Chapter 895: You’re still ugly.

When I think about my mother, honestly, I don’t remember that much.

It was because I was too young, and decades have passed since then, so there are only a few things I recall.

One is that she particularly loved winter.

On snowy days, she would always hold my sibling’s and my hands and walk along the snowy paths.

She said she liked pure white things, didn’t she? I think she probably said that.

And. Maybe because of that, she liked white flowers too.

It seems like she just liked anything that was white.

However.

‘She liked our hair.’

My mother, who liked white things, strangely liked our jet-black hair too.

My mother’s hair was pure white like freshly fallen snow, but did she say it was fortunate that our hair was black?

It’s quite paradoxical, but my mother really used to say that.

It was a happy time.

Every day was like that when I recall it.

There were no worries, just days spent enjoying the passage of time.

-Son. Do you like it?

-Yes.

On snowy days, I used to lie on her lap on the porch and sleep.

My mother’s embrace was warm.

However, unlike that warmth, people of Gugyea all have high body heat, but my mother, despite loving winter, felt the cold easily.

What did she say was the reason? I remembered it because it was such a strange thing.

Ah. That’s right.

-Mom gets cold if she doesn’t have fur.

I think she said that.

I still don’t understand what she meant… I suppose it just means she felt the cold easily.

Anyway.

I liked my mother like that.

No, I probably did.

I can’t remember the details, so I can’t be sure. But I believed it was so.

‘That’s why.’

I guess that’s why I’m still having dreams like that.

Dreams I probably can’t return to and can only miss.

-My son.

“…”

I feel a touch on my hair.

Maybe it’s because I haven’t had this dream in a while, but the sensation is vivid.

The hand stroking it was soft.

As if someone was really stroking it…

“…”

I felt something strange.

‘Isn’t this too realistic for a dream?’

It felt subtle. Feeling that, I slowly opened my eyes.

“Ah.”

“…”

The moment I opened my eyes, what I saw were purple eyes looking at me and a familiar, pretty face.

“Hello.”

At the expressionless greeting, I immediately sat up.

I put some distance between us and glared at the other person.

“Aah.”

At my actions, Cheonma reacted with disappointment.

Seeing that, I frowned.

“…What are you.”

I thought it was strangely vivid for a dream, but it seemed I had been resting my head on Cheonma’s lap until now.

With a very annoyed expression, I scratched the back of my head.

Damn it.

How did I end up like this?

‘Did I lose consciousness?’

It seems so. I recall my last memory. Before I lost consciousness…

“…!”

I remembered.

‘Blood Demon.’

The moment I came looking for Cheonma. Blood Demon appeared, and Cheonma and Blood Demon fought.

I drew Baekyeom to stop them…

‘The moment Blood Demon saw it, he tried to kill me.’

Blood Demon, who had been smiling unsettlingly, stiffened his expression the moment he saw Baekyeom and tried to kill me right then and there.

At that moment.

‘…Mother appeared.’

Mother appeared, enveloping my body.

Strictly speaking, it was only her energy, but it was definitely Mother.

She even appeared and subdued Blood Demon.

‘That monster….’

The moment I saw the energy, I sensed it.

That Blood Demon was a far more distant existence than I had anticipated.

But if she could suppress even Blood Demon, does that mean Mother’s level is higher than his?

No. More than that, fundamentally.

‘They seemed to know each other.’

The fact that the two knew each other bothers me.

I had known for a long time that Mother wasn’t an ordinary being.

Hadn’t I already heard it?

‘Calamity.’

If Blood Demon was the first calamity, then Mother, who appeared afterward, was the second calamity.

However, both of those beings failed, leading to the current world, wasn’t that it?

In this situation, could there be a reason for Mother and Blood Demon to know each other?

‘Blood Demon called Mother ‘Mankye’.’

Mankye (Ten Thousand Worlds).

Lord of All Worlds.

That’s what Mu-ah also said when explaining Mother.

It means Mother is also the master of some world…

‘Putting that aside….’

Just like during the time at Sinryonggwan, how could Mother have appeared?

And what about her words when she disappeared?

‘Never… don’t look for me.’

Why?

I couldn’t understand. Just as I was frowning deeply and pondering the question.

“Are you okay?”

“…Tsk.”

At the voice from the front, I clicked my tongue briefly.

‘Right, there was this person too.’

It wasn’t just Mother and Blood Demon that I needed to think about.

I had something to confirm with Cheonma, who was right in front of me.

Blood Demon had said that, hadn’t he? That Cheonma was his daughter.

“You.”

As I recalled that and was about to ask…

“…”

Suddenly, I scrunched up my face and looked around.

“What is it?”

I realized belatedly.

“Where is this place?”

It wasn’t the field we were originally in.

Where did the open space that allowed me to see in all directions go? The surroundings were filled with trees.

