1061 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

**The Best Under Heaven’s Childhood Friend Chapter 1061: Northern Rabbit - Web Novel Archive** “Why are you alive?” “What did you say, you little punk?” At my words, Shin Noya's face twisted into a frightening sneer. I hesitated at the sight of his fiercely contorted expression. “No... that's not what I meant.” I stopped short, closing my mouth. Even so, the meaning of my words was clear. After a moment of thought, I spoke again. “Seriously, why are you alive?” "...What am I going to do with you?" In the end, I repeated my question, and Shin Noya let out a sigh, as if he couldn’t believe it. “Why? Is my presence displeasing to you because I’m alive?” “...How could that be?” How could it? If it weren’t for my trembling fingertips, my insistent plea would have been clear. Seeing this, Shin Noya chuckled softly. “Don’t get so sentimental and try to hug me or anything.” “Sorry, but that’s something I’d like to avoid too.” “You wretched brat.” He laughed heartily. Watching his laughter, I asked softly. “But, Noya.” “Yeah?” “...Is it really impossible?” “Hmm?” Shin Noya raised his eyebrows, then let out a hollow laugh. Then he opened his arms slightly. Moving my heavy feet forward, I ran to him and embraced him. “...Tsk, tsk, tsk. Silly boy. You said you didn’t like this just a moment ago.” “...” I clung to the old man, and his rough hand stroked the back of my head. “See...” I stopped mid-sentence. My voice broke, betraying my composure. “What’s this? Are you crying?” The mirth in Noya's voice was unmistakable. “I’m not crying.” “You're crying, you silly boy.” “I’m not crying. Who’s crying?” “Hahahahaha-!” Noya burst into loud, hearty laughter. “You amusing little kid. Acting all tough and now you’re weeping over a minor incident?” “I’m telling you, I’m not...” “Chuckles.” “Oh, stop laughing already.” I rubbed my eyes with my hand. Luckily, there weren’t any tears. It was likely just a moment of melancholy. ‘How embarrassing.’ That emotion seeped into my voice, making it slightly hoarse. I fought back the tears like a child on the verge of crying. “So... why did you do it?” What was it all for? I asked with resentment, and Noya’s smile faded. “I told you to just stay put, didn’t I? After everything I’ve done until now...” “Yangcheon.” His hand moved from the back of my head to the crown. “That won’t change things much. You knew that, didn’t you? Who would cling to a foolish attachment and desire more from it?” “But...” Even so. I needed you. The words rose to the tip of my tongue. But I couldn’t say them. “That too is a desire.” Noya already knew what I wanted to say. He always did. “Whether it was my desire or yours, whatever it was, it was still a desire.” “So, did you die in my stead?” “In your stead? Haha. I wouldn’t call it that. In the end, I failed to stop it. What remains is what you must do.” “Aren’t you disappointed...? You said there were things you wanted to do.” Things he left unfinished, he had called them regrets. He had talked about completing what they couldn’t achieve in the past. He’d asked to stop the blood demon they hadn’t managed to handle. Bringing that up, Noya spoke to me: “It wasn’t what I wanted to do but what I wanted to see. You know that. It’s one and the same.” “So... are you really going to just leave?” Leaving without seeing what you wanted. Without achieving what you wanted through me. Just leaving? **enN1WnIzcFhHMVJuR0JvdkNPc013ejlIUW1hcnNsTWxMNmxwVHEwYmpBcmIyQzJqbjdCSE0yL0dMeG5LWHpMUA** “I can’t let you go.” I couldn’t allow it. I couldn’t send Noya off like that. If you leave. ‘What do I have left?’ There would be nothing left for me. If the person who knew all my secrets, who stood by me and taught me, were to disappear. ‘I.’ How would I endure it? I was scared. It felt like returning to my childhood. Truly being left alone—it terrified me. I tried to clutch at Noya somehow, but... “Yangcheon.” Shin Noya called me with a sorrowful voice. Just as he was about to say something more. “This idle chatter has gone on long enough. I don’t believe I extended so much time for it?” A cold voice dropped down from the sky. Startled by the voice, I looked up into the heavens. And there was— “...You...” “It’s been a long time.” A being with white hair billowing. A figure exactly like me, shrouded in flickering embers. I stared at it, eyes wide in shock. “My inadequate descendant.” The goblin grinned as he spoke. * * * Rumble. A deafening roar resonated from all around. Where there had once been fields and forests, now only ruins remained. At the heart of the devastated and crumbled land, someone exhaled a labored breath. “Sigh...” Each low exhale from the man seemed to shake the world around him. “This is absurd.” He let out a disbelieving sigh—Taechun laughed. His body was in shambles, unlike before. His torn-off left arm. The side that seemed to have been eaten away. A right leg that only retained its knee, and a barely attached right arm. Normally, he should have recovered by now, but Taechun’s body failed to regenerate. “It’s the limit.” Even the vessel, evolved and imbued with life force, reached its threshold. Though it was meant to house divine power, it shouldn’t have been damaged so easily. However. “...This isn’t even funny.” Despite all the preparation, even the meticulously crafted body had reached