1133 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

"You fool." Those were the words his father had said when he got injured trying to protect the woman who cared for him. "A tool should be used as a tool. Even if you're only half a member of the Namgung family, you're still of our blood. Why act so crudely?" She was a woman who had treated him well. Worried whether he was hungry, she would prepare food for him day and night. On cold winter days, she would bring warm cotton clothes and blankets, asking if he wasn't cold. Even a slight illness, and she was at his side, laying her hand on his forehead. Even if she never called herself so, in his heart, she was like a mother to him. Whenever she was punished for not properly serving her master, he would insist on taking her place. Each time, she would smile and stop him gently. "It's okay. As long as you are not hurt, it's okay." He didn't mind the insults thrown at him while protecting such a woman. As long as she was there, that was all he needed. Neither the mother who abandoned him nor the family that viewed him as a fool mattered. As long as she was there, he could endure. Such were those days. Then one day, as he bore one more day, "...Yumo?" Namgung Hyung called out to the woman in his arms. There was no response. "Yumo, please answer me. Please..." She was growing cold. Her warmth was fading, and she was turning unbearably cold. "Ah... ah..." All he could manage was a choked, shallow scream. In that shaking silence, he recalled her final words. "Young master... make sure you eat well..." With trembling lips, she had said those words before losing her vitality for good. "Ahhhhh---!!!!" He screamed, tears streaming unchecked from his eyes as though about to lose consciousness. Someone spoke to Namgung Hyung, who was in such agony. "Haven't I told you?" Before him stood the one he called father and a man he called brother. "Tools should be maintained as tools. Tsk tsk." His father spoke, holding the sword that had killed his caretaker. "Behaving foolishly like that, she's bound to attempt poisoning." "...Impossible." Eyes reddened with fury, he glared at his father. His father had killed Yumo, accusing her of trying to poison him. There was poison found in his usual meals, and that was the justification for Yumo's death. But. "You expect me to believe that...?" Yumo was not that kind of person. If anyone knew that, it was he. She was the only one who had protected him in this rotten, nauseating place. And such a woman would try to kill him? "Even if that were true..." It would have been better to die that way. "But why---!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, unable to control his trembling body. "Why... why must it be like this...?" "My son. I eliminated the one trying to kill you; why are you acting this way?" "Don't make me laugh. There's no way Yumo would do that." "Hmm." Namgung Jeohwi shook his head at Namgung Hyung’s words. There was only scorn in his expression as he looked at his son. "Fine. That could be. But," A smile crossed the face that had looked down on him. "Even so. What can you possibly do?" "......" "Do not entertain absurd hopes. While you bear the Namgung name, your options are few." Namgung Jeohwi turned his back. Just then, the sword he held gleamed. It was the sword stained with Yumo's blood. "Don't entertain pointless thoughts. Just stay there. It's what's fitting for you." With that, Namgung Jeohwi vanished. Left alone, Namgung Hyung swallowed his sobs, holding the lifeless Yumo. It was true. Even if Yumo had really tried to poison him, or if his father had simply killed her, what could he do now? Bearing the Namgung name, he could do nothing. It was both a shackle and a prohibition. "Ah... ah..." A broken breath that no longer could muster a scream. And beyond it, Namgung Hyung, retching, thought to himself. This place is hell. “……” Tap! Tap-tap!! He raced through the forest, Namgung Hyung pushing himself, running and running with a grim face, as if to escape hell as soon as possible. As he pushed himself to his limits, wheezing through the pain, -You fool. A voice echoed in his ears. -Balance your pace, lest you collapse from exhaustion. "…I can manage on my own." Namgung Hyung replied curtly. The voice belonged to the sword with nothing but a handle hanging from his waist. It was Noe-A speaking to him. After Yumo's death, on a day as he sat in what felt like a prison, a break in the wall led him to a hidden chamber. The passage surprisingly connected to the Namgung family's treasure vault, where he found this sword. Later, he learned that the dilapidated dwelling where Namgung Hyung stayed was once the abode of the Namgung family hero, Noecheon's famed swordsman. He never understood why such a place was left in ruin. And it was his voice, he believed, speaking through the sword. Noecheon, the legendary swordsman of Namgung, whose heroism had saved countless lives. His soul was encased in Noe-A, speaking to him. -Tsk... why did you choose to do such a thing? You could have had your way within the Namgung family. "I already told you. I'd rather die than stay there." Namgung Hyung grimaced and sped up. "Besides, didn’t you agree to help me already?" -...Tsk. His response was indifferent. This old man clearly wasn’t pleased with the idea of leaving the Namgung family. Well, no surprise there. His purpose was the restoration of the Namgung family after all. What was it he had said? ‘Restore the forgotten swordsmanship of Namgung.’ The sword skills that had degenerated over time. It was his task to restore them, the old man had said. Of course, he had no intention of listening. Why should he be tasked with such a thing? Wouldn't it be better to go to someone else? Perhaps his brother or the man claiming to be his father, he thought. -You're the one who must do it. Only he, and he alone, could hear Noe-A's voice. Thus, it fell on him to become the family head. That's what Noe-A insisted. ‘Sickening words.’ Namgung Hyung had absolutely no intention of becoming the head of the Namgung family. If it ever came to that, he’d rather bite his tongue and end it all. All he wanted was to leave this place. He lived his life with that thought alone. Of course, "If it weren't for this, it would have been impossible." Without Noe-A, the option of running away wouldn’t have existed. It was an agreement reached with the old man in the sword. There was no other way. "I had to escape the binding." Born with Namgung blood meant a binding deep within one's body. The head of the Namgung family. Or, "Ancestor." Cheonjohn, the previous family head. The binding required obedience to their words. With that constraint, he couldn’t even consider death, much less escape from the Namgung family. "Running away would have been impossible too." Leaving this filthy place seemed an impossible feat, but "Thanks to it, I could come out." The Noe-A hanging at his waist. It suppressed the binding. -Do not forget the contract, descendant. “…I know.” He spoke, aware that only he could hear the voice. He promised to restore and pass on the Namgung family’s forgotten swordsmanship in exchange for help with his escape. If that was unsatisfactory, he’d ignore Noe-A’s voice and refuse to assist with anything related to the sword or the Namgung family. Faced with such a threat, Noe-A reluctantly agreed. It was this agreement to suppress the binding that allowed him to step outside. It was the reason he specifically sought the hidden chamber in the first place. "I made it out." Namgung Hyung curled his lips into a smile. He roamed under the cover of night, savoring freedom outside of the Namgung estate. Unlike his brother Namgung Jin, Namgung Hyung had never been allowed to go out. For the first time, he was outside, enjoying the freedom. Now... "I can go anywhere." He could go anywhere. He could do anything. That was his constant thought. "Somehow, I just need to hide for now." Holding Noe-A, he had to move out of Namgung’s reach for now. That was all he focused on. For Namgung Hyung, who was tasting freedom, nothing else mattered. -Descendant...! Suddenly, Noe-A called him urgently. “What is it…?” -Run. "What?" -Ordinarily, they'd ignore you. But with boundaries broken, the infamous old monster stirs. What a bother they are. “What are you suddenly talking about?” -Your grandfather is coming. "……!" At those words, Namgung Hyung widened his eyes. Instinctively, he tensed his legs. RUMBLE!!! -Well, it's too late now. With a deafening thunder, a flash of light illuminated his front. Zzzzzt. A searing sound rose as someone stood at the center of the forest. He was an elderly man with azure eyes, his blue martial robes fluttering, white hair flowing. "……." Seeing him, cold sweat broke on Namgung Hyung’s face. How many times had he seen him since birth? Perhaps he could count the times on one hand, yet he knew exactly who this person was. The current embodiment of Namgung itself and its very essence. "An esteemed one has come to see someone like me." Namgung Hyung forced a smile and spoke. "Grandfather." "……." At those words, Cheonjohn turned his head to look at Namgung Hyung. "Grandson." "……." "So you’ve been up to something amusing. Do you have any idea what you intended to take with you?" He didn't bother wondering how he arrived. He already knew how extraordinary this being was. Cheonjohn. He was an elder renowned as the pinnacle of mastery. A man who wouldn’t be considered abnormal for his rather atypical and otherworldly presence. "I’m well aware. It’s just an antique, isn’t it?" "Hahaha, an antique." "If not, what is it? It's trash neither grandfather nor father could use. I just thought I’d take it with me." -Trash, you say...? Noe-A fumed. He didn't care. What mattered was the reaction of the man before him. Cheonjohn glanced at the Noe-A hanging from his waist. "So you've touched it." “…I could hear quite well." "You’ve wielded Noe-A. You’ve overcome the binding, too." "Yes." "I see. Then you shall become the next in line as family head." "…What?" He mentioned the position of the family head as though it were nothing special. "Come back. I will give you the position of heir." "……." Crackle. Just because he had held Noe-A, he was to be offered the position of heir. Without pause. His indifferent offer was incredibly irritating. “I have no need for it. I left because I detest that bothersome position and this vile family. Why would I want to return?” “Hmmm…” At Namgung Hyung’s words, Cheonjohn narrowed his eyes. “Is that so?” “I have no intention of returning eve-.” "Then perish." CRACK! Lightning fell. With those words, Cheonjohn sent a bolt of lightning hurtling towards Namgung Hyung's crown. Avoiding it was impossible. By the time he realized, it was already too late. He was going to die. As the thought crossed Namgung Hyung’s mind, Szzzzt-----!!!!! Noe-A burst forth. Crackle---!!!!! Sound of lightning exploding roared in his ears. His eyes shut tight. There was no pain, only sound. Puzzled by the oddity, he opened his eyes slightly. "What?" Namgung Hyung's eyes widened at the scene before him. The lightning had indeed exploded but was only flickering in front of him. Moreover, his grandfather was also staring at him with a hardened face. Or, more accurately, at something in front of him. "Who are you?" Cheonjohn asked. Ahead of Namgung Hyung, a figure had emerged, deflecting the lightning. It was Cheonjohn’s infamous lightning. Holding it effortlessly with one hand, the figure stood resilient. With a near-eight-foot-tall stature swathed in a flowing black robe and impressive long hair, the figure was unmistakable. CRACK! The man crushed the lightning he held in his grasp until it splintered. Electric arcs burst outwards. Then. “Pleasure to meet you, old monster.” A deep voice descended upon the forest. “Who am I, you ask?” The man said, looking at his grandfather. “I am.” With those words, “I am Cheonma.” Darkness unfurled, blotting out the moon hanging in the sky.