Chapter 34 - 33: Web Unravels
The copy is gone, Jinmu realized with a cold certainty that settled in his stomach like swallowed ice. Not just defeated or overwhelmed—completely severed from my consciousness. That doesn’t happen unless...
Do Giseon’s laughter filled the chamber, rich and genuine and deeply satisfied. The First Blade stood among the bodies of his fallen followers, seemingly unbothered by their deaths, his attention focused entirely on Jinmu’s obvious distress.
"Oh, that’s perfect," Do Giseon said, his voice carrying the kind of joy that came from a plan reaching its intended conclusion. "The look on your face right now—priceless. You actually thought you could fool us indefinitely with that remarkable technique of yours."
He knows. Somehow, he knows about the copy. But how? The deception was perfect. The copy had all my memories, all my capabilities. There’s no way anyone should have been able to detect...
"I have to admit, I was genuinely impressed," Do Giseon continued, beginning to pace in a slow circle around the chamber. "A martial art that allows you to exist in multiple places simultaneously? Fascinating. Unprecedented, as far as I know. I’ve been trying to figure out how you managed to infiltrate the Pavilion while supposedly being elsewhere, and I never even considered the possibility that you were literally in two places at once."
He thinks it’s a martial technique, Jinmu realized with relief that was quickly overshadowed by growing concern. He doesn’t understand the true nature of the copying ability. But if he knows about the tournament copy, then...
"The tournament," Jinmu said, his voice carefully controlled despite the worry gnawing at his thoughts. "What happened to my... other self?"
Do Giseon’s smile widened, revealing teeth that gleamed in the chamber’s dim light. "Your duplicate? Oh, it’s perfectly safe. Restrained, of course, but unharmed. Along with the lovely Eun Haria, who I must say played her part beautifully. Such dedication to the deception, even when it became clear that the game was up."
Haria. They have Haria. And if they captured the copy instead of killing it, that means they want something. Leverage. Information. Or...
"You see," Do Giseon continued, his tone becoming almost conversational, "we’ve known about your little masquerade for quite some time. Not the specifics, mind you—the technique you use is genuinely beyond my understanding. But we knew that something wasn’t quite right about ’Muyeon’ in the tournament."
How? Jinmu thought desperately. The copy was perfect. It had all my memories, all my skills, all my behavioral patterns. What could have given it away?
"It was the breathing," Do Giseon said, as if reading his thoughts. "Subtle, almost undetectable unless you knew what to look for. But Eun Haria breathes in a very specific pattern when she’s concentrating—a rhythm she learned during her training at the Yeonhwa Lotus Palace. Your duplicate matched that rhythm perfectly during the tournament matches, which meant it was responding to her ki signature in real time."