A body that grew by the day. Ever more practiced swordsmanship. On the outside, Seolyun was steadily maturing with time, like fruit ripening through the seasons.

But Seolyun knew.

In truth, she had not grown at all. Her time had stopped on the day everything precious was taken from her. She remained the girl who had sobbed in muddy water as she lay dying. Since that day, Seolyun’s world had been colorless, soundless, and scentless. There was no joy for her. In that colorless world, the little girl merely swung her sword without purpose, like a halfwit who knew how to do nothing else.

A heaven-born prodigy.

A sword chosen by heaven.

Countless people showered her with praise, but Seolyun felt nothing.

What did any of it mean? What meaning could there be in merely swinging a blade? Where was the greatness or glory in swinging it a little better than others, in committing murder more skillfully than others?

Inside, Seolyun was festering and rotting.

Unlike her dazzling exterior, her inner self was slowly dying.

Perhaps that was why, for all her vaunted genius, she had been unable to cross the threshold of a 「sword runner」. To unfurl wings, one needed enlightenment. To awaken the arcane, one needed a conviction of one’s own about life and the world. But Seolyun had none of those things. To her, the sword was only a means of becoming an immortal, and life was something she continued because she could not die. And so she had stagnated for a long time.

An immature girl could not raise her wings.

The young girl did not know which path she should take.

It was a boy who took the hand of that wandering girl.

A boy who, like her, had lost everything. Yet he knew exactly which path he must follow. Though the world had robbed him of everything precious, his eyes blazed like the sun. No matter how often he was broken, no matter how often he fell, he never stopped. With a single sword paltry beside hers, he fought against the world.

Before she knew it, that boy had grown tall.

He had reached the end of childhood and was walking ahead of her.

In the girl’s colorless world, only the boy had color.

In a world filled with gray, only his eyes shone.

At some point, Seolyun began to feel her heart flutter.

At some point, she began walking after him.

At some point, she began to think that she wanted to walk beside him.

Instead of remaining here, never growing, slowly dying for the rest of her life, she wanted to look toward the path she must follow and live to see tomorrow. As the defeated soldier had told her, as her friends had told her, as her parents had told her...

Perhaps her childhood had ended the moment she had that thought.

“... Little Gladiator.”

Seolyun gripped her sword hard enough to break it.

“No.”

Seolyun’s wings were unlike any others.

Unlike the world with its countless colors, her wings were composed solely of black and white, like an ink-wash painting created by the master painters of the eastern continent. They were distinctly Eastern, and they suited Seolyun perfectly.

“Arhan.”

From the moment her wings fully manifested, black-and-white light shimmered around her sword. A halo in the same colors as her wings. It was Seolyun’s arcane power.

The power a pitiful girl had gained as her childhood came to an end.

The flower a heaven-born prodigy of the age had brought into bloom through enlightenment.

“Show me everything you have.”

Seolyun’s sword shot toward Arhan.

A simple thrust.

Arhan angled his sword against hers to deflect it. But Seolyun did not permit his skillful defense. Her sword shifted in the midst of its thrust. With that single movement, it transformed. The thrust vanished, replaced by seven slashes. Arhan’s eyes wavered. He hurried to defend himself, but he was too late.

CLACK

A distinct sword mark was carved into Arhan’s breastplate. Seolyun’s blade did not stop at leaving a mark. Drops of blood flew.

“Unless you want this to end all too easily.”

“...”

That was the arcane power Seolyun had awakened.

「Myriad Transformations」.

Endless change.

["You can become anything, child."]

The words of the defeated soldier who had pulled her back from death.

["You must come see us someday. Become an immortal and come find us in paradise. You can do it, big sister. Yes, you can..."]

The words of the children who had died in vain.

["Seolyun. They say that when your mastery of the sword reaches heaven, you can ascend as an immortal and depart for paradise."]

And,

["In that paradise, the people you cherished are waiting for you, and it is filled with sweet happiness."]

Her parents’ words, embedded deep in her heart.

But those words had not actually ended there.

["But you see..."]

Her parents had said more to their young daughter.

["The true paradise is this world."]

Seolyun had simply forgotten.

["My daughter, you will experience many things in life. This world is harsh, so there may be terrible sadness, things that make you angry, or things that frighten you terribly. Someday, this world may casually take away everything precious to you, like grains of sand spilling through your fingers."]

Very early in her life, Seolyun’s parents had given their young daughter the answer.

