1196 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

A Violet Egg. Significantly larger than the red eggs I had seen in battle. By rough estimation, it was about three times as large. Nestled between iron bars. A colossal egg sat prominently. I was lost in peculiar thoughts while gazing at it. 'What is this?' It wasn't just the existence of the egg. 'Why is it here?' The presence emanating from the egg. Even with my lacking ability to sense energy, the distinctive aura was unmistakable. This was... 'Dark energy.' Not just any dark energy. 'The Dark Energy of the Heavenly Demon.' The primal energy one would associate with the Heavenly Demon. That energy was emanating from there. A violet egg. Just looking at it made my heart pound wildly. Thump-thump-! Thump-thump-! As if the pounding of my heart wasn't enough, I felt it resonating from the egg beyond. It was a resonance. Responding to my heartbeat, the egg seemed to react in kind. Amidst the ongoing resonance, something caught my eye inside the violet egg. A small shadow could be seen. Thump-! 'I know what it is.' I realized it at once. The vibration I was feeling was coming from that shadow. Like a mother cradling a fetus, the sound and presence were emanating from there. I gazed at it, trembling. "……What is this?" I turned to Do Cheol and asked, recalling the words he had uttered. "Is this what the Gu Clan's curse upon the Daoist Sect looks like?" "Exactly." "......What is that, exactly?" "That is……." Do Cheol's expression twisted as he continued to look at the egg. "A curse and a calamity." "……A calamity?" A word that rang with familiarity. Hearing it made my brow furrow. Was the calamity Do Cheol spoke of the same as the one I knew, or was he merely using the term casually? "What does calamity mean in this context?" I decided to ask. What exactly do you mean by calamity? To my inquiry, Do Cheol answered without hesitation. "An existence that poses a threat to the world." "……A threat, you say." His response was ambiguous. "What makes it a threat? And furthermore." I pressed on, my face twisting in contemplation. "……Why is this egg considered the Gu Clan's curse upon the Daoist Sect?" The violet egg. That itself was troubling. And the fact that it was related to the Gu Clan was even more problematic. How did the aura of the Heavenly Demon relate to the Gu Clan? Puzzled, I asked again. "Baek Gongja." "Yes." "How much do you know about the Gu Clan?" "……Well?" I thought I knew quite a bit. But upon seeing this, even that assurance wavered. Just what kind of family is it that reveals new mysteries at every turn? It felt truly unbelievable. "The Gu Clan…… lies at the heart of the strange happenings in the world." "……Strange happenings?" "The emergence of monsters, the disasters and calamities of the world. Bloodshed caused by humans, and every significant event in Zhongyuan. They are at the center of it all." "……Ah." I scratched my cheek. It felt awkward to flat-out deny it. But agreeing to it unreservedly felt equally strange... 'Isn't it a bit odd to say it accounts for all of it?' This was my thought process. No matter how poor my opinion of the Gu Clan was, this seemed a bit ambiguous. "You seem skeptical." "It's a bit hard to believe, isn't it?" "I understand. With human logic, situations like now are perplexing." "……Yes." That aspect wasn't particularly perplexing for me. My own turmoil came from the overwhelming aura of the Heavenly Demon, not the circumstances surrounding me. I've witnessed so many strange phenomena that something of this scale wasn't too shocking. 'I even consumed one of those seeds before coming here.' I had already absorbed the energy of a sacred tree seed, known as the Seed. So, that wasn't particularly strange. 'Then again.' Could it be that the egg filled with the aura of the Heavenly Demon was also, in fact, one of these sacred tree seeds? Such thoughts crossed my mind. 'A strange affair.' Viewing it this way, indeed it seemed peculiar. 'The sacred tree seeds are connected to the birth of a master, they say.' A calamity for Zhongyuan. What the frontline seed had been prepared for. Then. 'What is this?' What precisely was this egg? If it were also a seed, explanations became convoluted. Moreover, the involvement of the Gu Clan added complexity? "Then, would the meaning of the clan head's words imply that... the Gu Clan is behind all events. And this seed was also created to cause some incident?" "Indeed." "……Hmm." I agreed that the egg was a calamity. Whatever it was, the peculiar nature of the object was undeniable... Therefore. "What exactly did the Gu Clan do to the Daoist Sect with this?" That's what mattered more to me. For what reason had they confined this mysterious egg within an unexplained underground prison? To that question, the response was: "……It would be quicker to show than explain." With a soft rustling. With that, Do Cheol began to undo his front garment. And moments later. "What?" As his upper body was revealed, I let out a gasp. His torso looked somewhat unusual. Surprisingly thin for a warrior, alongside— ‘……What is that?’ His body was enveloped in a dark aura. Initially, I thought it was dark energy, but that wasn't the case. It wasn’t the familiar sensation of mage energy. It was… ‘An unsettling discomfort.’ It carried a different kind of discomfort and displeasure than the unsettling feeling of dark energy. At a glance, it seemed like burn scars, though it also seemed akin to skin charred into ash. "……What is it?" "This is proof of the curse. A sign of the curse received from the Gu Clan ages ago." "……A sign of the curse? Are you saying those scars are the work of the Gu Clan?" "Indeed." "The Gu Clan?" I couldn't wrap my head around it. Could the Gu Clan actually do something like this? Moreover— ‘For what purpose?’ What did those scars signify? "What does the meaning behind those scars entail to deem it a curse?" "……." Once more, instead of answering, Do Cheol opted for action. He took a step forward, heading toward the iron bars. As he inched closer to the egg... Swooosh. He extended his hand. Then. Huaaahhh--!! "……!" The energy exploded from the egg, swirling around Do Cheol's body. Simultaneously. Swiiiish--!! "……Kuh." As the dark energy seeped from his obscure scars, the energy intermingled. This sight caused my eyes to widen. ‘It's being absorbed.’ The energy from Do Cheol's scar gradually seeped into the egg. He appeared to be in immense pain, trying desperately to suppress his groans. “Kuh…” He endured the agony as long as he could. Thunk. As the energy stopped flowing, Do Cheol collapsed to his knees. “Huff… Huff…” Glistening with cold sweat, he struggled to catch his breath. Observing him, I asked. “What did you just do…?” “I… fed it.” “Fed it?” “Yes… That is the reason for the scars bestowed upon us by the Gu Clan.” Do Cheol, still exhausted, pointed towards the egg. "When you're born into the Daoist clan, you must feed it every day until the day you die. This 'feed' is the energy of the Dao." “What on earth—?” “If you fail to do so, these scars slowly devour your body, eventually taking your life.” “……” His words left me speechless. ‘That’s...’ It was almost akin to a binding curse. Not just any binding curse, but one on par with those the Heavenly Demon would dictate. And yet. ‘A curse that has been passed down through generations?’ I had heard of something like this before. Where was it? ‘Ah.’ It hit me. ‘The Dark King…’ The curse said to be borne by the Dark King. That curse, said to make one live eternally as a creature of darkness, resounded in my memory. ‘Is it a curse of a similar nature?’ Perhaps the curse Do Cheol received was of this nature, if what he said was true. “Are you saying the Gu Clan placed such a curse?” The notion that the Gu Clan issued such a curse made it difficult for me to trust Do Cheol’s claims. “Yes.” “When?” “Easily several centuries ago.” That long ago? Then why am I not aware of this? “……For what purpose?” “To nurture that abhorrent thing.” “…….” My gaze shifted to the egg. Did the Gu Clan use the Daoist clan to nurture it? I wasn't convinced. ‘Could they really?’ The Gu Clan I knew did have its share of sinister secrets. Yet, even still… ‘To this extent?’ I was skeptical. Above all… ‘Does Gu Seongyeol know?’ Whether Gu Seongyeol, the current head of the Gu Clan, was aware of this ordeal was a question worth pondering. “You appear unconvinced.” “It’s hard to believe just like that.” “Yet it’s the truth. The Gu Clan wanted to raise a calamity to disrupt the world, using the Dao clan as lifelong slaves.” “……” If those words were indeed true, then I could understand their grievances as well. Being born only to spend one's entire life feeding an egg like that—the idea was unbearable, even to me. “Are you asking me to join your revenge against them?” “You’ve heard of the Gu Clan’s deeds. If your heart aligns, I ask that you aid us in our liberation.” “Hmm…” I stroked my chin. I’d heard the explanations. If the Daoist claims were true, the Gu Clan was indeed contemptible. “It’s a hard decision to make quickly. I’d need some time to ponder over it.” Seeing the need to investigate the situation further felt imperative. Upon hearing my response, Do Cheol’s expression momentarily turned cold. “Is that so?” “Yes. I’m sorry, but I feel I should check on this matter myself.” “…….” “It’s not that I’m refusing. I just need some—” “I see. Gu Clan members can never be trusted.” “What?” Just as I was about to frown at his words. Bang! “What??” Suddenly, bars shot up from the ground, encasing me. “What the—” What was this? “……It’s done. I never expected anything from a member of the Gu Clan anyway.” “What are you doing?” “It’s unfortunate that it’s not Gu Seongyeol or the young lord. But a grand opportunity has presented itself, and I will be satisfied with this.” “What are you—?” “Curse the bloodline of your family.” Muttering to himself, Do Cheol turned and began to walk away. Watching him, I gripped the bars, intending to break free. Zzzzt! “Ugh.” Pain shot through my hands, forcing me to release my grip on the bars. This situation was unmistakably— “Ridiculous?” I seemed to be trapped.