1284 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

“How... How is this possible...?” The figure tied to the tree unmistakably resembles my mother. Why is she here, especially in such a pitiful state tied to Mua? My chest tightened at the sight. Immediately, I reached out to Mua. Should I burn the restraints to free her? As I was about to ignite flames in my body with that thought in mind, a voice interrupted me. "Don't do that." A voice echoed. "Mua?" "I understand your intention. However, it would be best if you refrained." "What's going on here?" I extinguished the flames that were about to burst forth and asked. "Young one, who might you be?" Mua instead questioned me. "You carry my seal. Yet, I do not know you. Moreover..." A soft breeze brushed past my cheek. "You are not a child of this world. Twisted, aren’t you? Young one, what exactly are you?" "I'm just someone swept here and there." Some have called me the eye of the storm, but to be honest, I think I am the storm itself. Constantly swayed and pulled in different directions. At this point, the storm metaphor or anything related isn't important anymore. "So, what’s this situation all about?" I questioned why my mother is tied to Mua, prompting a response from it. "It seems you know who this woman is." "I do. I know her well, so explain why she is like this here." "It was necessary." "Necessary?" "Had she been left alone, she would have been significantly harmed. Thus, I used power to stabilize her." "Damaged? Why?" How did it come to be that my mother was on the verge of damage? "There isn’t enough time to explain. Even speaking with you pushes my limits." "Cut the crap. Do you think I'll just leave without getting answers after finding this place?" "For reasons unknown, my apostle, if you wish to save this woman—you must seek out the source she scattered." Mua's words quickened, speaking directly to the point as if time was truly running out. "Source? What do you mean—?" "The individuals currently called apostles, from their source, this woman needs to reclaim the power of the ten thousand realms—" Chiiik. Mua's voice fell silent mid-sentence. "Hey." I tried to get it to speak again, but there was no response. "Dammit." What sort of senseless situation is this? Why is my mother suddenly tied to Mua? An unexpected scenario. I only came to talk to Mua, nothing more. ‘What the hell is going on here?’ It's not easy. And to save my mother, apparently, I need to... ‘Retrieve the power of the ten thousand realms from the source of the apostles?’ The source of the apostles, referred to as Geomhu or the Sword Empress, supposedly holds my mother’s power. How? Even pondering these questions doesn’t yield answers. If what Mua says is true, I have no choice but to proceed. ‘Meet Geomhu.’ I was planning on meeting her anyway, and now I have a reason. Not bad, I suppose. ‘Not bad at all, my ass.’ How can I possibly see this positively? I ground my teeth in irritation. It was a situation that, no matter how hard I tried, couldn't be seen in a good light. ‘Is there no other way?’ They say she's tied to the tree to prevent her condition from worsening, but my mother seems fine. In what way was she damaged? ‘I see no sign of inner energy disturbance.’ It doesn’t seem to be related to any internal demonic issues. If so... ‘Is it possible to use Baekyeom to sense anything?’ The power of the Pama. It may not heal, but it could help assess her condition. With this thought, I gingerly ignited the Baekyeom. Whoosh. A pure white flame appeared at my fingertip. Just as I was about to touch Mua’s pillar with it— “...!” I instinctively looked up at the sky. “What the—” Something was visible above. Whoosh. A figure enveloped in gray flames was looking down upon this place. ‘...Father?’ Gu Cheol-un. My father was watching this place with an intense gaze. ‘Why is Father here—’ As I was wrapped in confusion and dismay, “How dare you.” My father spat out the words with a contorted expression on his face. Boom--!! He barreled towards me at tremendous speed. “Insane.” I cursed and quickly enveloped myself in protective energy. Clang--!! In an instant, an explosion erupted as he drew nearer. The heat brushed against me. I fought it off and retreated. I tried to distance myself from the flames, but— Wham-! A hand shot out from within and grabbed me by the throat. “Click.” I grabbed the wrist of the hand that held me, but it swung faster than I could react. My vision spun, and my body was suddenly suspended in midair. Whoosh. Below, I could see my father gathering flames in his palm. Was it Flame Prison? I gritted my teeth and gathered flames in my hands as well. No time to hesitate. I hurled the compressed Flame Prison straight ahead, and my father was releasing his own Flame Prison to meet it. The flames collided. Boom--!!! A massive explosion larger than before erupted. Flames of differing colors twisted against each other as if trying to annihilate, and a tempest shot up into the sky. A spectacle of heat and pressure. It felt as if the flames would sear my entire body. Squinting through the fiery chaos, I searched for my father. No need, as he was standing by the tree, controlling the flames to prevent them from reaching it. Watching him, I recited internally. ‘Greed.’ The power that emerged from my body plunged towards my father with a dark form, but— Crrack-! It failed to reach him this time, as the flames encasing him dissipated the power of Greed. ‘What the heck is that?’ Seriously, what is this? Whereas the Iron Blood Airship disperses with wind, this... ‘Greed seems reluctant.’ It appeared reluctant to consume. Why is it behaving like this now? It was troubling. ‘So I can’t use Greed against him, it seems.’ It means my power is blocked against my father. This leaves only one course of action. ‘...I’ll have to tackle this head-on.’ I’ll have to rely on sheer skill. Whoosh--!!! I collected the heat in my hand while retracting the flames. I prepared myself to respond at any moment and spoke to my father. “There seems to be some misunderstanding.” My father didn't seem to be in a mood to listen to reason. His aura was suffused with hostility, intent on identifying an enemy, coupled with pure rage. "...Looks like he won't listen, even if there's a misunderstanding." I've never seen my father this angry before. Judging by the circumstances, he seems to be trying to protect my mother. 'So, being around here...' It meant he was aware of Mua enveloping her like that. In other words, 'He knows something.' He possesses some information. With this realization, BZZZZT-!!! 'I need to resolve this.' I summoned flames to my hand. The Flame Prison morphed into a Flame Lance. Father's brows furrowed at the sight. "It seems we have no choice. Though I hoped for a peaceful resolution, it seems that won't be the case. Please understand that I am left with no other option." For me, fighting my father? It doesn't daunt me. I've committed the sin of rebellion once before; the second or third time isn't any more difficult. BOOM-!! I slammed the ground hard and hurled the Flame Lance at my father. Whoosh-! It moved with a speed that couldn't be caught by sound. The lance flew toward my father rapidly. At that moment, my father's gray flames surged. CRASH-! "Tch." He caught and halted the lance with his hand. SQUEEEEAL-!!! The recoil forced him back. Even though he braced himself against the ground with his toes, the strength of the impact carved two tracks into the earth. "......" Despite his twisted expression at realizing he couldn't fully block it, he pivoted and hurled the grabbed lance backward. SWOOSH-! The lance flew a certain distance before exploding mid-air. BOOOOOOM---!!! “...This is insane.” In disbelief, I had never seen anyone block a lance this way before. The fact that he managed to catch it was startling enough. 'And it didn't stop at just catching it.' Worried that the lance would explode, he controlled the force energetically to prevent detonation. And yet, recognizing he couldn't block it, he altered the trajectory. ‘Can energy be manipulated like that?’ It was a method I had never seen or heard of. Because, 'If done like that, his hands should sustain severe damage.' Sizzle. Indeed, his hands were badly damaged, with skin peeled away. The Flame Lance is a martial art that delivers searing heat through intense rotational force. He had caught it with his bare hands, so it was natural for his palms to be torn and damaged. “......” Yet, my father merely looked at his hands as if it was nothing. Though it must have been painful, he didn’t even furrow an eyebrow. Ssssss. I watched as the wounds healed quickly. It seemed to be a trait of the Apostle’s body. Even so, it’s certainly not painless. “He’s like some indestructible iron man.” A man who wouldn’t shed a drop of blood even if pricked with a needle. It seems my father wasn't different in his younger days either. 'A single lance wasn’t enough.' Though I didn't intend to kill, I aimed to incapacitate him with injuries. 'I need to go stronger.' This is insufficient. I need to strike with more force. I immediately engaged the Heavenly Demon Art. WHIRRRR-!!! Generating chaos within, I prepared the Chaos Orb. A lance might be stoppable, but a Chaos Orb is likely not. With that mindset, I steadily funneled my inner energy into my hands. Just as the form was about to emerge— Whoosh. “Huh?” Flames surged from my father’s hand. I thought he was preparing the Flame Prison, but then... “...What?” The form it took widened my eyes. Not just any ordinary Flame Prison. That was... 'A Flame Lance...?' A gray-hued Flame Lance. My father had cast the exact martial art of my lance. Moreover, “Damn... This is driving me insane.” Just like at the North Sea, he had done it after witnessing it a single time.