Chapter 40: Train to hell (II)
The damp cabin reeked of fear, sweat, and something in between—a rotten meal. Everyone gasped and choked back tears, anxiety, and vomit as they struggled to pull up the window from the new bubbling app.
Cha Hwa Rim watched it all with an indifferent look. There was an air of arrogance flowing through her, a divine arrogance that came with seeing all things as ants.
Inside Cha Hwa Rim was Dan Woo, who felt as though he were imprisoned.
The blood and gore that should have made him vomit or left him horrified by the gruesomeness of the situation wasn’t there. All he felt was an indifference that couldn’t be explained, her previous motivations seeming to have evaporated somewhere in between that burst of Meaning.
He knew he should feel horrified, even guilty, but the feeling never came. The only emotion he could feel was pity—the same pity one gives an animal before turning it into a meal.
Even the rage that had brought him here was nowhere to be seen.
That made him feel as though something was extremely wrong with him.
Sure, from the threads all connecting to her, no one was truly guiltless. Some were violent, others full of malicious tongues, some sexual miscreants, others deviants of every kind. The threads showed him the worst of humanity—from corporate greed to the selfish desires of humans trampling over one another.
But that was no reason for Cha Hwa Rim to wear this air of indifference, as though she were better than everyone around her.
After all...
She had also killed someone.
Indeed, she had killed someone, making her a sinner.
The moment Dan Woo thought that, he felt the air of indifference and arrogance lessen. It was as though the thought itself had cracked that divine detachment. Her previous fury and hatred began to break through, followed by guilt, as Cha Hwa Rim herself seemed to slip through the wall of indifference.
The memory of that failed cursed ritual returned.
The time when she knew nothing of shamanism and had simply channeled a malicious curse, only for it to backfire and take her parents with it.
That deep, dark emotion—that overwhelming sense of despair—brought back a fragment of feeling to Dan Woo.
Now, as Cha Hwa Rim, he could finally feel actual guilt and pain for everything that was happening.
Yet her body remained in a nonchalant, almost statuesque posture, undisturbed by all worldly affairs.
Was this the work of his constellation?
Dan Woo catalogued the experience.
Maybe the constellation had been planning to take over his body, but something had gone wrong, leaving her trapped in this aloof state of existence where she believed herself untouched by the mundane.
Dan Woo could only make Cha Hwa Rim look around as everyone’s Meaning lay before her. Unconsciously, she channeled all that Meaning into their True Names.
Drawing out everyone’s True Name was dangerous for everyone involved.
Yet that spillage of Meaning had forced her to create this scenario.
He himself wasn’t even sure why he needed their True Names when those very names only appeared as runes, formed from an incomprehensible language.
She just sat there in silence, hoping all the people around her could understand the rules and exit successfully. He didn’t want to see more deaths happen because of the scenario, especially with her two forms of justice—the Redeemer and the Executioner.
The white justice and the black justice.
Cha Hwa Rim turned to look at the small icon on the right side of the screen, showing her time as the Executioner coming to an end, her merciful face slowly taking its place. Maybe she could use that time to warn everyone and give them something, even though her body was forcing her to remain impartial.
The only thing he could be happy about was that he could punish that scum thoroughly today.
As for the others, he could only hope they could figure it out from her words before they arrived at the next station.
Then, after much deliberation, she began.
"Find your True Names. They are the key."
The softly uttered words boomed through the cabin as though a speaker had been lodged in her throat, causing all the distraught passengers to turn and gaze at her.
But before the words could truly sink in, the PA system blared to life once more.
"Next station is Confession Station. All who are alighting at Confession Station, be prepared."
The crowd, which had initially been drawn toward Cha Hwa Rim, suddenly turned back to one another as discussions broke out among them.
Some people, however, continued to look at Cha Hwa Rim suspiciously, yet none of them was about to make a reckless move.
After all, everyone in the Bureau was familiar with the sketch of the possible Stage Five Manifest, but they didn’t want to make any unnecessary moves. They simply watched to see what she would do next.
