Chapter 624: Authority/Power (Authority/Power)

Chirp-! Chirp-!

Birdsong tickled my ears.

The sunlight shone warmly.

As if expressing the season, the cool breeze was faintly refreshing.

The vibrant leaves, as if welcoming the coming autumn, were beautifully colored.

It was a sight that made my heart race just looking at it.

Beautiful.

It truly is a beautiful place.

If I had wandered here alone, I might have unknowingly stopped and admired the scenery.

It was that beautiful, but…

‘What is this place?’

I couldn’t just appreciate the scenery with pure joy.

Clearly, the world right before this was filled only with the sound of burning ashes.

Why did it change into a world like this?

Moreover.

‘Why?’

My eyes, scanning my surroundings, were experiencing an earthquake.

It’s a place I’ve never seen before.

No, I’ve traveled so much, I might have passed by somewhere, but…

Even so.

‘Why does it feel familiar?’

It can’t be this familiar.

Like I’d been here sometime before, nostalgic and yet sad.

Unknowable emotions surged.

‘Where on earth is this place?’

Why do I feel this way?

It seems like I’m seeing it for the first time, yet unfamiliarity and nostalgia coexist.

It was a sensation I’d never felt in my life.

Thump-!

The sound of the waterwheel moving barely brought me back to my senses.

And then I looked straight ahead.

What I needed to focus on now was the person, not the scenery.

‘Myung-ui (Nameless)?’

Nameless.

She has no name.

The woman introduced herself that way.

Recalling this, I observed the woman. But…

‘I can’t see her.’

The woman’s appearance still wasn’t being recognized.

Blurry.

Despite her presence being so certain, for some reason, she wasn’t being properly recognized.

It felt as if something was refusing to recognize her.

‘What is her identity?’

I know there’s a lot inside my body, but…

Right now, Noyaa and that rascal Kkeureungi were absent.

So, at best, there were only two people I could think of.

And among them, not someone of ‘blood qi’.

‘If it’s not the Divine Sword either.’

What on earth could that be?

I couldn’t know.

Just then.

Hehe.

The woman’s laughter was heard.

“That’s still the same expression.”

“What…?”

“It’s the expression you always wore when you had many worries. It makes me feel quite pleased.”

I had to frown at her words laced with laughter.

Because it sounded as if she knew me very well.

I moved my hand slightly.

Whoosh-!

For a moment, it seemed like flames gathered.

Poof-!

The flames disappeared quickly.

‘I’m going crazy.’

This should be my mental space.

I can’t use my powers as I please? What kind of absurd situation is this?

“Who are you, and what is this place?”

So, first, I asked her.

Hearing my question, the woman slightly turned her head and looked around.

“How is it?”

Then she asked me back.

“…What do you mean?”

“Does it seem pretty?”

“…”

I didn’t answer her question.

Because I thought answering this would be ridiculous.

But…

“It’s probably pretty. Because it was the place you liked the most.”

The woman continued speaking, as if my answer didn’t matter.

“When autumn came, it was a place where the colors deepened exceptionally. It was a good place to live because the surroundings were abundant.”

She picked up a falling maple leaf and handed it to the child cradled in her arms.

The child still had a frightened expression, but didn’t refuse the leaf.

“That’s why I came here so many times. I watched you countless times, sitting here and gazing at the sky. This place holds such memories.”

“…What the hell are you talking about?”

It was full of incomprehensible stories.

Not to mention such a place.

I had never been to a place like this.

“Should I call this a memory? Or lingering attachment? What do you think?”

“…”

“No, you don’t have to answer.”

The woman laughed.

“If it were you, you’d probably say ‘lingering attachment’ without hesitation. Because that’s the kind of person you are.”

That laughter, for some reason, made my heart ache.

It stings.

And it’s cold.

Also, it’s heavy.

That’s how my feelings towards the woman were.

That must be why.

The reason I have so much to ask, yet can’t ask anything.

It must surely be that.

[Huuu….]

The child cradled in her arms flinches.

Seeing this, the woman carefully stroked the child.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

[Huuuuuk… Mommy….]

“…”

At the word ‘Mommy’, the woman paused for a moment, but…

Still, she didn’t stop her stroking hand.

Seeing this, I realized once again.

