Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1038

Chapter 1038

I walked onto the veranda and took a seat beside her.

I didn’t turn to face her. I just sat there, gazing forward.

The scenery from the veranda felt different from the view just outside the quarters.

Looking out, a vague understanding began to form in my mind.

‘This was designed intentionally.’

The vista before me had clearly been crafted by someone, meant to be seen from this very spot.

The meticulously tended trees and garden, the roughly shaped pond alive with koi of every color.

The watermill visible from where I sat, and the stream flowing gently nearby.

It all resembled a painted image.

And—

‘It was made to be beautiful from this angle.’

Every element was cultivated for that specific purpose.

Whoever shaped this space intended for the viewer to feel peace and fulfillment.

As I pondered this, the landscape seemed to radiate a strange warmth.

Whoooosh.

A breeze swept through. My hair stirred, and leaves danced in the air.

My eyes followed them, drifting upward toward the sky.

The setting sun was veiled by faint clouds.

As I watched in silence, another realization dawned.

‘It isn’t moving.’

The clouds, and everything else suspended in the sky, were completely still.

Even as the wind blew.

‘I understand.’

I nodded. I had uncovered the secret hidden within the scenery.

‘This is a constructed realm.’

It wasn’t a real location; it was a fabricated one.

Whether it was shaped by sorcery or some other power, I couldn’t discern.

‘This place does not truly exist.’

It was a formless space, with no place in the real world.

With this realization, I turned to look at Cheonma.

She was staring ahead, her eyes heavy with fatigue.

What was she seeing with those violet eyes? A flicker of curiosity arose, but I pushed it aside and spoke to her.

“Hey.”

“Mm.”

Cheonma responded without turning.

“Did you create this place?”

At my words, her gaze shifted toward me.

For some reason, when our eyes met, I felt a sudden urge to look away.

I didn’t know why. It was just a passing impulse.

After a moment, Cheonma answered, her expression unchanged.

“I don’t know.”

“…You don’t know?”

“Mm. I don’t.”

“Then what is this place?”

Did she use it without knowing what it was? She opened a portal to get here, yet doesn’t even know what this is?

It made no sense to me.

Moreover—

‘Why didn’t Cheonma want me to see this place before?’

Why had the Cheonma from my previous life been so determined to keep this hidden?

It was just a well-decorated garden and a small house.

“This is my home.”

The answer Cheonma gave was the same as before.

“Home…”

I could tell that just by looking. Anyone would recognize this as a home.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what?”

“I’m asking what this place is for.”

What is its purpose? That was my question. From what Cheonma had said, it seemed she came here when I wasn’t around, or when she wasn’t elsewhere.

‘It was the same in my past life.’

The violet Magyeong Gate.

I remembered Cheonma emerging from another dimension. Her proud, imposing figure stepping out with an air of absolute arrogance.

‘So, was she coming from here?’

It didn’t align.

This space didn’t match the Cheonma I remembered.

A realm of decay and ruin. Beneath a broken, fading sky.

She was the one who stood above all demons, ruling over the heavens.

Even the Three Sovereigns of the Central Plains had been powerless against her and fell in defeat.

‘…Did she create this place behind that portal?’

I couldn’t comprehend it.

‘Maybe something is different in this life?’

Could it be that the Cheonma of this life accesses a different realm than the one I knew?

That seemed the most plausible explanation.

If not—

‘For what reason?’

Why would Cheonma be entering and leaving a place like this? I couldn’t grasp it.

Just then.

“Longing.”

Cheonma spoke, her eyes on me.

“Longing?”

“Longing.”

“What does that mean?”

“This place is longing.”

Longing? An odd choice of word. I frowned and scanned our surroundings.

The artfully arranged garden and the aged, yet well-kept quarters.

This place is longing? What about the flowers planted here?

They definitely couldn’t have grown wild.

“Was it you who arranged this garden?”

“No.”

“Then who did? Did it look like this originally?”

“I don’t know.”

“…What are you talking about? Are we even having a real conversation?”

Not a single clear answer.

I stared at Cheonma in disbelief. Maybe she simply didn’t want to answer.

‘Right, she’s always been strange.’

I didn’t know what principle or purpose had formed this space, but I concluded that this life and the past were completely different.

Of course.

‘The Cheonma I knew would never be here.’

Even the memory of her made my legs feel weak, her overwhelming presence suffocating.

I didn’t know why she had become this fool in this life. She was never one to linger in a place like this.

‘Longing, of all things.’

Her way of phrasing it was so vague.

What was she longing for?

And even if she was, there was no reason for her to long for a place that wasn’t even human.

I got to my feet.

“Shall we go inside?”

“Ah.”

As I moved toward the quarters, Cheonma’s eyes widened and she let out a sound. Was she trying to tell me not to enter?

I glanced at her to see if she would stop me, but she just watched me for a moment and said nothing more.

