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As the sunset gradually descended, flames surged ceaselessly in a field tucked away in the Hwasan Sect.

Flare—!!!

The blue flame burned brighter than before. The distinctly vivid colors and the lively heat enveloped the surroundings.

Fwooosh—!!!

Where the flames had passed, beautiful sparks danced like fireflies.

A large quantity of blue flames slicing through the air formed elegant curves with just a flick of a hand, radiating presence.

And then…

After a while of watching the flickering flames, I slowly clenched my open palm.

Suddenly, the flames hovering in the air seemed to tremble as they obscured the sunset.

Boom—!!!

With a rough intake of breath, fiery energy poured towards me.

It felt like I would be consumed in flames if I were swept away, but instead, the flames converged, wrapping around my clenched fist.

The flames enveloping my entire right arm began to spin faster and faster.

Shrinking in size, they grew denser in color.

Flare—!!!

As the flames shrank even more, the speed increased while they retained less volume.

With increasing speed and decreasing size, the pressure surged.

The heat intensified with the friction.

In no time, when the flames finally came to a halt…

Sizz—!!!

A sound reminiscent of something cooking echoed from my right arm as the shape of the flames solidified.

“……”

I stared quietly at what had formed.

It felt as if new skin had emerged on my arm.

Flame-made skin, perhaps? The flickering form and the rising sparks felt like a searing heat.

This was a power entirely different from any martial arts I had used until now.

“Mmm…”

As I gazed at it, a slight sigh escaped me. My face bore a dissatisfied expression. It seemed to hold considerable strength, which it did, indeed.

“…The firepower itself doesn’t seem bad.”

In terms of raw energy, it was immense.

Considering I had been elevated to a transcendent state, the energy had surged, filling the newly expanded vessel.

‘If I were to quantify it: about thirty percent from the past. No, around forty percent.’

Compared to before coming to Mankye, this was the level of strength I had achieved.

So it stood to reason that the firepower was extraordinarily high, but…

“This isn’t it.”

My brows furrowed involuntarily.

What I desired was not this. Yes, the firepower was high, and its completion looked impressive, but ultimately, this wasn’t the form I wanted.

Clench—!

I tightened my fist even more.

At that, the flames spiraled wildly and exploded outward.

Whoosh—!!!

The flames erupted, sending a shockwave through the air, yet no damage was done to the surroundings. Just a gust of rough wind blew for a moment.

“…Tsk.”

I checked my state with disappointment. My energy was still plentiful, and I felt no exhaustion.

Having released such strong firepower, I still retained almost thirty percent of my energy.

‘At this rate…’

It seemed unlikely for me to run out of energy during an ordinary fight.

Moreover, as the flames had reached a transcendent state, they became much more fluid, allowing comfortable movement as if they were an extension of my body.

Overall, I had grown much stronger.

This was satisfying, but…

‘Still, I ultimately didn’t succeed.’

After several rounds of repetition, I had yet to achieve what I desired.

Despite my best efforts, I seemed to fail at reaching anywhere near it.

‘How did father manage it?’

What I was trying to achieve wasn’t anything different.

It was the power father had once used in Sichuan.

I was continuously trying to replicate that.

‘…The pinnacle technique he used against the Heavenly Demon in a previous life.’

The pinnacle of the Gu Clan. Though I had succeeded in mastering it upon reaching transcendence, it was disparate from the complete form my father used.

The power he wielded when he fought the Heavenly Demon, pushing her to the brink of death.

It was also the power that resolved the unknown golden binding of the Heavenly Lord.

‘How on earth does one use it?’

I felt completely at a loss.

Unlike the Five Elements of Mount Tai, which I had mastered immediately upon reaching transcendence…

‘This is different.’

This was a power that had to be mastered in an altogether different manner.

‘How do I do it?’

The heat was certainly focalized solely on my palm, radiating light.

I threw everything I had into trying to compress the energy into just my palm, but…

‘The whole arm is the best case.’

No matter how much I compressed the heat and increased the pressure, I consistently failed to concentrate the heat in just my palm.

I still remembered the amount of energy my father used.

It was undoubtedly considerable power, and as I tried to unleash and compress what I barely glimpsed…

‘Only failure greeted me.’

It was too much to control. Now, reaching transcendence, at least I could manage it in my arm.

Had it been before, I would barely have been able to keep it swirling aimlessly in the void.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue, looking up at the sky.

What had started in the morning was now pushing toward evening.

I began my training right after finishing my conversation with the Abyss, and here I was now.

What started to clear my frustration had consumed far too much time.

Tap, tap.

I brushed off my body lightly with my hands, simultaneously recalling the conversation from earlier.

‘The Heavenly Demon put the Abyss into me…’

The conversation with my mother too.

As I conjured back the dialogues with the Abyss, I felt my head grow heavy.

I diligently immersed myself in training to erase these thoughts, but they rose back to the surface immediately after.

“Whoo…”

A sigh slipped out, filled with inevitability.

‘What on earth is going on?’

The avatar of the Abyss that had appeared didn’t exchange many words with me.

It was merely a few sentences.

‘The one who put me in your body was the Heavenly Demon.’

In response to whether I knew I would become a calamity in the Central Plains, the Abyss had remarked,

‘Be cautious.’

What was I meant to be cautious about? When I questioned what that meant, the Abyss continued,

‘Remember the seed.’

‘…Remember the seed?’

It was a perplexing statement. What on earth did it mean to remember the seed?

However, an idea surfaced almost instantly.

