Chapter 634
Chapter 635: White
It was quiet.
In a world charred black, Woo Hyeok thought to himself.
Truly quiet.
For some reason, the world that had been filled with noise was now silent.
Just a moment ago, it had definitely felt very loud.
—Kill.
—Accept it.
—Praise it.
It felt very different from the usual noise he heard.
Unlike the cacophony that mixed all kinds of sounds and made it impossible to hear properly, this time, the words pierced his ears with startling clarity.
How long had the sound been audible? It felt like countless moments had passed.
Thud—! Thud thud—!
Suddenly, he heard a crashing noise that sounded as if the ceiling were about to collapse.
—Praise it…!
—Revere it!
It was as if they were attempting to brainwash him, continuously whispering in his ear.
After a while of enduring that thunderous noise—
—Praise it….
At some moment, silence enveloped him.
‘Huh?’
Feeling this, Woo Hyeok slowly opened his eyes.
A sudden feeling of regret washed over him.
‘It wasn’t that bad.’
Though the repetitious voice had grown tiresome, compared to the usual noise he endured, it felt like a lullaby.
Thinking it might be okay to rest a bit longer, he considered lying down again.
‘The sound stopping means…’
Could it mean something was about to happen?
With that thought, Woo Hyeok opened his eyes and propped himself up.
“Hmm?”
He tilted his head at the sight before him.
Night had fallen over the world.
A pitch-black night where nothing was visible.
Not just the ground, but even the sky was cloaked in darkness.
“Uh?”
Woo Hyeok looked up and exclaimed.
He clearly saw it.
The slightly visible white background being swept away by blackness.
With that, the world he was in became completely charred black.
“Hehe.”
Seeing this, Woo Hyeok chuckled.
“It’s the perfect environment for sleeping.”
Before worry, that thought came first.
A world without a single glimmer of light.
If he shut his eyes here, it felt like he could sleep soundly.
As he contemplated lying down, he suddenly remembered something odd.
“Wait….”
He recalled the strange part.
“Why am I here?”
Why on earth was he in such a place?
That question finally surfaced in his mind.
How did he end up in this predicament?
‘Surely… at the very end…’
He felt he had seen something while following someone.
But he couldn’t quite recall.
“Does it even matter?”
It didn’t feel like it mattered much to him.
With his arms used as a pillow, Woo Hyeok turned onto his side.
No matter what had happened, what could it matter now?
‘It’s so quiet right now.’
The silence was far more important to him.
As he tried to drift off, unable to resist the temptation of sleep, he felt a presence.
Thud.
“Hmm?”
He sensed something nearby.
Wondering what kind of presence it could be, he looked over.
Someone was sitting right next to him.
That too, on top of—
—Grrr….
Something white and unknown that was squished flat.
It looked… somewhat like a snake.
But it felt off.
Its shape was subtly peculiar for a snake.
And.
The one crushing it was—
‘…Who is that?’
It was the outfit of a stranger.
A tattered and worn black martial robe, their physique didn’t seem particularly large.
Yet, when Woo Hyeok looked up at the face of the man—
“…!”
Chills ran down his spine!
The moment their eyes met, he was engulfed by an inexplicable fear.
‘…What is this killing intent…?’
The killing intent radiating from the man made Woo Hyeok instinctively tense up.
He hadn’t even done anything; he didn’t even direct his gaze at Woo Hyeok—but just looking at him made him feel death creeping closer.
Like a person transformed by the very essence of killing intent.
That’s what he felt.
“…Who are you…?”
He asked, his voice thick with tension.
With a slow turn, the man’s gaze shifted toward Woo Hyeok.
Woo Hyeok’s heart raced at what he saw.
‘…What the?’
He looked eerily familiar.
The man’s face bore a striking resemblance to someone Woo Hyeok knew.
Purple eyes and charred white sclerae, excluding the sense of death that could even be felt beyond his sight.
The distinct shape of his eyes and features reminded him of someone he was familiar with.
He looked like his friend would if he had grown older.
Swallow.
In the awkward silence, Woo Hyeok gulped nervously.
Then—
“Sorry.”
Out of nowhere came an apology, leaving Woo Hyeok stunned.
He hadn’t expected an outright apology to come out of the blue.
“…What?”
Not hiding his confusion, Woo Hyeok questioned him.
“Thinking about it, I’ve never said such a thing to you.”
“Hmm?”
Is he someone who knows me? Woo Hyeok’s expression twisted as he pondered.
“What do I look like now?”
This time, the man directed a question toward Woo Hyeok.
“How do I look now that you saved me?”
“…?”
What is he talking about? Woo Hyeok couldn’t comprehend.
Saved? What does that even mean?
When did he ever save this man?
“…When did I save you?!”
“No matter how I try to understand it through my life, I’ve never understood you.”
