1328 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

What was I attached to? My life had always been foolish, so what was there to hold onto until the end? I thought about it over and over, but the answer remained the same. It was always simple. I just didn’t want to do anything. Even though I knew what needed to be done, I didn’t want to do anything at all. I hated the thought of having to let things go, and so I despised everything that took me away from a peaceful life. That's probably why I always held onto things foolishly. From the realization that I was no longer human. From the moment I heard that my fate was inevitably leading to Calamity. In all those moments, I just couldn’t bear to let go. Even though I knew I had to, I kept postponing it. “That’s how I ended up like this.” Every time I didn’t do what needed to be done and kept holding on, this would be the result. “If I lose and let go of everything, what will change?” I cried out so many times wanting to keep things close, only to realize my foolishness after losing something important. Even now, it’s the same. In the end, only after seeing blood did I make a choice. “Dad.” I heard a voice. In the pure white background, I knelt alone. In front of me, there was Tolly. “Dad, are you having a hard time?” “……” I reached out to touch him but hesitated. “I’m sorry.” All I could do was apologize, unable to bring myself to touch him. From the moment I took advice from the ancestor, I knew. To regain my true strength, I needed Tolly. To attain him meant— “—that I might not see him anymore.” That I could no longer stay by his side, whether in the form of a monster or a human. Tolly smiled brightly at his words. “Why are you sorry?” “……” “It’s okay.” Did he even know what he was saying was okay? “Who knows.” There was one thing I was curious about, a thought I had every time I looked at Tolly. As my own power grew, Tolly’s size and strength increased. But why did he also have a human form? And why did he resemble my younger self? Today, I finally understood that mystery. “You are the endpoint of my regret.” “Hmm?” The appearance from my childhood was a manifestation of my desires from that time—my regrets and longing. My original form took on such a shape to prevent loss. That was attachment. Even when I thought I had discarded everything, I could not bring myself to truly let go. That was the kind of attachment it was. “I’m sorry.” It was an apology to Tolly, and a statement to my own regrets. “But I have to do it.” It was more like self-justification, a form of self-hypnosis. It was something I couldn’t help but do. Even as I apologized, Tolly kept smiling. “Yes, you have to do it. It’s okay.” A small hand touched my cheek. “Dad.” Tolly slowly embraced me. “Thank you for playing with me.” “……” “See you later. Let’s play again.” A trembling hand gently patted the small back. I buried my face into arms that hardly held me. “…Yeah.” My voice shook. “Let’s play again…” Daring to say so, even though I’d never truly played with him. This, too, was an inadequate self-justification. * * * Hwaaaa—!!! The winds whipped like ocean waves, distorting the space and gathering all the energy there. “…Well.” The Blood Demon narrowed his eyes as he watched. This energy was— “It seemed incomplete, and so it wasn’t the original form.” It was a mistake. A rare mistake after so long. “But…” Something was still amiss. The essence of that power was perceptible. It was an energy that shouldn’t exist here. How could it even exist? The Blood Demon gestured, and the aura of blood coalesced. The shape that formed twisted like thorns. As he was about to launch it at the source— “Stop.” “—!” The Blood Demon’s body froze. The wind halted as well. In the midst of swirling white and violet energy— A body rose from the ground. “…Ah.” An overwhelming presence. A power so monstrous. Seeing it, the Blood Demon realized something. “Haha… Hahahaha!” He let out a laugh filled with desolation. “…I see. So that’s how it was.” A head full of white hair. A tail trailing along the ground. The Blood Demon knew what that tail represented. “Heavenly. You really played your cards well.” The Blood Demon’s face contorted in frustration. Gu Yangcheon was looking at him, tears streaming from the eyes that glowed violet. Scales emerged on his skin, fingers elongated. With a gaze as cold as ice, he looked solely at the Blood Demon. “Was the world itself at fault from the beginning?” The Blood Demon responded. Gu Yangcheon moved. “I made a mistake. It must have been so amusing.” “……” “You knew, didn’t you? No, it was a world meant for you from the start. Is it meaningless…?” The Blood Demon’s eyes were slowly losing life. The vitality within them was fading. “Heavenly One. Even if you are like that, nothing changes. You struggle needlessly.” With his words came a chuckling laugh. “You are the calamity. The disaster the world so desired.” “……” “I curse my ignorance that failed to recognize. But then, I would probably have never seen through it. That’s just how this world is.” Thud. The Blood Demon sank to the ground. “Meaningless.” Pshhh—! The red aura scattered from his body. The Blood Demon was disappearing. He watched in silence. And then— “You won’t be able to escape.” The Blood Demon spoke to him. “Well, it’s good to struggle a bit. Where you were, did I exist?” “You did. I must tear through it somehow.” “That’s a good spirit. Try doing that.” The dissipating aura left behind a final whisper in his ear. “For that too will be fate.” Psssh. With that, all the energy vanished. Just as his body was about to rest— Crack—! Suddenly, the world began to crack. “……” In the midst of the crumbling, crushing scenario— My vision changed. In front of me stood a single tree. It was Muah, embracing my mother. Seeing it, I spoke softly. “Is this what you wished for?” At my words, the woman bound within the tree, my mother, opened her eyes. “…Mother.” “Hello, son.” She greeted me with a bright smile. At that smile, I bit my lip. “Did you truly wish for me to become like this?” I had become the calamity. Becoming the master implied that, damn it all. “The idea that things would turn out the way I wanted seems meaningless now. I never wished for this.” Is this the predetermined