Crack-!!!

In a forest painted with vibrant colors, birds suddenly took flight, their cries echoing through the trees.

It was still too early for the sun to set.

The crimson-stained sky was pierced by the rising silhouettes of the birds.

They were countless, filling the heavens,

and the one who ruled the sky from the ground quietly observed them.

Sway.

A woman’s massive tail shifted.

At the same time, she raised her arm, brushing it lightly.

“Hmm...?”

A sense of unease filled the woman’s beautiful eyes.

Something was wrong.

“What is this...?”

She shuddered.

It was a sensation she had never felt in her long life.

What could this be?

The woman did not know.

Something poked at her arm, persistently.

It wasn’t merely a tactile sensation, nor was it exactly her arm—it felt as if it touched her very soul.

It was a feeling entirely new to her.

“...”

The woman gazed at the sky with an unreadable expression.

Where was it?

Where was this feeling coming from?

The woman wondered. Was it connected to the strange sensations she had been experiencing recently?

Her thoughts floated like mist, as if her mind were shrouded in fog.

“How strange...”

She closed her eyes briefly, her vision filling with silence.

In the stillness, something began to bubble to the surface.

It was the image of a face.

Whose face was it?

The woman pondered, but nothing clear came to mind.

She saw black hair—it was someone’s hair.

Then, a pair of eyes.

Slightly slanted eyes.

It seemed to be a man.

He was dressed in dark crimson clothes.

It was a form she had never seen before, yet it felt strangely familiar.

Where had she seen this before?

What could make her feel such longing?

Even so, the woman could not tell.

Then, the man’s gaze turned to her.

The fiery red of his eyes made her freeze.

His expressionless stare appeared devoid of any emotion.

And yet.

As he looked at the woman, something began to fill his eyes.

Emotion seeped in where there was none, and a smile softened his stoic face.

‘...What is this?’

The woman, almost unconsciously, placed a hand on her chest.

It trembled. A throbbing vibration resonated within her.

What was this? Why was this happening so suddenly?

As she questioned herself,

-...

The man said something to her.

His lips moved, but no sound reached her ears.

What did he say?

The woman squinted, trying to focus on his words.

‘Ah...’

Beside the man, several small children appeared.

Two girls, full of mischief.

A boy, who resembled the man but looked somewhat downcast.

And a little girl cradled in the boy’s arms.

Four in total.

Seeing them made the woman’s heart surge even more.

Unknowingly, her feet began to move.

She wanted to approach, but no matter how much her feet moved, the distance remained.

Desperately, she reached out her hand.

But she couldn’t touch them.

The man, noticing her struggle, murmured something again.

What is he saying? What is he trying to say?

The woman tried to decipher his words, but they remained elusive.

And then.

Not the man, but the boy below also moved his lips as he looked at her.

His small mouth formed words.

Unlike the man’s, the boy’s words could be understood.

-Mom.

“...”

The woman froze at the sound.

What did he just say?

Was he addressing her?

If so, why would he say such a thing?

Confused, the woman stared at the boy.

Whoosh—!!

“...!”

The scene before her shifted abruptly.

Everything scattered like mist.

The crimson-stained sky returned, and the woman opened the eyes she had closed.

“...”

She gently ran her hand across her forehead.

What had she just experienced?

What had she seen?

Strangely, she couldn’t remember.

She had seen something, but why couldn’t she recall it?

She had just seen it, hadn’t she?

The woman felt unsettled by this alien sensation.

It was something that had been happening often lately.

Fleeting glimpses, like whispers carried off by the wind, leaving her memory blank.

It was becoming a frequent occurrence for her.

She could see, yet could not remember, and the woman grew increasingly frustrated.

‘Why.’

Why was this happening?

The woman wanted to resolve this discomfort.

Where had this problem begun?

What could have caused this sudden issue?

As she quietly pondered, something came to her.

‘It started then.’

