Chapter 72
The once-clear and distinct corridor seemed to twist and bend in all directions. Moving forward should have been simple, yet Yi-Gyeol’s vision kept spinning as if he were heavily intoxicated.
Even in his spirit state, Yi-Gyeol felt a strange heaviness in his body. If he had legs, he would have collapsed and fallen several times already.
“You must be eager to die.”
As Zair’s voice echoed, a wave of dizziness threatened to make him lose consciousness.
‘He’s insane… That man… He must be insane.’
Yi-Gyeol had considered stepping straight into the room, but the thought that Zair might be inside and could notice him immediately made him hesitate. Instead, he cautiously peeked from behind a nearby wall. However, it was so dark that he could barely distinguish anything. It seemed like just another section of the wall until—
Drip.
Drip.
Like a loosely closed faucet, the sound of water droplets falling echoed from somewhere in the darkness. The short intervals between the drops and the faint splashes as they hit the floor suggested that a puddle of some sort had formed below. Naively, he assumed he had stumbled into a bathroom.
As he focused on the sounds in the darkness, he realized just how pitch-black it was around him—so much so that he hadn’t even noticed a wall beside him. Without thinking, he passed through it and found himself in a completely different place, a bright room filled with bookshelves. Fortunately, there was no one in sight—only bookshelves and a curtained cabinet.
Just as he let out a sigh of relief, he heard Zair’s voice beyond the shelves, confirming that he was indeed nearby. Yi-Gyeol considered moving closer, but the spaces between the bookshelves were just wide enough that he could hear everything clearly even while staying hidden.
“There’s nothing to worry about. The next body I create will be indistinguishable from a perfect human, unlike the previous failures. Since the body will be constructed using the soul’s information, its resistance will be negligible compared to the past.”
The moment Yi-Gyeol heard Zair’s cold words, he realized the “body” he was referring to was his own.
Up until now, human-body alchemy had only been able to create bodies that resembled humans. A truly flawless human-like body had only been achieved once—by the first owner of the Magic Tower. Since then, the only successful creation had been himself.
Though he didn’t fully understand alchemy or forbidden arts, he now grasped why Zair had coveted him so much.
If only that were the end of it.
As the person speaking with Zair left the room, Zair began to move as well. Fear gripped Yi-Gyeol—if he was discovered, it would be over. The moment he heard Zair’s footsteps approaching, he hurriedly slipped back into the darkness.
He thought he could escape into the corridor from this shadowed space. But then—
“…Ugh…”
It wasn’t just the sound of dripping water anymore. A faint, feeble groan—like a dying ember struggling to stay alight—mingled with the drops.
The moment he recognized it as a human voice, he froze, unable to move. If he had a physical body, his senses would have been overwhelmed. Fortunately, as a spirit, his perception was limited to sight and sound. If he could smell, the stench might have rendered him unconscious.
Then, light began to seep into the darkness.
As his surroundings became clearer, he finally saw—
‘…Ugh.’
The last scene he had witnessed flashed through his mind, stopping him in his tracks. He desperately hoped it had been a nightmare, but having seen it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to accept reality.
Zair’s laughter still seemed to echo in his ears.
To Zair, human lives, even departed souls, were nothing more than playthings. If Yi-Gyeol stayed here any longer, he would end up the same way.
Determined, a single thought filled his mind—he needed to see Seth.
Suddenly, his vision cleared. The corridor, which had seemed like a twisted maze moments ago, now stretched straight and unobstructed, as if urging him to run.
Perhaps Seth was thinking the same way as Zair. Maybe he intended to create multiple bodies, mass-producing them like copies.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
The dark thoughts threatening to consume him vanished in an instant.
‘If it’s for Seth, I don’t care if I’m used like that.’
Seth was the one who had filled the void in his heart with overwhelming affection. Without him, Yi-Gyeol would have withered away like a neglected plant, dying in solitude. He no longer craved love from anyone else.
Seth and Zair stood in completely different places in his mind. Even if they sought the same thing, they could never be the same to him.
As he rushed down the corridor and turned a corner, a sudden thought crossed his mind.
If Seth created a new body and gave it to another soul, wouldn’t that soul also need life energy to survive? For a living body to function, it required a mana stone embedded at the time of alchemy, as well as a steady supply of vitality from its creator.
Then… wouldn’t Seth have to give that new body life energy, just as he had given it to him?
A strange sensation pulsed within him—an ache that shouldn’t have been possible without a physical form.
He didn’t know why he felt this way, why something deep inside him seemed to stir. It was as if he was yearning for something he shouldn’t desire.
‘What’s wrong with me…?’
Of all things, his feelings for Seth were the one thing that must never change.
