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I approached the terrace and sat beside her.

I did not look at her face. I simply sat there, staring straight ahead.

The scenery I viewed from outside the residence was different from what I saw while sitting on the terrace.

I vaguely realized something while looking at it.

‘It was created with intention.’

The landscape I was witnessing was crafted for someone to sit here and observe.

The well-tended trees and garden, the rough pond with colorful carps swimming in it.

From my vantage point, I could see the waterwheel and the stream flowing around it.

Everything was like a masterpiece painting.

In fact,

‘It was made to look pretty from exactly here.’

So it was cultivated that way.

To ensure that the viewer feels a sense of peace and abundance.

That thought made the scenery feel particularly warm and comforting.

Huuuuuh.

A breeze blew, my hair fluttering as the leaves danced in the air.

As I moved my gaze with the wind, my eyes naturally turned toward the void.

The setting sun hung in the sky, lightly brushed by clouds.

As I quietly gazed at it, I realized something else.

‘It’s not moving.’

The clouds draped over the sun and everything else floating in the sky was still.

Even with the wind blowing like this.

‘Ah, I see.’

I nodded, realizing the truth embedded in the landscape.

‘This is an artificial space.’

It was not a place that truly existed.

I wasn’t sure if it was the power of sorcery or something else, but

‘This is not a tangible place.’

It meant it was an intangible space that did not exist in the real world.

Gaining this understanding, I turned to look at the Heavenly Demon.

She was staring ahead with what seemed to be sleepy eyes.

What were her purple eyes looking at? I felt an unbidden curiosity, but I ignored it and called out to the Heavenly Demon.

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

The Heavenly Demon answered without looking my way.

“Did you create this place?”

Only after hearing my question did her gaze turn towards me.

For some reason, I felt an urge to avoid her eyes the moment they met mine.

I didn’t know why. It was just a fleeting thought.

Hearing my words, the Heavenly Demon replied without changing her expression.

“I don’t know.”

“……You don’t know?”

“Yeah. I don’t know.”

“Then, what is this place?”

Does she use this space without knowing what it is? She opened a dimension and arrived at a place she had no clue about?

I couldn’t comprehend it.

Furthermore,

‘Why did the Heavenly Demon not want to show me this?’

Why did the Heavenly Demon from my previous life hate to reveal this place?

It was merely a decorated garden and a residence, after all.

“This is home.”

A reply to my questioning came back from the Heavenly Demon, identical to what I had heard before.

“Home….”

That much was obvious. It was clearly a home in anyone’s eyes.

“I didn’t ask that.”

“Then?”

“I asked what this place is for.”

What is this location intended for? That was the question behind my words. Based on the Heavenly Demon’s words, it seemed she came here when I wasn’t present or when she was usually alone.

‘It was the same in the previous life.’

The demonic gate of purple.

I recalled the Heavenly Demon who had torn open the dimension. The image of her stepping out with an arrogant and proud demeanor was vividly engrained in my memory.

‘Was this truly where the Heavenly Demon was?’

It felt incongruent.

This space did not match at all with my perception of that being.

A fallen ruin, under a sky that was crushed and dried out.

She had reigned above all demons atop the world.

Even the Three Eminent Beings of the Central Plains, despite their power, had fallen listlessly before her.

‘…Did she create a place like this behind the dimension?’

I couldn’t begin to understand.

‘Could this be something that has changed in this life?’

What if the dimension the Heavenly Demon opens now is different from the one in her previous life?

That made the most sense.

If it wasn’t that,

‘What for?’

What did the Heavenly Demon come here for? I had no idea.

Then, she spoke.

“Longing.”

The Heavenly Demon looked at me and said.

“Longing?”

“Longing.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“This place… is longing.”

Longing? That was a bizarre statement. I frowned and gazed around.

A beautifully maintained garden and an old yet well-kept residence.

This place is longing? What about the flowers planted here?

They clearly weren’t of natural origin.

“Did you decorate the garden?”

“No.”

“Then who decorated it? Was it always like this?”

“I don’t know.”

“…What are you saying? Are we even having a conversation?”

She provided not a single satisfactory answer.

Dumbfounded, I glared at the Heavenly Demon. Was she simply unwilling to answer?

‘Right. This one must be the strange one.’

I couldn’t understand how or why this space was created, but I concluded that the current life and the previous life were entirely different.

Of course.

‘That Heavenly Demon couldn’t possibly be in a place like this.’

Just the thought made my knees buckle, and I recalled her intense presence.

No matter the reason in this current life, she wasn’t the kind of person who would linger here.

‘Let alone this so-called longing.’

Such an ambiguous expression.

What exactly was she longing for?

Even if she felt longing, there would be no reason to yearn for a place like this.

I stood up.

“Want to go inside?”

“Ah.”

As I was about to enter the residence, the Heavenly Demon widened her eyes and blurted out. What’s that? Is she telling me not to go in?

I looked at her, hoping she meant not to go, but she only glanced at me and didn’t say anything further.

Was that her way of granting permission? I passed through the terrace and headed inside the residence. The building wasn’t large.

Among the Great Houses, the Gu Clan was on the smaller side.