Even…

‘What kind of tree is this?’

The trees were strangely thick and enormous.

Their appearance was strange too. They were types of trees I had never seen before.

Trees this size should be called ancient trees… Can ancient trees be clustered like this?

It might be possible to find them if you look, but as far as I know, there was no forest like this in Hanam at least.

Moreover.

‘Why is the air like this.’

I felt a sense of foreignness even while breathing.

The air felt much heavier and seemed to enter my body more.

‘…Is the internal energy in the air this abundant?’

The amount of internal energy accumulating through breathing was several times higher than usual.

It was strange, too strange.

This isn’t a place I know. Which means…

“Where on earth did you drag me to?”

Did Cheonma bring me here? Convinced of it, I spoke.

“…?”

Cheonma tilted her head, expressing confusion.

It was as if she was saying it wasn’t her.

“Don’t play dumb. If it wasn’t you, then who…”

As I was about to add to my accusation, Cheonma raised a finger instead of answering.

I became wary, thinking she was going to attack, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Her hand pointed to the sky.

Looking at it, I raised my head.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?”

I looked up, but all I could see was the night sky dotted with stars.

‘What is it? Is she telling me to figure out how long I was unconscious?’

I lost consciousness when the sun was setting, and now it’s night. It seemed I had been unconscious for one to two hours.

Judging that, I looked more closely at the night sky.

“Huh?”

As I examined it, I noticed something strange.

Hwareuk-!

The moment I saw it, I quickly conjured fire and ascended into the sky.

I instantly climbed to the very top of the towering trees.

Then, the vast expanse of the sky came clearly into view.

“Crazy….”

Upon confirming this, I spat out a curse.

“What the hell is this now.”

The Milky Way clearly spread across the night sky.

The Milky Way, strangely beautiful, was somehow tinged with magenta, and the aurora shimmering above it evoked gasps of admiration.

How could such a distant landscape be?

Although it was a sight I had never seen before in my life, I couldn’t utter words of admiration.

“…Ha….”

In the center of that cluster of stars. The problem was the moon floating in the void.

No, it wasn’t just one moon, but ‘moons’.

“Bullshit.”

A blue moon and a magenta moon in the sky. A total of two were floating there.

---

I’ve gone through various experiences living my life.

I’ve given up on being human, killed my father with my own hands, and even traveled back in time, so I thought there wouldn’t be anything surprising left in life.

Ah, I was quite surprised when that brat became a child resembling me, but that’s beside the point.

Anyway, I thought I had experienced everything there was to experience, so I was living life thinking nothing would surprise me anymore.

“Life.”

I had to lament, realizing my own arrogance.

It seemed there were still many things in the world I didn’t know.

Damn it.

“Haa…”

A sigh escaped me naturally.

I couldn’t help it.

I had been wandering for about an hour. After wandering for quite some time, I returned to the starting point.

Now, I finally had to admit it.

“Fuck, where the hell is this place now….”

At first, I wondered if it might be the outer martial arts world, like Bukhae.

‘…They wouldn’t have two moons there, would they?’

Even though I hadn’t been there, I knew they had only one moon.

If not that, then…

‘Is this Blood Demon’s doing?’

Could Blood Demon have done something to me? Wasn’t it possible? Just like how Senior Tang sent me back in time in my previous life, I wondered if that bastard had done something similar to me, but…

‘Looking at it that way….’

The energy that enveloped me last wasn’t Blood Demon’s, but Mother’s.

Then, was it Mother’s doing?

‘…Why me?’

With Mother’s power, there was no reason for her to send me to a place like this.

‘Ugh.’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out. The only thing I could ascertain was.

‘That this place isn’t Zhongyuan.’

It seems this is not the world I knew.

It sounds like some bullshit, but there was no other answer.

The ancient trees spread out around me that I’d never seen before, the difference in the air I felt instinctively.

Furthermore.

‘From the point where there were two moons, it was already strange.’

Two moons floating in the beautiful night sky.

Seeing all of that, at the very least, this wasn’t Zhongyuan.

Oof… My head hurts.

“Hoo….”

I touched my forehead at the absurd situation.

Have I now gone so far as to end up in another world?

Then how am I supposed to get back to where I was?

‘My father’s trial is tomorrow.’

It wasn’t a situation where turning the Murim Alliance upside down would be enough, so I didn’t have time to waste here.

‘Besides….’

I looked behind me.

‘With that thing following me?’

I could see Cheonma following me.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

At my call, Cheonma looked at me.

“Why do you keep following me?”

“I’m not following you.”

She says she’s not following me? We’ve been practically glued together for an hour?

“Then what is it? If you’re not following me, then what? Am I following you?”

“I’m not following, I’m going together.”

“…Bullshit.”

