Chapter 1159: Scorched World.

Fzzzzzt-!!

Deep blue. Or perhaps, faintly white.

The sensation of energy, faintly emanating, felt within my eyes. The subtle sensation that sent a jolt through my body was a power I knew all too well.

‘That’s lightning energy.’

A form of energy mimicking lightning. It was a part of lightning energy, and that one specifically…

‘…Namgung family’s lightning energy.’

It was the Namgung family’s lightning energy, created to emulate the thunder of the heavens. For a moment, I wondered if it was a mistake, but there’s no way I could be mistaken.

‘I’ve seen it countless times.’

I’d seen it frequently from Namgung Bi-ah. Even if not.

‘I felt it recently watching Cheon-jon. And…’

I felt it even when I touched No-ah. The records imprinted on my body told me it absolutely wasn’t a mistake.

That it was the Namgung family’s lightning energy.

The problem was.

‘Why Hyeon So-yeon?’

How could she possess that lightning energy within her body?

“……Young Miss Hyeon? What is this…”

What was happening? The moment I spoke warily.

Thump-!

“……!”

She suddenly burrowed into my arms. My reaction was slow. I hesitated, wondering what to do, and missed the moment.

It was because there was no killing intent. What should I do? Should I react now? The moment I pondered this.

Squeeze-!

“Hm…?”

Hyeon So-yeon, who had entered my arms, suddenly hugged me tightly.

My body stiffened as Hyeon So-yeon hugged me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I couldn’t move my hands, so I just left them outstretched in the air.

“……Young Miss Hyeon, what are you doing…”

“I found you…”

“Yes?”

“Finally…”

Hyeon So-yeon, muttering incomprehensible words, pulled back slightly from my embrace. She looked at me closely.

“I finally found you.”

“……!”

Seeing those eyes, my own widened like saucers. Something was strange about Hyeon So-yeon.

‘Her expression.’

It wasn’t Hyeon So-yeon’s usual expression. Her black hair was the same, but her blue eyes… And a somewhat vacant expression. Even the contrasting aura. She was completely different from the Hyeon So-yeon I had seen until now, but…

‘…This is…’

Separately from that, a person I was more familiar with than anyone else came to mind. It was someone I thought of frequently whenever I saw Hyeon So-yeon.

“You-.”

Without realizing it, I pushed past my choked voice and asked her. No, I had to ask.

“Are you perhaps…”

The moment I was about to utter her name and ask.

“Wait.”

The blue-eyed Hyeon So-yeon said.

“I… will go.”

Fzzzzzt-!!

With those short words, the lightning energy repelled from her body. The light that had shone brightly for a moment quickly faded.

Swish-!

“……!”

Hyeon So-yeon lost consciousness and collapsed. I hurriedly supported her.

“What the?”

I was flustered seeing her unconscious. She fainted in this state? I shook her urgently, but she remained unresponsive. There was no other way.

Vwoooom-!

I channeled my energy into her, forcing her awake.

“……Ugh!?”

Hyeon So-yeon, who had been unconscious, finally came to her senses. Startled, Hyeon So-yeon sat up and looked around.

“What…? What…? Huh? Young Master Baek?”

Then, realizing she was in my arms, she looked puzzled.

“What is it? Why am I here? Ah… perhaps?”

Hyeon So-yeon flinched and covered her body with her hands.

“……Did you kidnap me for some impure purpose…?”

“Don’t talk bullshit…”

“That must be it, right?”

She laughed brightly, as if it were a joke. Seeing that, I furrowed my brow.

“But really, why am I here? Where is this place?”

“……You don’t remember?”

“No. I was lying down to sleep, so why am I here…? Ah, maybe I have something like sleepwalking?”

“……”

I swallowed dryly. Hyeon So-yeon truly seemed to have no memory. This meant…

‘Was it real?’

Was that figure just now really her?

‘…Namgung Bi-ah.’

The aura emanating from Hyeon So-yeon was unmistakably Namgung Bi-ah’s.

---

Morning came. It was the first day spent in the relocated quarters. I sat up with the sound of birdsong, as if announcing the dawn.

“……”

Naturally, I hadn’t slept a wink. How could I possibly sleep after experiencing something like that? Of course, I couldn’t sleep because my mind was too complicated.

‘What in the world was that?’

What had happened? Once Hyeon So-yeon regained consciousness, I sent her back for now. Adding only the perfunctory advice to visit the infirmary tomorrow.

‘…That was Namgung Bi-ah.’

The thing that had briefly resided within Hyeon So-yeon’s body. No matter how many times I thought about it, it was Namgung Bi-ah. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize her. Anyone would have recognized her as Namgung Bi-ah, but…

‘How on earth?’

How in the world did she appear briefly in Hyeon So-yeon’s body? I couldn’t understand. There was no way I could understand.

‘This is another world.’

A constructed world. And Namgung Bi-ah broke through that. Not just anyone, but the Namgung Bi-ah I knew appeared. Even though she borrowed Hyeon So-yeon’s body, it was definitely Namgung Bi-ah. That’s why it made even less sense.