Seth was his entire world. He could neither lower nor elevate his place in it. He knew that, and yet… something in his mind wouldn’t stay still.
Struggling to push the thoughts aside, he rounded the corner—
‘…!’
A face suddenly appeared before him, and he flinched in surprise.
It was a young man in a servant’s uniform, though notably, he was missing a hand. Yi-Gyeol had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even heard the man approaching.
He quickly regained his composure and moved past the man, who continued forward without sparing him a glance.
‘Is Seth okay? Where… Where was the prison again?’
Growing increasingly anxious, Yi-Gyeol decided that instead of searching through rooms, he should check on Seth first. He needed to make sure he was unharmed, to share what he had learned about Zair. More than anything—he just wanted to see him.
Passing through the corridor and leaving the castle altogether, Yi-Gyeol decided to search the area around the Imperial Palace. He had heard before that the tall stone tower on the palace grounds was the prison where criminals and suspects were confined. Was Seth there too? Yi-Gyeol hurried on, searching for the stone tower he had heard about.
With that thought dominating his mind, he soared through the corridors and out of the castle.
The young man Yi-Gyeol had passed earlier was standing in the corridor, looking outside. His eyes were accurately tracking Yi-Gyeol’s golden butterfly form flying through the sky.
Only after Yi-Gyeol was completely out of sight did the man turn away. His gaze landed on two white butterflies at the far end of the hallway. The moment they noticed him, one flitted toward a seemingly solid wall, slipping through it.
From behind that hidden door, a voice calmly invited him in.
“Enter.”
Without knocking, the man pushed open the door. A faint scent of blood lingered in the air, making his eyes twitch slightly. However, he remained composed and approached Zair, who stood at his desk.
“How was Crown Prince Sethian?”
Seated at the head of a lavish sofa, Zair glanced up with a pleased expression.
“He didn’t seem surprised or shaken.”
“As expected. Even in this situation, he remains composed…”
Zair clicked his tongue briefly before gesturing toward the door. The white butterfly that had accompanied the man obediently flew out of the room.
Meanwhile, the man kept his gaze firmly fixed on Zair.
“I heard you brought Crown Prince Sethian’s slave.”
“That’s right. Interested?”
“How could I not be?”
The man’s eyes sharpened with barely restrained anger. His sole remaining fist clenched tightly, trembling slightly.
“If it belongs to Crown Prince Sethian, I want to destroy it.”
Zair smiled in satisfaction.
To him, this servant was both trustworthy… and incredibly easy to manipulate.
Even in his spirit state, Yi-Gyeol felt a strange heaviness in his body. If he had legs, he would have collapsed and fallen several times already.
“You must be eager to die.”
As Zair’s voice echoed, a wave of dizziness threatened to make him lose consciousness.
‘He’s insane… That man… He must be insane.’
Yi-Gyeol had considered stepping straight into the room, but the thought that Zair might be inside and could notice him immediately made him hesitate. Instead, he cautiously peeked from behind a nearby wall. However, it was so dark that he could barely distinguish anything. It seemed like just another section of the wall until—
Drip.
Drip.
Like a loosely closed faucet, the sound of water droplets falling echoed from somewhere in the darkness. The short intervals between the drops and the faint splashes as they hit the floor suggested that a puddle of some sort had formed below. Naively, he assumed he had stumbled into a bathroom.
As he focused on the sounds in the darkness, he realized just how pitch-black it was around him—so much so that he hadn’t even noticed a wall beside him. Without thinking, he passed through it and found himself in a completely different place, a bright room filled with bookshelves. Fortunately, there was no one in sight—only bookshelves and a curtained cabinet.
Just as he let out a sigh of relief, he heard Zair’s voice beyond the shelves, confirming that he was indeed nearby. Yi-Gyeol considered moving closer, but the spaces between the bookshelves were just wide enough that he could hear everything clearly even while staying hidden.
“There’s nothing to worry about. The next body I create will be indistinguishable from a perfect human, unlike the previous failures. Since the body will be constructed using the soul’s information, its resistance will be negligible compared to the past.”
The moment Yi-Gyeol heard Zair’s cold words, he realized the “body” he was referring to was his own.
Up until now, human-body alchemy had only been able to create bodies that resembled humans. A truly flawless human-like body had only been achieved once—by the first owner of the Magic Tower. Since then, the only successful creation had been himself.
Though he didn’t fully understand alchemy or forbidden arts, he now grasped why Zair had coveted him so much.
If only that were the end of it.
As the person speaking with Zair left the room, Zair began to move as well. Fear gripped Yi-Gyeol—if he was discovered, it would be over. The moment he heard Zair’s footsteps approaching, he hurriedly slipped back into the darkness.
