Hector whirled around to face the oppressive force that suddenly bore down on him. He immediately spotted the source of the power. It was what appeared to be a man in his early years of seniority. He was tall and wore long black robes that billowed in the wind. His long silver hair was finely kept tied up in a bun, and his beard well trimmed.
On his hip was a beautifully crafted single-handed sword. Hector wished to marvel at the weapon more closely, but the incredible pressure radiating from the man demanded his immediate attention.
Hector raised his hands in surrender, a cold sweat dripping down his brow. Even his father had not possessed this level of overwhelming pressure. His instincts screamed at him to run, to get away, but judging by the man's aura, such an act would be impossible.
"I apologize if I am somewhere that I am not supposed to be. Please forgive me, as I just awoke here."
Hector knew his excuse was weak and unlikely to be believed, but he truly was out of options. Any lie he could think of seemed pointless, and fleeing would likely result in his death. All he could do was tell the truth.
The man stared at Hector furiously, but the longer he studied him, the more his anger turned to confusion. "What are you?" he asked, his voice softly curious.
It was at that moment that he noticed the blood flower in Hector's hand. "Did you eat that?" He asked with a wary look.
Hector nodded. "I apologize. It is just that I woke up starving, and this flower suited my needs. I was unaware that it belonged to someone, so I apologize if I stole it."
The older man stared at him with a look of pure bewilderment. Hector hoped that this wouldn't cause an issue.
"You… are under arrest. I plan to figure out exactly what, and who you are."
"My name is Hector. As for what I am, I am fairly curious myself." He said, introducing himself as he continued to hold his hands above his head. "I hope you don't plan to kill me."
The older man paused, gazing at the strange young man holding the Blood Blossom.
"My name is, Soro Gwisoo, captain of Lord Cheonma's royal guard. Honestly, Hector, I have no idea what to do with you. In most cases, anyone who sneaks into the Heavenly Demon's personal terratory is to be executed on sight, but you confuse me. No matter how I look at it, you are not drastically stronger than a regular human. Realistically speaking, it should be impossible for you to sneak in here."
"You can tell how strong I am?" Hector asked in surprise.
The man looked at Hector with a blank stare. He walked over and tied Hector's hands behind his back using a set of strangely designed ropes. "I am many realms above you in power, so it's only natural that I am able to access your strength perfectly."
Hector nodded, accepting the man's words. Right now, he is not truly in a position to ask questions. It seemed that Soro was comfortable enough to talk to answer his questions due to the massive gaps in their strength.
"May I ask where I am?"
"You are in the Heavenly Demon's Peak."
"But where is that? What is the Heavenly Demon?" Hector asked, following up on his question. An attempt to pull against the restraints was only met with complete hopelessness as they didn't even budge. Right now, common sense was not something that Hector could rely on. Instead, he needed to do his best to navigate this situation while gaining as much information as possible.
With what little nuggets of information he had gathered, Hector was already feeling a growing sense of curiosity. He had died. Of that he was certain. So how was it that he was now alive and somehow human?
He had too many questions and no answers. That was a terrifying notion in a world where the first person he had met was stronger than his father.
Soro Gwisoo stared at Hector again with another blank stare. "You. Who the hell are you?" he asked again, his eyes narrowing. Hector felt another wave of pressure slam down on him, piercing any futile attempts to resist he put up. It pressed down on him only for a moment before it dissipated.
Soro remained silent, observing Hector for a few moments before he asked, "You. You are not from this world, are you?"
This caused Hector's eyes to widen as he met Soro's unwavering gaze. Soro had a compelling intensity. Hector felt Soro's genuine curiosity and his demand for a truthful answer.
"I. I don't think so. I am pretty sure I died, actually." Hector said with a soft smile.
"I see that actually makes sense. I have limited knowledge of transmigration but it is not unheard of. There are a few others like you who experienced a traumatic event and be reborn into our world." Soto said, gently stroking his beard as he led Hector down a well-paved road
"It was my lack of knowledge that tipped you off?" Hector asked curiously as he walked, marveling at the wonderous and exotic plants as he walked by.
"Well, yes. Frankly, the moment you didn't know who the Heavenly Demon was, I knew you were either a horrible liar or a transmigrator." Soro explained.
"So there are others like me? That's interesting." Hector replied. Knowing that he was not the only one to find himself in such a situation was a bit reassuring.
He didn't have many lingering attachments to his old world; after all, all his friends and family were dead. Despite this, he wondered if he would be able to connect with the other transmigrators—well, if he survived.
"Indeed. As for your two questions, you are currently in what is called the Sacred Flame Sect, or as heretics refer to us, The Demonic Cult. We are people who gather and worship the pinnacle of the martial world, the Great Heavenly Demon." Soro explained.
As the two continued to walk, Hector asked as many questions as he could and was surprised by Soro's willingness to share. Throughout their entire walk down the stone stairs leading down the mountain, Soro was open and even kind to Hector.
From what he gathered through his conversation with Soro, the Sacred Flame Sect was a reclusive force that lived and trained in the northernmost mountain range. Founded by the Heavenly Demon after his rise to divinity, the sect worshiped strength, and Heavenly Demon was considered to be the pinnacle of power.
"Where did the moniker Demonic Cult come from?" Hector asked curiously.
Soro frowned when the topic was brought up but didn't avoid the question. "Cultivation is a means to gather internal energy and evolve the human body beyond its limits. There are three main ways of doing this. We in the Sacred Flame Sect use a method different from the majority. The Orthodox Murim called us the Demonic Cult due to our methods originating from the infernal realm. What many refer to as Hell." Soro explained.
Unfortunately, the more he explained, the more questions Hector had. Unfortunately, it seemed that time with Soro was running out as a group of men wearing similar robes to Soro began to approach as they reached the bottom of the stone stairway.