Chapter 46: Surrender to karma (I)
The sound of sloshing and churning echoed as the sea came into contact with the boat carrying its passengers. No one knew how they had gotten there or why they were there in the first place. They could only check themselves to see if they were okay before turning to their surroundings to assess the area.
Sang Hun Lee and a few other people walked toward the exposed areas of the boat, hoping to gauge where they were, only to find themselves not sailing upon the sea but upon an endless expanse of mist, with no end in sight apart from the grand stature of a woman that had the shape of a tree.
The small ship seemed to be on course for that towering tree. No one could understand why.
Sang Hun and the few teammates he had returned to the cabin to gather the other people, hoping to get a better read on where they were and what it could possibly mean. Everyone was told to check their hazy memories.
Sang Hun Lee went around asking what people remembered and whether any of the twenty-five people who had remained from the train were missing, only to discover that there were twenty-four instead of twenty-five.
He was slightly confused by the reduction in numbers but didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he turned to the others and told them what he and the others had seen while they were on deck. The small ship they were on seemed to be floating upon mist, headed toward a huge tree made of golden light.
People immediately reached for their phones, hoping to contact someone or at least confirm they still had them, only to find that their phones were gone. They then turned to look at their hands to confirm whether those dreadful skull tattoos were still there, only to be heavily disappointed to see that they remained.
As this was happening, the sudden sound of a fog horn emanated throughout the entire space. The sound didn’t seem to come from the space itself but from the depths beyond. Everyone felt a tremor deep within the very core of their bones. It didn’t feel like they were hearing the sound with their ears but instead feeling it with their souls.
Then, suddenly, everyone else in the hall disappeared.
A golden visage of Lady Justice seemed to sprout from the ground and plant itself before each and every one of them.
Everyone was now alone with their own Lady Justice.
What was even more terrifying was that their bodies seemed illusory, made not of flesh or bone but of a strange substance that resembled pure energy itself.
The visage of Lady Justice remained domineering, radiating a divine majesty that none could resist, bringing every single person to their knees before her.
When one tried to gaze upon their own Lady Justice, it felt like they were staring at something unknown. Then, suddenly, they could see a chain emanate from her with seething heat before sinking into that illusory body as it flowed through the entirety of their being.
The process was painful, but not physically.
The chain didn’t seem to trace through their physical body but through the entirety of their existence. They could all see their current lives as the chain traveled through them—from their birth, to their childhood, to their teenage years, and finally their adult years. Their lives played out around them like a movie reel, the chains digging themselves into specific instances throughout their lives. Whether it was malice, despair, or injustice, once an injustice presented itself in any part of their lives, the chain would plant itself there.
The process was foreign and intrusive, yet it seemed to make people understand more about themselves. For many who experienced it, they could feel the entirety of that experience condense into a certain vocabulary that seemed to have no native tongue. Whether it was a word, a sentence, or an entire paragraph, no one was sure what it truly was, but their entire experience condensed into that feeling, with tattoos of that string of meaning and existence plastering themselves upon the backs of both their left and right hands, glowing with inscrutable runes.
Yet whenever one gazed upon those runes, they could glimpse their own lives, as if their entire being had been condensed into that single rune.
Many were in awe at this display of power and authority, almost feeling as though they were standing in the presence of a god.
But it wasn’t over.
Once the process was complete, within that misty space where everyone stood before their own Lady Justice, they could see a seed made of black and white mist grow out of the rune before falling to the ground. It immediately began growing into a small inverted tree, its roots shooting upward while its leaves grew downward. The trees continued to grow into various grand sizes, each different from the next. Their fruits hung toward the ground. Some looked beautiful and luscious, while others seemed to be in an almost decomposing state.
It was a variation no one could understand.
After every tree had grown to its perfect size, the people could feel their illusory bodies becoming physical once again as a golden statue of Lady Justice formed before them, seemingly woven together from the countless chains of everyone around.
Sang Hun Lee was in awe, yet equally confused by everything he had just experienced.
From the dissection of his life to all those conceptual visions that had been bestowed upon them, every experience went far beyond the capabilities of a Stage Five Manifest.
