Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1012

Chapter 1012

The void left by the disappearance of the Divine Tree was swiftly consumed by blackness.

The light that had once flooded the space from an unseen source was snuffed out in a moment.

So too were the grasslands and the lake. Before I realized it, all of it had vanished as though it were never there.

Illumination faded; darkness reclaimed its throne.

I scanned the newly shadowed chamber.

‘What…?’

When had everything shifted?

Only a short time ago, this place had been radiant. Now, it was completely transformed.

It felt artificial, and yet a profound conviction told me that this was its true state.

Where did that certainty come from? It wasn’t drawn from memory.

If the Divine Tree is absent, then this is the inevitable consequence.

That foreign understanding was now etched into my mind.

It was as if the energy of the Divine Tree had permeated my being, forcing this new awareness upon me.

‘If the Divine Tree is gone, then this must follow.’

No questions of why or how arose. The simple, unchallengeable fact that this was the natural order had been planted inside me.

Step.

I moved toward the exit. There was no need to open the door. Despite being certain I had shut it behind me, it now stood open.

A staircase lay ahead. Descending would have been a lengthy process. Looking up, I could see the opening I had originally fallen through.

I coiled power into my feet and jumped.

Propelled by a swift surge of energy, I flew back up to my point of entry.

Back where I started, I saw daylight filtering through the window. Night had given way to day.

Sensing the passage of time, I focused my awareness to feel for any life nearby.

At that moment—

Saaaaaaaah—!!!

“……!”

A torrent of information forced my eyes to narrow. Innumerable sounds and smells assaulted my senses. The sheer intensity was enough to bring a headache.

I immediately contracted the range of my perception. Only then did it become manageable.

“Hoo…”

Letting out a heavy breath, I glanced around. What in the world had just happened?

The scope of my sensory abilities had vastly increased.

Yes, my senses had sharpened as I transcended, but this was something else entirely.

With the slightest extension of my focus, I could feel the presence and hear the sounds of the entire Yahwol Palace.

This…

‘Is this because I absorbed the Divine Tree?’

Having taken in the Divine Tree rooted in Yahwol, could I now perceive everything in this domain?

Much like—

‘Much like Yusa.’

Just as Yusa had once boasted of being aware of nearly everything within Yahwol.

Perhaps the capability he possessed had now been transferred to me.

That was my best guess.

‘…It’s unbearably loud.’

If this was what it felt like to push my senses just a little, then I could begin to understand Yusa’s peculiar temperament.

At this rate, I would lose my mind as well.

Suppressing the sensory overload, I moved. A flicker of sparks accompanied my landing on the roof of the council hall.

“……”

Gazing up at the crimson sky, I steadied my breath.

What had just occurred felt like a dream.

Witnessing my mother’s reincarnation. The things I was told there.

It all felt like a transient dream from a single night.

Or perhaps—

‘Perhaps I just want it to be a dream.’

Maybe I am just desperately hoping that none of it was real.

It was only natural.

I had finally learned the truth I had always feared but prayed was false.

Wishing it was all a mistake or just a bad dream was the only sane reaction.

“…A calamity.”

I was a calamity upon Zhongyuan.

Or more precisely, I was destined to become one.

My mother, the ruler of Mangye, had borne me for the sole purpose of bringing disaster to Zhongyuan.

And so, I was born.

I didn’t know how I would become that disaster.

But the very purpose of my existence was exactly that.

“Haha.”

A laugh escaped me.

I’ve come to understand recently—when things are only a little bad, you can complain.

But when they are completely and utterly ruined, all you can do is laugh.

“Hahahaha. What a damn joke.”

Of course, laughter wasn’t the only thing that came out.

“…What a fucking mess.”

Life.

No, I couldn’t even call this a life anymore.

Neither dragon nor beast—what was I supposed to be?

As I wondered, the answer surfaced on its own.

‘A monster.’

A monster.

That was the only word that fit me now.

I couldn’t even argue against it anymore.

If someone asked what I had become, that was the only accurate answer.

“……”

I stared down at my palm as I thought.

Now that it was day, I had returned to my original form, no longer shaped like one of the Moonlit Night Tribe.

My hand looked no different from a human’s.

‘It’s only the appearance.’

What was inside was far from human.

I had strayed too far from humanity.

At first, I told myself it was for my own survival. That I had no other choice.

But now, looking back, it felt as if this had been my fate all along.

‘Even though I was born human.’

By the time I had lived my life, I was no longer one.

Maybe that was predetermined from the very beginning.

Now, I couldn’t help but believe it.

“……”

Unease rippled across the surface of my mind.

I pushed it down.

Smack!

I slapped my own cheeks, hard.

I needed to pull myself together.

Sure, the situation was disastrous, and my emotions were in turmoil. But—

‘I have to focus right now.’