conclusion? If so, it wasn’t what I desired. When I realized that this path would be inevitable without making a certain choice, I kept delaying it however I could. “Son.” My mother spoke as she watched me. There was no longer any imposing presence about her. Standing before me now was the mother I knew. “I’m sorry.” With her apology, my form slowly began to return. The white hair faded, and the tail at my back disappeared. “I only wished for your happiness, my son.” “…This is not a path to my happiness.” What happiness is there in ending up on the path of calamity? Ultimately, I might have to remove those dear to me with my own hands. I clenched my fist at the thought. “I…” “Becoming a calamity is when the ruler of the Central Plains descends upon your body.” “……” With a gentle voice, my mother caressed my cheek. “Becoming the head of the Gu clan and taking on its burdens would create problems when that power is instilled in your body.” “…That’s…” The starting point of calamity. From the very moment those powers took hold in my body, things began. Yet— 'I thought it was already happening…' But… “Becoming a dragon has bought you time. You needed time for the world not to recognize you as an aberration.” “…Pardon?” “The world had predetermined the power of the ruler of the Central Plains. The moment you accept it, you become calamity. Instead, we needed to introduce something else, so you had to expand your vessel.” “What are you saying, Mother?” “If you do not become the ruler of the Central Plains, then there’s a chance… you might not become a calamity. That’s why I asked Mujagyeong for help.” “…Mujagyeong, you say?” Is she talking about Kkurung? “To buy as much time as possible… someday.” Mother smiled. “If you were to receive the power of the Lord of Ten Thousand Realms… if you became a different ruler, you might escape the fissures of the world. That’s what I thought.” “…!” Upon hearing those words, my eyes widened. “Mother, is that?” “Was it a good strategy? I’m not sure… I tried to gift this world to you after all.” Mother glanced around the area. “It doesn’t perfectly match my memory. This place is designed to slowly give my power to you.” “…You mean.” “If you were to take it all at once, your vessel would overflow. And you…” She stroked my hair. “…Would need time to bring that child into yourself.” Time to accept Tolly as power. So this world was created for that. “Then…” I had accepted the power of the Ten Thousand Realms into his body. Each time I saw the divine trees in the Ten Thousand Realms, I had absorbed energy. Everything, the arrangements the ancestor spoke of, which echoed his mother's plans. And even— “…my memory, then.” “If I were to remember you, the world might become aware… and what’s more, punishment is harsher than you think.” “……” “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold you when I saw you.” My mother embraced me. Her comforting hands made me feel like I might tremble again as I had before. “Have you suffered much?” “…Ah…” “I’m sorry…” There was no talk of how she couldn’t do any differently. She simply apologized. “…There isn’t much time left. This world is the same. So you mustn’t forget.” I saw my mother’s face, tears welling in her large eyes. “Fate can be changed. Don’t be defeated.” “……” “For the sake of the child who provided this chance.” “A child…?” “You already know.” “……” Could it be? “...The Heavenly Demon?” “No.” My mother smiled. “Not that one.” “……” “Remember the name you do know. For the years that child has spent.” “You mean she provided this opportunity?” “Mujagyeong. I remember the time when I pleaded to send that big child to you. Or rather… those times might not exist anymore.” Her eyes were filled with sadness. “When you return. Be careful not to hold grudges. Regret is more terrifying than you think.” Crack. The world began to fracture. “Will we meet again?” “Pardon?” At my mother’s words, I grasped her wrist. “What do you mean?” “There isn’t much time left. I’ve said as much… This isn’t the time to say our farewells.” “Even so, suddenly going somewhere—!” “Let’s save our goodbyes for later. Oh, could you pass on a message to your father?” Her smile was like a flower. Even now, it resembled the smile of a blooming flower. “Tell him I miss him dearly.” “…!” Pwwsh—! The white background crumbled away. “Oh, by the way.” Her voice whispered in my ear. “Do be kind to those I sent with you.” “…Pardon? Who did you send—” I couldn’t finish my sentence. Whoooosh—!!!! The world collapsed entirely. “…Huh?” Suddenly, I found myself transported somewhere else. “What’s going on?” I looked around. Caw—! Caw—! A crow cried out, and I was surrounded by a dense forest. The atmosphere felt strangely familiar. “...Here.” As I pondered, surveying my surroundings— “Ahhhh!!” Someone screamed upon seeing me. “Hm?” “A—a monster!” It was a person. A human, running away in terror. “…What?” Confused. Wait. A person? Which means… ‘Is this…’ As I recalled the place, it hit me. Was this the Central Plains? Just then— “Who are you calling a monster? How absurd.” “…Where is this place now?” “…?” I turned around. “…Uh.” I was dumbfounded by the figures standing there. “Why are you here…?” It wasn’t because of who they were. It was because they shouldn’t have been there to begin with. Individuals with animal ears and tails, humans of stout and short stature, and beings difficult to categorize as human were all mingled in this group. They were none other than the inhumans of the sect created by Shin Noya in the Ten Thousand Realms. "Do be kind to those I sent with you." My mother's parting words flickered in my mind as I looked at them. "......" It seemed that I had returned to the Central Plains with them. Message from the author: "Part 2 of Childhood Friend of the Zenith has ended. It's twice as long as I expected There are still so many stories left unfinished, but since Part 3, the final chapter, is about a full-blown war, I needed time to organize things in depth, so I had to quickly cut out some stories. However, I plan to wrap up everything I wrote in Part 2 in Part 3. Even so, it'll probably end up being twice as long as part 2... But I'll still try to finish it next year. I'll be back on October 20th after organizing. Thank you for reading.