Alchemy of Souls (환혼)

ALCHEMY OF SOULS

Bu-yeon, is this where you felt the energy of the sparkling stone?

Father.

We are close.

The pretty stone is somewhere underwater nearby.

Do you really think what she found is the ice stone?

Yes, it has to be it.

Ten years ago, my master, Jang Gang,

sealed the ice stone here at Lake Gyeongcheondaeho.

And now it has been found by the girl who was born

through the great power of the ice stone.

I am sure that Bu-yeon is Jang Gang's daughter.

It explains why he performed sorcery to save her.

Do you resent her?

Thanks to that girl,

a good-for-nothing man like me was able to marry

the daughter of the Jin family.

So I guess I should be grateful.

This is the place. The pretty stone is right underneath us.

Her father's inferiority complex and jealousy

were what led Jin Bu-yeon to her death.

It suits you well.

If you like it, then I like it too, Mother.

You should try on something else.

Jin Bu-yeon's immense divine powers

not only came from her mother, a member of the Jin family.

They also came from her father, a descendant of the fallen Choi family.

The Choi siblings, who made a living by performing curses and divinations,

were descendants of Mage Choi, the very first mage to perform

the alchemy of souls.

Jin Bu-yeon was a descendant of both families,

which enabled her to become the best priestess anyone had ever seen.

You have finally found it.

Bu-yeon.

Hand over the ice stone to me.

Hand it over!

Bu-yeon…

Bu-yeon!

Bu-yeon!

Eat up.

Here. Hold the spoon.

It is bad enough that you are blind.

It is pitiful that you cannot even remember your name.

Would you like to live with me?

My late granddaughter's name was Mu-deok.

Can I call you Mu-deok?

All right.

Your name is Mu-deok from now on.

Such a lovely girl.

Go ahead and eat.

Mu-deok.

Mother.

Bu-yeon.

How is this possible?

This is exactly what happened the day Jin Bu-yeon disappeared.

Mu-deok has not returned.

Both Uk and Mu-deok must have been killed by the soul shifter.

At this rate, the rest of us will die too.

Jin Bu-yeon.

You brought the ice stone from Jinyowon yourself.

You are a priestess. Are you unable to control it?

I just did what my mother told me to do and brought it here.

You are pathetic.

Young Master Seo has lost too much blood.

Without a blood transfusion, his life will be in danger.

If you need someone's blood, you can use mine.

We are unable to use spells in here,

so your blood cannot be shared.

Give me your hand.

The worm that sucked the blood of my daughter, Cho-yeon,

will enter your body and give you the power of the Jin family.

Jang Uk has made a fool of us with his lie.

The mages of the Unanimous Assembly have taken turns reading Words of the Heart ,

and it says nothing about the ice stone.

It is nothing more than a piece of poetry.

What does Songrim have to say about this?

All the mages may have read it,

but there is something no one knows.

Words of the Heart is a letter of confession

written by Master Seo Gyeong.

It was a letter?

It was a love letter written to Jin Seol-ran,

the first leader of Jinyowon.

It is a letter confessing that he did not destroy the ice stone

because he could not let go of his dying lover.

Are you saying Master Seo Gyeong

chose not to destroy the ice stone because of love?

He is just making things up.

I can prove that it is a love letter.

All you need to do is say the name of the recipient in your head,

and it will enable you to read the letter yourself, Your Majesty.

I can read Words of the Heart

even though I am not a skilled mage?

The name of the recipient

reminds you of a fresh orchid that blooms on a cold field of snow.

It is Seol-ran.

"Seol-ran"?

"The faint, blue light…"

"My heart aches to see my beautiful flower wither."

"And in the end,

I am a fool who dares not shed

a single tear."

It is his confession

saying he left the ice stone unharmed to save his lover.

But Lady Jin Seol-ran passed away

less than six months

after Jinyowon was established due to her injury during the Great Chaos.

If it was left for her,

then why did she not use it to save herself?

I believe she chose not to use it because she did not want the world

to be exposed to such dangerous power.

What human would choose to give up on such immense power?

A man like you

would never choose to do what she did.

However, she did it for mankind.

She did what was right.

To protect what we must…

one must sometimes choose to let go of everything.

Since you have unsheathed the sword,

make your decision.

I know you have been avoiding me.

I also know that everyone's lives are in your hands.

Like you promised, point your sword at me first.

Overflowing power means

you will not be able to control how much of it you use.

Desire rain, and you will get a flood.

Desire wind, and you will get a typhoon.

Try to endure it.

Does that mean I have no control over this power?

There is one thing you can do of your own free will,

which is to not use it.

It is up to you to choose not to use that power.

Make me another promise

just like you said you would.

Among the many stars,

there is a very sad one called the King's Star.

What is the King's Star?

A star that is given to those

who are permitted to use the energy of the heavens.

Does that mean that person becomes powerful?

That means it is a good thing.

Well, I would not say it is necessarily always a good thing.

With great power

comes great responsibilities.

What are responsibilities?

It means you must also do things you do not wish to do,

which can be very distressing and lonely.

Mister, can we eat that?

Sure.

-I shall give this to you. -Thank you.

In return, make sure you do not fight over it.

All right. Let us go now.

The star will appear soon.

Then those leaving shall leave,

and those returning shall return.

This is the place that the Crown Prince was looking for.

The apothecary where Eunuch Kim,

the man who served the queen, visited every month.

You really know how to find your way.

Remember the charm that helps two people become lovers?

Did you get that at Gaema Village too?

That charm did not even work. Stop teasing me about that.

What do you mean it did not work? Look at us. We are here together.

I mean…

We are not here on a date.

Why is he here?

APOTHECARY

Father?

You must have regained consciousness.

You have tried to harm yourself once again, Your Highness.

Why are you keeping me alive?

Please just kill me.

I cannot do that yet. The Queen's Lantern of Life

must continue to glow while the Queen's body stays alive.

It disturbs me to see you glare at me like that

with the face of my sister.

Your resentment should not be directed toward me.

Resent the man

who put me and my sister in this position.

Shaman Choi, you have cursed and harmed people

by performing prohibited divinations.

Do you admit to your sins?

I was merely paid to give people what they wanted.

The ones at fault are those who asked me to curse others.

Your curse has led to someone's death!

Yet you still plead innocence?

A divination strong enough to kill someone…

I am amazed by your divine powers.

It just might be

strong enough to even kill you.

Find every single spell book and tool that was used to perform evil divinations.

-Yes, my lord! -Yes, my lord!

No, not that!

We may be a lowly family,

but that is our family heirloom.

I did not use it to perform divinations!

So please do not burn it!

CHEONGANG

It is a spell book.

No…