When had I first sensed that something was off?

I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment.

It wasn’t triggered by any particular event or circumstance. It was simply an instinctive sense of unease.

"She’s hiding something."

The spirit.

She was keeping something from me.

That much was certain.

"She had no problem explaining the situation."

She had detailed their plight, their struggles, and their desperate plea for help. Nothing seemed suspicious about that.

And yet—

"Something doesn’t sit right."

There was an odd discomfort lurking beneath it all.

"What is it? What is she hiding?"

I could feel it, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Was I imagining things?

"No."

No, I was sure of it.

"There’s something here."

Something about the spirit—or about Mareong Valley—wasn’t right.

That was why I had acted the way I did.

I didn’t save people for free.

Of course, I would have said the same thing in any situation, but—

"The way they acted made me even more firm in that decision."

Suspicion had begun to take root.

I needed to examine their actions more carefully.

"...Interesting."

What did they really want from me? And, more importantly—

"What are they hiding from me?"

Why go to such lengths to conceal something?

It made me curious.

And if there was something I secretly wished for—

"I hope it’s something bad."

Not because I was some kind of sadist, but because—

"That would make it easier to wipe them out without hesitation."

If they turned out to be rotten, then I could use them however I pleased and discard them when they were no longer useful.

That would be far more convenient for me.

"Screw their salvation. My situation is far more urgent."

My mother had left her final words in Mareong Valley.

Did she really expect me to save them?

Or—

"Did she hide something in there?"

Was there another meaning behind it all?

I still didn’t know.

"Salvation? Give me a break."

I barely had enough time to keep myself alive. The idea of saving someone else was laughable.

The spirit had told me—

Mareong Valley was a place where those who couldn’t leave Mount Marryeong had gathered.

Then, the real question was—

"Why can’t they leave?"

Was it because of the master’s will?

Or—

"Was it the Chief’s doing?"

If it was the master’s will, then there was nothing I could do about it.

But if the Chief was the one keeping them trapped—

"That would be manageable."

That wouldn’t be too bad.

If all it took to solve this was eliminating the Chief, then it was a simple matter.

But—

"Tsk."

As soon as I thought about killing the Chief, I clicked my tongue.

"What's wrong?"

Cheonma tilted her head at my [N O V E L I G H T] reaction.

"...Nothing."

I brushed my hair back and let out a sigh.

Something was bothering me.

"It’s a useless thought."

I tried to ignore it, but it kept circling in my mind.

The problem was—

"The Chief is my mother’s subordinate."

Killing him meant killing someone who had once served her.

That fact kept nagging at me.

"Yu Sa was different—he was trying to take my mother’s place, so eliminating him was a given."

But the Chief...

That was different.

He seemed genuinely loyal to the Lord of All Realms.

And that was what made this more complicated.

"Am I suddenly growing a conscience?"

It was far too late for that.

But the hesitation I felt was already affecting my actions.

That hesitation had interfered when I was facing the Chief.

"If I had truly intended to kill him, I would have approached things differently."

Instead of trying to "assess" him, I would have struck first.

"There wouldn’t have been any need for reconnaissance."

I would have done whatever it took to eliminate him immediately.

"Though, I suppose things worked out for the best."

If not for my hesitation, I wouldn’t have learned that someone else had been lurking in the shadows.

So, in the end, it had been a good outcome.

However—

"The real issue is that I hesitated at all."

Regardless of the results, the fact remained that I had hesitated.

"This won’t be easy."

If I wanted to move forward, I needed to make my stance clear.

"Hmm..."

I narrowed my eyes and ran a hand through my hair.

If I thought about my mother’s arrangements, then this wasn’t something I needed to dwell on.

"This is a useless concern."

Why was I hesitating over something so trivial?

Even I didn’t know the answer to that.

I looked up at the sky.

"There's still time."

The sun hadn’t even begun to set yet.

There was still a long way to go before the Chief would wake.

In that case—

"I should look around a bit more."