["But there may also be joyful things. You may find someone you love. There may be things that make your heart race, and a very happy future may await you."]

.

.

.

["Yun, my little daughter. The world is this fickle, this ever-changing. Myriad Transformations, as our ancestor said."]

Why had she only remembered now?

["That is why this world is beautiful. That is why this world is paradise. So, my daughter, whatever happens, live with anticipation for tomorrow. Look upon this world, where anything might happen, with shining eyes."]

Seolyun’s parents had spoken with such warmth in their eyes and voices, holding their little daughter in their arms.

["To us, you are paradise and the whole world, Yun."]

Ever-changing.

Fickle.

Endless change.

A sword with no predetermined end, capable of becoming anything.

The arcane power Seolyun had awakened was her world.

The world she saw,

and the world the girl had never known.

Seolyun looked at the wounded Arhan, aimed her sharp sword tip at him, and spoke.

“... I wonder what your world is like.”

No answer came.

Arhan merely changed his sword grip.

Seolyun liked that answer better.

Yes, she had always preferred conversing with swords to conversing with words...

* * *

「The sword you devoured, Lantern, is a violent sword.」

I drew in a breath.

「True to its name, Lantern possesses the nature of fire. It makes itself the wick.」

“...”

「It uses its own eyes and ears, its own body, as fuel to illuminate its surroundings. And when there is nothing left to burn, it burns even its own soul. Like the stars in the night sky.」

A breath passed through my nose, brushed my windpipe, and was expelled through my lungs. That natural sequence was agonizing for me. Oxygen felt like fire. My nose and the back of my neck burned as though I had swallowed flames. It felt as if my insides would melt. As if my entire body would collapse.

「That sword is far too violent and self-destructive for you to wield as you are now. It is a blade that burns itself away completely, leaving only ash.」

Master was right.

At that moment, my sword hand was trembling madly. It was not a matter of nerves. It was a natural reaction from my body. My bones and muscles were telling me not to move.

「But what does that matter?」

CRACK

Every time I moved my arm, I heard a sound I should never have heard.

「This is merely a spirit world created by witches.」

CRUNCH

Every step made my body crumble.

「It does not matter whether you burn yourself away completely. Even if you become a heap of ashes, this is only a spirit world.」

“...”

「So do not worry about what comes afterward.」

I glared at Seolyun with melting eyes.

Her sword was still mysterious.

I still could not understand it.

「Set aside your concerns and pour out everything you have.」

Even so, I did not retreat.

At that moment, there was another voice in my head besides Master’s. The will of a solemn, great, wondrous sovereign. The resolve of a leader who could not retreat to the very end, who had been forced to burn away everything he had.

『It did not matter if I became ashes.』

In my eyes, Seolyun was a girl.

But with her wings unfurled, she was no longer a lost girl. She was still small and immature, but there was light in her eyes. She had found the path she must follow.

『If only the Age of Stars I longed for so desperately could return.』

Even so, I could not let go of my sword.

Even if she had found her path, illuminating that path was also a lantern’s role.

『If that could happen, nothing else mattered.』

『It did not matter if I was not at the center of that age.』

Just as this sword’s original owner had burned himself in the distant past to light a path toward his people’s future, I intended to pour out everything I had and show it to Seolyun.

『If only these beautiful, shining people need not crumble in vain.』

Seolyun was like me.

That was why I wanted to show her what I had without shame.

My sword.

The resolve I had held the first time I took up a sword.

My world.

『If only that were possible, I could readily burn this insignificant body and soul of mine.』

I drew a ragged breath.

『Readily, indeed.』

The Dragon Sword—or 「Lantern」, to call it by its original name—had successfully taken root in my body. But I could not let it swallow me. I had to use my Suspicion. Relying entirely on an ancient blade would never let me defeat that terrifying prodigy.

'... I can’t let this drag on.'

Seolyun.

Another name for her was heaven-born prodigy.

'I have to end this quickly.'

With her genius instincts, Seolyun could dismantle and analyze any swordsmanship she encountered and make it her own. That peerless prodigy would soon see through the blade I had struggled so hard to devour. If we fought for long, she would steal my 「Lantern」, just as she had stolen the swordswoman Mary’s 「Needle」 when I faced her as a fighter in the Arena.

'... But how?'

