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I grabbed the fallen Heavenly Demon and looked at Yarang.

Then I shifted my gaze to one side. Inside the torn dimension, there was a sparse glow of golden energy.

Something feels different.

I had indeed come here riding that, but the exotic feeling I hadn’t sensed back then was now overwhelming.

I clenched my chest with my hand. Energy surged within. And I felt the condition of my body.

The energy that had originally resided in me was still scattered throughout my physical body. But at the same time, there was a difference.

‘There’s no vessel.’

The vessel that was supposed to contain the energy had vanished.

It felt like it was just floating in the void.

I questioned how this could happen.

But after everything I had experienced, such inquiries felt trivial.

‘Again, I remind you.’

The Ancestor spoke to me.

‘What sustains this can last at most a moment. Before that, you must make a choice.’

The time I could endure with the vessel broken was barely a Half a Time Point.

This was due to my asking for more time to think instead of rushing into a choice.

In response, the Ancestor had granted my request but commanded me to utter the name Yeohwa.

Suuuu—

I felt the energy rising from my body move on its own.

It was alien. It felt like something that was on the verge of bursting but couldn’t quite do so. It seemed ready to scatter at any moment but was still tethered.

There was an uncomfortable sensation that it might dissipate if touched.

Ignoring that discomfort, I spoke to Yarang.

“…What’s up with you? Where have you been?”

I asked with a frown.

We had come together, yet she had been absent until now, only to suddenly show up?

“What were you doing?”

I swallowed the swirling emotions within me. I was annoyed, but it wasn’t Yarang’s fault.

Not getting involved in the fight? That wasn’t a problem.

After all, this fight wasn’t one she was meant to join, and my irritation was simply an outlet.

The results of not being able to ask the Heavenly Demon what I needed to, and the issues that arose with Shin Noya remaining with me.

All of those emotions combined to form the discomfort of being in this unknown Mankye.

I knew that shouting it out wouldn’t change anything, so I tried to suppress it.

“You… What are you? Are you really the Divine Sword?”

“…”

Yarang did not respond to my question. She had been silent all along.

Even our mother had said it. It was true that what she possessed was made from her soul and energy, but ultimately, it was just a being buried in forgetting.

She said it did not remember anything about me nor herself.

“…Damn it. That bastard’s forgetting is infuriating.”

Whether it was the Heavenly Demon, the Ancestor, or even my mother.

I couldn’t comprehend why forgetting was such a big deal.

“…Haaah.”

I let out a deep sigh while looking at Yarang. She was still just staring at me, her face hidden behind the White Mask.

“Is it even worth asking questions?”

This was an overblown response to my frustration, but I knew it was completely pointless.

“…”

I glanced at the Heavenly Demon I was holding. She lay there like a corpse, but her chest was slightly rising and falling, indicating she wasn’t dead.

I awkwardly cradled her and stood up.

With her in my arms, I began surveying the surroundings.

“Cough!”

“…!”

A sound came from one side. I turned my head only to find a turtle leaning against the wreckage.

“Elder…!”

I hurried over.

“Ugh…”

As I approached, the turtle emitted muffled sounds. From the looks of it, it was a mess; it appeared heavily injured.

Blood wasn’t gushing out, so thankfully it wasn’t bleeding too much, but it was definitely in bad shape.

‘It’s Taoist Qi.’

I recognized that the energy surrounding the turtle was Taoist Qi. Moreover, it was Shin Noya’s.

I stepped closer and reached out.

Woooooo—

I infused a bit more energy into the diminishing flow.

“Ugh…”

As energy entered, the turtle exhaled the breath it had been holding back.

“Are you alright?”

“…I’m fine… Can you see?”

It definitely didn’t look fine at all.

“Ugh… I might die… I shouldn’t have meddled in useless matters, I know that.”

“Please, rest for a bit…”

As I gently reached out to touch him, the turtle grabbed my wrist with its fingerless hand.

“What of that fool… What happened to the Sect Leader?”

“…”

When the turtle asked about Shin Noya, my body stiffened.

Seeing my reaction, the turtle chuckled softly.

“Seems he’s gone.”

His tone was unbothered and matter-of-fact. The fact that Shin Noya had vanished didn’t seem to surprise him at all.

“He always said he could disappear at any time. Just like now.”

Though he wasn’t ‘completely’ gone, he was practically gone at this point.

With a clench, I brushed the turtle’s hand away and placed my palm on his chest.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Suuuuuu—

I mixed heat with the energy. Fortunately, the Technique of the Flame Wheel began to work again.

I infused heat into the body to reduce pain and enhance regeneration ability.