Sang Hun Lee was one of the agents watching Cha Hwa Rim, and he observed her especially closely, following her every movement, particularly the strange bond flowing between them that allowed him to channel his abilities.
He wasn’t sure, but he felt that everything happening was because of the woman before them.
He simply couldn’t prove it.
He could tell his fellow comrades were arriving at the same conclusion, but they also had nothing to support it.
Then he noticed the small icon at the top-right corner of his screen.
Inside the circular bubble was a slowly depleting bar. He had been watching it for some time, feeling there was something hidden within it. The avatar inside shifted between a white figure holding scales and a black figure wielding a flaming sword, both covered by a blindfold.
Right now, the icon displayed the blindfolded Justitia holding the scales.
His mind immediately turned to the rules.
The third rule spoke of appeasing Justice.
The fourth rule spoke of balancing the scales of justice and sharpening the sword of judgment.
He felt the two rules were connected, and coupled with what Liu Yuning had explained to them yesterday—that the Manifest possessed an ethereal manifestation of Justitia—he felt as though he was finally getting somewhere.
The Justice that had to be appeased was the tattooed woman before them.
But how she was to be appeased—that was the problem.
He turned back to the fourth rule.
He felt he might have found something that dealt with balancing the scales of justice.
He thought about what that could mean.
Would it mean revealing the injustices that had happened throughout their lives?
Or perhaps the injustices they themselves had committed?
Maybe both.
And as for the sword of judgment...
What could that mean?
No.
He needed to deal with the scales of justice first.
He wasn’t sure whether he needed to present both, but what he did know was that he needed to confess something.
Maybe that was what it meant to reach the next destination.
Sang Hun Lee reached deep within himself, sifting through every moment of his life.
Every difficult decision he had ever made.
Then he slowly stood up as everyone around him continued chatting amongst themselves.
He slowly sauntered toward the young tattooed woman, trying not to seem dangerous or out of place. As soon as he stood before her, he immediately went on one knee.
"Greetings to Lady Justice. I have come to balance the scales of justice."
As he said this, he took three deep bows, with his third bow remaining on the floor.
Dan Woo was confused as to what was going on, but his body acted on its own, his hands taking hold of Sang Hun Lee’s.
Sang Hun Lee let himself be helped up before, suddenly, a golden scale manifested before them.
A hint of happiness flickered across Sang Hun Lee’s face upon seeing it. He had been right about the woman. Even so, he remained careful, unsure of what would happen next. If he was wrong, he could very well lose his life.
He could feel himself falter, but he forced himself to find courage. He took a deep breath, feeling his heart pound as warm blood flooded through his entire body, the taste of dread lingering in his mouth.
"I have come before you, Lady Justice, to confess that I have taken civilian lives."
As soon as the words were uttered, the golden scales began to tremble. A ball of light took its place on one end, causing the scales to tip to one side.
Then, suddenly, Sang Hun Lee felt a warm hand permeate through his left chest. A soft, delicate hand seemed to massage something within, grabbing hold of it before gently removing it.
In front of him now floated a red, beating heart.
Sang Hun Lee felt horrified as he watched the scene of his own heart being ripped out of him, yet there was no hole, no pain, and no blood accompanying it. Neither did he feel ill.
The tattooed woman gently placed his heart on one end of the scales, opposite the ball of light. The two began to dance between either side in a slow, see-saw motion.
Sang Hun Lee could only bite down on his fear as he watched everything unfold, but relief washed over him when the scales finally balanced.
The moment they did, a trumpet blast erupted from Sang Hun Lee’s phone.
Some kind of strange symbol appeared across the screen in golden letters. That very same symbol inscribed itself onto the back of his hand as one of the three tattoos on his wrist slowly disappeared.
The crowd that had been watching everything unfold suddenly grew excited. They all rushed toward the tattooed woman, each one trying to do the same thing.
But there were still those who didn’t understand the rules.
Dan Woo could only sigh as at least three more people burst into balloons of crimson.