Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1063

Chapter 1063

In the blank expanse, drifting cinders were all that could be seen. A heavy, grey powder churned above the seared ground.

*Cough.*

He retched blood from the strain. The tempest raging within him forced a surge of blood he could not contain.

It was agony.

It was as if his very insides were being ripped to shreds.

He fought desperately to suppress it, but even that was a struggle. He tried to clench his trembling hands.

«Where do you believe you are going?»

*Boom—!!*

*Gasp…*

Another wave of force crushed down upon him.

*Thud-!*

His body emitted a sickening crack. It felt as though every bone in his back had been pulverized. Not only his spine—his ribs had fractured too. The splintered edges dug viciously into his muscle.

His organs were tearing. The blood coursing through him saturated his own flesh.

«I instructed you not to move. It appears you are a poor listener.»

*Grrr…*

«What is this demeanor? I am your ancestor, addressing you, and you cannot muster a shred of gratitude? Instead, you offer such insolence?»

What?

Hearing those words, his eyes snapped open.

Gratitude?

«Shit…»

The curse escaped him instinctively.

«First, you assault me without warning, and now you speak of disrespect? Have you lost your mind?»

The moment this being had seen him, it attacked without a second thought. He had attempted to defend himself, but it was futile.

And because of that, this was his condition. And now—gratitude?

«Haha.»

He heard a low laugh. In that instant, his perspective violently shifted.

*Whooosh!!*

He felt the wind on his body. Breaking through the oppressive force, he was hurled forward at a tremendous velocity.

He was being thrown. Realizing this, he mustered every ounce of his strength.

*Crack-!!*

*Ugh!*

Shattered bones snapped back into position, and his body began to mend. His ravaged internal organs were restored. With his body healing, he pushed energy out to surround himself.

But.

*Click!*

The flames failed to ignite.

«Dammit.»

Again, this problem.

It had happened before.

He gritted his teeth. Abandoning the flames, he immediately shifted to Tua Pacheonmu.

*Chirik-!!*

The blade of his energy rotated through his body, magnifying the pain exponentially.

Feeling this, his face twisted. The pain was far more intense than it should have been.

This wasn’t normal. It was shocking.

But there was no other choice. He activated Tua Pacheonmu, releasing energy throughout his body.

*Thud!!*

The fighting energy created a shockwave that coiled around his form.

The power radiating from him began to slow his velocity.

Simultaneously, the energy reinforced his physical body, hardening it.

He cast Heaven’s Break.

Only then did his speed finally start to drop.

Just as his body was about to come to a complete stop—

*Boom—!!*

*Cough!*

An impact smashed into the back of his head.

Something struck him, driving him toward the ground.

He fell much faster than when he had been thrown.

*Kaahhh—!!*

His body collided with the earth in a deafening explosion, sending white shards flying in every direction. He tumbled and spun from the impact.

Despite the blinding pain, he tried to push his upper body up.

*Crack.*

A hand seized his neck and lifted him into the air.

«Your manner of speech is wretched. It seems your education was severely neglected.»

Ignoring the words, he gripped the wrist holding him.

He tried to summon the strength to break the grip.

«This is tiresome.»

With a tone of pure annoyance, the figure before him placed his other palm against his chest.

And then.

«What sort of disrespect is this?»

*Kwaaa—!!*

«Ughhh!»

Flames erupted from his chest, instantly engulfing his body.

He screamed as his skin blistered and burned. The torment was excruciating.

He felt he would dissolve completely in the inferno.

Even as he writhed, he struggled to comprehend the situation. His eyes darted, straining to see the one inflicting this torture.

Despite being utterly helpless against the flames, his focus remained fixed on that single detail.

The extreme pain constricted him, overwhelming even his mastery over fire.

«Interrupting someone while they are speaking is preposterous.»

*Grrrr—!!*

After what felt like an eternity of screaming, the flames vanished as suddenly as they appeared.

*Shiii…*

In an instant, the fire was gone. His charred body smoldered, wisps of smoke rising from it.

*Gasp…*

His voice was a choked rasp. The arm around his neck loosened, and he collapsed in a heap to the ground.

*Gasp… haah…*

His body immediately began to regenerate. His burned flesh replenished itself as his regenerative power took hold.

It wasn’t a slow process. The healing was rapid. That, at least, was a small mercy.

Watching the new skin form, he clenched his jaw.

The flames wouldn’t answer his call, and it seemed every gain he had made in the fire arts had been erased.

That included his immunity to flame. Without it, the pain was unbearable.

«Tsk tsk…»

He heard the sound of someone clicking their tongue. It wasn’t from the being who had attacked him.

Looking to the side, he saw Shin Noya crouched nearby, watching him.