The day she found the vanished abyss.

It was from that moment.

From that day, the woman had felt something was off.

“...”

Rustle.

Feeling something crumble within her, the woman slowly steadied her breathing.

With every breath she took, the air quivered around her.

It was a phenomenon caused by her very existence, which was as vast as the heavens themselves.

After a long moment of breathing with the atmosphere, the woman’s eyes lowered, calm now.

“As I thought. I must find it.”

If that was the beginning, then that must be the cause.

The encounter with the abyss.

And the sight of the dragonlings.

If those were truly the root of the problem,

“Then I must capture them...”

Capture them.

And remove them.

If they were a poison to the heavens, it was only right to remove them, and for the woman, such a task was not particularly difficult.

The woman’s gaze turned toward the forest beside her.

“...”

There, a woman with brown hair and a black mask sat, looking exhausted.

Hearing the woman’s approach, she raised her head.

Golden eyes within the mask rolled upward.

Looking at her, the woman spoke.

“My daughter.”

“...”

At her call, Yarang met her gaze.

She appeared weary, drained.

“My poor child.”

The woman approached her gently.

With every barefoot step she took, flowers bloomed on the dry ground.

“It seems something murky has appeared in the heavens.”

“...”

If it was something that blurred her existence, it was only right to remove it without hesitation.

She wondered why she had hesitated at all.

And so,

“Tell me ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) what you have seen and heard.”

The woman said, stroking Yarang’s mask.

****************

Crack—

Fragments scattered in all directions.

Thick dust filled the air, obscuring vision, while flames flickered atop the concave ground.

The unusual thing was that these flames weren’t the usual crimson or azure. Instead, they were murky and dark.

At first glance, they seemed blue, but perhaps black, or even closer to ashen gray.

The colors bore no resemblance to one another, yet depending on how one looked, they gave off entirely different impressions.

Harsh and rough.

And filled with an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

As I stared silently at this strange energy—

“...Grrgh...!”

A sharp pain surged through me, and I clutched my arm.

It was my left arm, the one I had just thrown a punch with.

“Grrk...!”

The agony made my knees buckle involuntarily.

My hand trembled violently.

It wasn’t the kind of trembling that came from enduring intense pressure.

It felt as though my muscles had been torn apart.

Every joint in my arm felt powerless, while waves of unbearable pain washed over me.

And it wasn’t just my arm.

Upon inspection, my entire body was in disarray.

The blood vessels, swollen and engorged, bore evidence of the immense strain I had endured.

The aftermath of the blast had ravaged my body.

“Wow...”

The pain was so intense, it elicited a groan of disbelief.

What about my qi? I checked my core and let out a dry laugh.

“Insane.”

Nearly seventy percent of my qi was gone.

This was far more than I had ever used in my past life. To think that one single strike could deplete seventy percent of my energy.

Sure, more than half of it had likely been wasted because I couldn’t control or maintain it properly.

Even accounting for that, the sheer consumption was absurd.

My arm refused to lift.

It wasn’t a problem of the joints—it felt more like total exhaustion.

“Hah...”

A laugh escaped me.

Does it always have to be like this, every time I try something new?

This was worse than the first time I used the Flame Prison.

Even worse than when I trained with the Flame Prison Star Spear.

Why is it that every time I attempt something, my body gets wrecked?

The thought was both amusing and—

‘Still.’

I smirked as I looked ahead.

‘It’s not so bad.’

Even though my body was shattered, the results made it worth it.

And more importantly—

‘I was right.’

Combining two martial arts and binding them with sorcery to create something new—

I had a hunch something would come of it, and I was right.

Look.

‘I created something unbelievable.’

Before me, it was as if hell itself had unfolded.

Even I couldn’t believe what I had done.

Even though the volcanic wave created by Shin Noya was not as vast as Mount Hua itself, it wouldn’t crumble from just one punch.

Yet the power I unleashed was overwhelming.

