I carried the unconscious Shin Noya back to the Mount Hua Sect.

The moment I crossed the barrier, I was met with the sight of an old turtle-faced man scowling deeply at me.

Glaring at me, he burst out in fury.

"You goddamn brats—! I just finished repairing that barrier the last time, and I explicitly told you to be delicate with it—!!"

He was about to launch into a full tirade when his eyes caught sight of Shin Noya slung over my back.

"Elder... Elder... Noya...! Noya collapsed...!"

I stammered, my words spilling out incoherently. I couldn’t even string together a proper sentence.

Cold sweat gathered on my forehead. My breath trembled—not from exhaustion, but from sheer confusion.

"......."

The old man narrowed his eyes at me before casually pulling out his staff from... somewhere.

Vwoom—!!

With a slight wave of his staff, Shin Noya's body lifted off my back and drifted toward him.

"Tsk..."

Clicking his tongue, the elder inspected Shin Noya, his brows furrowing.

"Sect Leader... Why do you insist on being so stubborn...?"

His quiet words brushed against my ears.

"Elder... why did Noya suddenly...?"

"I’ll take the Sect Leader. You do not follow."

"What...? But—!"

"You being there will only make things worse. If you truly care about that old man, don’t make things worse for him. Stay out of it."

"......."

I widened my eyes at his words.

Worse?

Was I somehow responsible for this?

But Noya never took a direct hit from me.

The Red Heaven domain shouldn’t have caused any real damage.

I hadn’t attacked him while manifesting my ultimate technique.

If anything, I was the one who had taken damage—my wounds from his Mind Blade hadn’t even fully healed yet.

So why had Shin Noya collapsed?

I stared at the elder, searching for answers, but—

"It would be best if you didn’t approach the Divine Tree until noon at the very least."

"......."

"Give me your answer."

"...Understood."

The words left my mouth reluctantly.

The elder let out a short snort before waving his staff once more.

Then, their figures blurred and faded away, vanishing entirely.

I was left standing alone.

Yet, I found myself unable to move, frozen like stone.

My head tilted downward.

A pool of blood had seeped into the ground from where Shin Noya had been on my back.

A color that was far from ordinary human blood.

Dark crimson blood.

I bit my lip as I stared at it.

Something—

Something had gone terribly wrong.

*********

Time passed. By the time noon had long since come and gone, I finally moved.

Daylight had returned, and my body had reverted to normal.

My physical form was back to its original state, and I wrapped Eternal Bind around myself like a bandage.

The wounds from Shin Noya’s Mind Blade were still lingering, even with the Moonlit Night Tribe’s regenerative abilities.

So, I kept my body bound with Eternal Bind and made my way toward Mount Hua’s Divine Tree.

A massive plum tree, towering as if it sought to pierce the heavens.

Its petals fell like snow, covering Mount Hua and the village beneath it in a red-pink field.

I walked across the sea of petals.

As I approached, the massive Divine Tree loomed ever closer.

I quickened my pace, heading straight for its base.

But then—

Thunk—!

"...?"

Something struck my forehead.

I winced and instinctively reached out.

Something invisible was blocking my path.

What is this?

Just as I was about to question it—

"That’s far enough."

A voice reached my ears. The elder’s voice.

"...Elder?"

"Do not take another step. That is as far as you go."

"What do you mean?"

I had waited well past noon, just as he instructed.

I had even delayed longer just in case.

And now he was telling me I couldn’t approach?

"What about Noya? Is he alright?"

I demanded to know his condition, but the elder gave no response.

"Elder...!"

"......."

Even when I called again, silence was my only answer.

I scowled.

And then—

Fwoooosh—!!!

I forced power into my heart, igniting my flames.

Even though I was no longer in my Moonlit Night Tribe form, my realm had expanded.

Sizzle—!!

A wheel of flames spun behind me, crackling violently.

If they weren’t going to let me through, I would break my way in.

Activating my spiritual vision, I analyzed the barrier blocking my path.

It was a curse technique.

If I had the time, I could dismantle it properly.

But right now, I didn’t care about doing things properly.

Or more accurately, I couldn’t care.

"If you don’t open it, I’ll break it."

I would shatter it if I had to.

With that thought, I coated my fist in searing blue flames, ready to strike—

"It’s because of you."

Stop.

The elder’s words froze me in place.

"I managed to somewhat stabilize the distortion, but # Nоvеlight # the Sect Leader has not regained consciousness. At this rate, he likely won’t for a long time. Of course..."

The elder trailed off for a moment before continuing.

"His very soul has been twisted. A fake body can only hold on for so long."

"...What are you saying? Twisted soul? What does that even mean?"