Even as Woo Hyeok posed the question, the man seemed uninterested in providing an answer.
“Being me, who you threw away your precious life to save, I cannot understand how you could do it without a moment’s hesitation.”
Why?
Hearing those words, Woo Hyeok felt a tightness in his chest.
“…Who are you? Just who are you to say such things?”
“Do you regret it?”
Just like before, the man offered no response—continuing on with his words.
“I wish you would regret it.”
Spoken in a heavy, grim tone.
“I hope you resent me. You deserve that.”
“…”
“At that time. And now.”
The man gazed at Woo Hyeok and then turned his head away again.
“In the future too.”
“…”
No matter how hard he tried, Woo Hyeok couldn’t make sense of it.
He had no idea what the man was talking about or who he even was.
But—
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Woo Hyeok somehow felt prompted to speak up.
If pressed to ask why.
“If you claim I truly saved you,”
It just felt like something he had to do.
“Then it must have seemed worthwhile to do so.”
“…”
The man still didn’t look at Woo Hyeok, but he could see the slight shaking of the man’s shoulders at his words.
“I don’t know if you truly know me, but you asked if I regret it?”
In response, Woo Hyeok shot back with a blunt expression.
“Well, I probably didn’t regret it. I saved someone worthwhile. That’s what mattered. I must have thought so.”
He felt that way. He spoke with the sentiment behind those words.
And then.
“The beginning was wrong.”
“Beginning?”
“That’s right.”
I’m sorry.
Those words came from the man as he looked toward Woo Hyeok.
For some reason, that thought irritated him.
“Thanks.”
“…!”
“That would sound much better.”
“Ha.”
At Woo Hyeok’s statement, the man let out a gentle laugh.
“You’re still a fool, huh?”
“What…?”
Hearing that sudden curse, Woo Hyeok gaped at the man in disbelief.
Yet, it felt strangely familiar.
“Damn it.”
“Such harsh words on our first meeting. Does looking like that make you feel that way…?”
Swish.
At Woo Hyeok’s words, the man stood up.
Seeing this, Woo Hyeok flailed, startled.
“It was a joke! I was just kidding…!”
Of course.
Woo Hyeok instinctively wanted to back away but—
The man showed no signs of hitting him.
Calmly, he approached Woo Hyeok, looking down at him.
“Now, get up.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s about to hurt my hand, you know.”
“…Huh?”
What in the world could that mean?
Smack—!
“Ghuh!?”
Woo Hyeok’s head spun to the side.
He cradled his cheek, feeling the jolt of pain.
He had been hit. However.
‘That person didn’t strike me.’
The man remained passive.
What on earth was happening?
Smack—!
“Guh!”
Another strike followed.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Smack—! Smack—! Smack—!
With sharp sounds, Woo Hyeok’s head swiveled back and forth.
“Ugh—! Stop!”
He shouted, not even knowing who he was speaking to.
The man only kept his gaze on Woo Hyeok.
“Get up.”
Smack—!
“No—! Wait…!”
Smack—! Smack—!
“Get up, I said.”
Smack—!!
“Damn it—!!”
Enduring the pain, Woo Hyeok finally shouted out.
“I’ll get up! I’ll get up, just stop hitting me!”
In one swift motion, Woo Hyeok shot up.
“Hack… pant….”
“Ah. You’re awake now.”
His voice had shifted from the heavy tone they’d conversed with, to a slightly youthful voice, making Woo Hyeok turn his eyes.
There stood Gu Yangcheong, looking at him with his hand raised.
“…You… Ugh!?”
Woo Hyeok flinched, feeling fresh pain.
His cheek throbbed madly.
At the same time, it was incredibly hot.
“I was just trying to wake you up since you wouldn’t budge. Turns out, this was the answer.”
Could it be that all those sounds and pains he felt before…
“…You were really hitting me?”
“I had to, since you wouldn’t wake up.”
With Gu Yangcheong’s words, Woo Hyeok, with swollen cheeks, replied.
“…You could’ve just awakened me with your energy.”
If the intent was merely to wake him, Gu Yangcheong could have simply used his energy to do it effortlessly.
Yet it felt like an unnecessarily complicated approach.
Gu Yangcheong awkwardly chuckled at that.
“Well, that’s not possible for you anymore.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
As Woo Hyeok was about to voice his confusion, his eyes widened.
Something felt off.
He examined his body.
“Huh?”
He realized something was different about his physique.
‘What’s this?’
Aside from his martial robe being a total mess, his body didn’t appear particularly wrong on the outside.
However, internally, everything felt markedly different.
‘…The energy.’
There was an incredible flow of energy coursing through him.
While Woo Hyeok was indeed a member of the Yuseong Generation,
One of the legendary Six Dragon Three Summons, and recognized as one of the highest late-stage talents of Wudang, he had enough energy in his being to never be considered weak.