‘Could it be…’

In the past, around three years after I had reincarnated.

It happened in the Front Line.

I had discovered something that resembled a giant egg managed by the Gu Clan.

As I unconsciously reached out towards it, Kkurung—or rather, the Abyss—had blocked me then.

I recalled what he had said.

‘The seed.’

He had described that egg as a seed. In retrospect, it was entirely incomprehensible.

‘How could such a massive thing be called a seed?’

It was far too large to be labeled as a seed.

Why would the Gu Clan keep a seed?

‘As far as I know… that place has been managed by the Gu Clan for generations.’

Not just a brief period, but most likely for a prolonged duration.

But they claimed it was a seed?

‘To remember, huh.’

A destiny where I, who would become a calamity, needed to remember.

Frowning at the Abyss’s words, I contemplated.

After delivering that, the Abyss seemed to take its leave, vanishing without a trace.

How ludicrous.

‘Why didn’t you say anything about the Heavenly Demon?’

Why would the Heavenly Demon place the Abyss into my body instead of my mother?

Let alone when?

‘Was it when she bestowed powers upon me?’

When she turned me into a demon and bestowed her powers upon me, I had received the Demonic Absorption Technique. If I were to speculate, could it have been at that moment?

‘Was that what continued even after my reincarnation?’

It was recognized that the Heavenly Demon had had a hand in my reincarnation.

‘What did she desire from me?’

Why did the Heavenly Demon embed all this within me?

Apart from the act of reincarnation, why me?

Why on earth was it me? Was the Heavenly Demon’s actions towards me part of fate itself?

I had no clue.

The more I tried to think and understand, the more all the experiences I had endured connected like threads.

I wanted to believe it was absurd, but it truly was that way.

At the end of these connections, what would there be?

What awaited that made this all feel so uncomfortable and tightly interwoven?

As I labored to find some conclusion…

Crack-!

A presence felt nearby made me turn my head. As I turned, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“They say a tiger comes when you speak of it.”

“Huh?”

It was the Heavenly Demon. She approached me, her familiar empty expression questioning me.

“Are you done?”

“…Yeah, more or less.”

I had suspected she was discreetly watching me from afar.

Knowing I was training, she hadn’t approached until now, seeming to come over only after learning I was finished.

“What are you going to do now?”

“…”

Her flat question made me frown slightly.

Instead of answering her, I returned the question.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

“What are you, exactly?”

“Umm…?”

She tilted her head at my inquiry.

“What are you to act this way towards me? Do you know something? Or are you just pretending not to know?”

“…Huh?”

“Augh, that expression again.”

Looking just like Wi Seol-Ah, she kept sporting that blank expression.

At first glance, a naive face, but with everything she’d heard, I had no idea if that face was genuine or not.

“What’s your identity? Tell me.”

“I am me.”

“…So what does that mean?”

“I am just me?”

“Are you saying you want to fight?”

“No?”

She shook her head violently. It was a strong denial. Then, after a brief moment of shaking her head, she paused and looked at me.

“I am me. And…”

She pointed her index finger at me.

“You know.”

“…What are you talking about?”

I must be the fool for asking.

What had changed so much after my reincarnation that the once proud and haughty lady stood before me like this?

‘Is this her true form from the start?’

Or was she hiding her true nature?

From what I could see, it didn’t seem like she was hiding anything.

Then…

‘What kind of experiences have made her into the Heavenly Demon?’

What process transformed her into the figure from my past life?

That piqued my curiosity, but at the same time…

“…Anyway, get ready.”

I clicked my tongue and said to the Heavenly Demon.

“Ready?”

“I said to prepare since we have to move.”

“Where are we going?”

With a quizzical tone, the Heavenly Demon asked, and I sighed as I responded.

“To Spirit Mountain.”

The place where the next Divine Tree lies.

That was my intended destination, and this time I planned to bring the Heavenly Demon along.

‘Considering how deeply entangled she is in this matter,’

I thought it best to keep her close if our journey grew longer than expected.

At my words, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Huh? Am I going too?”

“If you don’t want to, just say so.”

“I’ll go. Let’s go!”

She approached me with light steps.

Her expression didn’t change, but she seemed to exhibit a hint of excitement.

What did she think we would be doing or where we were headed that made her so thrilled?

It was absurd.

“…We’ll leave right away, so if you have anything to grab, do it.”

That was just something I said without thinking. What would she possibly have to collect?

Proving my point, the Heavenly Demon replied.

“I have nothing.”

Just as I was about to move instantly…

“But you need to prepare.”

I froze momentarily at that retort.

I needed to grab something?

“What for?”

I asked with a puzzled face, and the Heavenly Demon explained.

“It’s a mountain.”

“And?”

“You don’t like climbing mountains. You should take a walking stick.”

“What kind of crazy talk is this? Why would I need a walking stick?”

“You don’t like climbing mountains, right?”

“That’s true—”

As I spoke, my expression distorted.

Something felt off.

“…How did you know?”

No one knew that I despised climbing mountains.

It was evident. I had never shared that with anyone.

I disliked climbing mountains—a thought I had harbored since childhood, but there was no reason to say it out loud, so I kept it to myself.

How did she speak with such certainty?

When I questioned her about it, she replied.

“Ah, I just thought so.”

“…”

Saying that, she gave a slight nod.

Just then, the sunset had passed, and night fell.

As I gazed at the lingering sparks around, I realized it was evening, and the Heavenly Demon’s violet eyes seemed to sparkle more than usual in the night.

 

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