This is not the time to hesitate.

I approached the woman and said.

“Hand that over.”

“If I hand it over, what do you plan to do?”

“Kill it.”

Even with the words spoken without hesitation, the woman’s expression didn’t change.

“Why?”

She merely asked.

I, too, gave an answer.

“Because I have to.”

Something that must be done.

Yes, this is something that must be done.

Though my mind was hazy for some reason, that much was clear.

“…Something that must be done…”

At my words, the woman nodded.

“Yes, it probably must be.”

“So. Hand that thing over-“

“But no.”

Hearing that, I contorted my face.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot hand this child over.”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

I’m trying to take what’s mine. What is this nonsense?

I looked at the woman with an incredulous expression.

The woman began to tighten her grip on the child.

“As I said before, I hoped you wouldn’t make this choice.”

Squeeze.

The child also clutched the woman’s arm as if not wanting to let go.

“Furthermore, I feel sorry. Because even though I said I didn’t want you to make a choice, I was the one who pushed you into this situation.”

Hearing this, my eyes widened.

I pushed you?

“What do you mean? You’re the one who pushed me?”

“…”

Thump.

Amidst the incomprehensible words, the sound of the waterwheel echoed.

That was the turning point.

“The reason you had no choice but to go back in time.”

Something began to resonate with the woman’s words.

“And the reason you ended up becoming that wretched thing, a dragon, to endure this harsh flow.”

My breath, which had been steady, began to crack.

“And the reason you were burdened with such a heavy load on your back. It was all me.”

My trembling breath made it difficult to even speak.

What did I just hear?

‘What on earth is she talking about.’

She made me regress?

That can’t be right.

Because… the person who made me regress was…

‘The Heavenly Demon.’

Divine Sword said so.

And the Heavenly Demon had affirmed it.

The Heavenly Demon made me regress. Not this woman…

‘…Huh?’

As I was thinking.

I could sense something strange.

Because her blurry appearance had become slightly clearer.

At that moment, meeting the woman’s eyes, I felt like I understood something.

“Don’t tell me, you’re the Heav…”

Zzzzt-!

“…!”

Due to the sudden pain, one of my knees buckled.

I had to clutch my head and tremble uncontrollably.

It wasn’t physical pain.

It was pain originating from the soul itself.

This was a warning.

A warning that if I remembered, my soul would shatter.

“Huuuk… Huk…”

As I barely endured, breathing raggedly.

The woman in front of me was still just staring at me.

I couldn’t see her expression.

When she laughed, I could vaguely guess, but now I couldn’t tell what expression she was wearing.

However.

“Even through countless lives, the life you wished for was ultimately an ordinary one.”

Though I couldn’t know her expression, I could tell her voice was tinged with sadness.

“So. I didn’t want you to live a life like this. Therefore, every time you tried to make a choice, I gave you hesitation.”

As she continued speaking, my head grew more confused.

“I slowed down your choices. And sometimes, I blinded you so you couldn’t find your way.”

Her words, spoken as if confessing, brought back memories.

My own self, who said I’d use any means necessary but always hesitated.

My self, who had become a dragon long ago but still yearned for humanity.

Does that mean it was all the work of this woman?

“I still remember.”

The woman said to me.

“When this house was first built. The smile you wore.”

These words were also incomprehensible to me.

“Perhaps because of that. I still remain here. Probably…”

She’ll probably stay here forever.

These were the words the woman whispered softly.

“So, please, don’t ever find out until the end.”

I can hear her voice.

But I couldn’t answer.

‘Her voice…!’

No sound came out.

My body stiffened, unable to move.

Crackle-!

I tried to move forcefully, but it felt like something was pressing down on me, making it impossible to move.

“Oblivion (Forgetfulness) is the best I can give you.”

Crackle-! Crackle-!

Strange sounds came from my arm where I applied force.

I could tell.

That if I forced it, it would just be crushed.

The pain went not to the body, but to the soul.

It was terrible.

So much so that I wondered if such pain could exist.

“So, even if someday you come to know everything.”

I managed to lift my head and look at the woman.

“Even at the end, I hope you won’t remember me. That is my only wish.”

I don’t understand what she’s saying.

Not only do I not understand her words, but I also don’t know what this woman is to appear within me.

