Yama Rising

Lee Jung-sook kicked back and responded with a soft chuckle, “Yeah, she did. She completely fell for it, hook, line and sinker. How stupid did she have to be?”

“Thus… Choi Tae-min’s daughter, Choi Soon-sil, also ended up becoming Ms Park’s BFF.” Lee Jung-sook gently swirled the coffee in her cup as she glanced up meaningfully at Qin Ye, “Have you… finally thought about the implications of this?”

Qin Ye gasped.

How could he not?

This was the world’s most shocking BFF revelation! All this while, Ms Park had been acting just like a puppet on strings, manipulated by her BFF Choi Soon-sil, right down to the things she said, the clothes to wear and even the bag she carried! Choi Soon-sil had undoubtedly been given full access to the state secrets whilst Ms Park had reigned in power! This was the greatest scandal of Daeian politics in ages!

And to make matters worse… Big Momma Choi was none other than the daughter of the cult leader, Choi Tae-min!

“You finally seem to understand something.” Lee Jung-sook sneered, “But… that’s not all. In fact, this is only the beginning.”

“Do you know the name of the religious sect involved in the MV Sewol incident?”

She leaned in close to Qin Ye and then mouthed the words slowly, “Evangelical Baptist Church, otherwise known as the Guwonpa, or the Salvation Sect. [1] Their tenet is that mankind is close to extinction, and must be inclined towards death. Doesn’t this feel… somewhat similar to what we’ve been talking about?”

Qin Ye’s jaws dropped slightly, and he shook his head with great exclamation.

The MV Sewol incident, otherwise known as the second act of the script of death, has actually been brewing for such a long time?!

That’s not merely 15 years! We’re talking about a time frame of well over 40 years!

Is this all under the hand of the Russian Underworld?

Is this how an underworld sows the seeds of myths and fabricates miracles?

It all starts discreetly, budding and growing without anyone realizing it, until… it culminates with a volcanic eruption of despair and despondency!

In that instant, every notion he had about the process of casting myths was completely blown away, and he wanted nothing more than to learn about the entire truth surrounding the script in the hands of No. 2.

“That’s right.” Lee Jung-sook leaned back into the sofa, “The president of Cheonghaejin Shipping, Yu Byung-nam, was also one of the believers of Master Choi. The Salvation Sect is an offshoot of the Church of Spirit World.”

“And the day that MV Sewol sank…” A frigid smile crept up the corner of her lips, “Was none other than Master Choi’s 20th death anniversary.”

Qin Ye’s facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, and he gulped in horror.

No way…

You’ve got to be kidding…

Not even the King Yanluo of Hell could achieve something like resurrection from the dead. Even if they managed to make something rise from the burial mound, it would be no more than a monstrosity like the living dead. This is the incontrovertible way of the Heavenly Dao. Yet, to think that they’d done all these for a fragile myth propounded by a mere human being…

“And that’s not all.” Lee Jung-sook continued to deal blow after blow, “Master Choi had left a note in his will stating this - ‘I will not die. I’m merely sojourning in the lands of the dead. I shall be resurrected 20 years later through the execution of a ritual. Mark my words.”

“I knew all about them. Just one week before the MV Sewol incident, Cheonghaejin Shipping called in favours and reduced the number of ships sailing out to sea. I caught wind of it. After all, this was one of the collaborators of the god of death. Nobody can hide anything from me so long as it occurs here in Daehan.”

“I called in my own favour and banned the voyage of the MV Sewol. Unexpectedly, an order was issued directly from Cheongwadae, or the Blue House, directly allowing it to go out to sea. Like you guessed, the god of death had other important chess pieces that they could move in order to achieve the same end. And to that end, this other influential chess piece that was able to overrule me in that instant… was probably none other than the incumbent president at that time, Ms Park.”

“It was already night when I next learned of these developments. I can’t possibly be monitoring the situation all the time. After all, there were too many things that needed my attention. Unfortunately, it was all too late by the time I finally arrived.” She sighed wistfully, “I saw the pictures of the MV Sewol incident. It was undoubtedly the Resurrection Ritual.”

Silence.

Qin Ye rubbed his temples as he sorted through his thoughts.