Was that her allowing it? I stepped past the veranda and into the building. It wasn’t large.

It was smaller than my quarters in the renowned families.

There were likely only two rooms at most.

It was a small, confined space.

Looking around, I took hold of the door and opened it.

Creeeak.

It yielded easily.

The interior came into view. The room was washed in the amber light of the sunset.

‘There’s nothing particularly unusual here?’

The inside looked perfectly ordinary. The first thing I noticed was the unmade bed.

A bed large enough for two, with rumpled sheets.

There were impressions, as if someone had been lying there not long ago.

‘No warmth.’

Just the lingering traces. On a small table beside it sat two teacups.

I moved closer to inspect them. One cup still held a little tea, as if someone had drunk only half.

‘One is empty, and one is still partly full.’

Judging by the quarters, this seemed like a space for two people. The layout and the remnants suggested it.

Since Cheonma called it her home, it must be a place she frequented.

Then…

‘Who was the other person?’

Who else had been here?

I couldn’t tell. I continued scanning the room.

It was unremarkable. But as I looked, something drew my attention.

‘Hmm?’

I noticed a drawer. Normally, I wouldn’t bother opening a closed drawer, but…

‘What is this?’

The moment I saw it, I felt compelled to open it.

No, it felt like I needed to open it.

So I reached out and pulled on the drawer.

Creeeak.

It slid open, revealing what was inside.

‘Clothes?’

Neatly folded garments. But…

‘Small?’

The size was unusually small. It didn’t look like it would fit an adult. This was clearly not made for one.

That meant…

‘Is this clothing for a child?’

Garments that seemed sized for a young child, perhaps five or six years old.

And moreover…

‘It’s unfinished.’

It appeared to be hand-made, but the stitching was incomplete, the threads left hanging.

It was a work left undone.

I reached out to touch the fabric, but—

Thud—!!

The drawer slammed shut, blocking my hand. I looked over; it was Cheonma.

“You can’t touch that.”

Her voice was firm. I held Cheonma’s gaze.

She had rushed over just to stop me from reaching the clothing.

It was as if she didn’t want me to see it.

‘They’re just clothes.’

After all, it was only clothing. And not even finished.

Why prevent me from touching it?

‘But then again…’

I didn’t really have a reason to insist.

With that in mind, I took a step back.

“Alright, sorry for looking.”

“…….”

Cheonma nodded silently. I turned and walked out of the quarters.

There was nothing more to see here, and—

‘I don’t want to be here any longer.’

I didn’t wish to remain in this space. I brushed a hand over my chest.

It felt tight. Tight and heavy.

And cold.

I shouldn’t stay. The sensation climbed into my throat.

It was a strange feeling. Why did I feel this way?

So, the moment I stepped back into the yard, I asked Cheonma.

“Hey.”

“Mm.”

“Have I been here before?”

“…….”

Cheonma went still at my question.

I didn’t miss that reaction.

“What’s with that? I asked if I’ve been here before.”

It didn’t make sense.

She knew better than anyone that I had never come here. Not in my past life, nor in this one.

I had never set foot in this place.

Besides, it was pointless to ask Cheonma now—she wouldn’t know.

“I know this place, don’t I?”

Even though I knew the answer, I pressed Cheonma.

“Answer me.”

“……”

To my surprise, Cheonma didn’t respond.

Why wouldn’t she answer? Why was I even asking this?

I couldn’t explain my own question, but the words came out anyway.

“What is this place? Why do I recognize it?”

Thud—!

I grabbed Cheonma by the shoulder.

Her small, slender shoulder fit easily in my grasp.

I could feel it as I glared at her and demanded an answer.

Cheonma’s eyes trembled.

And as she began to murmur, slowly forming words—

“No.”

Thud—!!

“……!?”

Cheonma’s face went rigid. She slapped my hand away and clutched at her own throat.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Suddenly, she was gripping her throat?

I stared at her in shock.

“Don’t be greedy.”

Cheonma spoke.

Was she talking to me? It didn’t seem like it.

“This is not something you should do.”

She spoke with a faint smile, and a cold shiver ran down my spine.

‘That smile.’

My eyes widened.

Her smiling face. The look in her eyes.

‘Is it possible…?’

As the thought occurred to me, my body froze.

In that instant—

“See you later.”

Cheonma smiled and drew a line through the air toward me.

Crack—!!

The dimension splintered, and I was pulled into the rupture.

Crash—!!!

I tried to resist, but it was too late—

Swoooosh—

I was back where the Divine Tree of Mount Marryeong had stood.

More precisely, I had returned to the spot where I had been speaking with Cheonma.

“Hah… ha…”

Heat flushed through my body, and I wiped away the sweat.

Her eyes and that smile burned in my mind.

It was unmistakably—

“…Cheonma?”

Not the simple woman I had known in this life.

It was the Cheonma who had reigned like a cataclysm in my past life.