Had Shin Noya not stood to block it, who knows how far it might have spread?

That was why.

It was no wonder Shin Noya was staring at me with such disbelief.

“...Kid.”

His martial robe was torn and tattered.

His hair was slightly disheveled, and his eyes were wide with shock.

And then—

“What in the world have you created?”

Even the sword clutched in his hand.

I liked every bit of it.

“...What do you think?”

I smirked and addressed him.

“For a dragon, it’s not so—”

Before I could finish, my legs gave way.

I collapsed as strength drained from my body, falling to the ground.

Thud.

Someone caught me and held me in their arms.

A soft scent and the gentle swish of hair brushed against my nose.

Who...?

As my vision blurred, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face.

I couldn’t say a word.

Because at that moment, I lost consciousness.

***************

Gu Yangcheon lost consciousness without uttering a word. His limp, sprawled body looked completely drained of energy.

The woman, who had been quietly observing him, carefully supported him, ensuring he wouldn’t collapse further.

She was none other than the one Gu Yangcheon referred to as Cheonma.

“...”

Cheonma continued to stare at the unconscious Gu Yangcheon. Her gaze seemed to search him over, as if checking for any injuries.

Satisfied that there were no significant issues, she gave a slight nod.

As she was about to move with him in her arms—

“You should be resting, yet here you are stirring up trouble,” Shin Noya remarked, brushing the dust off his clothes.

Cheonma turned to look at him.

“If you’ve injured yourself, you should take a break. What’s the point of rushing here to take care of that brat?”

“...”

Cheonma didn’t reply. She simply stared at him silently.

“...What is it?”

Shin Noya tilted his head under her unwavering gaze.

“Are you planning to yell at me for leaving him in that state?”

“...”

“Don’t bother. I got hit too, you know. Tsk, tsk. No respect for elders these days.”

And it wasn’t as if he had hit him that hard.

In fact, he’d even gone out of his way to set the stage for Gu Yangcheon to let loose.

Yet the fool had gone and overexerted himself, ending up in this mess.

Feeling a bit wronged, Shin Noya added, “I had my reasons for doing what I did. If there’s anyone to blame—”

“Are you alright?”

“...What?”

Shin Noya squinted at her unexpected question.

Alright?

“What do you mean?”

“Your body.”

“My body?”

Was she worried about him? Shin Noya let out a dry laugh.

“Who’s worrying about who here? Kid, you’d be better off worrying about the one slung over your shoulder.”

“You’re in worse shape.”

“Your eyesight must be worse than I thought.”

Where was she even getting that from?

Though he shrugged and dismissed her concern—

“You’re in pain, aren’t you?”

“...”

Cheonma’s words, spoken with certainty, made Shin Noya momentarily fall silent.

His expression turned slightly serious.

He realized she must have noticed something.

“Don’t tell the kid,” he said after a moment.

Cheonma tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

“Why?”

“It won’t do him any good to know.”

“...”

“He’s more sensitive than he looks. Pretend you don’t know.”

“...”

“Understood?”

Eventually, Cheonma nodded.

That was enough for Shin Noya. Just as he thought the matter settled—

“What about you?”

“...What?”

“Aren’t you the same?”

Cheonma’s question was pointed: wasn’t he just as vulnerable?

Hearing that, Shin Noya chuckled softly.

“Who knows.”

Perhaps he had been, once upon a time.

But now—

“Even if I am, I can’t afford to be anymore. So let it be.”

Cheonma regarded him for a long moment before replying.

“Alright.”

Acknowledging his words, she carried Gu Yangcheon away, vanishing into the distance.

Left alone, Shin Noya stood still, gazing at his empty hand—the one not holding his sword.

“...”

The thin, weathered tips of his fingers blurred faintly for a moment.

He clenched his hand into a fist, then opened it again.

The hand returned to its original state, as though nothing had happened.

As though everything was fine.