Chapter 2
The green dragon, Mugeol, and the circle she regained at the brink of death—all met in the trap her uncle Sobakrim had pushed her into.
It was too vivid to be a dream, too strange to be a memory.
Because even though she had closed her eyes, the warmth of the sunlight falling on her face and the sounds reaching her ears felt astonishingly real.
“I must have really died…”
Shina quietly closed her eyes and recalled the past.
Her first life ended in death while striving to reach the 8th circle after becoming a Grand Mage of the 7th Circle.
In her second life, she had woken as the frail daughter of the Biwon Pavilion Lord in Manhyang, desperately trying to reclaim her magic and return to her original world—but she lost her family, got caught in betrayal and schemes, and died again.
Both lives had failed. Yet, within them, there were irreplaceable, precious memories.
“Shina, I’ll protect you. You can do whatever you want.”
“Shina, you said there’s a book you want to read, right? I’ll get it for you. So just open your eyes.”
For a whole month, her father and older brother had devoted themselves to her care while she lay in a mysterious coma.
“At the time, I didn’t know it was love. I just found it annoying.”
They wrapped her up as if she would fly away if left alone, as if she would crumble if held. They ignored the duties of the Biwon Pavilion and stayed by her side. Memories of their faces, protecting her with such care, floated vividly before her.
“I should have treated them better while they were alive.”
Her heart ached knowing she had never uttered a single warm word to them.
“Because of me, father and brother gave up their lives…”
They had gone to great lengths to secure her health, running afoul of the Pavilion Lord and amassing enormous debts buying elixirs. Her father So Cheonrim and older brother So Cheondo eventually set out on a dangerous mission to repay it—and were brutally killed.
Other memories had faded, but the moment Sobakrim had handed over the news of their deaths remained sharp in her mind:
“The bodies were not found. All that remains is this. But there’s a bigger problem—the client is furious. And the relic has disappeared. How shall we resolve this?”
Sobakrim, instead of mourning, was only concerned with the lost relic.
“Bastard.”
She should have realized even then that Sobakrim was a black-hearted snake.
But it was too late. Even though she now had a circle, she had already died—so what use was it?
No! I won’t die in vain. Not while Sobakrim prospers!
Clenching her teeth, Shina opened her eyes with determination. As long as her soul hadn’t crossed the River of Oblivion, she still had a chance.
“I’ll show them the terror of a virgin ghost!”
Just as she braced herself to rise, she felt a warm hand grasp hers.
“Shina!”
A familiar voice rang out.
“Fa…ther?”
“Yes, Shina. It’s your father. Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Shina blinked in disbelief. Her father, So Cheonrim, had died four years ago. His soul shouldn’t even exist in the same space as hers.
“Father… why are you here?”
“Why? Shina, you collapsed and hovered at the edge of death. A father must stay by his daughter’s side. I’ve been here with you for a month. Our Shina… oh, you must have suffered.”
His tear-soaked hands cupped her cheeks, warm and damp. The sensation was so vivid it sent chills down her spine. His face looked younger than the last time she had seen him—just as it had the moment she had died trying to open the 8th Circle.
“Could it be… time has reversed?”
A shiver ran across her body. Though absurd, Shina had already experienced the impossible: waking up in someone else’s body. Time flowing backward might not be impossible either.
She bolted upright, clutching her father’s cheeks, and examined her reflection in his clear eyes.
Her face—round, fair, large-eyed, small but sharp nose, full red lips, short philtrum—was exactly as it had been at ten years old.
“I… I came back?”
Shina sank to the floor in disbelief.
“Shina! Are you dizzy?”
Her father’s concern was immediate, but Shina wasn’t disoriented—she just wanted a moment to think.
“The circle formed the moment I died… and I’ve returned. Can I use magic now?”
She felt the faint presence of a circle near her dantian. Though there were only two, she could sense mana flowing correctly. After being unable to use magic in this body, even one circle was a blessing.
“Magic is finally mine again!”
Shina felt a thrilling surge run up her spine to her brain. Her lips moved, her fingers itched; dozens of incantations swirled in her mind. Yet she uttered none aloud. To achieve her goals, she needed to act cautiously.
Shina calmly reviewed her priorities:
First, to prevent her father and brother from dying unjustly.
“And I’ll make them happy.”
Second, to exact revenge on her uncle Sobakrim, and cousins Soman and Soilbi, who tormented her and led her to death.
“All of you… will pay!”
Lastly, Mugeol. She remembered how Mugeol had leapt at her to save her life without hesitation.
“When I left Manhyang Pavilion, Mugeol had nothing to do with martial arts. But in ten years, he became a master at least at the level of Hwakyung.”
In just ten years, one who hadn’t trained could rarely reach such heights. If one walked the path of righteousness, it was nearly impossible.
“Mugeol…”
