1025 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Something felt off. When exactly did I begin to notice it? If I were to pinpoint a moment, I couldn't precisely say. Rather than an event or a moment, it was purely an unsettling feeling that arose from instinct. "Something's being hidden." Young spirits. She was hiding something from me. That feeling was unmistakably clear. "It didn't seem like there was an issue explaining the circumstances." There didn't seem to be a problem with them explaining their situation or the process to me while asking for help. "But it's unsettling." For some strange reason, I felt uneasy. "What is it? What are they hiding?" I could sense something was being hidden, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Was it possibly just my imagination? "No." No, it wasn't. I was certain. "Something's there." There was something with the young spirits or Ma-Ryeong-dong. That's what I believed, and that's why my attitude towards her reflected that belief. There's no salvation without compensation. Frankly, I would have said the same thing under normal circumstances. "But because it seemed strange, that's exactly how I reacted." With suspicion and doubt taking root, I needed to find a way to observe her more closely. "Indeed." What is it exactly that they're expecting me to do? Additionally, "What are they hiding from me?" Why are they stashing away something and resorting to such trivial actions? While pondering this question, if there was something I subconsciously hoped for, "I hope it's something as negative as possible." I wished that what the young spirits intended to do wasn't exactly beneficial to me. Not that I'm a pervert looking forward to something bad happening, but. "So that I can deal with it swiftly without hesitation." So that I can use them without unnecessary guilt and cast them aside. I hoped they bore ill intentions towards me. Then it would be easier for me to utilize them to my advantage. "Salvation and whatnot, my side is more urgent." The last message left by the young spirit was likely related to my mother. Did my mother think I could save Ma-Ryeong-dong? Or perhaps, "Is there a hidden plan within?" Could there be another hidden meaning? As of yet, I could not tell. "Salvation, what salvation." I'm barely able to keep myself afloat, and now I'm expected to save someone else. How absurd. The young spirit mentioned, "Ma-Ryeong-dong is a place where those who could not leave Ma-Ryeongsan had gathered." Then why couldn't they leave Ma-Ryeongsan? Is it the will of the owner left behind? Or perhaps. "Is it an issue with the leader?" If it's the owner's will, there would be nothing I can do about it. But if the leader is the problem, "That would be somewhat more manageable." This was relatively okay. It meant dealing with the leader would rectify things. If that were enough to resolve the situation, it wouldn't be bad... "Tsk." Dealing with the leader. That thought made me click my tongue. "What's wrong?" Heavenly Demon tilted her head and asked about my behavior. "Nothing." I passed it off, sweeping my hair back. A sense of unease remained. "It was a worthless thought." Despite trying to ignore it, it lingered in my mind. And that was because. "Regardless of anything, the leader is my mother's subordinate." Handling the leader, who had risen to the rank of general, ultimately meant killing my mother's subordinate. That thought kept bothering me. "I dealt with Yusa because he was aiming for my mother's position, after all." The case with the leader was ambiguous. He seemed genuinely loyal to the Master of Myriad Worlds. Thinking that way made it even more disturbing. "Am I feeling a pang of conscience now?" It was far too late to feel that way, yet the unnecessary hesitation restricted my actions. That hesitation presented an issue when confronting the leader. "If I had intended to kill them from the start, I would have approached it differently." Rather than sickening myself with gathering information, if I had meant to find them and kill from the outset, many better methods would have been available. "There wouldn't have been a need for gathering information or anything." I would have utilized all possible means to deal with them. "While the outcome was favorable..." I discovered there were others besides the leader in hiding. So, not acting that way was beneficial in the end. But. "My mindset was the real issue." Regardless of the outcome, considering my final mindset was not aligned, "It's not easy." There was a need to firmly establish my direction for the future. "Hmm..." I swept my hair back, focusing my vision. Reflecting on the contingency my mother left behind, it's an unnecessary concern. "A pointless worry." I wasn't even aware of what caused such hesitation, so I lifted my head and stared at the sky. "There is still time left." The sun had not yet set. There was plenty of time left before the leader awakens. In that case. "Perhaps I should wander around a bit more." I might