The old cane had a story. Jihyo was now a part of it.
January 7, 2023, 6:23 pm, Seomun Market, Daegu, South Korea.
As soon as they entered the settlement, Zeke, Jihyo, and Seojun were immediately assessed by an on-site medic. He patched Zeke and Jihyo's wounds from the clash and confirmed that Seojun didn't have his grave injuries anymore, much to their surprise. As soon as the treatment was completed, Minhyuk gave them a tour around the place.
Zeke and Jihyo looked around the district area, surprised to see that it had little damage and teeming with survivors of all ages. Electricity and clean water were present--- thanks to car batteries, backup generators, and water purifiers inside the place--- and some food, medicine, and clothing stalls are still open, seemingly for business.
"I'm amazed at how.. preserved is this place. It looked like it didn't get caught in the destruction that happened 3 days ago..." Jihyo said.
"It was sort of a miracle, even," Minhyuk replied. "This is the only building in the Seomun Market not destroyed or frozen over completely by the bombs that fell in Daegu. As soon as we, the people in here, realized that, we immediately went to work to protect this place and rescue the other people who were nearby. We already had the resources, we only needed the manpower. And with a lot of effort, this place came to be."
"You must be a pretty good leader then," Zeke said.
"Aish, I can't really call myself that.." Minhyuk chuckled as he scratched his head. "We had a lot of struggle in the beginning... But we try to be better every chance we get. That's what matters."
Minhyuk then leads them to a store they turned into a makeshift apartment. As they checked inside, there were four sleeping bags, a table for four, a working sink and bathroom, and a few drawers.
"It's not much we have, as we haven't fully fixed this place, but I hope it'll be enough for you three."
"Oh, no, this is way good enough, Minhyuk-nim. Thank you." Jihyo said. "All we need is a proper sleeping bag, to be honest... It's hard to sleep on a cold floor... Right, Zeke?"
"Cold floors give me nightmares. It's way worse than saying that the floor is lava." Zeke said as they all laughed.
"Thank you, young one," Seojun said. "Your efforts are not in vain."
"Pleasure to be helping. Oh, I'll ask some people to get your new clothing soon. You can pick whatever you want, free of charge."
"Oh, yes... Right. These clothes of ours really need some changing, it's been what, three days? Look at this!" Jihyo said, pulling her torn coat sleeve with blood. "These wouldn't save us from the cold and monsters. I feel cold in these already."
"Right," Zeke said, looking at his own torn attire. "Same here. Thank you, Mr. Minhyuk."
"Alright, I'll leave you three so you can rest. Come to my office anytime, it's just across this place." Minhyuk said as he closed the door.
Zeke and Jihyo just had an eventful day. Tired and beaten up, they sat down with Seojun in the dining area, who now was about to explain to them what's the deal with him and his mystical cane.
"So.. to kick off this conversation, Mr. Seojun... how did you fully recover?" Zeke began.
"That cane is the reason why I'm in good health again. It's one of its distinct powers... In short-- it's not just a regular cane. It's a thing we call a Manifest."
"Mani..fest?" Jihyo said, her face contorted with confusion. "What's that?"
"Well, erm... Manifests are manifestations of a weapon with unique powers, disguised as regular earthly items. That wooden cane you just used is one of them. They were given by a very powerful celestial artificer as a gift to various humans that he deems worthy throughout humanity's vast history. If he sees one is worthy, he imbues their possessions with various powers through his essence called the Artificer's Essence.. basically turning them into weapons." Seojun said.
"Wait wait, Mr. Seojun... This is too much brain fart. So let me get this straight. This cane.." Zeke said, pointing at the old man's cane Jihyo was holding, "contains an essence that can turn it into a disguised weapon with unique and different powers at will?"
"Correct," Seojun replied.
"He must've loved humans more than anything else, then, giving them such things ever so easily..." Zeke said.
"Yes, he did! He always wanted to prove that humans were good souls deep down. And most of them did prove it! That's why there are hundreds of them across the globe as of this point in time." Seojun said.
"H-hundreds?!" Jihyo was shocked. "So they're just.. scattered all over the planet..? Wouldn't that be too dangerous? I mean what if some bad person discovers it and they abuse it?"
"Well, nobody can do it easily, though. Every Manifest contains an enchantment symbol that protects it from being activated immediately. You saw it, right, Jihyo? The symbol that appeared on the cane before it turned into a blade." Seojun asked Jihyo.
Jihyo nodded.
"That's the Armistice Seal-- a locked seal that prevents an item from manifesting the weapon. If the wielder is truly, strongly passionate about a certain goal or achievement, the seal will appear and unlock the power inside, and the Manifest becomes yours." Seojun said.
"Ooooh, so it's an ownership thing," Zeke asks. "Neat."
"Yes. If you manage to unlock a Manifest, you become what they call a wielder, and it immediately makes you physically stronger by a lot, and grants you enhanced combat awareness and fighting ability. That stays permanent, even if you lose the Manifest."
"No wonder I felt like I could bend metal all of the sudden when I held it... And it also explains why my back pain suddenly disappeared.." Jihyo said.
"Yes. It does remove alot of lifelong injuries, too." Seojun chuckled as he continued. "And, like I said earlier, it grants you a unique power."
"So I'm assuming that this cane is capable of generating light." Zeke asked. "That's the unique power it bestowed upon Jihyo, right?"
"You're almost correct. That Manifest, which my ancestors call the Seraphim, basically grants the wielder the ability to control and materialize light into different forms each one of the previous wielders possess different forms of light. Yours, it seems, is a form of light crystallization ability. You can make things out of solid, crystal-like light, I suppose. Like glowing orbs."
"Wow..." Jihyo said in amazement. "Can I really do that?"
"With a little practice, yes! Here, try to make something out of this Manifest and see if it works." Seojun hands her Seraphim.
Jihyo held the Seraphim in one hand as she concentrates, and soon enough, she was able to materialize a small orb of crystallized light on her hand that faintly illuminates the room. Her eyes filled with glee. Zeke was starstruck as well.
"Amazing.." Zeke and Jihyo both said.
"I know! fourty-five years of handling that Manifest and it still never ceases to amaze me every time." Seojun said, chuckling.
"So.. how did you get this, Seojun-nim?" Jihyo asked, her eyes showing intrigue.
"The Seraphim... was given to me by my father. He said it's one of the oldest existing Manifests in the world, and that my bloodline has wielded it for many generations. Out of all of those generations, only three people were able to use the Seraphim: An English woman named Clementine, my father, and I." Seojun said.
"So both Clementine and your father had a passionate goal, and it manifested," Jihyo asked.
"Yes, well, for Clementine, she used it to quell the evils of her town. For my father, he used the Seraphim to protect me on more than one occasion. I guess you can say he was very passionate about keeping me safe from harm. Jihyo may have a certain passionate goal as well, hence the Manifest answered her call." Seojun said.
Zeke and Jihyo nodded, seemingly getting the idea.
"That's... wow..." Jihyo looked at Seojun.
"Amazing what a regular cane could do, hmm?" Seojun said. "I'm glad it's now in your possession."
Jihyo gasped. "Seojun-nim, are you telling me---"
"Yes. This Manifest is now absolutely yours." Seojun said, smiling.
"But... this is on your ownership, Seojun-nim. I can't take this.." Jihyo said.