Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 998

Chapter 998

I brought the unconscious Shin Noya back to the Mount Hua Sect.

As soon as I passed through the barrier, I was greeted by the scowling, turtle-faced old man.

He glared at me and exploded in anger.

“You damned brats—! I just finished fixing that barrier last time, and I told you specifically to treat it carefully—!!”

He was on the verge of a full-blown rant when his gaze fell upon Shin Noya draped over my shoulder.

“Elder… Elder… Noya…! Noya has collapsed…!”

I stammered, my words tumbling out in a jumble. I couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

A cold sweat beaded on my forehead. My breathing shook—not from fatigue, but from pure disorientation.

“……”

The old man narrowed his eyes at me, then indifferently produced his staff from… nowhere.

*Vwoom—!!*

With a slight flick of his staff, Shin Noya’s body lifted from my back and floated toward him.

“Tsk…”

Clicking his tongue, the elder examined Shin Noya, his frown deepening.

“Sect Leader… Why must you always be so obstinate…?”

His quiet words whispered past my ears.

“Elder… why did Noya collapse so suddenly…?”

“I will take the Sect Leader. You are not to follow.”

“What…? But—!”

“Your presence will only complicate matters. If you have any regard for that old man, do not add to his troubles. Stay away.”

“……”

I stared at him, my eyes widening.

*Complicate matters?*

Was I the cause of this?

But Noya never received a direct blow from me.

The Red Heaven domain shouldn’t have inflicted any real harm.

I hadn’t attacked him while unleashing my ultimate technique.

If anything, I was the one injured—the wounds from his Mind Blade hadn’t fully closed yet.

So why had Shin Noya fallen?

I searched the elder’s face for an explanation, but—

“You should not approach the Divine Tree until noon at the earliest.”

“……”

“Give me your answer.”

“…Understood.”

The words left my mouth with great reluctance.

The elder let out a brief, derisive snort before waving his staff once more.

Then, their forms blurred and dissolved into nothingness, vanishing completely.

I was left standing alone.

Yet, I found I couldn’t move, rooted to the spot like a statue.

My head lowered.

A pool of blood had soaked into the earth where Shin Noya had been on my back.

It was a color far removed from ordinary human blood.

A dark, ominous crimson.

I bit my lip as I stared at it.

Something—

Something had gone horribly, terribly wrong.

*********

Time slipped by. It was well past noon by the time I finally stirred.

Daylight had returned, and my body was back to its usual state.

My physical form had reverted to normal, and I wound Eternal Bind around myself like a bandage.

The injuries from Shin Noya’s Mind Blade persisted, resisting even the Moonlit Night Tribe’s regenerative power.

So, keeping my body tightly bound with Eternal Bind, I headed for Mount Hua’s Divine Tree.

A colossal plum tree, so immense it seemed to spear the sky.

Its petals fell like snow, blanketing Mount Hua and the village below in a field of rosy pink.

I walked across the sea of blossoms.

The massive Divine Tree grew larger as I neared.

I quickened my pace, moving straight for its roots.

But then—

*Thunk—!*

“…?”

Something hit my forehead.

I flinched and reached out instinctively.

An invisible force was blocking my path.

*What is this?*

Just as I began to question it—

“That’s far enough.”

A voice reached me. The elder’s voice.

“…Elder?”

“Do not take another step. This is your limit.”

“What do you mean?”

I had waited long past noon, just as he’d said.

I had even delayed further, just to be safe.

And now he was telling me I couldn’t come closer?

“What about Noya? Is he alright?”

I demanded to know his condition, but the elder offered no reply.

“Elder…!”

“……”

Even when I called again, only silence answered.

I scowled.

And then—

*Fwoooosh—!!!*

I forced power into my heart, igniting my flames.

Even without my Moonlit Night Tribe form, my realm had expanded.

*Sizzle—!!*

A wheel of fire spun violently behind me, crackling with energy.

If they wouldn’t let me through, I would force my way in.

Activating my spiritual vision, I scrutinized the barrier obstructing my path.

It was a curse technique.

Given time, I could dismantle it methodically.

But right now, I didn’t care about doing things the right way.

Or more accurately, I was beyond caring.

“If you won’t open it, I’ll break it.”

I would smash it to pieces if necessary.

With that thought, I enveloped my fist in searing blue flames, ready to strike—

“It’s because of you.”

*Stop.*

The elder’s words froze me where I stood.

“I have managed to stabilize the distortion somewhat, but the Sect Leader remains unconscious. In this state, it is likely he will not wake for a very long time. Of course…”

The elder paused briefly before continuing.

“His very soul has been warped. A fabricated vessel can only last so long.”

