Night had fallen, and the group had settled around a small crackling fire. The moonlight filtered through the trees, dancing across the pots and bowls scattered at their feet. Ji-Mun leaned forward, peering dubiously at the bubbling stew that Yeon had insisted on cooking.
"So... what did you put in it again?" Ji-Mun asked, spoon in hand but unmoving.
Yeon, ever quiet, simply pointed at the ingredients he had gathered in a basket—roots, mushrooms, wild herbs, and... something that looked suspiciously like a lizard tail.
Ma-Rok raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was supposed to be a spice."
"Looks more like a side quest gone wrong," Yul-Rin murmured, peering into the pot. A suspicious bubble rose and popped with an ominous blorp.
So-Ri nudged Sun-Ho. "You're the leader. You taste it first."
Sun-Ho looked at her. Then at the stew. Then back at her. "Is this mutiny?"
"I call it delegation."
He sighed dramatically, took a wooden spoon, and dipped it in. The others leaned in.
Slurp.
He chewed slowly.
Paused.
Then blinked. "It's... not bad."
Everyone stared in shock.
Ji-Mun cautiously tried his own. "Oh. Huh. That's actually decent."
Yul-Rin muttered, "Is it good, or are our taste buds too traumatized to resist anymore?"
Ma-Rok downed a bowl in three bites. "Tastes like adventure."
Yeon looked mildly pleased. He still didn't smile, but his eyes lit up a little.
"Let him cook again," Ma-Rok said between mouthfuls.
"Let him not put in lizard tail next time," Ji-Mun replied, poking at something wiggly in his bowl.
Sun-Ho chuckled as So-Ri leaned against him with a grin. For one brief moment, things felt normal.
And then—
CRACK.
A tree branch snapped in the distance.
The warmth vanished. Everyone turned.
The air was thick with tension as the stranger stepped forward, revealing himself fully. His long coat fluttered in the night breeze, edges singed from the earlier burst of energy. Eyes that carried storms—grey, calm, dangerous—looked over the group with more curiosity than threat.
He wasn't masked. He didn't need to be.
"Nice campfire," he said casually, voice smooth like still water over a blade. "And the stew smells… edible."
Ji-Mun shifted forward. "Who are you?"
"I'm called Seo-Gun. I wasn't planning to intrude, but the boy's flare could've woken corpses." He nodded toward Yeon, who stood quietly behind Sun-Ho.
Yeon tilted his head but said nothing.
Sun-Ho didn't move. "You followed us from the ravine."
"I followed the quake. But yes." Seo-Gun's eyes locked with Sun-Ho's. "And now that I've found what I was looking for, I'm curious."
"About?"
"You. Baek Sun-Ho."
So-Ri's hand moved toward her blade. "That's a name you shouldn't know."
"I know many things," Seo-Gun replied. "Like how a certain masked 'Sovereign' has been dealing with rogue sects all across the northern provinces… and how those sects just happened to be ones impeding a particular candidate's rise."
A quiet wind slipped through the forest.
Wheeeee.
Yul-Rin stepped forward, face unreadable. "And you're here to stop him?"
Seo-Gun smiled. "No. I'm here to test him."
Before anyone could react, he vanished—only to reappear right in front of Sun-Ho with a blur of motion and a sudden—
BOOM.
Sun-Ho blocked the strike with his forearm, skidding back, heels gouging into the earth. Flames crackled around his skin as his core pulsed, barely restrained.
Kwak.
Bones settled, heat rushed up his arms. His eyes narrowed.
"Careful," he said evenly. "Testing me could burn you."
Seo-Gun laughed and vanished again.
Sun-Ho leapt sideways—crack—as a heel swept through where his ribs had just been. Flame coiled around his hands and blasted toward the trees, missing Seo-Gun by inches.
The man reappeared atop a branch, crouched, grinning. "Your fire is precise. But your control is even better. You've been hiding strength, haven't you?"
"I like to stay humble."
"An odd preference for a man who bends flame like it's silk."
The others stood frozen, unsure whether to intervene.
Master Jang's voice came from the shadows. "Let them be."
Everyone turned. The old man stood beside a tree, arms crossed, eyes amused. "Seo-Gun, stop circling and speak plainly. You didn't come just to play catch with my disciple."
Seo-Gun blinked. "You knew I'd come?"
"I sent word to you, didn't I?" Jang said, grinning.
So-Ri frowned. "Wait, what?"
Master Jang stepped forward, placing a hand on Sun-Ho's shoulder. "Seo-Gun is an old friend—and the only man I trust to test a blade without breaking it."
Seo-Gun dropped to the ground, brushing off his coat. "And you didn't disappoint. You're every bit the monster they whispered about."
Sun-Ho blinked. "What whispers?"
"From the sects you shattered. From the ones you spared. Some say you're a tyrant. Some say a demon. But none can agree on how you do it."
Ji-Mun muttered, "They wouldn't believe it if they saw you eating soup."
Yeon raised his hand slowly. "Do I… get to spar too?"
Everyone turned.
Seo-Gun blinked. Then laughed loudly. "He's got guts. I like this one."
Sun-Ho stepped forward. "Why now? Why show yourself?"
Seo-Gun's grin faded slightly. "Because the tides are shifting. Other candidates are gathering support. Darker alliances are forming. You're strong—but strength won't be enough. You'll need allies, secrets, and the ability to move where others can't."
He looked up at the moon. "So, I'm joining your journey."
So-Ri arched an eyebrow. "Just like that?"
"Let's call it… insurance. If you fail, I'll know I tried. If you succeed, I'll have the satisfaction of having helped the future of Murim." He smirked. "Besides, I like being where the chaos is."
Ma-Rok muttered, "He's worse than Ji-Mun."
"Impossible," Yul-Rin said sweetly.
Seo-Gun walked toward the fire and picked up a piece of rabbit meat. "Now. Someone teach that quiet one how to block a kidney strike, or I'm trying again in ten minutes."
Sun-Ho sighed.
Thump.
Yeon sat next to him, holding a wooden training sword.
"I want to learn," he said.
Sun-Ho looked at him. And smiled.
---
Later That Night...
Sun-Ho sat alone at the edge of camp, legs crossed, eyes closed. The warmth of the fire behind him, the cold breath of night before.
The masked persona was stirring again. He could feel it, almost like another presence inside him—an extension of himself, bound not by ego but by necessity.
He opened one eye. Seo-Gun was leaning against a tree, watching him.
"You're still not used to carrying two names," Seo-Gun said.
"I didn't expect to carry either."
"Then get used to both. Because soon, they'll call for the Sovereign to act… even when Sun-Ho must stay silent."
Wheeeee.
The wind picked up again.
And somewhere deeper in the woods, something—someone—watched. A flicker of aura. The whisper of blades. A warning.
---
End of Chapter 56