Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 66
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My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. My entire body lay crushed beneath an invisible weight, as though pinned under iron. Even breathing became a monumental task—my throat burned as if coated with sand. My head throbbed with a piercing ache, my limbs tingled with numbness, and a persistent ringing echoed in my ears.
‘This sensation… it’s exactly like my original body. Like those days when I couldn’t take painkillers.’
Gathering every ounce of strength, I finally managed to pry my eyelids open. Through the haze, I recognized the familiar ceiling above me.
‘My bedroom in Sang Ra Palace…’
As I blinked slowly, my vision gradually sharpened. Then a familiar voice reached my ears from beside me.
“Sang Ra-hee-yo!”
Mother.
My lips moved soundlessly. Gentle hands slipped beneath my back, easing me into a reclined position, and a spoon filled with medicinal broth touched my lips.
‘Painkillers. The ones I always take.’
I swallowed what flowed into my mouth, and immediately another spoonful approached. The taste was unbearably bitter, but once the medicine took effect, my sense of taste would dull anyway, so I endured it. In this manner, I emptied an entire bowl of broth.
After accepting a candy to cleanse my palate, the crushing pain that had consumed my entire body finally began to ease. A sensation I knew all too well.
‘I’ve truly returned to my original body.’
I wiggled my fingers experimentally, then turned my head. Beside the bed stood Mother, her long jade-colored hair cascading down.
“Mother?”
“Oh… Celestial Deities above.”
Mother murmured through tear-streaked cheeks, then extended her arms and pulled me into an embrace—careful and gentle, as though afraid to hold me too tightly.
I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes for a moment.
Mother’s scent. Her warmth. The anxiety and fear that had gripped me slowly melted away into comfort.
With my forehead resting against her chest, I asked softly.
“What happened to me?”
“…Your father and I made a mistake. I… I was wrong.”
Mother’s voice trembled with suppressed tears. Unlike Father, who became a weeping mess whenever he saw me, Mother rarely cried.
Concerned, I kept my arms around her and gently patted her back.
“It’s all right, Mother. Everything’s fine, so please don’t cry.”
“…Sang Ra-hee-yo, how can you comfort me? I should be the one comforting you, protecting you…”
Mother trembled as though suppressing overwhelming emotion. Then she held me tightly once more before pressing her forehead against mine.
“Sang Ra-hee-yo.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember what we discussed while you were in the Mortal Realm? That we would attempt various new treatments?”
“Yes, I remember.”
When I received formal permission to leave the Afterlife, my parents and I made promises: no using divine power, continuing treatment, living as a human should.
Mother lowered her gaze and asked.
“Do you also remember that we would attempt to reseal your divine power?”
“I remember. Surely you didn’t…?”
“That’s exactly what happened.”
Mother exhaled deeply before continuing.
“This time, we researched and attempted a new method of sealing your divine power by dividing it. But the backlash from that procedure brought you to the brink of death once again.”
I understood roughly what had transpired. My body’s condition stemmed from possessing an excessively vast amount of divine power, and that same overwhelming power was what kept me alive despite everything. To save me from dying, my divine power needed to be sealed—yet my already-damaged body would perish the moment the seal was applied. An impossible dilemma.
That’s why my parents decided to attempt the treatment method of divine power sealing, which they had abandoned before, by utilizing the special circumstances of my becoming Se-ru-hwa.
‘My parents attempted divine power sealing again in the Heavenly Realm, and when it failed, I, who was in the Mortal Realm, died again.’
Upon hearing the reason, my immediate concern was for myself as ‘Se-ru-hwa’.
“Then, is my human body alright? Don’t tell me that body died too—cough, cough.”
My voice grew louder, and my throat felt like it might tear. When I coughed, Mother hurriedly brought a cloth to my mouth. It was soon stained crimson with blood.
“Don’t speak so loudly. Your body is far too weakened right now….”
Mother held the cloth to my mouth and rubbed my back, then gestured toward the rear with her chin. A tall blonde woman who had been waiting quietly approached with a tray bearing tea.
‘It’s Geum-ryeong. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her.’
A phoenix who serves Mother as her master, and the mother of An-si—the golden-feathered phoenix, Geum-ryeong. She handed Mother a teacup and withdrew, then sat to one side and began singing in a low, gentle voice.
