for a bit. But then her voice echoed, soft and warm. "I love you too, Suho. Come home. I'll make your favorites."

After that, Suho heard some shifting and Suho's mother shouting, "Dear, wake up! Suho's coming home to visit!"

Then the line went dead.

Suho smiled and let out a slow breath. "...Yeah. This is how it should be."

The knight who followed his ideals to the end only to lose everything was dead.

Suho had inherited that man's skills. But he didn't have to walk the same path that man did in the past.

Even if they were the same person, Suho didn't have to BE the same person.

Almost as if responding to his thoughts, there was a soft chime and Suho's Status Screen opened to his Gift.

===

[Gift]

Sword that Cleaves Fate <Evolving Gift> - Conviction is a blade that can create miracles in the face of an absolute end. You who walked the sword to the end now understand that there was never a path other than the one you carved into existence.

- In your hands, everything is a sword.

- If you believe it should be severed, it shall.

- Understanding improves efficacy of severing.

===

Suho stared at the updated description, now filled with words in comparison to the question marks it had been before. Then he laughed. "So it's like that."

It was truly a 'gift.'

A reward for the tragic path that Suho carved with bloody hands. A reminder that it needn't have ended that way. And a vow that it wouldn't be in this lifetime.

Suho smiled and then headed over to the sink to wash his cup. After that, he packed his things and nodded to his dorm room. "I'll be back soon."

With that, he headed off to go visit his parents.

===

Elsewhere, unliked Suho who was expecting a warm welcome when he visited his parents...

Yeonha was internally panicking.

It was 6 AM.

Hajin had woken up early and left a note for her saying that he was doing some last minute training.

Ordinarily, Yeonha would have scolded him for just leaving her alone.

But she understood why.

Because there, on her phone screen, there were three text messages.

The first was from Nayun, and also short.

===

[Nayun]

> I thought you'd be at home so I visited your parents. Where are you?

===

That alone would have been a disaster.

Because Yeonha forgot.

Since the last few days had been bliss with just herself and Hajin, Yeonha didn't remember the outside world.

And it had come banging at her door.

Especially with the next message.

===

[Mom]

> Yoo Yeonha- No. Kim Yeonha.

> Last night, we had the most enlightening discussion with your friends.

> I knew that those third-rate dramas were a bad influence, but THIS?

> You will come home. Or we will find you.

===

Yeonha's mother, Jin Yeojung. One of Korea's top real estate chaebols and an extraordinary businesswoman in her own right. The reason why Essence of Strait never lacked for money.

She was usually strict with Yeonha, but never harsh. Stern, but never threatening.

But here she had blatantly drawn the line in the sand.

Yeonha swallowed and then nervously opened the last message.

And when she did, her stomach dropped.

It was her father.

Usually, his messages were long and rambling, updating her on his day and how much he loved her.

But today, there were just two words: Come home.

"Oh... Oh no."

Yeonha hadn't been thinking.

She'd been so enamored with Hajin and thoughts of the future that she forgot about the present.

Namely the fact that Yeonha and Hajin were very much both just 17.

And that they were VERY much from different worlds. An even worse match up than Lee and Rachel.

Although Rachel was a princess and the future ruler of the Kingdom of Britain...

As much as it sounded callous to say, it was nothing in comparison to Yeonha's background.

Moreover, Lee had proven himself in a completely irrefutable way by fighting against a hundred Cube Cadets and winning.

Rankings aside, no one in history had ever accomplished such a feat.

And that was why people had tacitly accepted Lee as Rachel's beloved at this point, even if begrudgingly.

But Hajin?

Yeonha knew his potential. Yeonha had seen his skills and swift adaptation. And Yeonha had seen how Hajin alone could bring the Essence of Strait to a new level when it was her time to take it over.

There was a problem though. A major one.

...No one else had.

Yeonha, in her own paranoia that someone else would try to steal Hajin away... she had made it so that no one else knew the full extent of Hajin's abilities.

Sure, he had shown it off a bit at the exams. And their classmates all had the sense that Hajin was 'strong.'

But it wasn't 'qualified to be the husband of the future woman who would practically rule over Korea' strong.

Yeonha glanced at the time again.

6:10 AM.

Knowing her parents, Yeonha had until 8 AM to show up for breakfast with Hajin before they sent people hunting for them.

Which meant Yeonha had until 8 AM to make a proper presentation on why it was not only tactical, but rational, logical, beneficial, and inevitable that she married Hajin now.

...And had his child.

Yeonha covered her face and groaned. "Oh, I'm so fuuuuucked."

Faced with the overwhelming situation, Yeonha couldn't help but curse.

Especially when she remembered the MANY marks on her body that would ABSOLUTELY not be healed in time even if she tried to use healing potions.

But just before Yeonha started to panic, her phone buzzed again. Another text message.

Although dreading what it could be, Yeonha forced herself to look.

===

[That Ridiculous Bastard Lee]

> Okay, so Hajin is absolutely going to get murdered at this rate.

> Running damage control.

> Tell him he owes me by figuring out a way to delete demonic energy and/or control demons.

> Also, if you're pregnant, I win all the monies. But do NOT even HINT at that to your parents.

> Like, they have all the Essence of Strait bigshots geared up to hunt Hajin down.

> We're currently at your house, so if you show up we can help. But like, you got until 8 AM.

===

Yeonha stared at the message. Then she quietly changed Lee's name in her contacts to [My Lord and Savior Lee Shin].