What was he talking about?

We hadn’t even fought seriously. Shin Noya hadn’t taken any real damage.

And now he was telling me his soul had been twisted?

As I struggled to understand, the elder spoke again.

"The Sect Leader’s body is nothing more than a construct. You’re aware of that, aren’t you?"

"......."

I was.

Of course, I was.

Shin Noya had died long ago.

The fact that he was even here in a physical form was impossible in itself.

I had always known that something had happened to allow his existence.

And then—

"The Sect Leader’s body was a reward—granted to him when he became a follower of his master."

The elder’s words shook me.

My eyes widened.

"A... follower?"

"Yes. The Sect Leader became an Apostle."

"An apostle of their master."

Those words could only mean one thing.

"Are you saying that Noya... No, that my mother—the Master of the Abyss—made Noya her apostle?"

Was he an apostle of her, the current ruler of the Abyssal Realm?

It wasn’t impossible. If that’s how he had obtained a physical body, it would make sense.

But—

"No. Master never took an apostle."

The elder dismissed my assumption.

Then what? If he was someone’s apostle, but not my mother’s...

"Ah...?"

A realization struck me.

I widened my eyes.

I had forgotten.

This place had two rulers.

"...The Abyssal Pit."

If my mother governed the Abyssal Realm,

Then deep beneath it, the Abyssal Pit was said to reign over the underworld.

In that case—

"Are you saying that Noya is an apostle of the Abyssal Pit?"

Had Shin Noya been granted a physical body as an apostle of the Abyssal Pit?

"That is correct."

The elder affirmed it.

"The Sect Leader received a body as the apostle of the Abyssal Pit and embedded his soul within it."

That was the secret behind Shin Noya’s ability to move freely within the Abyssal Realm despite having a physical form.

I had no idea how the Abyssal Pit had created such a body for him.

But that wasn’t the issue now.

"But what do you mean his soul has been 'twisted'?"

The issue wasn’t his body—it was that his soul had become distorted.

"It means exactly what it sounds like. The soul that resided in his body is now unstable."

"...Then why—"

"That is simply how things are meant to be. A soul and a body are meant to exist together. Separating them and forcing them into different vessels is unnatural."

"That doesn’t make any sense—wait."

I stopped mid-sentence.

Soul and body existing separately...

That phrase struck me.

"You’ve heard it before, haven’t you? You should already know this, too—that the Sect Leader’s soul was originally meant to reside in your body."

"......."

I had been told this back in Zhongyuan—by Thunder Heaven Sword.

Originally, Shin Noya was supposed to reincarnate in my timeline.

But that never happened.

If things had gone as they were meant to—

"Then his soul should have been in my body."

He should have been born inside me.

But for some reason, his soul had been sealed within the Plum Blossom Stone,

And after a long time had passed, we had finally met.

If that was the case—

"...Are you saying that this happened to Noya because of me?"

"The body that was supposed to receive his soul already holds another. And when a soul loses its rightful vessel, what do you think happens to it?"

A liquid poured out of its container—

What would become of it?

"It simply spills onto the ground and evaporates."

"...!"

"For now, he is barely holding on within his artificial body. But as time passes, it was bound to develop cracks. And just when things were fragile, you appeared and triggered resonance. How could his body possibly endure that?"

"Resonance...?"

"His soul is instinctively drawn to you. The closer you are, the stronger the pull. And when the Sect Leader uses his powers, the effect only intensifies."

Since my body was the one meant to hold his soul,

His soul was now trying to return to me.

Then—

"So just let it come back."

His body was artificial, right?

If his soul was trying to return to where it belonged, then just let it.

Like before—just let his soul enter my body.

I voiced my thoughts, but—

"You are speaking nonsense."

The elder’s tone sharpened.

"Regardless of what form you once held, your soul is no longer the same as it was back then. You have surpassed countless barriers and grown exponentially stronger. If the weakened soul of the Sect Leader were to enter your body now, do you truly believe it could endure?"

"...Are you saying it wouldn’t survive?"

"The Sect Leader’s soul once bore immense karma, while you were still weak. Perhaps back then, it could have worked. But now, you are different."

My realm had risen.

My body had transformed.

And on top of that—I had reached transcendence.

My soul’s vessel had grown far stronger.

If Shin Noya's soul entered me now—

Would he... disappear?

Would he be unable to withstand it and vanish?

No, that’s exactly what the elder was saying.

Shin Noya would cease to exist.

The shadow that had always supported me.

The foundation that had held me together—would be gone.

Faced with that reality—

I stood frozen, unable to react.

This was—

This was no different than when I had taken my father’s life with my own hands.

It was as if—

My entire world had stopped moving.