‘If only this place were in the same time period, maybe.’

This is a world from decades ago, when my father was active as a late-stage disciple. How could Namgung Bi-ah have appeared in a place like that? Furthermore.

‘She said she’d come?’

Her words, telling me to wait because she would come. That bothered me greatly.

‘What kind of events are unfolding?’

It seemed like something was happening in the place I originally came from. This isn’t good.

‘Damn it.’

Whatever that event might be. It’s not good for things to happen like this without my knowledge. If this is the case… ‘It means something might be happening to them.’

There was something Shin No-ah mentioned in the Myriad Realms. That the flow of time here and in the original world is different. In reality, the period No-ah was absent was at most a few years, yet No-ah spent an immense amount of time in the Myriad Realms. I had thought I should rely on that time difference and leave before anything major happened.

‘If this is the case…’

Seeing Namgung Bi-ah appear suggests something might be happening. It means my predictions and expectations might be different.

‘Shit.’

Irritation rises. So does impatience.

‘Fast.’

Anything, fast. I felt I had to finish it as quickly as possible.

“Hoo.”

I let out a sigh. To do that, I first needed to move.

---

I moved with restless steps towards the Gu family’s banquet hall. I had been informed the previous evening and headed there. Many people had already gathered there. The personnel who had arrived heading to Shanxi, and the Gu family’s blood relatives. At the far end, Do-yun and Namgung Jin were visible. Hyeon So-yeon was sitting next to them. Moreover.

“Ah, here.”

Pae-jon sat next to Gu Seong-yeol, the head of the family’s seat of honor, and waved at me.

“……”

I looked at the empty seat. Next to Pae-jon. And…

‘Next to Father.’

The seat next to my father, Gu Cheol-un, was empty. Why did it have to be there?

‘That’s a seat for the family members.’

It was clearly the area where the Gu family’s blood relatives were gathered. While Pae-jon, given his status, was offered a good seat, I felt a bit awkward. Do I really have to go there? Just as I was agonizing over it.

“Sit wherever is comfortable.”

Jin Yeon-ryeong, sitting next to Gu Seong-yeol, said with a smile.

“You don’t necessarily have to come all the way here.”

“……Ah, yes.”

Perhaps sensing my discomfort, she spoke considerately. Hearing that, I nodded and squeezed in next to Do-yun.

“Then, let us begin the banquet.”

Had everyone gathered? Gu Seong-yeol announced the start of the banquet. As always, the Gu family’s banquets proceeded quietly and bleakly. A banquet where people barely ate and conversation was scarce. It was a bleak banquet, typical of a family that didn’t care about such things. About half an hour passed with the suffocating atmosphere continuing.

“But, you know.”

A woman quietly eating her meal, Gu Seon, a Gu family relative, spoke.

“It’s a shame that seat over there is empty. After all, we’ve gained another brother… Kyaak!”

Just as she was spouting nonsense, Jin Yeon-ryeong tightly gripped Gu Seon’s side with her fingers.

“Moooom…!!”

“Eat your meal quietly.”

“Ghhhuuu…”

She groaned, apparently in considerable pain. I’d felt it before, but she really had a mouth that invited trouble. Just then.

“Anyway.”

Gu Seong-yeol, putting down his chopsticks, asked Pae-jon beside him.

“I didn’t expect you to return here.”

The use of ‘johne’ caught my attention. It was surprising that he could speak like that to the world’s Pae-jon. Pae-jon answered the question nonchalantly.

“There’s nothing surprising about it. I had to follow the disciple I went to such lengths to find when he had business.”

“……A disciple?”

Hearing this, Gu Seong-yeol glanced towards me. It was a fleeting glance, but it was definitely a look directed at me.

“You found a disciple?”

“Yes. But, anyway…”

Pae-jon said to Gu Seong-yeol with a somewhat displeased expression.

“Why are you talking like such a piece of shit? What’s the reason for suddenly acting so serious?”

“……”

At Pae-jon’s remark, the atmosphere instantly grew quiet.

“Did you hit your head while I wasn’t looking?”

Ignoring the atmosphere, Pae-jon asked. Gu Seong-yeol, hearing this, replied calmly.

“There’s a position I can’t remain frivolous in forever.”

“That’s not even funny. You?”

What was the original Gu Seong-yeol like for Pae-jon to say something like that?

‘He was definitely strange.’

I had evaluated Gu Seong-yeol as the world’s craziest guy, but meeting him in person, he wasn’t quite like that. Rather.

‘He resembles Father.’

He felt similar to my father. He seemed like a serious person who would only say what needed to be said. Of course, compared to that, my father seemed much more serious. In any case, the feeling was similar. The idea that such a person resembled me was unimaginable.

“They say you became the family head, maybe you’ve gone mad. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be such a boring fellow. Or perhaps, have you grown old and rusty?”

“What is it you want to say?”

Gu Seong-yeol looked at Pae-jon with intense heat.

“Since I’ve seen your face anyway. If you weren’t rusty, I was thinking we could have a match after a long time.”

“……”

Pae-jon’s words caused the atmosphere to stir once again.