No matter what, I had to maintain my composure.

‘It’s not like there’s no path forward.’

Mother said she would do something.

That I should endure.

That thought, however small, provided a sliver of solace.

‘But even without that—’

Even without my mother’s words, I couldn’t afford to fall apart here.

‘Whether it’s true that I will become a calamity or not—’

Right now, there was something more urgent.

‘Noya.’

I had to save Noya.

That was why I had come to Yahwol to find the Divine Tree.

I had to save Noya.

‘But did I gain anything from the Divine Tree?’

What had I actually obtained from Yahwol’s Divine Tree?

I had acted to acquire the Divine Fruit and to fulfill my mother’s preparations, but—

The results weren’t particularly substantial.

‘Other than now needing to go to Mount Marryeong for the next Divine Tree…’

And that Mother had left something at each of the Divine Trees.

If I followed this path and completed each step—

‘Will I be able to get the Divine Fruit?’

Will I be able to reach the Master’s Divine Tree and obtain another Divine Fruit like the one I consumed before?

I placed greater importance on this than on the brief conversation with my mother.

The fact that she had come to bring forth a calamity.

That I was destined to become that calamity.

That she was willing to do anything to stop it.

None of that mattered as much as—

Finding a way to save Noya. That was my focus.

‘…Whatever happens.’

In the end, the path was clear.

‘I need to find another Divine Tree.’

Whether it was to discover what my mother had prepared.

Or to save Noya.

The one thing I had to do now—was to find the next Divine Tree.

And for that—

‘I have to go to Mount Marryeong.’

I needed to journey to Mount Marryeong, where the next Divine Tree was located.

With that decision, I took a step.

Fwoosh—!

Sparks flashed under the noon sun.

*********

I arrived back at the Mount Hua Sect.

I was curious about how Yahwol would change following Yusa’s death, but I had no time to observe.

I wanted to depart for Mount Marryeong immediately.

I truly wished to leave at that very moment. But I couldn’t.

Because of what my mother had said.

‘Find the Abyssal Pit.’

One of the two rulers of Mangye, the entity my mother had entrusted with a task—the Abyssal Pit.

It had also been with me since my time in Zhongyuan.

Judging by the Blood Demon’s reaction, I had always suspected it was remarkable.

But I never imagined it was on par with my mother—a sovereign in its own right.

‘I was even more shocked seeing it in person.’

When I first arrived in Mangye, the first thing I encountered was that being.

And that wasn’t even its true form.

From what Noya said, what I saw was merely an avatar.

‘And yet, its presence was overwhelming.’

It was an existence beyond comprehension.

Just looking at it made me feel an insurmountable divide.

Something utterly impossible to overcome.

And on top of that—

‘…They said it was the source of all demonic beasts, didn’t they?’

The origin of the entities emerging from the Magyeong Gate.

The Abyssal Pit, which stored and disposed of extinguished souls.

But when it failed to contain them, cracks formed, and the demonic beasts spilled out.

The Abyssal Pit was the very root of those creatures.

Which meant—

‘Is it also the source of demonic energy?’

The demonic aura carried by the beasts.

Or the demonic energy that Cheonma wielded.

Since it was the same energy the beasts carried, could Cheonma’s power also be considered the power of the Abyssal Pit?

‘Something about that doesn’t quite fit, though.’

Logically, it should. But if that were true—

‘How?’

How was Cheonma using demonic energy?

It didn’t feel like a completely separate force.

A connection existed.

I didn’t know what it was yet, but it was undoubtedly there.

That was my belief.

Step.

I walked to the end of the path.

In the distance, I could see the Divine Tree of the Mount Hua Sect.

Even as I looked at it, I couldn’t take another step.

“Tch…”

This was a problem.

If I wanted to see the Abyssal Pit, I needed to go to where the Divine Tree was.

‘But I can’t go there.’

I couldn’t approach the Divine Tree.

Hadn’t the turtle warned me?

Noya needed to remain near the Divine Tree.

And I had to keep my distance from it.

‘What am I supposed to do about this?’

My mother had told me to seek out the Abyssal Pit and ask it my questions.

But as things stood, even meeting it was impossible.

To ask it anything, I needed to get closer.

But I couldn’t approach.

I had completely forgotten about this complication.

“Hmm…”

What should I do?

How could I get close enough to see it?

Just as I was turning this over in my mind—

—Grrr…

“……!”

A familiar growl.

From behind me.

I turned my head at once.

And there—

—Grrrrr…

A wolf-like creature stood on all fours, its gaze fixed directly on me.

That, by itself, was fine.

The problem was—

“……What the hell are you doing?”

Perched atop the creature’s back—

“Hello.”

Cheonma was sitting there, casually waving at me with a smug expression on her face.

As if she had every right to be there.