Chapter: 335
When I think of memories of my mother,
I don’t really remember much.
– Son.
That slightly high-pitched yet affectionate voice calling me.
The gentle hands stroking my messy hair.
With one hand holding my little brother,
the smiling expression as she looked at me.
I recall my mother breezing through the spring like she was savoring it.
Years later,
when I came to call this a memory,
my mother had already vanished.
My mother had a special fondness for the seasons.
It seemed like spring was her favorite,
but she actually loved all four seasons in their own ways.
She delighted in the blooming flowers of spring.
Even in the scorching heat of summer, which could be quite tiresome,
she claimed it had its own charm!
On rainy summer days, we’d sit on the porch,
plop, plop listening to the rain together.
In autumn with falling leaves
and in snowy winter,
the warmth of her hand gripping mine was something I could never let go of.
Indeed, my mother loved the four seasons.
She adored this world.
At least that’s how it appeared to me.
– Son.
Lying in bed at night,
after putting Gu Ryunghwa to sleep, I shut my eyes and stared at the ceiling.
– Feeling sleepy?
– Uh….
As if whining,
my mother would caress my belly while humming a lullaby into my ear.
Could it be that I felt comfort from her sleepy song? I would fall into a deep slumber, unaware of the world around me.
In this barren place, being able to recall one memory
was likely due to my mother’s tender embrace.
That’s why,
– Son… I’m sorry…
The last gentle touch that caressed my cheek
and the last voice that called me while sobbing
have lingered in my mind,
becoming shackles that bind me.
“…What does that mean?”
Chew, chew. I rolled my tongue around, barely managing to spit out the words.
Why,
is the story of my mother surfacing from the mouth of that World Tree?
“Are you saying that whatever’s inside me is linked to my mother?”
It’s hard to contain the surging, turbulent energy.
I never imagined we’d be discussing my mother here.
‘My mother… is involved in this?’
How could that be?
[Calm down, Apostle.]
“You say something like that and then tell me to calm down? How selfish!”
This was a topic I’d never pondered before.
I’d endlessly ruminated on the beast within me,
but ultimately, all I could ascertain was the name of that thing.
And I never thought it was anything significant.
So what is that thing?
Initially, I suspected it was something related to the Majestic Heavenly Absorption Technique.
Wasn’t it? Filling its belly by consuming the magic from the magic stones?
Whenever it devoured magic, the absorption technique automatically activated.
When it chows down on the magic, it purifies it and enters…
So, I used to think its identity belonged to the powers granted to me by the Celestial Demon.
However, as time went on, my thoughts shifted.
It didn’t belong to the Majestic Heavenly Absorption Group but rather
might be associated with the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Technique.
If its actions focus not on devouring magic but rather purification,
it would align more with the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Technique than the Majestic Heavenly Absorption Technique.
The problem is,
no matter what it is, I still can’t quite fathom why it’s attached to my body.
The divine one said it.
In my lower Dantian,
because the energies are intertwined, revolving around the betting,
he indicated it wasn’t strange if my body were to explode at any moment.
Such a tangle of energies was kept under control by Shin Noya.
If Noya didn’t prevent it,
the energies could run wild, causing me physical pain.
Shin Noya plays a pivotal role in all of this.
She helps ensure that the energies in my lower Dantian don’t clash with each other.
‘And.’
What comes to mind next is
the magic energy.
If the betting and pottery are like this,
what about the magic?
To begin with, becoming a demon means that
all the energies residing in my lower Dantian have shifted to magic energy.
Once magic flows into my body,
the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Technique goes into purification mode and converts it back.
However, since the process isn’t particularly rapid,
similarly, magic can reside in my body after entering.
Looking at it this way,
it means that already three types of energies coexist in my body.
While Shin Noya seems to be preventing the clash of the energies,
what’s going on with the magic?
I wonder,
isn’t magic one of those energies that can easily mingle with others?
No matter how powerful someone is,
it’s because the magic can coexist that the Celestial Demon can turn a person into a demon.
‘That only applies when it’s already a demon.’
This only holds true when the Celestial Demon descends and transforms them into a demon.
Why am I looking at it this way?
‘…Magic consumes physical bodies.’
If someone who isn’t a demon incorporates magic into their body,
the magic impedes their energy, leading to a gradual decay of their body.
