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When I think of my mother, to be honest, I don’t remember much at all.

I was too young, and it’s been dozens of years, so there are only a few things.

One is that she particularly loved winter.

On snowy days, she would always hold the hands of my brother and me and take us for walks in the snow.

Did she say she liked white things? I guess that was something she said.

And, perhaps that’s why she also liked white flowers.

It seems like she loved anything white.

However.

‘She loved our hair.’

My mother, who liked white things, oddly loved our black hair too.

Her hair was pure white, and she said she was glad our hair was black?

It’s ridiculous, really. But she truly said such things.

Those were happy times.

Looking back, each day felt like that.

There were no worries, and we just enjoyed passing the time.

–Son. Do you like it?

–Yes.

On snowy days, I would lie on my mother’s knee and fall asleep.

Her embrace was warm.

Yet, despite her love for winter, the people of the Gu Clan were all very hot-blooded, while my mother, who loved winter, was easily affected by the cold.

She said something strange about it, and I remembered it as odd, right?

Ah, that’s right.

–Mom gets cold without fur.

I think she said that.

Even now, it’s something I don’t quite understand… I guess it just means she gets chilly easily.

Anyway.

I liked that mother of mine.

No, I believe I did.

I can’t be entirely sure since I don’t remember clearly, but that’s what I believe.

‘So.’

Even now, I must be dreaming of those times.

A dream I likely can’t return to, but only long for.

–My son.

“…”

I feel a touch in my hair.

Is it because it’s been a while since I had this dream, or does it feel so vivid?

The gentle caress felt soft.

As if someone really was stroking me…

“…”

I felt something strange.

‘Isn’t this too real for a dream?’

It’s odd. Feeling that, I slowly opened my eyes.

“Ah.”

“…”

Upon opening my eyes, I was met with purple eyes staring back at me and a familiar, pretty face.

“Hello.”

I immediately sprang up at the expressionless greeting.

I created some distance and glared at the other.

“Ahhh.”

The Heavenly Demon seemed disappointed by my actions, and I frowned at that.

“…Who are you?”

Somehow, I felt like this dream was too vivid, and it turned out I had been resting my head on the Heavenly Demon’s knee.

Scratching the back of my head with an annoyed expression.

Damn it.

How did I end up like this?

‘Did I lose consciousness?’

Apparently, that seems to be the case. I tried to revive my last memory. Before I lost consciousness…

“…!”

I remembered.

‘Blood Demon.’

The moment I was looking for the Heavenly Demon. The Blood Demon had appeared, and the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon had fought.

I drew the White Flame to stop that…

‘At that moment, the Blood Demon tried to kill me.’

The Blood Demon, who had been smiling ominously, stiffened his expression at the sight of the White Flame and immediately tried to kill me.

In that moment,

‘…My mother appeared.’

My mother appeared, wrapping around my body.

Technically, it was just her energy, but it was certainly my mother.

She even managed to overpower the Blood Demon when she appeared.

‘That monster…’

The moment I sensed her energy, I intuited something.

The Blood Demon was a being far more formidable than I had anticipated.

Yet, if she could suppress that Blood Demon, does that mean my mother is at a level higher than him?

No. More precisely.

‘They seemed to know each other.’

It raises suspicion that the two knew each other.

I already knew my mother was no ordinary being.

Hadn’t I heard that long ago?

‘Calamity.’

If the Blood Demon is the first calamity, my mother, who appeared afterward, was the second calamity.

One of them failed, and that’s how the current world came to be.

In this situation, could there be a reason why my mother and the Blood Demon would know each other?

‘The Blood Demon called my mother Mankye.’

Mankye (萬界).

The Master of Mankye.

What Muah had said to describe my mother was also rather revealing.

It signifies that my mother is a master of some kind of world…

‘That’s one thing, but…’

There was also the incident at Shinryong Temple. How could my mother have appeared there?

And what did she say as she vanished?

‘Never… tell anyone to find me.’

Why?

I couldn’t understand. Just as I was scowling in confusion.

“Are you okay?”

“…Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue at the voice that came from in front of me.

‘Oh right, there’s also you.’

I realized that I shouldn’t only be thinking about my mother and the Blood Demon.

I also had questions for the Heavenly Demon standing in front of me.

The Blood Demon had said it, after all. That the Heavenly Demon was his daughter.

“You.”

As I recalled that, I was about to ask.

“…”

In an instant, I made a face and scanned the surroundings.

Something felt off.

“What’s going on?”

Suddenly, I realized.

“Where am I?”

This wasn’t the field where I used to be.