It seems I talked to her for nothing. It just gave me a bigger headache.

“Get lost. I have no intention of traveling with you.”

“Okay.”

“…Hm?”

Her words were surprisingly quick to give up.

What?

Curious, I looked back at Cheonma. Unlike her words, she wasn’t leaving anywhere.

“Why aren’t you going? You said okay.”

“Because you said you didn’t want to travel together. So now I’ll follow you around.”

“…This is really fucked up.”

It’s absurd. Is she actually saying that?

“Whether you’re following or traveling together, it’s disgusting, so get lost quickly.”

“No.”

“This crazy bitch, really….”

Grinding my teeth, I turned my body.

I was already pissed off enough to die, and that damn thing kept provoking me.

The moment I was about to gather my energy and exert force.

“I don’t know the way.”

Cheonma said to me with a confident expression.

I’m going crazy.

“So you think I do? I don’t know either.”

I don’t even know what kind of place this is. Do you think I’d know the way?

Hearing my answer, Cheonma nodded and said.

“Then we have to travel together.”

“I told you I don’t want that! Why aren’t you getting it?”

“We have to travel together.”

“No…. Ah, forget it.”

I really need to fight her once.

With that intention, I took a step forward.

However.

“That way, I can protect you.”

“…”

Cheonma’s words made my legs freeze.

-I will protect you.

I remembered Cheonma trying to protect me from Blood Demon’s attack.

I also remembered myself grinding my teeth while looking at her small back.

My mood turned really shitty.

“Fuck.”

I cursed and frowned.

“Protect me? Protect you from what? Do I look like someone who needs protecting?”

“Yes.”

“You answer so confidently, it’s fucking annoying. I don’t need it, so get lost. How many times do I have to say it? I find you disgusting. If I’m with you, I won’t be able to resist killing you.”

“I don’t care.”

It was an answer without hesitation.

“You don’t care even if I say I’ll kill you?”

“Yes.”

Cheonma’s expression didn’t change at all.

“If that’s what you want. That’s fine too.”

“…”

I felt like I was really going insane.

Why is she acting like this towards me?

‘Did something go wrong during the regression?’

The Cheonma I knew wasn’t this foolish of a being, was she?

Although she sometimes used ignorant methods to the point where I wondered if it was okay, she wasn’t an ignorant person in every aspect.

“So please let me come with you.”

The current Cheonma was a completely different being from back then.

“…Ah.”

My head really hurts.

Should I just leave her behind?

No, would she even be left behind if I tried?

‘I don’t think so.’

Looking at her now, she didn’t seem like she intended to be left behind.

‘Then would it be better to just kill her?’

Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of her if she’s going to be this bothersome?

All sorts of thoughts raced through my mind. After thinking for a long time, I finally said with annoyance.

“…If you bother me again, I’ll really kill you, so shut up and stay put.”

Cheonma’s eyes widened.

And then she nodded.

I could sense a feeling of joy from her.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Is she really Cheonma?

Could I be mistaken? I was so bewildered that such a thought crossed my mind.

‘Is this the right thing to do….’

Why did I allow it? I couldn’t understand it myself.

It would have been better to kill her right here, but instead of driving her away, I even allowed her to follow.

‘Was I crazy too?’

She seems out of her mind.

I wish she were crazy.

‘It would be even better if this whole situation were an illusion.’

I wished and wished earnestly. I could even pray sincerely.

But.

Kkeugeugeuk-!!

“…!”

As if to crush my earnest wish, something happened to prove this wasn’t a dream.

Gugugugugugugugung-!!!

The ground trembled.

It was truly an immense vibration.

Cheonma’s and my gazes met.

From that spot, we both leaped towards the sky.

Just like before.

We climbed to the top of the trees and took our positions.

The sky and moons I saw initially were still there.

Even seeing it again, I thought it was a beautiful sight, but…

“…Ha….”

Beneath such a sky.

[Gueueueueueueue-!!!!]

A massive black energy mass had appeared on the ground.

Seeing it, I narrowed my eyes intensely.

The distance seemed quite far, yet I could see it so clearly.

‘Is it a demonic beast?’

It was far too large to be just a demonic beast.

It was the first time in my life I had seen a demonic beast this enormous.

It was so large its head was already touching the clouds.

[Gueueueueueueueue-!!!!]

Was that a cry? I looked at my hands; they were trembling slightly.

It had an overwhelming presence.

What on earth could that be?

What could possibly emit such a presence? I quickly racked my brain about the identity of this unknown being.

‘…Should I get away first?’

Going near it seemed impossible, at least.

So, just as I thought I needed to move away from my current position.

[Kuruahahahahahahaha-!!]

“…Huh?”

I turned my head again to look at the monstrous creature.

It absolutely shouldn’t be possible, but.

“Kkureungi…?”

Something felt familiar.