Crackle-!

Whenever I tried to think of something, not just my body but my mind itself blocked it.

“Huuuh… Huuuk…!”

“Don’t worry. This child… I will hold them close and hide them from you. To the you who awakens, it will be as if they never existed.”

As she spoke, the woman stood up.

Crack-!

As the woman stood up, cracks began to appear in the sky.

I instinctively knew.

That when my moment passed, my body would awaken.

“If, by some miracle, you happen to remember me. Will you resent me? If so, I’d like that.”

The woman let out a faint laugh.

“Resenting me means… you remember me. That’s enough for me.”

Moving.

The woman who spoke began to move away slowly.

Crackle-crackle.

Cracks appeared not only in the sky but also at her feet.

Holding the child, the woman passed by my side.

I had to grab her.

I had to grab the child she was holding, and ask about the woman’s identity, but…

Crackle-!

The sensation binding my body grew stronger.

“This…!”

I grit my teeth.

I can’t let her go like this.

With just that thought, I pushed myself up.

Crack-snap-!

My body crumbled.

Ignoring the pain, I said to the woman.

“…Don’t… go.”

The voice that wouldn’t come out, finally did.

Even as I made the sound, the pain remained.

It didn’t matter.

That wasn’t important.

Halt.

At my words, the woman stopped walking.

Seeing that, I recalled.

For what reason did I tell her not to go?

Did I mean for her to leave the child and go?

Or did I mean for her to reveal her identity and go?

I don’t know.

My body and mind are reeling from the efforts to make me forget.

Yet, even amidst that, I felt I had to grab her somehow.

That was the only feeling.

“…I said, don’t… go.”

As I said it again, the woman’s head turned towards me.

I still couldn’t see her.

I couldn’t recognize the woman’s hidden face.

“Haha… ha…”

The woman chuckled.

It was the same laughter I’d heard before, but somehow different.

“…You’re always too much.”

Her voice was filled with moisture, as if revealing the emotions she had been holding back.

“This time too, you leave me with an unforgettable moment. Even though you’ll just forget again after doing this.”

I felt a faint resentment.

It was a feeling I hadn’t sensed until now.

“…Thank you. For giving me one more pillar of support.”

The woman said so and waved her hand slightly towards me.

“…Go back now. This is no longer a place for you.”

Rustle.

Then, cracks appeared even in the floor right beneath me.

Seeing this, I tried to speak urgently, but…

“Wait…!”

BOOM-!

“Gck-!”

The pressure intensified.

As if it wouldn’t hold back anymore.

“I will embrace your hesitation, so you don’t need to hesitate anymore.”

I tried to say something with my stuttering lips, but…

I couldn’t even do that anymore.

“Thank you for indulging my greed.”

Simultaneously with the woman’s words.

Clank-!

Like a lock opening, I felt something unlock.

At that moment.

Whooosh–!!

Unknown energies began to surge into my body.

No, it was closer to a sensation than energy.

Breaking down the blocked walls.

What was hidden beyond them rushed inside.

Empty spaces filled up, piling higher and higher.

It was different from realization.

Because it was awakening what I originally possessed.

As unfamiliar sensations shook my mind.

Towards me, enveloped by the cracks, the woman said.

“Even if the path ahead is burdensome and frightening, I hope the you who reaches the end will be happy.”

Hearing those words, I moved my hand.

Crackle-crackle-!

Though pain shot through my hand as it was torn away by force.

I still reached out.

To grab the woman looking at me beyond the crack.

One.

“Always.”

In the end, I couldn’t catch her.

“That is all I wish.”

CRACK-!

Finally, swallowed by the crack, my body disappeared from the space.

Whoooosh.

The traces filling the background were erased, and the world changed back to one with only ashes and embers remaining.

Crackle-! Crackle-!

The sound of something burning could be heard.

The dark world had returned.

In such a world.

“…”

The woman stood still, gazing at the place where the owner of the space had been.

Was it because it had been a while?

She felt like she had spoken more than she intended.

That was why.

The woman looked at her own hand.

Crackle-.

As if the world was burning away, the woman’s hand was also crumbling.

“Still.”

Still, she had been happy for a moment.

The woman thought so and smiled.

[Huuu….]