“…What are you talking about? A warped soul? What does that mean?”

What was he saying?

We hadn’t even fought in earnest. Shin Noya hadn’t sustained any real injuries.

And now he was telling me his soul had been twisted?

As I struggled to comprehend, the elder spoke again.

“The Sect Leader’s body is merely a construct. You know this, do you not?”

“……”

I did.

Of course, I did.

Shin Noya had died long ago.

The fact that he was here in a physical form was itself an impossibility.

I had always known something extraordinary had happened to allow it.

And then—

“The Sect Leader’s body was a reward—bestowed upon him when he became a follower of his master.”

The elder’s words hit me like a physical blow.

My eyes widened.

“A… follower?”

“Yes. The Sect Leader became an Apostle.”

“An apostle of their master.”

Those words could mean only one thing.

“Are you saying that Noya… No, that my mother—the Master of the Abyss—made Noya her apostle?”

Was he an apostle of her, the current ruler of the Abyssal Realm?

It wasn’t impossible. If that was how he gained a body, it would make sense.

But—

“No. The Master never took an apostle.”

The elder dismissed my assumption.

Then what? If he was an apostle, but not my mother’s…

“Ah…?”

A realization dawned on me.

I widened my eyes.

I had forgotten.

This place had two rulers.

“…The Abyssal Pit.”

If my mother governed the Abyssal Realm,

Then deep below it, the Abyssal Pit was said to rule the underworld.

In that case—

“Are you saying that Noya is an apostle of the Abyssal Pit?”

Had Shin Noya been granted a physical form as an apostle of the Abyssal Pit?

“That is correct.”

The elder confirmed it.

“The Sect Leader received a body as the apostle of the Abyssal Pit and anchored his soul within it.”

That was the secret behind Shin Noya’s ability to move freely in the Abyssal Realm with a physical form.

I had no idea how the Abyssal Pit had fashioned such a body for him.

But that wasn’t the issue now.

“But what do you mean his soul has been ‘warped’?”

The problem wasn’t his body—it was that his soul had become distorted.

“It means precisely what it sounds like. The soul residing in that body is now unstable.”

“…Then why—”

“That is simply the natural order. A soul and a body are meant to be one. To separate them and place them in different vessels is an aberration.”

“That makes no sense—wait.”

I cut myself short.

Soul and body existing separately…

That phrase resonated with me.

“You’ve heard it before, haven’t you? You should already know this as well—that the Sect Leader’s soul was originally destined to reside in your body.”

“……”

I had been told this back in Zhongyuan—by the Thunder Heaven Sword.

Originally, Shin Noya was meant to reincarnate in my timeline.

But that never happened.

If things had gone as intended—

“Then his soul should have been inside me.”

He should have been born within my body.

But for some reason, his soul was sealed within the Plum Blossom Stone,

And after a long time, we had finally met.

If that was the case—

“…Are you saying this happened to Noya because of me?”

“The vessel meant for his soul already contains another. And when a soul loses its intended vessel, what do you believe becomes of it?”

A liquid spilled from its container—

What would happen to it?

“It simply pours onto the ground and vanishes.”

“…!”

“For now, he is clinging on within his artificial body. But as time passed, cracks were inevitable. And just when it was most fragile, you appeared and triggered a resonance. How could his vessel possibly withstand that?”

“Resonance…?”

“His soul is instinctively drawn to you. The nearer you are, the stronger the pull. And when the Sect Leader uses his power, the effect only grows stronger.”

Since my body was the one meant to house his soul,

His soul was now trying to return to me.

Then—

“Then just let it return.”

His body was artificial, wasn’t it?

If his soul was trying to go where it belonged, then let it.

Like before—just let his soul enter my body.

I voiced my thought, but—

“You are talking nonsense.”

The elder’s tone turned severe.

“No matter what form you once held, your soul is not what it was then. You have surpassed countless limits and grown tremendously. If the Sect Leader’s weakened soul were to enter your body now, do you honestly think it would survive?”

“…Are you saying it would not endure?”

“The Sect Leader’s soul once carried immense karma, while you were still weak. Perhaps then, it could have been done. But now, you are different.”

My realm had ascended.

My body had transformed.

And furthermore—I had achieved transcendence.

The vessel of my soul had become far more potent.

If Shin Noya’s soul entered me now—

Would he… be erased?

Would he be unable to bear it and disappear?

No, that was exactly what the elder was saying.

Shin Noya would cease to be.

The shadow that had always supported me.

The foundation that had held me together—would be gone.

Confronted with that reality—

I stood paralyzed, unable to respond.

This was—

This was no different from when I had taken my father’s life with my own hands.

It was as if—

My entire world had ground to a halt.