But now, the current level was on a whole different scale.
‘…It overflows.’
It flooded and poured forth.
He couldn’t even gauge how much there was.
Even more—
“…!”
As he sensed his energy, he ultimately noticed the oddity that stood out.
‘Why is the energy…?!’
The energy that should have settled in the Lower Dantian was flowing instead from where the Heart, that is—
The location of the Lower Dantian was a mess.
What’s going on?
“Tsk.”
Upon noticing Woo Hyeok’s response, Gu Yangcheong clicked his tongue.
“Just as I was worried, you gobbled up some opportunities.”
“Opportunities…?”
“Ah, damn… It’s such a waste…”
Haah.
A stream of heavy sighs echoed, thick with regret.
“…Such a waste… really such a waste…”
“…What are you even talking about? What’s so wasteful?”
“That was something you should have eaten yourself, you know! If you had just consumed that…”
As he cursed, Gu Yangcheong examined Woo Hyeok’s body here and there.
“Still, luckily it seems to be functioning properly.”
“…?”
“I can’t tell what you have, but maybe this is a result of whatever you missed out on?”
“You keep rambling on, what’s your point?”
“Forget it. As long as it’s good, that’s what matters.”
Gu Yangcheong didn’t reply to any of the questions and stood up.
Woo Hyeok stared at him in surprise, asking.
“Are you injured…?”
“Hmm? Ah.”
Gu Yangcheong seemed to be in rough shape.
His upper body was stained dark with scars, blood flowing freely from wounds all over.
Moreover.
‘His breathing is unsteady.’
Gu Yangcheong’s breath was ragged.
It was a clear sign of exhaustion.
That monstrous guy was exhausted. What on earth happened?
“It’s just a scratch.”
He answered dismissively, but it didn’t look that simple at all.
At the same time, Woo Hyeok scanned his surroundings, realizing something else.
“This place….”
Everything was destroyed and shattered, yet it felt familiar. This was clearly the spot he came with Yu Seon—
Ah.
“Yu Seon…! What about Princess Il?”
“…”
At Woo Hyeok’s question, Gu Yangcheong wore a vague expression.
Then he spoke to Woo Hyeok.
“Honestly, I had a lot I wanted to ask you.”
“…”
At those words, Woo Hyeok firmly clamped his mouth shut.
There were things to discuss.
Yes, there were things to be said between them. Gu Yangcheong had questions for Woo Hyeok, and conversely, circumstances had arisen for Woo Hyeok to inquire about Gu Yangcheong as well.
“So, be prepared.”
“…Prepared?”
“Yeah, prepare yourself.”
Gu Yangcheong, nonchalantly, poked his pinky in his ear.
“It looks like this will drag on, so let’s have a three-line summary ready. For both of us.”
“…”
“Neither of us wants prolonged chit-chat, right?”
Even when the situation called for seriousness, Gu Yangcheong maintained his usual calm demeanor.
To suggest a three-line summary in a situation like this? He must truly be insane.
‘This guy is really….’
No matter how much he looked at him, he felt he would never understand him.
Just at that moment when Woo Hyeok was passing that judgment.
“Then, I’ll head out first, so take your time coming.”
“What?”
Gu Yangcheong casually turned his back and stated.
Woo Hyeok was caught off guard.
“You’re leaving?”
Just like that, out of nowhere?
Leaving him behind?
Seeing Woo Hyeok bewildered, Gu Yangcheong explained.
“Originally, I planned to take you along when you woke up.”
That was true.
Though the primary goal had shifted, the main purpose of arriving at this place had been to bring Woo Hyeok along.
Yet.
“I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
Gu Yangcheong wiped away the cold sweat trickling down and gazed into the distance.
“Damn, why does everything have to be such a hassle? Why does nothing go smoothly?”
“…Yangcheon…?”
“At your level, you shouldn’t have any issues, so just make your way here on your own.”
Seemingly without time to explain further, Gu Yangcheong readied himself.
He twisted his knees as if preparing for a high jump.
Flame Burst—!
In an instant, flames enveloped Gu Yangcheong’s body as he soared upward.
Just as he seemed poised to leap away—
“Ah.”
As if remembering something, Gu Yangcheong looked back at Woo Hyeok.
“Hey.”
“Uh?”
“Uh… um.”
He hesitated while trying to speak again.
Biting his lip briefly, Gu Yangcheong eventually addressed Woo Hyeok once more.
“Thank you. For staying alive.”
“…?”
Woo Hyeok intended to question what that statement meant, but—
Flame Burst—!!! Bang—!
Gu Yangcheong vanished with flames swirling, crashing straight through the ceiling.
“…”
Left alone, Woo Hyeok unexpectedly felt a sense of bitterness.
As if he felt something—
a feeling that seemed like it wasn’t his own.