its limit. The reason stood before him. “What on earth are you?” With his broken body, Taechun looked straight ahead. There. “Grrrrr---.” A massive beast with white fur trembled, spears impaling its body. Possessing crimson eyes. Taechun contorted his face at the sight. “I can’t understand.” Step. He moved slowly on his broken leg. “Why.” As he approached, certainty grew clearer. No, he had already been certain during the fight. “Could you possibly be holding the godly power of all realms?” “Grrrrr--!!” Rattle--!!! With Taechun nearing, the creature tried to move. Despite the excruciating pain and binding chains all over it, it attempted to leap again without a care. Watching this, Taechun waved his hand. Boom-!! “Graaaargh--!!” Another spear descended from the sky, driving itself into the creature’s back. “Truly resilient.” It was a rough battle, fierce and unhesitating, making it a grueling fight. “No matter if it's not a direct descent.” Even if it hadn’t brought its true form here, forcing such power was unexpected. If Taechun had brought his true form, it would have been much easier, but that was impossible. “The myriad worlds wouldn’t permit it.” The true master of this land wouldn’t allow such a thing, he had thought. “This is peculiar.” Taechun spoke these words, glancing upward at the sky. It was truly strange. “Why is there no response?” He gazed at the crimson aurora filling his vision. It was nighttime. The moon was high, and even Taechun’s domain had vanished. “Why have you not come?” Such an intense battle. Against not just an ordinary being but a master-level opponent. Yet the myriad worlds had not intervened. Ah. Taechun finally realized. “Oh, I see.” Taechun laughed. The myriad worlds hadn’t simply not come. “It’s that they can’t come, isn’t it?” They couldn’t come now. Even with all this divine power being unleashed, they were either unaware or unable to act. Either way, it wasn’t an unwelcome scenario for Taechun. Moreover, if reasoning why the myriad worlds couldn’t move— “Could it be because of you? That’s what I’m thinking. What do you say?” “...Grrrrrrrr--!!!” The beast let out a cry at Taechun’s words. From Taechun’s perspective, this was the cause of the myriad worlds’ inability to act. “Even if it’s not complete, I can’t miss it.” Within the monster's body. Somewhere inside harbored a terrifying power. The vast energy emanating from the heart of this land, where all life converges. The grand power bestowed upon this world, only two exist. And one of them could be felt within that mysterious creature's body. It was truly baffling. “What could it be?” It felt reminiscent of the dragon lord. The power of the arrogant former ruler that the myriad worlds had erased. “But how...” That form was supposedly the primal form possessed by the myriad worlds. How could these two powers be intertwined? It was peculiar that, despite being entangled, they were stable. “What are you up to?” What could the myriad worlds be thinking? Pondering this question, Taechun shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. After all— “If I manage to claim it, that’s enough.” If the myriad worlds remain immobile, it's the perfect scenario. Regardless of her intent, if he could seize what was in front of him, it would suffice. Groan. Taechun’s damaged body began to regenerate. Though the pace had slowed considerably, it wasn’t entirely impossible. “There isn’t enough time.” Due to his body's deterioration, the time during which he could partially descend was reduced. He needed to end it swiftly. With this thought, Taechun reached out towards the monster. At that moment— Crash-!!! “...” Taechun stepped back. A sharp energy had sliced past the air before the beast. Sensing it, Taechun looked towards its source. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Immersed in the fight with the creature, he had momentarily overlooked something. “Ah, you all were here as well.” They weren’t alone in this vicinity. The one who had unleashed the sword energy. A woman with ashen hair was watching him. Looking at her, Taechun spoke. “At this moment, lacking time, before doing something unnecessary, I thought to offer mercy. Do you intend to engage nonetheless?” With Taechun’s words, a breeze blew. Woosh. The woman, standing afar, suddenly was in front of the beast, blocking Taechun. “Mercy?” She tilted her head, as if unable to comprehend. “You're dressing up a desperate plea as something noble.” “...” Hearing this, Taechun silently observed the woman. Like the beast. ‘That one’ was no different. “What are you?” This was an essential question. What was she? Initially, he had thought she was merely the remnant of the dragon lord or a lost fragment of divine status. That’s how he saw it at first. “What are you veiled with?” However, it was not. The woman was wrapped in something beyond that. Without it, such an aura wouldn’t be possible. “What...” “Lingering desire.” “What?” The woman answered. What she was shrouded in. That was the answer to his inquiry. “Do you know what remains when hope mixes with endless time?” The conclusion of a long deliberation. At the end of that journey, the answer was— The woman knew it. “It’s lingering desire.” Lingering desire. Something unachievable and unattainable. Endlessly longed for. That’s what the woman called lingering desire. Or, she sometimes called it love.