If there was anything I had missed, now was the time to find out.

**********

As the crimson sky faded, dusk gradually approached.

I sat on a rocky cliff, my expression openly sour.

I had expected to find something—anything—but the gods-damned place had yielded nothing.

"This place is ridiculously empty."

Empty beyond reason.

I had spent hours combing through the area, only to find it as barren as a wasteland.

No, a wasteland would have been better. This was worse.

"Haa."

Was I the problem? Or was this land just unnatural? I couldn’t tell.

"Tsk."

Clicking my tongue, I stood up.

There was no point in staying any longer. It was time to head back.

"Hey."

I called out to Cheonma, who was nearby, lazily swinging her legs from a boulder.

"Yeah?"

She answered without much interest.

I looked at her and asked,

"...Did you see anything?"

If anyone could have noticed something, it would be her.

"...Huh?"

Cheonma simply tilted her head in confusion.

I frowned.

"No, I mean—did you see anything?"

"Only you."

"...You son of a bitch. Don’t tell me you spent the whole damn day just looking at me."

"......."

"Never mind. Forget it."

I waved my hand in frustration. Talking to her any longer would just give me a headache.

Besides, judging from her reaction, she hadn’t seen anything either.

"...Let’s go back."

"Okay."

Cheonma hopped off the rock and landed lightly on the ground.

I turned away and started heading back to Mareong Valley.

**********

We returned to Mareong Valley.

The moment I approached the entrance that the spirit had told me about, the guards tensed as if preparing for an attack.

But as soon as I mentioned the spirit’s name, they immediately opened the gates, as if nothing had happened.

I stepped past the heavy iron doors and into the valley. Nothing had changed since I left.

The only difference was that, with the sunset outside, the scenery here was also shifting.

Since the ceiling was essentially an illusion of stone created through sorcery, the sky’s transformation was visible from within.

"I wonder how they pull that off."

It wasn’t visible from the outside, yet from here, it appeared transparent.

The mechanism behind it intrigued me.

As I pondered this, my steps carried me deeper inside, and before I knew it—

"You have returned...."

The spirit was waiting for us, looking somewhat drained.

"Have you been well?"

I asked with a smile.

She lowered her head in greeting, the veil covering her face swaying slightly.

For the briefest moment, I caught a glimpse of her features.

Not that it was particularly surprising—I had already guessed what she looked like.

"I greet the Great One...."

"Yeah, yeah, skip the formalities. So, what about my request?"

"......."

"What can you offer me in return for my help?"

That was what I had asked before leaving.

The spirit remained silent.

I watched her reaction closely as I walked past the water’s edge and climbed the small hill leading to the sacred tree.

I didn’t touch it.

I only looked up at it.

A tree charred black, as if burned to ashes.

If I were to lay my hand on it, I had the feeling that something would change.

"I came here for this, so why not just touch it?"

The thought crossed my mind—but I held back.

"Spirit."

"Yes... Great One."

"Tell me what you’ve come up with."

"......!"

The spirit flinched.

She was startled—was she surprised that I had figured out she had something in mind?

There was no need to be.

"It’s obvious just from your reaction."

If she hadn’t thought of anything, she wouldn’t have reacted that way.

Her response made it clear that she had expected me to come back.

And given our conversation earlier, if she had been waiting for me, it could only mean one thing.

"So? What have you prepared?"

"......."

The spirit had something ready for me.

If not, she had at least decided on something.

Pressing her for an answer, I watched her closely.

"...Great One."

She finally spoke, her voice slightly trembling.

"A lowly, insignificant being like myself has little of worth to offer to one such as you..."

"Cut the preamble and get to the point."

I had no patience for pointless humility or drawn-out speeches.

I interrupted her, and after a brief silence, she reached into her robes and pulled something out.

"Hm?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"This is all we have to give...."

She carefully handed it over.

And when I saw it—

"Oho?"

A smirk tugged at my lips.

It was a fragment imbued with overwhelming energy—a relic left behind by the master of this land.