In the meantime, the turtle turned its head to look behind.

The surroundings were a complete wreck.

“…It’ll take quite some time to clean this up.”

“…”

I glanced at the turtle after hearing his words.

“Elder.”

“What is it?”

“…Are you planning to stay here?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“This place is devoid of Shin Noya, right?”

“Ha.”

The turtle looked at me in disbelief at my question.

“Whether he’s here or not, what does that have to do with me staying here?”

I smiled awkwardly at his response. That was true, I suppose.

Whether Noya was present or not, there was no connection to the turtle being in Hwasan Sect.

‘Is that so?’

I thought otherwise.

Even if the turtle just talked the talk, not actually doing anything, I felt like that was indeed due to Shin Noya.

Was the turtle intending to continue being here even after Noya had vanished from Hwasan?

“Besides. If he’s gone, someone else has to fill that role, don’t you think?”

The turtle groaned as it lifted itself and spoke.

“You need to go back, even more so now. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

His words pierced my skin like a thorn.

“Don’t worry about it. That fool probably wants that too.”

“…Well, I don’t know.”

Shin Noya, who had vanished for my sake. The turtle’s nonchalant words trying to take his place.

And me who was supposed to leave.

‘What a mess, really.’

The situation was tremendously overwhelming.

I had my problems, but what about Hwasan in Mankye?

“Huu.”

This is ridiculously complicated.

I had the feeling that now was not the time to ponder what to do.

What should I do? Just as my thoughts were rolling around.

Clench.

Yarang suddenly tugged at my wrist.

“What’s up?”

Did she have something to say? I looked at her with confused eyes.

“First, move aside… This isn’t the time to be talking about this kind of stuff.”

The turtle, dragging its exhausted body, reached out. Then the staff lying on the ground flew into his hand.

“If you take too long, it’ll be beyond saving.”

“Beyond saving?”

“There’s only so much chaos to be dealt with. This level is dangerous.”

The turtle mumbled incomprehensible words and waved his hand, and light burst forth from the staff.

Was this sorcery? It seemed the turtle was set to use sorcery.

And not long after.

“Huu!”

Tsssss—

With the turtle’s breath, threads of sorcery spread in all directions. I understood it then. He seemed to be trying to create a barrier.

It looked like he aimed to raise the barrier that had surrounded Hwasan up until now.

In that instant.

Rumble—!! Rumble—!!

“…!!”

The night sky suddenly trembled.

With a thunderous sound echoing, I turned my gaze skyward.

“What the…!”

The turtle displayed a look of panic, as if he just realized something.

He clearly looked troubled.

“What’s wrong?”

When I questioned him, the turtle grimaced as he answered.

“…This is bad. Taechon has gone too wild.”

“Excuse me?”

“It seems he has sensed something.”

“What….”

I couldn’t comprehend and was about to ask again when something extended from the direction of the Divine Tree of Hwasan.

Kuaaaaaaaah—!!!!

It was a black shoot. A massive Divine Tree. Its shoot reached higher, covering the space the turtle had just intended to raise the barrier.

What is this…?

‘Abyss?’

It was the energy of the Abyss. The overwhelming feeling I sensed from that barrier washed over me.

And in an instant, the black space enveloped everything around us.

An impenetrable darkness that seemed to allow not a single ray of light to seep through.

Yet, oddly enough, it was a space where everything was almost too clear to see.

What is this? As I looked around, the turtle lamented.

“The Abyss, it’s already too late.”

The turtle was still gazing beyond the barrier in that situation.

“It seems he has caught on.”

“Elder, what on earth do you mean?”

“Even the Master of Another World has stirred up this chaos, so regardless of how deeply he sleeps, he must wake up.”

“…So, what is waking up…?”

“Waking up is—”

The turtle tightened its grip on the staff and spoke with a tense expression.

“…Of course, it would be the owner of this world sleeping beneath the land.”

“…!”

As soon as I widened my eyes at his words.

Kuaaaaaaah—!!!!

Kugugugugugung—!!!

The black barrier trembled as if it had come under attack.

It was as if it had been struck by someone.

Kugalaglag—!!!

It wasn’t just once.

The impacts poured in, again and again, until…

Crunch. Crunch.

The barrier cracked, and shards fell to the ground.

Boom-!!

The black fragments fell and shattered on the surface.

Beyond the space where the fragments had originally lodged, a glimpse began to appear.

“A.”

I let out an exclamation at what I saw.

There, was—

A woman with gray hair, scarlet eyes, and multiple white tails.

“…Mother?”

The Master of Mankye was awakening.

 

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