The sound of the cave's stone door shifting sent a violent shiver through Moen Kang Yo's body. This tremor wasn't simply a physical reaction to the sound of metal and stone, but rather a traumatic memory buried deep within the original body's soul.
As dust and the cave ceiling fell on his face, Yoe Choin felt a tug of memory so strong that his vision faded, replaced by suffocating images of the past.
Flashback: Ten Years Ago.
The air in the Red Lotus Pavilion was sweet, yet nauseating. A beautiful woman in simple clothes, Lady Seo-Hwa, lay on the hard wooden bed. She was Moen Kang Yo's birth mother, the one who loved him sincerely despite the coldness of the Demon faction. Beside him, the young Moen Kang Yo, only 13, held his mother's icy hand.
"Mother... don't sleep yet. I've brought you some herbal soup,"
The young Kang Yo said hoarsely.
Suddenly, the pavilion door was kicked open violently. A woman in dazzling golden silk robes stepped gracefully into the room, surrounded by armed servants. She was the Demon Empress, the first wife of the great leader of the Demon faction, Moen Mu-Jin.
"Herbal soup?"
The woman chuckled, her laughter sharp like the scraping of a knife on metal.
"You're wasting your time, Bastard. The Nine Regrets Poison I put in his tea this morning has no antidote."
"Why... why did you do this?!"
young Kang Yo shouted, filled with anger and confusion.
The Demon Empress approached, her long-nailed fingertips roughly lifting Kang Yo's chin.
"Because you and your mother are a blunder in my husband's reign. You are nothing but dust on the Moen clan's jewel. And dust like you needs no reason to be cleaned."
The woman spat at the dying Lady Seo-Hwa, then turned to leave, giving a cold order to her guards.
"Let her die slowly. And make sure this child sees every moment of it."
The memory was interrupted by a harsh jolt from Moen Kang Yo in his mind's eye. Yoe Choin regained consciousness in the cave, but his eyes were no longer fixed on the foreman's rigid mindset. There were remnants of tears streaming down his cheeks, remnants of the pure feelings of the original Moen Kang Yo.
"Damn it..."
Choin wiped his cheek, feeling the lingering anger burning from within.
"It turns out the projects in this world are far dirtier than mere cement fund corruption."
"Kill them..."
Moen Kang Yo's voice in Choin's mind sounded hoarse, filled with pure hatred.
"They... They're that woman's lapdogs. They came to ensure the poison in my meridians had done its job!"
Choin took a deep breath, calming the turbulent flow of Qi caused by his emotions. If previously this uncontrolled heat had felt like a threat to his body, now Choin saw it as 'fuel' that needed to be channeled before it exploded.
"Listen, Moen Kang Yo. In my world, if a structure is rotten beyond repair, there's only one option: Total Destruction."
Choi gripped his black sword tighter, feeling the weapon's weight, which resembled a construction pile driver. He could feel the fusion of his soul with this body reaching a new level. His technical mind began mapping the area outside the cave, transforming the darkness into blueprint lines ready for analysis.
"Time to do a field audit on those dogs,"
Choi said.