Knowing the right answer and putting it into practice were different matters. That was not Seolyun’s only talent. The swordsmanship she wielded, resembling nature itself, was far too exquisite and perfect. The most troublesome part was her yin-yang pattern.

The yin-yang pattern Seolyun traced twisted 「paths」, deftly deflecting incoming attacks and returning them to the attacker. I had no technique that could breach her defense, no swordsmanship more sublime than hers, and now that her rank surpassed mine, I could not draw a line and smash through it by force either. With the unfair advantage of the line no longer working, Seolyun felt like an infinitely high wall to me as a swordsman. An impregnable enemy I could not defeat by any means.

And with her wings unfurled, Seolyun had become even more formidable. Now, she looked less like a prodigy than a monster. She had yet to use her wings to accelerate, and still she was overwhelming me.

'That insanely ever-changing sword she just showed me. It’s probably the arcane power she gained when she unfurled her wings. An arcane power perfectly suited to a genius swordswoman...’

Her thrust had just transformed in an impossible way and torn my body apart. It was an attack beyond technique. No matter how gifted she was, ordinary skill alone could not produce such a feat. That was the conclusion my Suspicion had reached. Seolyun had just revealed her arcane power.

But what difference did knowing that make? My Suspicion’s conclusion went no further. It could not determine how to overcome it or how to respond. How absurd. Before this prodigy, my Suspicion had failed to reach a single useful conclusion.

Solve one problem, and another appeared.

I felt all too keenly that I possessed only ordinary talent.

But.

“Whew.”

Even so, I did not retreat.

“Whew—”

If you did not know the answer, running away was only natural. Admitting defeat was only natural. But I did not choose those natural things. If I had decided to live an ordinary life, I would never have taken up a sword in the first place. I would not have broken my oath to my mother, would not have set the absurd goal of killing that fucking swordmaster, and would not have shoved a sword into my mouth merely because I believed the claim that the blood of steel ran through my veins.

So.

I could not choose the obvious option.

From the moment I first took up a sword, I had decided to live in a world where nothing was a given. I had decided to cry out that I could not accept the supposedly inevitable cruelties the world offered. Because I could not accept them, I would stand against them. I would establish my own answer.

“Hah!”

I inhaled until my lungs threatened to burst. Now my body was unbearably hot. This was 「Lantern」’s power. The more I breathed, the more 「Lantern」 heated my heart, and the heated blood and Mana circulated through my body, heating it again. That heated body broke and failed, but it held tremendous power, like a flame blazing for a single instant. It paid the future to protect the present. It paid its own body and soul to protect what was precious.

And the sword forged that way was dazzling. Like a lantern in a world filled with darkness. Like a star rising into a night sky without a single speck of light.

“Seolyun.”

A breath drawn to my limit. Bones and muscles already screaming. I knew instinctively. Still only a 「sword walker」, I was permitted just one swing. After that swing, my body would crumble and vanish, the price of wielding power beyond what I was allowed.

“Can you take this?”

Seolyun would know as well.

She would see straight through my condition, pushed to its limit. She would know that she could win easily by stepping back just once. But Seolyun stood facing me. She showed no sign of fleeing.

“As much as you like.”

Yes.

I knew she would say that.

I had known before I even asked.

Because she, too, was a swordswoman.

And...

『I once read a book from the West.』

Because Seolyun was like me.

『This is what it said.』

The world before my eyes darkened.

The blackened sky was a sea of stars. Beneath it, I saw a wandering multitude. At their head was a man leading them. He was a lantern, and a single star.

『How happy was the age when one could look at the starry heavens and read a map of the paths one could take, and must take?』

At that moment, the man took root within me.

My arm hurt as though it were being torn off. My sword hand trembled as though it might shatter at any moment. As I lowered my body and shifted my weight forward, my feet and knees screamed. My waist felt as though it would tear apart.

『And how happy was the age when starlight brightly illuminated those paths?』

But I could swing once.

『I longed for the Age of Stars.』

My body screamed.

I opened my mouth and screamed with it. A beastlike cry poured out, and amid it my sword cut through the air, tracing a line. A rough but powerful sword path was drawn. At its end stood Seolyun. A flower began blooming at her fingertips. A beautiful sword changing from moment to moment. It looked like countless flower petals. I even imagined I could smell their fragrance.

『Not some Age of War.』

CLANG

Sparks flew as our swords collided. Seolyun’s blade met the blade I swung. Her ever-changing sword forms deftly deflected and dismantled the power in my sword. I did not let her. Angling my blade, I drove inward as though scraping along her sword.