Yin and Yang do not intersect, but they are still two sides of the same coin. These seemingly antithetical maxims had come together in perfect harmony at this very moment.

Everything in the netherworld stemmed from the mortal realm, but they cannot reach out and communicate directly to the mortal realm. Therefore, the next best thing that all underworlds have done since time immemorial was to promote faith in them through legends, myths and religious institutions.

Faith wasn’t merely the foundation on which an underworld was built. It was also the bridge connecting the two realms.

Only with faith, would there be believers; and only with believers, would there be a proper stage for which miracles and myths could manifest properly. Although the mortal realm and the netherworld hadn’t interfered with the affairs of the other, they had still, through the hands of fanatic faithfuls, orchestrated a series of shocking tragedies!

This was the truth behind the script of death!

Qin Ye could write all the scripts he so desired, but the true administrators of these scripts would still have to be the faithfuls and the believers living in the mortal realm.

No. 1, 2 and 3, the entities he had thought were the so-called administrators of the script of death, turned out to be nothing more than supervisors who would gently nudge the faithfuls and believers in the right track.

“No. 3 is in Pusan. No. 2… was originally in Gyeonggi Province, but would now be located in Pusan’s Gijang County. If they each preside over a locality, then… where would No. 1 be in charge of?” Qin Ye thought aloud.

“You’re worried about that?” Lee Jung-sook heard his mutterings, and she smiled faintly at him, “I can give you a clue.”

“Pusan is the second largest city in Daehan. It stands to reason that they’d kick things off here to test the waters. Last month, when the living dead incident first broke out, the Daeian government urgently closed all borders to Pusan, quarantined all of the living and urgently reached out to Cathay for assistance.”

She smiled, “No. 2 is located in the coastal areas. He oversaw the MV Sewol incident. That leaves… only one possible place for No. 1.”

“Gyeonggi Province, Gwangju City.”

Qin Ye frowned. He recalled what No. 3, Ahn Somi, had mentioned before she was killed - ‘I’m only responsible for transporting the living dead to Gyeonggi Province. I don’t know anything else…”

“How are you so certain that it’s got to be Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju City, and not Hanyang?” Qin Ye asked.

Lee Jung-sook chuckled, “Looks like someone hasn’t done his homework…”

She retracted her smile, and then took a deep breath, “Because… Gyeonggi Province, Gwangju City, is home to one of the seven most supernatural places in the world - the Gonjiam Asylum!”

“Haven’t you heard of its notoriety? The sound of ping-pong balls falling at night; the story of the mysterious dean’s office; shifting photograph frames, and the list goes on. Ask any Daeian out on the streets, and they’ll all be able to tell you of the horrors of Gonjiam Asylum. I’ve heard No. 2 mention the Gonjiam Asylum is also where the ghosts of Daehan would converge. In other words… we’re talking about a nest of evil ghosts there.”

“I don’t know what the Russian Underworld is trying to do, but what I do know is that if they are about to do something, it would definitely involve Gonjiam!”

Her words were like a bolt of lightning out of the blue.

His trip here clearly hadn’t been in vain.

Gonjiam Asylum… How could anyone not have heard of this infamous place?

This is one of the top seven places in the world for paranormal activity. Countless people have witnessed supernatural incidents there, and those who head in after midnight were never heard from again… In fact, there are a multitude of legends and stories told of this place itself. To think that it’s actually located right in Gwangju City!

Doesn’t this mean that the trains from Pusan carrying the living dead are all headed towards the Gonjiam Asylum?!

This was nothing more than a conjecture, but one which Qin Ye was willing to put high stakes on.

It was impossible not to pass up Gonjiam Asylum if one wanted to draft up a script of death to be administered in Daehan! In fact, Qin Ye should have guessed that the location that No. 1 was in charge of would be none other than Gonjiam Asylum!

“This isn’t mere speculation.” Lee Jung-sook leaned back on the sofa and explained placidly, “Last year, the cultivators under my charge have informed me through their reports that the Yin energy readings around the Gonjiam Asylum area… have reached levels as high as five million.”

Qin Ye gasped. With so many living dead shipped into the same region, energy readings in the region of millions is only natural!

