Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1060

Chapter 1060

“Noya…?”

The name was a fragile breath, torn from me as I stared at the figure before me—Noya, impaled through his torso. My voice was weak, barely audible. I tried to rush to him, but the world tilted violently, my vision swimming.

My legs buckled, threatening to give way entirely. I clenched my teeth, forcing strength into my trembling knees to stumble forward.

“Noya…? Noya.”

I called out again as I drew nearer. Noya turned his head toward me, a faint smile touching his lips, his white teeth stark against the grim scene.

“Ah. What a pity. This body was never complete to begin with, which makes it even worse. With just a little more time, it might have worked.”

“How can you say that now…? Your body, it’s…”

“Yangcheon.”

Noya’s hand rose slowly, coming to rest on my head. He patted me gently.

“No matter how desperately you chase the setting sun, you cannot hold back the coming night. You knew that already, didn’t you?”

It was fate, he seemed to say. I couldn’t accept it.
“No… I could have done something. I’ve been searching for the Divine Tree to the point of death…! Whose fault is this…!”

“Whose fault, you ask?”

“…What?”

“Is it truly my doing? Or was it something you pursued for your own sake?”

“…!”

His firm words stole my breath, leaving me speechless.

“I know you get lonely, but if you cling too desperately, it becomes unseemly, no matter how charming you are. Tsk tsk…”

“How can you joke at a time like this…?!”

*Pash-ssseuk.*

Pieces of Noya’s form began to break away, crumbling into the air. My hands shot out, shaking, trying to grasp the falling fragments.

“Stop.”

Noya shook his head, halting me once more.

“Did you see what I was trying to show you at the end?”

“…I don’t know. I didn’t see it.”

My voice quivered as I spoke, but another memory surfaced in my mind.

*‘Light it up.’*

Just as he had brought forth the tree, he had told me to light something up.

Even though I understood, I pretended not to. I refused to admit it. To acknowledge it would mean accepting the end.

“You don’t know, huh? You fool.”

Noya let out a dry chuckle, as if he saw right through my pretense.

“Even though I’ve always called you a fool, I know how clever you really are. You just pretend to have no sense.”

“Don’t praise me. Just scold me like you always do.”

Why was he saying these things now?

“I cannot light it for you. My tree can no longer take root here.”

“…What do you mean, light it up? I don’t know how. I still don’t understand.”

There was still so much I had left to learn.

“Please.”

So please, don’t go.
Please don’t leave.

I grabbed hold of Noya’s sleeve, but the fabric itself dissolved into dust in my grasp.

“Do you know why I told you not to come?”

“I told you, I don’t know. I’m too much of a fool.”

“Have you seen enough of it? I was never a good teacher, and this was the best I could manage.”

“…Please, just listen to me.”

What should I do? What can I do?
How do I fix this? My thoughts were a tangled mess.

*Creeeek.*

*Drip.*

I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.

‘Damn.’

What is the point of reincarnation?
What would I even do with another chance? What good is a life that is anything but ordinary?

‘Damn it.’

As I watched Noya’s body disintegrate, helpless rage was all I had left.

“Hoho? What’s this? Are those tears?”

“I’m not… I’m not crying.”

There was only the sound of my ragged breathing. My blurred vision made everything tremble as my hands shook.

Even as I stood there, Noya’s form continued to collapse.

“Aah. This damn… damn it, what do I do…? What can I do…”

“What will you do, you fool.”

As I floundered in desperation, Noya struck me lightly on the head with his hand.

“Just accept it. So what if you’ve grown attached?”

“Hah… is that really…?”

Is that all you have to say to me?

Just as I was about to voice those words—

“Go on ahead.”

Noya said with a final smile.

*Pash.*

He dissolved into a shower of dust.

“Uh… Ah…”

I froze, staring at the remnants settling in my palms.

It was only dust. What was once flesh—or rather, the dust of what had mimicked flesh.

I stood motionless, gazing at it.

It felt as if my own body was breaking apart alongside his.

I remained there, staring blankly.

*Pash.*

Another sound of crumbling reached my ears.

Even though Noya was already gone, what was breaking now?

Through my bleary sight, it didn’t take long to understand.

The sound… was coming from within me.

‘Ah.’

The Vessel.

The Vessel that had formed when I became the dragon.

It had been unstable lately, and now it was cracking, shattering completely.

Then, it collapsed inward.

The moment I realized it—

*Sssss.*

The power contained within the Vessel burst forth, flooding into my mind.

**********

“Mm.”

Taechon observed the vacant figure and murmured softly.

“Such a pity.”

It was a shame. A truly rare opportunity to witness such a phenomenon. No, not just rare—it was unprecedented.

“A genius of a caliber I have never before encountered. What a waste.”

A being born insignificant, who shattered its own limits through sheer force of will.

He had never seen anything like it. How could such a thing exist?

To carry a soul so steeped in fierce conviction and enlightenment—the vessel should have fractured under the strain long ago.

“It wasn’t the soul that broke… but the body.”

The soul seemed capable of enduring anything. But the physical form could not contain it. The inherent falsehood was its flaw.

“A profound shame.”

Regardless of purpose, a spectacle like this was worth observing. To see such brilliance emerge from the mortal flow of time—it was a treasure beyond value.

“Compared to that…”

Taechon’s gaze shifted from the ruined form of Shin Cheol to what Shin Cheol had died to protect.

The reason he had charged forward until his last breath, thrusting his sword without a moment’s hesitation.