«…Isn’t this a bit excessive? You could at least put up a proper fight.»

«Noya…»

He stared at Noya in utter disbelief.

«What is happening here…?»

What was this situation? He couldn’t make any sense of it.

He rolled his eyes, scanning his surroundings. A world turned to white. The scorched earth and the swirling ash.

It was not a familiar place, but it was one he recognized.

Of course he did. He had been here once before.

This was the place he had visited back when he was in Sichuan.

And then.

“What should be done with this?”

The figure before him—he had seen him before.

He lifted his gaze and met the eyes of the one looking down at him.

Someone who looked exactly like him. No—exactly like his former self. He had encountered him once already and knew what he was.

He had judged his true nature.

“…Nine Flames Firewheel.”

The essence of the fire art contained within his own body.

He was the embodiment of the Nine Flames Firewheel, and this place was his inner world.

That was the conclusion he had reached back then.

“Ancestor…? What does that mean?”

He narrowed his eyes at the words. Ancestor?

Unable to comprehend, he questioned him. In reply, the figure smirked and stated:

“It is exactly as I said. I am your ancestor.”

“…Ancestor?”

Ancestor?

He stared with a contorted expression. Ancestor? Not the essence of the Nine Flames Firewheel, but his ancestor?

Hearing that, he wondered—

Why was he here? Why did he appear in his inner world looking like this?

But beyond those questions—only one thing rose within him to say to anyone claiming to be his ancestor.

“…You bastard.”

“…Huh?”

At his clear insult, the figure froze. His expression shifted, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

But he had heard correctly. He did not hold back the fury boiling inside him.

“If you were going to make a mess of things, the least you could do is clean it up, you damned bastard…!”

“……”

His voice was thick with venomous resentment, and the so-called ancestor actually flinched.

That was right.

That bastard—he was the origin of all the catastrophe.

He had turned the Gu family into a disaster—no, he had played a monumental part in ruining his entire life.

If he had fulfilled his duty properly, he wouldn’t be in this miserable state.

Hell, all of Zhongyuan wouldn’t have been thrown into chaos.

And now—

“What, you appear out of nowhere and declare you’re my ancestor? After everything you’ve caused, you expect me to treat you with reverence? Have you completely lost your senses?”

“……”

“You son of a bi—mmph—”

The curses kept coming, but before he could finish, Shin Noya clamped a hand over his mouth, having heard enough.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

“…Alright, alright. Settle down. Just calm yourself for a moment.”

“……”

As Shin Noya tried to pacify him, the bastard before him…

His eyes softened slightly, taking on a strangely mournful cast.

“You are correct. What you are saying… it is all true.”

His voice was laden with a sorrowful weight, but he didn’t care one bit.

He glared daggers, then tapped Shin Noya’s hand. *Let go. I understand. I’ll talk.*

Seeing the signal, Shin Noya slowly withdrew his hand.

“Ptoo! Ptoo!”

He spat twice, irritated at having his mouth covered, then turned his attention back to him.

“So? What is this about? Why are you here in this form?”

“Because your vessel has been pushed past its limit. The shattering of this world is the proof.”

“……”

*Crack, crack, crack…*

The sound of his inner world breaking apart—

It signaled the collapse of his vessel.

His vessel is breaking? He recalled the recent, profound instability he had felt in his body. Was this the reason?

‘Then what comes next?’

This was not the first time his vessel had shattered.

The first time—when Lady Tang had tested him, he had been cast into another timeline.

Back then, when his vessel broke, he had become a dragon.

But now, years later, for his vessel to break again—

‘What happens this time?’

If a vessel that has already shattered breaks once more—

Then what?

As anxious thoughts swirled, his eyes darted nervously.

“If this continues,” the bastard—the so-called ancestor—said,

“You will disappear, along with your broken vessel.”

His body went rigid.

“…So choose.”

Choose? Choose what?

“If you absorb me, your vessel will be restored.”

“…What?”

Absorb him?—and live?

The statement was so sudden it was disorienting.

“What are you talking about?”

Absorbing him would repair his vessel?

What kind of absurdity was this? His first thought wasn’t even why—

It was—

“And then what?”

Absorb him, and his vessel recovers.

But something felt deeply wrong. Especially coming from him.

He stared, his voice heavy with suspicion. “If I do… then what happens?”

He demanded the full truth.

And what the figure said next—

Shook him to his very foundation.

“There is a condition,” he said, his eyes lifting toward the sky—

The sky of his crumbling inner world.

“Once you have finished absorbing me…”

His voice was grave, each word falling with immense weight.

“You will become…”

His gaze was distant and filled with a terrible finality.

“…The very calamity you despise.”

“……!”

His eyes widened in utter shock.