Seolyun tried to deflect even that. Her technique was near perfect. But deflecting it was impossible. The line entered 「Lantern」 a moment later. The path of steel, which destroyed anything, tore Seolyun’s flower apart. Her eyes wavered. In a fleeting instant, they scanned my sword again and again. The power of 「wings」 to grant acceleration to everything. Mental acceleration.

How many possible situations had that prodigy foreseen?

I could not know. Soon, Seolyun’s sword transformed in another direction. Now there was no defense in her sword. No deflection, either. Her blade curved toward my neck along an exquisite, lethal trajectory I could not understand.

Her sword was not the only thing changing.

Seolyun’s wings flashed. Now her blade accelerated with maddening speed. She had switched from mental acceleration to physical acceleration. Her arcane power could transform even the authority granted by her wings to suit the situation. It was an arcane power that suited Seolyun perfectly. A heaven-born prodigy who found an answer to any problem. A power befitting that description.

Her sword was now dozens of times faster than mine.

At this rate, her sword would cut through my neck and send my head falling. There was no way to resist it. But I did not give up, even at the end. At that moment, Master’s voice flowed through my mind.

["You see, I believe prodigies are those who find an answer no matter what difficulties they face."]

Master had said,

["But the most celebrated people on this continent are not prodigies."]

My head felt as though it would burn away.

["Those who cannot find a perfect answer amid hardship, but refuse to give up nevertheless."]

["Those who refuse to retreat nevertheless."]

Heat that threatened to drive me out of my mind.

Strangely, what came after that heat was clarity.

["People call their achievements legends."]

["Then do you know what those who achieve legends are called?"]

The bewildering world looked clear.

At that moment, the world I saw slowed almost to a stop.

["Heroes."]

My body grew light to match the slowed world. The next instant, a sense of liberation unlike anything I had ever felt swept over me. The feeling of being truly free. Of losing all weight and soaring into the sky.

As though.

「Ah.」

I had gained wings.

「This time was different.」

My vision went black.

I could not see an inch ahead.

「Yes, this time was different.」

Only after a little while did my sight return. When I could see again, my sword had finished its swing and was pointing at the ground. And,

「This time, you were not lacking, young descendant.」

Beyond my sword lay Seolyun, sprawled on the dirt, her sword fallen from her hand.

「Did I not tell you? Not to be too disappointed. That all you had to do was survive.」

As I stood dazed, the world that had stopped finally began moving again. My dulled senses returned, and I heard the wildly fervent cheers around me.

「That next time, you would win.」

My heart pounded.

It felt as though my beating heart would smash through my ribs and leap out of my body.

Terrible pain battered my entire body. Only then did it finally sink in.

「That the blood of steel runs through your veins.」

I had won.

Me.

* * *

As her consciousness faded, Seolyun tasted dirt in her mouth. Its bitter taste told her she had lost. It was impossible. Her counterattack had been perfect. That single sword stroke, accelerated by her wings, was an attack Arhan could not react to. It should have killed him before he even knew what had struck him. And so, even as she felt death approaching, Seolyun could not accept it.

“... Ah.”

Replaying the moment endlessly in her mind, Seolyun clung to her fading consciousness. Only when she slowly raised her head and looked ahead did she understand the result.

“So, that was it.”

Arhan was there.

Arhan, standing blankly without even realizing he had won. Behind him was a faint halo of light. Unlike hers, it possessed intensely vivid color.

Still faint and incomplete, but those were unmistakably...

“That’s, what it was...”

Wings.

“You, too...”

Wings of Steel.

The moment she saw those wings, Seolyun felt the end approaching and remembered her parents’ words.

["Yun, my little daughter. The world is this fickle, this ever-changing."]

Ah, her parents had been right.

["Live with anticipation for tomorrow, never knowing what might happen. Look upon this world, where anything might happen, with shining eyes."]

Yes.

In this ever-changing world, no one knew what would happen...

So, for that very reason, bitter though it was—

["That is why this world is beautiful."]

Seolyun

wanted to live to see a few more tomorrows.

* * *

「Name: Myriad Transformations」.

「Seolyun’s arcane power.」

「Ever-changing, fickle, endless change.」

「A sword with no predetermined end, capable of becoming anything.」

「Imposes countless changes upon the swordswoman herself and anything that touches her sword.」