The space that had once been open had vanished, and now everywhere was filled with trees. And even…

‘What are these trees?’

The trees were strangely thick and massive.

The appearance alone was unlike any tree I had seen before.

With trees this size, they should be classified as old trees, but… can old trees really gather like this?

If I looked around, I’m sure I could find one, but as far as I knew, there wasn’t a forest like this in Hanam at least.

And plus.

‘Why does the air feel like this?’

Even breathing felt peculiar.

The air felt much heavier, and it seemed to fill my lungs more than usual.

‘…Could it be that the energy in the air is this abundant?’

The amount of inner strength accumulating through respiration felt several times higher than normal.

This is too strange.

It wasn’t a place I recognized. Which means…

“Where the hell have you brought me?”

Did the Heavenly Demon drag me here? I spoke with certainty.

“…?”

The Heavenly Demon tilted her head in confusion. As if indicating that she wasn’t the culprit.

“Don’t play dumb. If it’s not you, then who else could it be…”

As I pressed for an answer, the Heavenly Demon raised a finger.

Thinking she was about to attack, I became on guard, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

She pointed at the sky.

Looking at her hand, I raised my head.

“What are you pointing at?”

I looked up, but all I could see was the starry night sky.

‘What’s going on? Is she trying to assess how long I was unconscious?’

I lost consciousness at sunset, and if it’s night now, then I’ve likely been out for a couple of hours.

As I pondered while scrutinizing the night sky more closely.

“Huh?”

Upon closer inspection, I noticed something strange.

Flame Burst-!

As I saw it, I hurriedly climbed towards the sky.

In an instant, I reached the top of the towering trees.

And there it was: the vast sky came into clear focus.

“Holy…”

As I confirmed it, I let out a gasp.

“What the hell is this.”

The Milky Way stretched beautifully across the night sky.

The strangely gorgeous galaxy was flowing in scarlet hues, with shimmering auroras dancing above it, leaving me in awe.

What a breathtaking sight.

It was my first time seeing such a spectacle, yet I couldn’t find the luxury to admire it.

“…Ah…”

However, beneath that cluster of stars, the moon floating in the void was the problem.

No, to be precise, there weren’t just one but ‘moons.’

“Shit.”

In the sky, blue and scarlet moons hovered side by side.

While living life, I’ve gone through various processes.

I’ve even given up being human, killed my father with my own hands, and even glimpsed time, so I thought I wouldn’t be surprised anymore.

Ah, I was greatly shocked when Tolly turned into a little brat that resembled me, but that’s beside the point.

Anyway, having thought I’d experienced it all, I was living under the impression that there wouldn’t be much to astonish me anymore.

“Life.”

I had to lament as I recognized my own arrogance.

It seemed there were still many things in this world that I didn’t know about.

What a disgraceful situation it was.

“Ha…”

A sigh escaped my lips.

It couldn’t be helped.

Having wandered for about an hour, I felt like I had wandered long enough to return to the starting point.

Now, I had to concede.

“Where the hell is this…?”

At first, I speculated it might be New Outer Martial World, like the North Sea.

‘…They wouldn’t have two moons there, right?’

Even without going, I knew there was only one moon.

If not that…

‘Is it the Blood Demon’s doing?’

Could the Blood Demon have done something to me?

Why wasn’t I here? Just like when Senior Dae sent me to a previous life, could he have pulled a stunt like that?

‘But that doesn’t seem right…’

The last energy that enveloped me wasn’t from the Blood Demon, but from my mother.

Then could it be the work of my mother?

‘…Why would she?’

If it was my mother’s power, there’d be no reason to send me to a place like this.

‘Ugh.’

No matter how much I thought, I couldn’t figure it out. The only thing I could discern was.

‘This isn’t the Central Plains.’

It seems this place isn’t the world I knew at all.

What kind of lunacy is this? But there’s no other answer.

The unfamiliar old trees stretching around me, the instinctive difference in the air.

Furthermore,

‘Starting from that, two moons was odd.’

The two moons hovering over the beautiful night sky.

At least, seeing all this convinces me that this isn’t the Central Plains.

Ugh… I have a headache.

“Phew…”

I pressed my forehead, overwhelmed by this nonsensical situation. Have I truly stumbled into another world?

Then how would I return to where I was?

‘Tomorrow is the day of my father’s trial.’

I didn’t have the luxury to waste time here, especially when I could flip the Martial Alliance upside down as it stood.

‘Plus…’

I glanced back.

‘And with that?’

I spotted the Heavenly Demon following me.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

At my call, the Heavenly Demon turned to look at me.

“Why do you keep following me?”

