"Hello."

Cheonma waved her hand. Seeing her, I furrowed my brows.

It wasn’t strange for her to appear out of nowhere and greet me. By now, I was well aware that everything she did was bizarre. That wasn’t the issue.

"...What are you riding?"

The real problem was the creature she was sitting on.

I pointed at the black wolf-like form beneath her. Cheonma followed my hand with her gaze, looking down.

Then she looked back up at me and spoke.

"A friend."

"...What?"

"A friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah."

"...That thing? With you?"

"Yeah."

What kind of insane nonsense was this? Cheonma befriended Kurung?

I was too dumbfounded to even react properly.

—Grrr.

At Cheonma’s words, Kurung let out a low growl.

Was that denial or affirmation?

I didn’t have the ability to discern meaning from such a brief sound.

So, I simply stared at the creature.

Kurung suddenly lifted its head to look at Cheonma. Their eyes met.

Then, without a word, Cheonma slipped down from its back.

Did they just have a silent conversation?

—Grrr.

Kurung slowly walked toward me and stopped right in front.

It looked exactly like a wolf, or perhaps a large dog.

With violet eyes that resembled Cheonma’s, it stared at me.

I narrowed my eyes and asked,

"...Were you waiting for me?"

—Grrr.

For an animal’s growl, it was oddly crude.

It let out that sound and gave a slight nod.

Meaning—it had known I would come looking for it and had been waiting.

In other words—

"So, you knew about this too."

This thing was also /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ aware of whatever my mother had prepared.

"Are you even allowed to be out here?"

I had heard it stayed beneath the Divine Tree. Was it really okay for it to be out like this?

Curious, I asked.

Kurung answered with action.

Swoosh—!

Its body began to shift.

The wolf-like form shrank, growing smaller and smaller, until it transformed into a tiny bird.

Then, flapping its wings, it perched atop my head.

That’s when I realized—

‘It’s an avatar.’

It wasn’t the real body.

The true form remained beneath the Divine Tree, while this was merely a manifested projection.

—Grrr.

Kurung pointed with its beak toward a certain direction.

Was it telling me to move?

I started walking in the direction it indicated.

Then, when Cheonma moved as if to follow, Kurung glanced at her.

"......."

Receiving that look, Cheonma scowled and halted.

I let out a dry chuckle.

"You two seem close."

"We’re friends."

"...Sure. Make as many friends as you want."

Whatever.

That was her business. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

With a slight leap, I took off.

As my body rose, the distance between us widened.

I could feel Cheonma’s gaze piercing my back.

She was staring as I flew away.

I felt it, but I ignored it and moved forward.

*********

I hadn’t traveled far.

I was still within the Mount Hua Sect.

The only difference was that there were fewer people here.

From this spot, I could still see the Divine Tree in the distance.

After covering some distance, Kurung hopped down from my head.

—Grrr.

It let out its signature chuckle and immediately changed form again.

This time—it became a rabbit.

"...What are you doing?"

Why did it keep changing its body?

And why only into animals?

It felt strangely deliberate.

—Grrr.

Kurung made a noise as if telling me not to worry about it.

But how could I not?

It thumped its large ears with its hind legs, acting just like a real rabbit.

I forced myself to ignore it and spoke.

"I saw my mother."

—...

At my words, Kurung suddenly stilled.

For a moment, I might have imagined it, but its eyes seemed unusually calm.

"She told me to ask you if I had questions. Oh, and she also said to thank you."

—...

Its ears perked slightly at that.

Seeing that, I continued.

"I have something I want to ask."

There was something I had always wanted to know.

"You... When exactly did you first appear inside me?"

—...

When had the ruler of the Abyssal Pit entered my body?

I knew now that it was part of my mother’s plan.

The question was—

‘So, when exactly?’

When had my mother placed this thing inside me?

Had it been before I regressed?

Or only after?

In my previous life, I had never known of the Abyssal Pit.

Not even at the moment of my death.

That was why I was asking.

Kurung, staring at me, finally spoke.

"From the beginning..."

Not a growl, but words.

It wasn’t surprising—it had spoken before.

The problem was—

"From the beginning?"

The "beginning" it mentioned—what did that mean?

"When exactly is ‘the beginning’?"

That answer was too vague.

So, I rephrased the question.

"Was it before I regressed? Or after?"

—...

Kurung knew about my regression.

So I asked outright.

Then—

"From the beginning."

The answer was the same.

But this time, it felt completely different.

"...You mean before I regressed?"

Before my death.

Before I returned.

The Abyssal Pit had already been inside me.

"Why? What were you inside me for? Were you—"

I hesitated, then reworded my question.

"Are you the Demonic Heaven Absorption Art?"

The power of Cheonma.

The ability that had brought me this far.

Was this thing the manifestation of that power?

Or was it the one that had granted me that power?

That was what I meant to ask.

But—

Kurung shook its head.

No.

As I wondered if that was denial—

"That was a veil."

Kurung spoke again.

"...A veil? What do you mean?"

"Or a shadow."

"Speak clearly. What do you mean by ‘veil’ and ‘shadow’?"

"You were never meant to be the master. This... was to prevent that."

"......!"

Hearing those words, my eyes widened.

What the hell did that mean? I wasn’t supposed to become the master?

So Demonic Heaven Absorption Art had been a veil to prevent that?

That meant—

"...You’re saying that because of Demonic Heaven Absorption Art, I wasn’t becoming the master?"