I could tell just by recalling experiences from this life.
I could figure it out from memories of those who suffered under the magic in their previous lives.
Magic is lethal to martial artists.
It’s true that the Celestial Demon possesses absolute power,
but the reason the Demonic Cult was able to invade the Central Plains so swiftly was
the terrifying cruelty of magic itself.
Their energy seemed almost birthed solely for slaying martial artists.
Carrying such harsh energy within me, who am I?
‘I’m not a demon.’
I handle magic but live without being a demon.
I’m ‘not yet’ a demon.
That implies that if magic has entered my body,
the power should have rotted me away even long before now.
Reflecting on when I first ingested the magical stone in this life,
it should have felt strange from the onset.
The Majestic Heavenly Absorption Technique absorbs the magic from the magical stone,
while the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Technique purifies such magic energy and converts it back.
I figured I, not being a demon, shouldn’t have problems harboring magic in my body.
Indeed,
wasn’t that the right conclusion?
Just as Shin Noya stated,
something must’ve been preventing magic from encroaching on my body.
This is a thought I’ve been pondering recently.
If there’s a being capable of such a thing, then it must be me.
‘It must be the one who’s been grumbling every day.’
Thinking about that entity’s existence for years,
other than whining about hunger and consuming food every day,
it hasn’t posed any danger.
In retrospect, it seems like it wanted to provide me with information or assistance,
so I’ve thought maybe it’s not just a curse but something more ominous.
‘This guy… is related to my mother?’
The World Tree spoke.
To uncover the truth about this guy,
it said I needed to know more about my mother, and I frowned at those words.
“That’s preposterous.”
[Why do you think that?]
“This is the first time I’ve laid eyes on this guy in this life.”
If this guy was clinging to me in my previous life,
there’s no way I wouldn’t have known!
But if this guy is somehow linked to my mother, then how is it that I only just learned about it now?
I thought that the beast might have been tied to the reason I regressed.
“He didn’t exist in my past life, so why is he linked to my mother…?”
[Really, why do you think it wasn’t part of the Apostle’s past life?]
“What do you mean by that?”
The World Tree frowned at my response.
Do you really believe that this entity didn’t exist in my former life?
[Haven’t you considered that he may have simply been asleep?]
The World Tree’s words left me puzzled.
If that was the case, it would be even stranger.
“Even if that were true, it still feels odd.”
A being that had slept its life away,
suddenly waking up in this fresh life— isn’t that strange?
“When I encountered you in my past life, there wasn’t even a mention of it.”
When I met the World Tree,
he briefly showed me a way out of this world and then vanished.
What is the fire that burns karma?
What does he want from me?
It means he didn’t disclose anything.
“Then….”
[Do you honestly think that nothing has changed this time around?]
“Change?”
[Think back on the changes that have occurred within you.]
The World Tree prompts my memory of changes, but I can’t think of anything.
No, to be precise, there are so many it’s problematic.
They ought to be limited to one or two changes.
‘What could it be? What is it?’
If this entity had truly been sleeping within me,
I needed to recall what might have changed to wake it.
‘…Where to begin?’
I meticulously comb through my memories.
What changes could have occurred just before it woke up?
‘Volcanic Wave….’
When I discovered the black flowers of the Nightless Palace in the Volcano Sect,
I remembered absorbing a lot of energy by consuming them.
In addition, I recall swallowing the magic energy writhing in Geomhu’s body.
Could those instances have triggered it?
‘Before that.’
This is when Shin Noya was by my side.
I remembered her astonished reaction when she questioned what I was dragging around on me.
It could be considered before that.
‘So what is it?’
Could the pivotal moment have been when I absorbed energy from the Volcano Sect’s ghost?
Perhaps that was the first stroke of fortune…
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, while pondering,
I realized that it wasn’t the very first stroke of luck.
The first unexpected boon I faced was
‘…The hidden cave of Geumcheon’
That was the inherent power of the formation I experienced in Sacheon.
The serpent that filled that massive room back then,
the bead it gave me provided foundational energy increasing my level.
Not to mention, I had to endure the strange energy mixed within the fire arts for quite a while.
“…No way.”
If I list them out, everything could serve as a reason.