It was smaller than the space allocated for my residence.

There might barely be two rooms at most.

Such a tiny residence it was.

Seeing that, I reached for the door and opened it.

Creeeak.

The door swung open effortlessly with just a little push.

The interior came into view. The room was bathed in the sunset’s glow, reflected with a slight reddish hue.

‘There isn’t anything particularly special here?’

The interior felt commonplace. The unmade bed caught my eye first.

A single unmade bed.

It could fit two people if they snuggled.

It looked like someone had just been lying there as there were signs of use.

‘No warmth left.’

Only remnants remained. On a small table beside it sat two teacups.

I stepped forward to examine them. Inside one cup, there was a little tea left, half-drained.

‘One is empty, and one still has some.’

The dwelling seemed to be a place for two. The arrangement of the furniture and the remnants confirmed that.

Since the Heavenly Demon herself had called it home, it seemed to be a place where she would often stay.

Then,

‘Who was the other person?’

Who else had been here with her?

I couldn’t tell. I scanned the space for more clues.

It truly was an unremarkable room. As I examined it here and there, I spotted something.

‘Hmm?’

I saw a drawer. Normally, I wouldn’t think to open a closed drawer.

‘What is it?’

The sight of it instantly ignited my curiosity.

No, it felt as though I had to open it no matter what.

So, I reached out and grasped the drawer.

Creeeak.

I pulled it open, and something vague appeared inside.

‘Clothes?’

They were neatly folded clothes. But,

‘They’re tiny?’

The size was particularly small. It looked far too small for an adult. This meant it definitely wasn’t meant for an adult’s wear.

That means—

‘Is it a child’s clothing?’

It appeared to be something suitable for a child, probably someone around five or six years old.

Moreover,

‘It looks unfinished.’

It seemed she had been in the process of making them, but the thread had broken and remained undone.

It meant it was incomplete.

As I recalled that and reached to touch the clothes—

Thud-!!

The drawer sprang shut, blocking my hand. I glanced over and saw the Heavenly Demon.

“Not allowed here.”

Her voice was firm. After hearing that, I quietly stared at the Heavenly Demon.

She seemed frantic just to stop me from seeing some clothes.

There was an instinctual sense of forbidding.

‘It’s just clothes.’

What’s the harm in looking? Especially a piece of clothing that was left incomplete.

Why would there be a reason to block me from it? But,

‘On the contrary, it means—’

I had no specific reason to confirm it.

Thinking that, I took a small step back.

“Okay. Sorry for looking.”

“…….”

At my words, the Heavenly Demon nodded. I turned my back and headed out of the residence.

There was nothing more to see, and I couldn’t help but think.

‘I don’t want to be here.’

I didn’t want to linger in this space. I brushed my hand over my chest.

It felt oppressively heavy and limiting.

And cold.

I felt the need to leave. That urge crept up my throat.

What a strange emotion. Why was I feeling this way?

Thus, as soon as I stepped out of the residence and reached the yard, I asked the Heavenly Demon.

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“Have I been here before?”

“…….”

The Heavenly Demon froze at my question.

I didn’t miss her reaction.

“What’s that reaction? Are you saying I’ve been here before?”

It was an absurd inquiry.

I knew better than anyone that I had never been here. Not in my previous life or this one.

I had never set foot in this place.

And besides, asking the Heavenly Demon about it now, she had no way of knowing.

“I. I know this place, right?”

Knowing it all too well, I asked the Heavenly Demon.

“Answer me.”

“…….”

Remarkably, the Heavenly Demon did not answer.

Why couldn’t she respond? Why was I asking this question?

I could hardly understand it myself, yet the words slipped out.

“What is this place? Why do I know about it?”

Thud-!

I grabbed the Heavenly Demon’s shoulder.

Her delicate shoulder fit perfectly in my hand.

Feeling that, I glared at her.

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened.

And just as her lips began to murmur, preparing to speak—

“Not allowed.”

Crack-!!

“……!?”

The Heavenly Demon froze, then pushed my hand away and clutched her neck.

“What’s going on?”

Why was she suddenly grabbing her neck?

I looked at her in confusion.

“Don’t be greedy, okay?”

Was she speaking to me? It didn’t seem like that.

“This is not something that should be done.”

With a slight smile, the Heavenly Demon spoke those words.

Seeing that, chills ran down my spine.

‘That smile.’

My eyes widened.

The grin on her face, the sparkling expression—

‘Could it be……?’

As that thought surged, my body went stiff.

In that moment.

“See you later.”

The Heavenly Demon smiled and traced her finger toward me.

Kugugugu—!!

“What the—!”

The dimension shattered, and my body was swept away.

Kugugu—!!!

No matter how much I struggled, by the time I realized it,

Swooosh—.

I was back at the Spirit’s Den where the Divine Tree used to be.

Or rather, precisely back to where I was speaking with the Heavenly Demon.

“Ha… ha…”

My body was drenched in heat, and I was sweating profusely.

The image of her eyes and smile lingered in my mind.

It was definitely.

“……Heavenly Demon?”

She was not the meek woman I had known in this life.

She was the Heavenly Demon who had ruled over calamity in the previous life.

 

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