Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1013

Chapter 1013

Of course. Here is the paraphrased chapter:

«Hello.»

Cheonma gave a small wave. I frowned as I looked at her.

That wasn’t the issue.

It wasn’t strange for her to materialize out of nothing and offer a greeting. By this point, I was fully accustomed to her bizarre behavior. That wasn’t what concerned me.

«…What are you riding on?»

The real problem was the creature she was sitting astride.

I pointed at the dark, wolf-like shape beneath her. Cheonma’s gaze followed my finger, looking down.

Then she lifted her head back up to meet my eyes.

«A friend.»

«…What?»

«A friend.»

«A friend?»

«Yes.»

«…That thing? With you?»

«Yeah.»

What kind of insane nonsense was this? Cheonma had made friends with Kurung?

I was so stunned I couldn’t even form a proper reaction.

—Grrr.

At Cheonma’s statement, Kurung released a low, rumbling growl.

Was that a sound of denial, or of agreement?

I didn’t have the ability to interpret meaning from such a brief noise.

So, I just kept staring.

Kurung suddenly raised its head to look at Cheonma. Their eyes locked.

Then, without a single word, Cheonma slid down from its back.

Had they just shared a silent conversation?

—Grrr.

Kurung slowly walked toward me and came to a halt directly in front of me.

It looked precisely like a wolf, or perhaps an exceptionally large dog.

Its violet eyes, which were so similar to Cheonma’s, fixed on me.

I narrowed my eyes and asked,

«…Were you waiting for me?»

—Grrr.

For an animal’s growl, it sounded oddly articulate.

It made that noise and then gave a slight nod.

Which meant—it had known I would come searching for it and had been waiting.

In other words—

«So, you knew about this too.»

This creature was also aware of whatever my mother had arranged.

«Are you even allowed to be out here?»

I had heard it resided beneath the Divine Tree. Was it truly permissible for it to be out like this?

Curious, I asked.

Kurung answered with action.

Swoosh—!

Its body began to change.

The wolf-like form shrank, growing progressively smaller until it had transformed into a tiny bird.

Then, fluttering its wings, it landed on top of my head.

That was when I understood—

‘It’s an avatar.’

This wasn’t its real body.

Its true form remained beneath the Divine Tree, while this was merely a projected manifestation.

—Grrr.

Kurung pointed with its beak in a specific direction.

Was it instructing me to move?

I began to walk in the direction it had indicated.

Then, when Cheonma moved as if to follow, Kurung shot her a glance.

«…….»

Receiving that look, Cheonma scowled and stopped in her tracks.

I let out a dry laugh.

«You two seem close.»

«We’re friends.»

«…Sure. Make as many friends as you want.»

Whatever.

That was her business.

With a slight leap, I took to the air.

As my body ascended, the distance between us grew.

I could feel Cheonma’s gaze drilling into my back.

She was watching intently as I flew away.

I felt it, but I ignored it and moved forward.

*********

I hadn’t traveled a great distance.

I was still within the territory of the Mount Hua Sect.

The only difference was that this area was far less populated.

From this vantage point, I could still see the Divine Tree in the distance.

After covering some ground, Kurung hopped down from my head.

—Grrr.

It let out its characteristic sound and immediately began to change form again.

This time—it became a rabbit.

«…What are you doing?»

Why did it keep altering its body?

And why only into animals?

It felt strangely intentional.

—Grrr.

Kurung made a noise that seemed to tell me not to worry about it.

But how could I not?

It thumped its large ears with its hind legs, behaving exactly like a real rabbit.

I forced myself to ignore its antics and spoke.

«I saw my mother.»

—…

At my words, Kurung suddenly went still.

For a moment, I thought I might have imagined it, but its eyes seemed unusually solemn.

«She told me to ask you if I had questions. Oh, and she also said to thank you.»

—…

Its ears twitched slightly at that.

Seeing its reaction, I continued.

«I have something I want to ask.»

There was something I had always needed to know.

«You… When exactly did you first appear inside me?»

—…

When had the ruler of the Abyssal Pit entered my body?

I knew now that it was part of my mother’s design.

The question was—

‘So, when exactly?’

When had my mother placed this entity inside me?

Had it been before I regressed?

Or only after?

In my previous life, I had never known of the Abyssal Pit.

Not even at the moment of my death.

That was why I was asking.

Kurung, staring at me, finally spoke.

«From the beginning…»

Not a growl, but actual words.

This wasn’t surprising—it had spoken before.

The problem was—

«From the beginning?»

The «beginning» it mentioned—what did that signify?

«When exactly is ‘the beginning’?»

That answer was far too vague.

So, I rephrased the question.

«Was it before I regressed? Or after?»

—…

Kurung knew about my regression.

So I asked outright.

Then—

«From the beginning.»

The answer was identical.

But this time, it felt entirely different.

«…You mean before I regressed?»

Before my death.

Before I returned.

The Abyssal Pit had already been inside me.

«Why? What were you inside me for? Were you—»

I hesitated, then reworded my question.

«Are you the Demonic Heaven Absorption Art?»

The power of Cheonma.

The ability that had brought me this far.

Was this entity the manifestation of that power?

Or was it the one that had granted me that power?

That was what I meant to ask.

But—

Kurung shook its head.

No.

As I wondered if that was a denial—

«That was a veil.»

Kurung spoke again.

«…A veil? What do you mean?»

«Or a shadow.»

«Speak clearly. What do you mean by ‘veil’ and ‘shadow’?»

«You were never meant to be the master. This… was to prevent that.»

«……!»

Hearing those words, my eyes widened.

What in the world did that mean? I wasn’t supposed to become the master?