The Second King Yanluo had mentioned that if things went well, then the harvest of faith would always come together with a commensurately powerful Yin spirit.

Gonjiam Asylum… is probably where this powerful Yin spirit is being bred right now!

In other words, they were artificially creating a powerful evil ghost!

So long as Liu Yu was able to kill it, he would be able to reap the harvest of faith and establish his underworld once and for all!

But if that were truly the case, then it would only require the works of No. 1 and No. 3… So why would the script of death require No. 2 to carry out the MV Sewol incident…

Whoosh… Several minutes later, Qin Ye’s eyes glistened brightly, and then he looked up at Lee Jung-sook with his mouth agape in horror, “Are they… seriously looking to revive Twisted Fate?!” [2]

“... Hang on a minute… Who’s Twisted Fate?” Lee Jung-sook responded stiffly. She clearly hadn’t heard of this name before.

Qin Ye coughed dryly, “You know… the guy with the stun, cardshark and swindler--…”

Lee Jung-sook gave him a deadly glare, and Qin Ye promptly stopped - It’s not my fault that you keep calling him Master Choi here, there and everywhere…

Qin Ye did everything he could to bring himself back to reality, “I mean--... are they really planning to resurrect Choi Tae-min?”

If that’s the case, then everything makes sense!

No. 3 would be in charge of Ouroboros, creating zombie after zombie to fill the lands with Yin energy.

No. 1 would helm the Gonjiam Asylum, the node where Yin energy would converge in the Daehan Peninsula, thereby setting the stage in preparation for the great harvest.

Meanwhile, No. 2 would ensure the occurrence of the MV Sewol incident in order to bring back Choi Tae-min’s soul.

It’s the perfect script of death!

This was undoubtedly the entire truth surrounding the script of death!

“No… Even if he were resurrected, he’d be nothing more than a hideous monstrosity. No one can properly come back to life after death…” Qin Ye frowned, and then suddenly smacked his head hard, “Idiot! You’re an idiot! Liu Yu basically wants to create another monster just like Choi Tae-min!”

“He’s got too much on his plate! The head of the cult, the man pulling the strings behind the relationship between the two BFFs, the origin and orchestrator of the MV Sewol incident, one of the root causes in the rise of the living dead, and now… he’s even going to turn into a monstrosity that haunts Daehan. That’s right, everything would tie back nicely in the script of death! They were going to create an unprecedentedly strong and terrifying evil ghost, that will eventually be slain by Liu Yu!”

“Needless to say, the disclosure of Choi Tae-min’s identity would cause everyone to erupt with gratitude! The newfound faith in Liu Yu once that happens would trigger a stir in Daehan, filling their citizens with faith for their saviour who had dished out justice for their people once and for all!”

Thump, thump, thump… Qin Ye’s heart beat wildly.

He could see how the script of death was tying everything together masterfully.

This was how forty years of execution of a script was going to culminate with the perfect ending!

The presence of such a script was simply perfect for his own reference!

Furthermore, the feeling of uncovering the truth, bit by bit, filled him with intense excitement and a great sense of fulfillment. His blood was pumping. Although he hadn’t verified these wild conjectures, his intuition told him that he probably wasn’t too far from the truth.

In fact, he was confident that he might even have a clearer grasp of the entire picture of the script of death than Liu Yu right now. Heck, Qin Ye could even head back to Cathay right now if he’d wanted. Who cares about the grand opening ceremony of the Hanyang Underworld?

“There’s a 90% likelihood that everything would culminate in the Gonjiam Asylum. In other words, Liu Yu, that’s practically where the heartbeat of your future underworld is pumping right now…” Qin Ye smiled deviously. Sure, anyone can play the role of the hero, but the fact remained that there could only be one hero to begin with.

It doesn’t matter who you are. The one who kills the villain would undoubtedly be heralded as the hero of the nation!

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… I suddenly feel as though I can’t control the outpouring of energy from my body… The fact that Arturo has written this script of death with you in mind means that it would have to be a villain that you can take on with your current abilities. He wouldn’t create a basilisk that you cannot slay. And if you can deal with this problem… who's to say that I shouldn’t personally deal with this problem myself?”

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_Baptist_Church_of_Korea

2. A LoL reference. Twisted Fate is a Champion.