Phoenix Song. The melodious cry of a phoenix that purifies corruption, calms troubled minds, and aids the body’s healing. Without any distinct lyrics, merely the sound of a bird singing softly, the Phoenix Song flowed on like music. As I listened and drank the tea Mother gave me, my throat condition noticeably improved.
Mother cleared away the cloth stained with my blood and produced a fresh one, then spoke in a clear but not overly loud voice.
“The human body you were using remains alive in a comatose state, so do not worry.”
Thank heavens. My body didn’t die. Of course, a comatose state isn’t ideal, but under these circumstances, it was fortunate enough.
‘Everyone in the Mortal Realm must be worried too.’
Still, seeing Mother speak more quietly than usual made me wonder if my hearing was also in poor condition. …Is there even a single part of this body that’s functioning properly?
“Your father had Gangrim hold fast to the lifeline connected to Se-ru-hwa’s body separately, so there should be no problem with you returning to the Mortal Realm.”
Mother reassured me once more, then fell silent for a moment.
I spoke slowly in a small voice.
“The divine power sealing… failed again this time, didn’t it?”
If it failed, then I would have died again. It was only natural, but I asked to confirm. However, surprisingly, Mother shook her head.
“No, it succeeded. For the first time.”
“What? How? If it succeeded, why did I die—cough! Cough!”
“Good heavens, Sang Ra-hee-yo!”
I was so startled that I raised my voice again. This time, I produced two blood-stained cloths before the coughing finally subsided.
Mother exhaled a deep sigh.
“Since you’re so weakened right now, I intended to let you rest first and explain the details later… but would you rather hear it now?”
“Yes.”
Even at my small reply, Mother hesitated for a moment. I couldn’t bring myself to speak further and gently tugged at Mother’s sleeve.
Mother looked down at my hand holding her sleeve, her expression growing sorrowful, and finally she opened her mouth.
“The Medical Immortals studying your condition proposed a method of separating your divine power into seven pieces and sealing each one.”
“My divine power, originally couldn’t be separated… could it?”
“It couldn’t. But with this method, the Straw God Plan, there appeared to be a possibility of separation.”
The Straw God Plan. Listening to Mother’s explanation, I came to understand the method reasonably well.
Divine power originally belongs to the authority of that deity. Each divine power has different properties and individuality suited to the domain the god governs. That’s why it’s extremely difficult for a god to arbitrarily use another god’s divine power. One can barely handle it if the other god has a lower ‘rank’—governing a narrower concept or smaller domain.
‘For example… the karmic bond between man and woman governed by Cheongsil-Hongsil is a subordinate concept of the destiny governed by Gamun-jang.’
And because of this principle, it had been impossible to divide my divine power into multiple pieces.
My divine power is the power of ‘Princess Cheonmyeong Sang Ra-hee-yo’. Born from the union of the Jade Emperor and the Yama King, it is divine power of extraordinarily high rank.
Even my parents cannot hold perfect superiority over my divine power. Each contains the contradictory attributes of the other. Moreover, as a god, I govern no domain, so my divine power lacks proper individuality. I cannot even attempt to establish superiority by utilizing the scope of concepts I govern.
Because no one can stand above my divine power, no one can seize it. Even my parents can barely manage it, but only when my divine power overflows excessively, they say.
Since it cannot be seized, there is no method to separate it. Then what if I separated it myself?
‘How can I divide my divine power when I can’t even properly wield what I have?’
I’m dying under the weight of what I already possess, so there’s no way I could separate it at will. If such a thing were possible, I wouldn’t be suffering like this in the first place.
But in this situation, the Medical Immortals of Heaven conceived of a new approach. The fundamental problem stemmed from the fact that a single deity—Princess Cheonmyeong Sang Ra-hee-yo—possessed divine power that was far too immense. So what if they classified Princess Cheonmyeong Sang Ra-hee-yo’s divine power and forcibly divided it into subordinate concepts, and if lesser deities emerged to govern those concepts, couldn’t they share the divine power among themselves?
Just as countless deities—governing fate, karmic bonds, weather, nature, seasons, agriculture, and more—served under the Supreme Deity Jade Emperor, who ruled Heaven, Yang, and Principle. Just as countless deities—governing punishment, sin, reincarnation, life, emotion, and boundaries—served under the Supreme Deity Yama King, who ruled the Afterlife, Yin, and Qi.
By establishing Princess Cheonmyeong as a supreme deity and creating subordinate deities under her authority, they could separate my divine power.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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