Was the woman higher than Stage Five?
But the woman seemed too young for that.
Or was he wrong, and the woman wasn’t merely a Champion?
There had been cases of Archetypes attempting to walk the world through vessels they had created.
Was the woman Anomaly Twenty-Three itself?
No...
That couldn’t be it.
Could it?
The higher order of Archetypes couldn’t be restrained within the bounds of a mortal body. It would be like forcing an ocean into a balloon—it would simply burst.
The only explanation was that either the woman was a higher-level Awakened, almost reaching the Transcendent Stage, or she was making use of a conceptual artifact.
"Yeah... it must be an artifact."
But before Sang Hun Lee could settle his thoughts, another boom that shook the soul resounded throughout the entire space.
"Eat the fruits of your labour."
It was a low female voice that seemed melodious, yet at the same time carried a divine authority that shook the soul, making it tremble and obey the command without question.
Everyone immediately felt a wave of heat permeate the area as a number of fruits appeared before each of them.
Some were golden, with a beautiful scent emanating from them.
Others were rotten, carrying a horrible stench that seemed capable of driving one mad.
There were different ratios of golden and rotten fruits filling the area.
"Partake and reap what you have sowed."
The voice boomed once again as a sword swept through the area, cleaving through the space itself.
All who hadn’t taken a bite of their fruits found themselves sliced cleanly in half before dispersing into nothingness.
When Sang Hun Lee saw this, he couldn’t help but think of two of the five rules.
Rule Three: Seek to appease Justice.
Rule Five: Seek forgiveness and penance for one’s actions.
The next station they had been headed toward before arriving on the ship had been Surrender Station.
And surrender, in terms of justice, meant acknowledging your sins and facing the punishment for them.
Maybe that was what they were supposed to do.
Sang Hun Lee wasn’t sure how they were meant to seek forgiveness, but seeing the sword cleave down everyone who hadn’t partaken of their fruits, he immediately took a bite of his own.
He bit into both fruits at the same time, trying to blend their tastes.
The moment he did, he witnessed something that could only be described as extraordinary.
When one partook of the fruit, they were allowed to see through their own cause and effect.
If one had delivered justice by helping another through an injustice, they would witness that justice being repaid and retribution carried out.
But if one had committed the injustice instead, they would witness the future that awaited them because of that very injustice.
The severity of the crime and the intent behind it seemed to be the driving force.
To Sang Hun Lee, it felt as though one could glimpse into the future and see the fate waiting for them. That sense of pain and despair was overwhelming, especially once you realized you were unable to stop it unless you truly repented.
Many people were horrified by the futures shown to them.
Some saw themselves suffering from horrible diseases like cancer.
Others witnessed those same injustices being committed against them.
At the same time, the chains that had sunk into them began flowing back out toward the colossal tree at the end of the ship, the very destination the vessel had been sailing toward all this time.
Then the moving statue suddenly came to a halt.
A wave of mist spread over the ship as the golden brilliance faded, allowing darkness to swallow the entire area.
The people who had only just returned from their various experiences were confused to find themselves surrounded by utter darkness.
Then the growling began.
It echoed from somewhere within the darkness.
A scream followed.
Then another.
Within moments, the entire ship descended into pandemonium as people screamed in the darkness, unable to see what was attacking them.
Sang Hun Lee tried to calm himself, even though terror and fear gripped his own heart at whatever lurked within the darkness.
Then, suddenly, a small light could be seen radiating from the front of the cabin.
It was a little girl.
She was kneeling before the statue of Lady Justice, bowing her head in reverence.
It was the very same girl who had sat across from him on the train.
Sang Hun Lee immediately tried to follow suit, kneeling before the statue as well.
Yet...
Nothing happened.
He could still hear the growling hidden within the darkness growing louder and louder.
He tried again.
And again.
Still...
Nothing.
He then turned to channeling his Meaning.
Maybe he could use his abilities to do something.
But there was nothing.
Nothing at all.
Then, suddenly—
Something lunged out from the darkness.
It crashed into him, entering his body as he felt himself begin to lose control of it.