A quiet breath was heard from her embrace.

The child she was holding had fallen asleep unnoticed.

Looking at the child’s face, the woman stroked them with her hand.

Then she recalled the lie she had told.

-That is all I wish.

“…”

The words she had just spoken.

That was a lie. Or rather, half of it.

That wasn’t all she wished for.

She wished for his happiness, but that wasn’t her only wish.

The woman had a hidden wish.

‘…Just once.’

Even just once would be fine.

‘For him to call me by my name.’

Sometime in the distant past.

The name he had given her.

For him to call her by that name, just once.

The woman harbored this wish.

“…Ha.”

Recalling this, the woman scoffed and immediately erased the thought.

It was truly a pathetic and cowardly wish.

Especially after making such a choice herself.

After lingering for a moment, the woman soon moved on.

Perhaps, contrary to the woman’s wish.

The day he would call her by her name would never come.

That is why the woman’s name was Myung-ui (Nameless).

---

Whooosh–!!!

The Palace Lord couldn’t help but be flustered by the unfolding situation.

Not only had the Ice Crystal begun to glow.

All the cold energy within the space was moving.

Rattle-rattle-!

The energy was so fierce that even the Palace Lord had to exert strength just to endure it.

‘What is this-!’

It was a sudden situation.

Had some anomaly occurred?

If not, there was no way it could be this chaotic.

Whoooooosh—!!!

Like a raging typhoon, the cold energy spun ceaselessly.

Even within it, I could feel it.

Whoosh-!

“…What…!”

That my energy, too, felt like it was being sucked out amidst the moving cold.

As if swept away by the flow, my own energy tried to move.

The Palace Lord forcefully pulled his energy back.

Only then could he endure.

It was unbelievable.

‘Truly…!’

The Palace Lord’s gaze fixed on the center of the cold energy.

He looked at Gu Yangcheon, who had his eyes closed.

Something he had doubted was actually happening.

The cold energy in the space was truly being drawn to Gu Yangcheon.

Even his own energy.

‘If this continues…

Perhaps.

‘Is he absorbing the Ice Crystal’s energy too?’

The glowing Ice Crystal before him.

Would Gu Yangcheon absorb the energy within it as well?

If that were to happen.

‘What would happen?’

The Ice Crystal before him was the object that created the extreme cold of the Northern Sea.

Because of it, the Northern Sea received snow year-round, becoming a land of extreme cold.

If such an Ice Crystal were to disappear like this.

What would happen, indeed?

Such a thought flashed through his mind for a moment, but…

That thought didn’t last long.

Whooosh–!!!

The fiercely raging cold energy.

Whooosh.

Gradually slowed its speed, becoming sluggish in its movement, and then…

Whoosh-!

In an instant, the raging wind stopped.

It was momentary.

The fluttering robe calmed down.

The situation became quiet, as if a typhoon had never blown.

Amidst this situation, before the Palace Lord could grasp what was happening.

Sss.

“…Huh!”

Feeling a sudden sensation, the Palace Lord unconsciously distanced himself.

Not from anyone else, but from Gu Yangcheon.

‘What is it?’

Keeping his distance, the Palace Lord observed Gu Yangcheon.

Something was strange.

Barely ten seconds had passed since Gu Yangcheon closed his eyes, yet…

The Palace Lord sensed that something had changed in that short time.

It couldn’t be helped.

Guuuuuu-!

The air had changed.

The space that was merely cold and chilling.

Now, for some reason, felt heavy and eerie.

What kind of sensation is this?

Just as the Palace Lord was about to question it with caution.

Ssssk.

Gu Yangcheon, who had been standing still, showed a slight movement.

“…Ah…”

A short utterance.

Gu Yangcheon glanced around briefly, then slowly turned his head to look at the Palace Lord.

“…!”

Upon seeing Gu Yangcheon’s face, the Palace Lord flinched in surprise.

Although his appearance hadn’t changed much, his aura felt different.

Along with his azure eyes, which were much clearer than before.

And an aura that felt heavier and deeper.

But the reason the Palace Lord was surprised wasn’t simply that.

The reason was…

“…Young Master Gu.”

Gu Yangcheon, looking at the Palace Lord.

“Why… are you crying?”

Because, for some reason, he was shedding tears.