He thought he could escape into the corridor from this shadowed space. But then—
“…Ugh…”
It wasn’t just the sound of dripping water anymore. A faint, feeble groan—like a dying ember struggling to stay alight—mingled with the drops.
The moment he recognized it as a human voice, he froze, unable to move. If he had a physical body, his senses would have been overwhelmed. Fortunately, as a spirit, his perception was limited to sight and sound. If he could smell, the stench might have rendered him unconscious.
Then, light began to seep into the darkness.
As his surroundings became clearer, he finally saw—
‘…Ugh.’
The last scene he had witnessed flashed through his mind, stopping him in his tracks. He desperately hoped it had been a nightmare, but having seen it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to accept reality.
Zair’s laughter still seemed to echo in his ears.
To Zair, human lives, even departed souls, were nothing more than playthings. If Yi-Gyeol stayed here any longer, he would end up the same way.
Determined, a single thought filled his mind—he needed to see Seth.
Suddenly, his vision cleared. The corridor, which had seemed like a twisted maze moments ago, now stretched straight and unobstructed, as if urging him to run.
Perhaps Seth was thinking the same way as Zair. Maybe he intended to create multiple bodies, mass-producing them like copies.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
The dark thoughts threatening to consume him vanished in an instant.
‘If it’s for Seth, I don’t care if I’m used like that.’
Seth was the one who had filled the void in his heart with overwhelming affection. Without him, Yi-Gyeol would have withered away like a neglected plant, dying in solitude. He no longer craved love from anyone else.
Seth and Zair stood in completely different places in his mind. Even if they sought the same thing, they could never be the same to him.
As he rushed down the corridor and turned a corner, a sudden thought crossed his mind.
If Seth created a new body and gave it to another soul, wouldn’t that soul also need life energy to survive? For a living body to function, it required a mana stone embedded at the time of alchemy, as well as a steady supply of vitality from its creator.
Then… wouldn’t Seth have to give that new body life energy, just as he had given it to him?
A strange sensation pulsed within him—an ache that shouldn’t have been possible without a physical form.
He didn’t know why he felt this way, why something deep inside him seemed to stir. It was as if he was yearning for something he shouldn’t desire.
‘What’s wrong with me…?’
Of all things, his feelings for Seth were the one thing that must never change.
Seth was his entire world. He could neither lower nor elevate his place in it. He knew that, and yet… something in his mind wouldn’t stay still.
Struggling to push the thoughts aside, he rounded the corner—
‘…!’
A face suddenly appeared before him, and he flinched in surprise.
It was a young man in a servant’s uniform, though notably, he was missing a hand. Yi-Gyeol had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even heard the man approaching.
He quickly regained his composure and moved past the man, who continued forward without sparing him a glance.
‘Is Seth okay? Where… Where was the prison again?’
Growing increasingly anxious, Yi-Gyeol decided that instead of searching through rooms, he should check on Seth first. He needed to make sure he was unharmed, to share what he had learned about Zair. More than anything—he just wanted to see him.
Passing through the corridor and leaving the castle altogether, Yi-Gyeol decided to search the area around the Imperial Palace. He had heard before that the tall stone tower on the palace grounds was the prison where criminals and suspects were confined. Was Seth there too? Yi-Gyeol hurried on, searching for the stone tower he had heard about.
With that thought dominating his mind, he soared through the corridors and out of the castle.
The young man Yi-Gyeol had passed earlier was standing in the corridor, looking outside. His eyes were accurately tracking Yi-Gyeol’s golden butterfly form flying through the sky.
Only after Yi-Gyeol was completely out of sight did the man turn away. His gaze landed on two white butterflies at the far end of the hallway. The moment they noticed him, one flitted toward a seemingly solid wall, slipping through it.
From behind that hidden door, a voice calmly invited him in.
“Enter.”
Without knocking, the man pushed open the door. A faint scent of blood lingered in the air, making his eyes twitch slightly. However, he remained composed and approached Zair, who stood at his desk.
“How was Crown Prince Sethian?”
Seated at the head of a lavish sofa, Zair glanced up with a pleased expression.
“He didn’t seem surprised or shaken.”
“As expected. Even in this situation, he remains composed…”
Zair clicked his tongue briefly before gesturing toward the door. The white butterfly that had accompanied the man obediently flew out of the room.
Meanwhile, the man kept his gaze firmly fixed on Zair.
“I heard you brought Crown Prince Sethian’s slave.”
“That’s right. Interested?”
“How could I not be?”
The man’s eyes sharpened with barely restrained anger. His sole remaining fist clenched tightly, trembling slightly.
“If it belongs to Crown Prince Sethian, I want to destroy it.”
Zair smiled in satisfaction.
To him, this servant was both trustworthy… and incredibly easy to manipulate.
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