“I’m not following you.”

Isn’t this precisely following me? She’s been glued to me for almost an hour!

“Then what is it? If you’re not following me, am I following you?”

“It’s not following; it’s going together.”

“…Seriously.”

I felt like engaging her in a pointless dialogue. My headache was increasing.

“Just leave me alone. I don’t want to be with you.”

“Fine.”

“…Huh?”

That was a surprisingly easy concession.

What’s with that?

Confused, I stared at the Heavenly Demon, yet she didn’t seem to make a move to leave.

“Why aren’t you going? I thought you understood.”

“Because you said you don’t want to go together. Now I’ll follow you.”

“…You’re seriously insane.”

This is absurd. Is that even the kind of logic you can call reasoning?

“Whether you’re following or going together, it disgusts me, so just hurry up and get out of here.”

“I refuse.”

“This crazy girl…”

Grinding my teeth in frustration, I turned away. Given how irritated I was, I really wanted to throw her out of my way.

While gathering my energy to summon power.

“I need to protect you.”

The Heavenly Demon replied firmly.

I froze in place.

– I will protect you.

The Heavenly Demon trying to shield me from the Blood Demon’s attack flashed in my mind.

That small back made me grit my teeth along with painful memories.

I found it incredibly vexing.

“Damn it.”

Cursing, I furrowed my brow.

“What do you mean you’ll protect me? Do I look like someone who needs protection?”

“Yup.”

“Wow, how confidently you answered that, you jerk. I don’t need your protection, so get lost. I’ve told you repeatedly—I find you disgusting. If we’re together, I won’t be able to stop myself from killing you.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Her refusal was without hesitation.

“You don’t care that I might kill you?”

“Yup.”

The expression on the Heavenly Demon’s face didn’t change at all.

“If you want to, then that’s fine.”

“…”

I felt like I might truly lose my mind.

Why was she going to such lengths for me?

‘Did something mess up when I regressed?’

I believed the Heavenly Demon was never such a foolish being.

She sometimes acted in outrageous ways, but she certainly wasn’t a mindless person.

“Then just let me go.”

The current Heavenly Demon was entirely different from before.

“…Ah.”

My head really started to hurt.

Should I just shake her off and leave? No, would she even let me go?

‘Probably not.’

Now that I looked again, it appeared she had no intention of being separated.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to just kill her instead?’

Wouldn’t it be easier than dealing with the annoyance?

Thoughts swirled chaotically in my mind. After thinking for a while, I finally spat out a frustrated remark.

“…If you keep annoying me, I’ll really kill you, so just be quiet.”

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened.

Then, she nodded.

I could feel an unusual sense of joy radiating from her.

‘What the hell…’

Is this truly the Heavenly Demon?

Am I not simply misunderstanding her? It was almost to the extent that I began to doubt my senses.

‘Is this correct…?’

Why did she agree to it? I couldn’t comprehend it.

It would have been better to end her right here. Yet, instead of sending her away, I allowed her to stick around.

‘Am I going nuts too?’

It seems I’ve lost my sanity as well. If being crazy is my fate, so be it.

‘If everything I see now is a delusion, that would be even better.’

I desperately wished and hoped for it so much, I could even pray sincerely.

Yet.

Grrrggggg—!!

“…!”

As if tearing through my earnest hopes, a ruckus proved this wasn’t a dream.

Gu gu gu gu gu gu gu gu gu—!!!

The ground shook. It was a tremendous vibration.

The Heavenly Demon and I exchanged glances.

In that moment, we both leapt into the air.

Like before, we scrambled to the top of a tree.

And once more, the sky and moon came into view.

The beauty I had once admired remained intact.

Yet,

“…Ah…”

Underneath that sky.

[Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—!!!!]

An immense mass of Black Qi emerged from the ground below.

I narrowed my eyes at the sight.

It seemed to be a considerable distance away, yet I could see it perfectly.

‘Is that a demon beast?’

It was far larger than any demon beast I had ever seen in my life.

Its size was so massive that its head was already brushing against the clouds.

[Guuuuuuuuuu—!!!!!]

Was that a crying sound? Looking at my hands, they were trembling slightly.

An overwhelming presence.

What the hell is that?

What is it that exudes such an overwhelming presence? I racked my brain, trying to decipher what it could be.

‘…Should I break away for now?’

It seemed risky to approach at all.

So, just as I decided to move away…

[Ku ra a a a a a a a a aa—!!]

“…Huh?”

I turned my head back to face that monstrous being.

It shouldn’t be possible, but…

“Is that Kkurung…?”

Something felt familiar.

 

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