So the Demonic Heaven Absorption Art had been a veil to prevent that?

That meant—

«…You’re saying that because of Demonic Heaven Absorption Art, I wasn’t becoming the master?»

This time, the Abyssal Pit nodded.

The turtle had told me before—my soul had been distorted, causing me to stray from my original fate.

Was that distortion referring to the Demonic Heaven Absorption Art?

If so, that was a strange claim. It didn’t make any sense.

«That can’t be. Why would Demonic Heaven Absorption Art serve that purpose? That’s….»

It wasn’t something my mother gave me.

It was a power granted by Cheonma.

How could it possibly have such an effect? And from the way the Abyssal Pit spoke, it sounded like the Demonic Heaven Absorption Art and itself were somehow connected.

«That’s absurd. You—weren’t you placed inside me by my mother’s request—»

—No.

«What?»

Before I could even finish speaking, the Abyssal Pit denied it outright.

No?

‘It wasn’t because of my mother’s request?’

That made no sense.

My mother had explicitly told me that the Abyssal Pit was helping me at her request.

But now, this entity was saying otherwise?

The contradiction left me completely bewildered—

—It was.

The Abyssal Pit spoke again.

—Because of a friend’s request that I helped you.

«A friend? Who the hell—»

I stopped mid-sentence.

A friend?

That word lodged itself in my thoughts.

‘A friend…?’

Someone the Abyssal Pit would call a friend.

The moment I heard it, an image came to mind.

Just earlier, someone had called the Abyssal Pit a friend.

«…Cheonma?»

The one who had claimed to be friends with it.

And also—

‘The woman who sent me back in time.’

The one who had directly influenced my regression.

Not my mother—but her.

‘…Not just my regression, but the one who placed the Abyssal Pit inside me, too?’

That was something I had never even considered.

*********

At the peak of Mount Marryeong rested an enormous cave.

A silent, desolate place, where even wild animals dared not make a sound.

It was a location where even insects held their breath, fleeing far away to avoid drawing near.

Do not even breathe without his permission.

That was the rule of Mount Marryeong.

For if anyone were to disturb him, the entire mountain would quake with fury.

And yet, at this moment—

KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNG—-!!!

The mountain was shaking.

Tremors radiated outward from the peak, making the entire range shudder.

The violent reverberations threatened to tear the mountain itself apart.

At the heart of this earthquake—

Deep inside the cave at the summit, the source became clear.

A colossal figure sat in a meditative pose, its sheer presence shaking the entire mountain.

Huff…!
Hooooo…!!

A being with the body of a man and a face upon its hand exhaled deeply, flames escaping with every breath.

«GRRRRRR…»

A low, growling sound rumbled through the cavern.

Its bulging muscles swelled, its explosive aura surging outward in all directions.

After a long moment of stillness, the being slowly rose to its feet.

THUD!

As its massive form shifted, the entire cave trembled.

The creature stood upright, rolling its gleaming eyes.

Hooo…

Flames licked across the cave floor as it exhaled.

Then—

GRRRR!

Breaking the silence, a voice spoke.

The Leader of the Generals of Mangye uttered—

«So, that idiot is dead?»

GRRRRRR…

Turning, the massive figure spoke to someone.

He wasn’t talking to himself.

Leaning silently against the cave wall was a man.

«Is it true?»

«It is.»

Khuhuhuhu…

One of the generals had died.

The Leader let out a deep, guttural chuckle.

The sound wasn’t one of sorrow—it was of pleasure.

«Pathetic fool.»

He didn’t ask who had killed them.

Didn’t ask how they died.

He didn’t care.

Just the fact that a general had died was amusing enough for him.

«And what did the Master say?»

«The Master is currently away. However, being omniscient, he likely already knows.»

GRRRR…

«This means a seat has opened. We will need to appoint a new general, but… resolving this matter takes priority.»

«Resolving?»

«Yes. Now that a general has been killed, we must deal with the situation before appointing another.»

«A mere fool died. Is that really necessary?»

The Leader scoffed, as if it were utterly insignificant.

Hearing that, the man sighed and rubbed his temple.

As always, conversing with this brute was exhausting.

«…Forget it. There’s no point in discussing further. I didn’t come to debate solutions.»

Flap!

Black wings unfurled from the man’s back.

«I only came to give a warning.»

«A warning?»

«Yes. Excluding those who relinquished their positions, this is the first time in ages that a general has died. The Master is occupied, so take care of yourself.»

Hah.

The Leader burst into laughter.

KUUGUNG—!!

The entire mountain trembled.

«You think I’m the same as Yusa? You think I’d fall like that weakling?»

If it were only about brute strength, they weren’t so different.

But the man kept that thought to himself and said—

«…There’s no harm in being careful.»

«Get lost.»

The Leader didn’t bother hiding his irritation.

Click.

The man clicked his tongue and lifted his hand.

With a flick of his fingers, the space before him tore open, revealing a path to another dimension.

«One last thing—don’t do anything reckless—»

Before he could finish, his eyes widened.

KUAAAAAAAH—-!!!

A violent explosion erupted in his palm.

The Leader had swung his arm, attacking without a moment’s hesitation.

«I told you to get lost.»

«……Hah.»

The man stopped speaking.

Shaking his head, he stepped into the torn dimension.

And with that, he vanished.

Now alone, the Leader clenched his fist and swung it once more in the direction the man had disappeared.

BOOOOOM—!!!

The sheer force sent shockwaves rippling through the cave.

«GRRRRR…»

His glowing eyes gleamed.

Someone had killed a general.

Someone possessed the power to kill a general.

And at that thought—

One particular name surfaced in his mind.