This time, the Abyssal Pit nodded.

The turtle had told me before—my soul had been distorted, causing me to stray from my original fate.

Was that distortion referring to Demonic Heaven Absorption Art?

If so, that was a strange claim. It didn’t make any sense.

"That can’t be. Why would Demonic Heaven Absorption Art serve that purpose? That’s...."

It wasn’t something my mother gave me.

It was a power granted by Cheonma.

How could it possibly have such an effect? And from the way the Abyssal Pit spoke, it sounded like Demonic Heaven Absorption Art and itself were somehow connected.

"That’s absurd. You—weren’t you placed inside me by my mother’s request—"

—No.

"What?"

Before I could even finish speaking, the Abyssal Pit denied it outright.

No?

‘It wasn’t because of my mother’s request?’

That made no sense.

My mother had explicitly told me that the Abyssal Pit was helping me at her request.

But now, this thing was saying otherwise?

The contradiction caught me completely off guard—

—It was.

The Abyssal Pit spoke again.

—Because of a friend's request that I helped you.

"A friend? Who the hell—"

I stopped mid-sentence.

A friend?

That word burrowed into my thoughts.

‘A friend...?’

Someone the Abyssal Pit would call a friend.

The moment I heard it, an image came to mind.

Just earlier, someone had called the Abyssal Pit a friend.

"...Cheonma?"

The one who had claimed to be friends with the Abyssal Pit.

And also—

‘The woman who sent me back in time.’

The one who had directly influenced my regression.

Not my mother—but her.

‘...Not just my regression, but the one who placed the Abyssal Pit inside me, too?’

That was something I had never even considered.

*********

At the peak of Mount Marryeong lay a massive cave.

A silent, desolate place, where even wild animals dared not cry.

It was a place where even insects held their breath, fleeing far away to avoid coming near.

Do not even breathe without his permission.

That was the rule of Mount Marryeong.

For if anyone were to disturb him, the entire mountain would tremble in fury.

And yet, at this moment—

KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNG----!!!

The mountain was shaking.

Tremors spread outward from the peak, quaking the entire range.

The violent reverberations threatened to shatter the mountain itself.

At the heart of this earthquake—

Deep inside the cave at the summit, the source became clear.

A colossal figure sat in a meditative pose, its sheer presence shaking the entire mountain.

Huff...!

Hooooo...!!

A being with the body of a man and a face upon its hand exhaled deeply, flames escaping with every breath.

"GRRRRRR..."

A low, growling sound rumbled through the cave.

Its bulging muscles swelled, its explosive aura surging in all directions.

After a long moment of stillness, the being slowly rose to its feet.

THUD!

As its massive form shifted, the entire cave trembled.

The creature stood straight, rolling its gleaming eyes.

Hooo...

Flames flickered across the cave floor as it exhaled.

Then—

GRRRR!

Breaking the silence, a voice spoke.

The Leader of the Generals of Mangye uttered—

"So, that idiot is dead?"

GRRRRRR...

Turning, the massive figure spoke to someone.

He wasn’t talking to himself.

Against the cave wall, leaning silently, sat a man.

"Is it true?"

"It is."

Khuhuhuhu...

One of the generals had died.

The Leader let out a deep, guttural chuckle.

The sound wasn’t sorrow—it was pleasure.

"Pathetic fool."

He didn’t ask who had killed them.

Didn’t ask how they died.

He didn’t care.

Just the fact that a general had died was amusing enough for him.

"And what did the Master say?"

"The Master is currently away. However, being omniscient, he likely already knows."

GRRRR...

"This means a seat has opened. We will need to appoint a new general, but... resolving this matter takes priority."

"Resolving?"

"Yes. Now that a general has been killed, we must deal with the situation before appointing another."

"A mere fool died. Is that really necessary?"

The Leader scoffed, as if it were insignificant.

Hearing that, the man sighed and rubbed his temple.

As always, conversing with this brute was exhausting.

"...Forget it. There’s no point in discussing further. I didn’t come to debate solutions."

Flap!

Black wings unfurled from the man’s back.

"I only came to give a warning."

"A warning?"

"Yes. Excluding those who relinquished their positions, this is the first time in ages that a general has died. The Master is occupied, so take care of yourself."

Hah.

The Leader burst into laughter.

KUUGUNG—!!

The entire mountain trembled.

"You think I’m the same as Yusa? You think I’d fall like that weakling?"

If it were only about brute strength, they weren’t so different.

But the man kept that thought to himself and said—

"...There’s no harm in being careful."

"Get lost."

The Leader didn’t bother hiding his irritation.

Click.

The man clicked his tongue and lifted his hand.

With a flick of his fingers, the space before him tore open, revealing a path to another dimension.

"One last thing—don’t do anything reckless—"

Before he could finish, his eyes widened.

KUAAAAAAAH----!!!

A violent explosion erupted in his palm.

The Leader had swung his arm, attacking without hesitation.

"I told you to get lost."

"......Hah."

The man stopped speaking.

Shaking his head, he stepped into the torn dimension.

And with that, he vanished.

Now alone, the Leader clenched his fist and swung it once more in the direction the man had disappeared.

BOOOOOM—!!!

The sheer force sent shockwaves rippling through the cave.

"GRRRRR..."

His glowing eyes gleamed.

Someone had killed a general.

Someone had the power to kill a general.

And at that thought—

One particular name surfaced in his mind.