uncover something that wasn't apparent earlier, maximizing what little time I had left. * * * As the crimson sky faded and dusk approached, I sat on a rock, unable to hide my uneasy expression. Hoping to find something more, contrary to my intentions, nothing turned up, much to my aggravation. "Really, there's absolutely nothing here." There was nothing to an unreasonable degree; this was a bit excessive. Roaming for several hours trying to discover something, this was no better than an empty wilderness. In fact, an empty field might have been preferable to this. "Sigh." I couldn't tell whether it was my failure in finding something or if it was simply the peculiarity of this land. "Tsk." With a short click of my tongue, I got to my feet. Staying any longer would be meaningless; it was time to start heading back. "Hey." I called out to the Heavenly Demon beside me. She, too, was sitting quietly on a nearby rock, moving her legs. "Yeah." She responded to my call. Looking at her, I asked, "Do you see anything?" Maybe the Heavenly Demon could perceive something. I posed the question while observing her, but "No?" The Heavenly Demon merely tilted her head in response to my words. I furrowed my brows and reiterated, "No, didn't you see anything?" "I only saw you," she replied. "...You rotten... You couldn't have been looking at just me all day." "......" "Never mind. Forget it." I waved my hands vigorously. Talking any further with her would only give me a headache. It seemed the Heavenly Demon hadn't noticed anything either. "Let's just head back for now." "Okay." Upon hearing my words, she gracefully leapt off the rock she had been sitting on, landing on the ground. Watching her, I turned and left. We needed to return to Ma-Ryeong-dong first. * * * I returned to Ma-Ryeong-dong. Entering through the entrance that the young spirit had directed us to, the soldiers on guard briefly looked warily, but at the mention of the young spirit's name, they opened the entrance as if nothing had happened. I passed through the heavy iron gate into the interior. The situation inside was the same as when I had left earlier. The only difference was that as the outside world was engulfed in the glow of the sunset, so too did this place undergo the same transformation in scenery. Considering that the illusion of a stone ceiling was created with enchantments, it was natural to see the sky's changes mirrored here. 'How do they use it?' I wondered about the mechanism that made the outside invisible, yet transparent from the inside. These musings accompanied my steps as I moved forward. By the time I reached my destination, "You have arrived..." The young spirit, looking somewhat weary, awaited us. "Have you been well?" I asked with a smile, and the young spirit bowed her head. As her head lowered, the veil she wore shifted. Through the fluttering fabric, her face was momentarily visible. I wasn't particularly surprised or impressed since it was something I had vaguely anticipated. "Great one, you honor us with your presence..." "No need for such formalities. So, what about what I mentioned earlier?" "......" What compensations can you offer me for working on your behalf? At those words, the young spirit closed her mouth momentarily. I slowly approached her, observing her reactions. I passed by the water's edge and ascended the hill, reaching the Divine Tree. Still, I refrained from touching it, only gazing upwards. The Divine Tree was charred black, giving the impression of having been scorched by fire. I wondered if I'd feel any change if I touched it just then. Since I came to obtain this, I thought about simply grabbing it but chose to resist. "Young spirit." "Yes... great one." "Reveal what you've been contemplating." "...!" My words seemed to startle her. Was she curious about how I knew she had been contemplating something? There was no need for surprise. 'Her reaction gave it away.' If she hadn't been planning something, she wouldn't have reacted as she did. The young spirit's response seemed as if she had been waiting for me. Given our conversation earlier in the day, if she was waiting for me, it was for this one reason. "So, what have you prepared?" "......" She had prepared something to offer me. If she hadn't, she would have at least thought it through. With these considerations in mind, I spoke again. "Great one," the young spirit said in a rather timid voice. "I am but a humble and insignificant being, and thus cannot offer much to a great one like you..." "Skip the flattery and get to the point." I was not interested in unnecessary modesty or evasion. Cutting her off, I prompted her, and after a moment of silence, she reached into her bosom and took out something. "Hmm?" I narrowed my eyes at what she held. "This is all we can offer," she said carefully. The object, which the young spirit presented with caution, prompted a short exclamation from me. "Oh?" It was a fragment teeming with an immense energy, known as a relic left behind by the master.