Ep.06 – Trial of Salt: ⟪Through the Gate of Tears⟫
The final gate of the Trial of the Tongue opened.
The space was desolate.
Crusted salt crystals covered the ground,
and the walls were streaked with dried tears—solidified into pillars of salt.
Each step crunched beneath my feet.
Nothing touched my tongue, yet a sharp, tingling saltiness spread across my entire mouth.
—
📍[SYSTEM – Emotional Leak Detected]
📍[Final Emotion Fragment: Suppressed Tears Identified]
At the center stood a massive mirror.
Inside it, I saw myself.
But the reflection—was crying.
—
[Phase 1 – Silent Weeping]
> "Did you finish crying?"
A low, trembling voice.
In that moment, the mirror shattered,
its shards swirling in the air before reshaping into a new form.
A transparent silhouette made of water—
Within it, countless eyes, expressions, and mouths floated like dissolved memories.
The Guardian of Tears – Elone
A being forged from every repressed emotion, the embodiment of sorrow.
—
> "The tears you couldn't shed... the feelings you swallowed whole... I gathered them all."
"You kept them down to the end. Now pay that price—with your tongue."
Elone raised a hand. The entire space rippled.
A wave of salty water surged toward me.
—
[Phase 2 – Emotional Flood / Infiltration]
KWA-A-AANG!!
The wave slammed into me, lifting me into the air.
My eyes burned. My throat closed.
The emotions pierced into me,
and the past came flooding back like a storm—
My first meeting with Juhee.
That day in the hospital hallway when I couldn't cry.
The silent words I swallowed before her empty bed.
> "I'm sorry… I never told you how sorry I was."
As those words escaped my lips,
my chest felt like it was being ripped open.
And from my eyes—something hot began to flow.
—
[Phase 3 – Emotional Release / Final Awakening]
Tears burst forth.
Hot, salty, and real—my tears.
In that moment, my emotion-weapons responded.
The Sorrowfang, Sweetfang, and a fragment of Flame of Salt converged.
A soft blue glow rose from the fusion.
Emotion Weapon – Blade of Azure Tears (靑淚劍)
→ A blade that draws out unspoken sorrow, vibrating even an enemy's buried emotions.
—
[Final Duel]
Elone stretched out their hand and spoke.
> "Your tears… they're not yours alone."
> "I am the remnant of you, Juhee, and every emotion that was never allowed to weep."
I nodded.
> "That's why I can fight you.
This isn't just sorrow—it's memory.
Proof that I'm still alive."
I raised the Blade of Azure Tears and struck—
cutting through a salt pillar and driving the blade deep into Elone's heart.
The blade pierced smoothly—like sinking into water.
Elone's form collapsed.
The scattered droplets shimmered into light.
One of them remained in my hand.
—
📍[Trial Complete – All 5 Gates of the Tongue Cleared]
📍[Emotion Weapon: Blade of Azure Tears – Fully Integrated]
📍[New Companion Acquired: Rika (Soul of Sensation)]
—
A door opened before me—
leading to the next sensory trial.
But this time, I wasn't alone.
Born from salt and sorrow,
my first companion of sensation—Rika—stood by my side.
She took form as a crystal of tears,
and without a word, quietly reached for my hand.
---
Let me know if you'd like:
A more poetic version
A simplified prose for wider audience
Or scene-by-scene cinematic breakdown
Also, if you're planning to submit this in English to a platform, I can adapt it to match Webnovel, Royal Road, or Wattpad tone/style as well.