Particularly the encounter that took place in the hidden cave at Geumcheon.
And there,
before my eyes stands the World Tree.
Among the things I faced there, while not as grand as the World Tree,
I can recall a stunning tree laden with white leaves.
After considering all that,
I explained to the World Tree in front of me.
“…I visited the hidden cave of Geumcheon.”
[I see.]
“I witnessed a tree with pure white leaves there.”
In that hidden cave, I also recounted about receiving a boon from a gigantic serpent.
[Ah, yes… That child. It seems that child gave it to you.]
“You seem to know about the serpent that was there.”
[I am aware.]
I can sense the sorrow in the World Tree’s voice.
[How could I not recognize you, the precious child who protected me?]
My eyes widened at the World Tree’s words.
Of course, the white-leafed tree I saw back then
and the monstrous form of the colossal serpent inside the hidden cave seem tied to the World Tree here.
I distinctly recalled saying that all traces of the World Tree were wiped from existence.
How did they remain?
… No, more importantly,
“… So it’s true that the being inside me awakened because of that?”
I should have asked this first.
Hearing my words, the World Tree briefly touched my heart with its roots.
[Do you know what resonance is?]
Perhaps this was for explanation purposes.
[What you swallowed at that time was the dream that child cherished. It was my seed.]
“…Huh?”
[For a long time, that child desired to soar high into the sky.]
“Could you simplify that a bit?”
[Swallowing my seed indicates you bear the traces of the master within your body.]
Thud.
The ends of the branches pointed downwards from my chest.
They poked at my Dantian.
[Simultaneous to the entry of another master’s power, its awakening must have been triggered by resonance.]
“…What on earth is resonance?”
[That being is also a master of this world. It responded to my power.]
“…!”
I caressed the Dantian where the branches of the World Tree pricked me.
So, that being too,
is a master of a world?
Only then, did I remember what the Blood Demon had once said to me.
– The master of the bottomless pit…
That was what the Blood Demon uttered while observing the growling entity.
The master of the abyss.
Back then, it was something I easily dismissed, but now the term ‘master’ strikes me clearly.
Bottomless pit.
Master.
Listening to the World Tree’s words,
this entity before me too is a master of its own world, just like the World Tree.
This being could be far more formidable than I previously thought?
“No, why is that in me?”
It’s one thing to have the master of this world.
Having the master of another world within me is another matter entirely.
The notion that this entity is linked to my mother means
‘Mother.’
It hints that my mother isn’t just an ordinary woman.
Through the open magical gate in the sky,
I recall the face of my mother as she vanished without a trace.
It reflects the reason I broke down once and couldn’t endure the past.
An event that solidified my belief that there isn’t anyone in this world I can rely on.
[Apostle.]
Amidst the chaos in my mind, the World Tree cautiously calls out to me.
“…You mentioned you knew about my mother.”
[I don’t know everything. I said that… I am already a being erased from that world.]
“Yet you seem to possess some knowledge.”
I become anxious.
It’s something I’ve never truly contemplated before.
Surely there must be something unique about my mother.
“Please, tell me about my mother….”
Damn it all.
Everything is interlinked.
Everything I experience seems inherently connected.
From the start, I was simply a child of the Goo family.
If the misfortune befalling those around me ultimately arises from my karma, then
I need to learn.
The secrets I have.
With that in mind, I scrutinized the World Tree.
After a brief silence, the World Tree shared its thoughts.
[I may have been erased from that world, but I have some understanding. It was my world too.]
[From what I discern, you’ve faced two calamities up until now.]
“Two?”
I reflect on the two calamities referred to by the World Tree.
The first must be the Blood Demon,
but what could be the second?
Could it be the Celestial Demon?
Indeed, the Celestial Demon seems to be the only being I can think of as the second calamity.
As Yeonilcheon said, if it’s not me being the calamity,
as I ponder these thoughts,
[You wished to know about your mother.]
The World Tree begins narrating my mother’s tale.
Upon hearing this, my brows knitted tightly.
…Why now of all times?
Just a moment ago, we were discussing calamities.
Why did we suddenly switch topics?
As these questions surface in my mind,
[She was the second calamity that descended upon your world.]
When I heard the World Tree’s declaration,
it felt as if the world had abruptly come to a halt.
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