“All for that?”

A body containing a dragon.
Or perhaps, a body that contained the Dragon Lord.

Was it the will of the Dragon Lord? Or merely a crack in the world’s design?

Taechon studied Gu Yangcheon, lost in thought.

“For what purpose?”

He recognized it as a fracture in the world’s order—an unforeseen anomaly. But was it the Dragon Lord’s intention? Or another’s?

Either way, it was nothing the world—Mangye—would ever have desired.

However—

“In the end…”

Compared to that… Shin Cheol was far more valuable.

A life lived solely for one’s own greatness was worth more than an existence shaped by another’s will.

Why had he thrown that life away for *that*?

Moreover—

“What was he trying to reveal?”

What did Shin Cheol, who sought enlightenment through his own path, hope to show to that thing?

Whatever it was, it felt like a meaningless sacrifice. The thought lingered uncomfortably.

With that, Taechon, as if brushing off the sentiment, turned his gaze away.

His expression emptied of all emotion as he scanned his surroundings.

“Then. Now.”

The interesting part was concluded.
Time was short.

Remembering this, Taechon spoke quietly.

“I must expedite matters.”

Clear the area. Achieve his objective. If he prolonged this descent any further, Mangye would undoubtedly take notice.

No… perhaps Mangye already had.

If so, it was even better.

Because it meant that even aware, Mangye could not intervene.

“It seems something else demands their attention.”

That arrogant entity—who should have appeared by now—was still absent.

They had likely truly fallen outside the world’s perception.

“Good.”

It was a perfect opportunity. At this rate, even Mangye would fall into his grasp. And if that happened—

“I will claim the world itself.”

A stepping stone to ascend higher than ever before. Fueled by grand ambition, Taechon moved.

Toward Gu Yangcheon. He would eliminate that ominous thing first.

If he could not destroy it, he would consume it. With that intent, he advanced.

*Saaaak.*

A figure materialized in front of Gu Yangcheon.

A woman with black hair. A dragon as well. Taechon recognized her instantly. And more—he sensed the profound depth concealed within her.

“The dregs of the Dragon Lord.”

“…”

A mocking smile touched his lips.

“How delightful. The pathetic remnants of its final struggle.”

“Mm…”

At his words, the woman—Cheonma—scratched her cheek absently. Her typically dull eyes sharpened, glinting with a new light.

“Disgusting choice of words. ‘Dregs,’ you say.”

“Mm?”

Taechon frowned upon hearing her reply.

Something was amiss.

“You. What are you?”

He stared intently. Something felt profoundly wrong.

It was unnatural. What should have been a mere concentration of energy felt layered—encrusted with something foreign.

Even at his level, he could not fully perceive her essence. That was impossible.

Even descended in a limited form—how could a mortal veil his sight?

“Just what…”

“No need for you to know. Besides—” she offered a sweet smile that didn’t reach her cold eyes. “I have no desire to fight you. I simply dislike you.”

A bewitching smile. Taechon narrowed his eyes and began to raise his hand.

“So, you know who I am.”

“Of course. I even gained a few things because of you…”

Cheonma swept her hair back, her violet eyes flashing against her pale skin.

“But putting that aside—” her voice dropped, turning icy.
“I can’t let you get tangled up with my man.”

“Your… what?”

“That’s enough. I’ve bought sufficient time.”

“Mm?”

The instant she spoke, Taechon’s expression twisted in confusion.

*Crack.*

Gu Yangcheon’s body began to change.

His muscles swelled, his form twisting and distorting. White fur erupted across his skin, and a tail burst forth.

A monstrous transformation. His body expanded massively, every trace of his former self erased.

“Krrrrrrrrr.”

A beast—a monstrous presence.

“Huh?”

Taechon let out a dry laugh. It wasn’t the transformation that amused him.

No—what he sensed was—

“…Divinity?”

A form that had shattered its mortal limits.
A presence that transcended its mortal frame.

“Ha. So that’s it.”

In that moment, he understood.

“Mangye. So this is what you were planning.”

It was clear now—he realized what the true master of Mangye had been orchestrating.

And as understanding ignited into wrath—

“KRAAAAAA—!!!”

The beast that was Gu Yangcheon lunged for him.

***********

His eyes opened.

“What…?”

A blinding light overwhelmed his vision. He rubbed his eyelids, trying to push the brightness away.

An unfamiliar space came into view.

A vast whiteness.

Something was floating in the white expanse.

It looked like ash, and the acrid smell of smoke confirmed it.

“…What is this? Why am I here all of a sudden?”

What is this place? Why here, of all places?
Why am I here?

Confusion gripped him at the incomprehensible situation.

“…Wait. This place…”

It felt familiar. He had been here before.

If he remembered correctly, it was back in Sichuan—after his fight against that bastard Dae Hyeon, when he’d swallowed that strange spiritual pill and ended up here.

It looked exactly the same.

“Why have I returned here?”

Why would he come back to this place?

He was sure—ah.

“Noya…!”

Shin Noya.

He remembered Noya, remembered his body shattering and vanishing.

The memory of Noya’s death jolted through him, his eyes widening in shock.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Huh…?”

A familiar voice rang out. His head whipped around immediately.

And there—

“…Noya?”

Shin Noya stood there, perfectly intact, looking back at him.

Seeing him, he blurted out without thinking—

“Why are you alive…?”

“…What the hell did you just say, you brat?”

Noya’s face instantly twisted into a scowl at his words.