CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
The sound of tal scraping rang against my ears. It was an irritating, unpleasant noise.
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
Like iron grinding against a wall.
I cracked my eyes open at the noise—just hearing it was enough to make my face twist.
What is that.
What the hell is making that sound? The mont I opened my eyes in confusion—
“...!”
My eyes went wide as lanterns. Because a scene so vicious it made my blood run cold flooded into view.
A squelching sensation. The ground beneath my feet was drenched, soaked through with blood.
And the sky spread above it was stained red in the exact sa way.
Is this hell?
It looked like it could only be described by that word.
If this wasn’t hell, then what was?
And it wasn’t just “stained red,” either. Weapons were jamd into the earth everywhere you looked.
Rust-eaten, dulled, chipped—broken and ruined arms littered the place.
And the rancid, heavy stench rising off it all was so vile I covered my nose without thinking.
What is this place, anyway?
It was unfamiliar and artificial. Sowhere that couldn’t possibly be reality.
The problem was—
I feel like I’ve seen this before.
Even though it was so alien, it was also—sohow—familiar. Unfamiliar and familiar at the sa ti. What kind of screwed-up sensation was that?
I couldn’t understand it, but the feeling itself was unmistakably real.
As I rolled my eyes hard, scanning around—
Over there...?
Sothing ca into view ahead. Between the heaps of piled weapons, there was a massive boulder.
I was about to think, Why is there a random rock in a place like this? when—
That’s familiar too.
Even that felt familiar. Like I’d seen it sowhere before. This space, that rock—, seeing it.
That couldn’t be.
It couldn’t... and yet my gaze kept getting dragged toward the boulder ahead.
And...
Not just the boulder. It felt like soone was sitting on top of it.
So I slowly lifted my head.
“...There really is soone there?”
Soone was actually perched on it. And even this felt familiar. Like I’d seen this scene before, too.
Where the hell did I see this? The sense of familiarity kept building, heavier by the second.
And when I finally focused on the top of the boulder, the figure sitting there ca into view.
Black martial robes hung in a miserable slump, and behind the bowed head, ssy black hair spilled down.
Just looking at that broad back made my fingertips start trembling.
My whole body was shaking from seeing nothing but his back.
Fear.
I was sure of it. What I was feeling right now was fear. What is that?
Not a ghost... though.
It wasn’t the simple sensation of a wandering spirit. I was terrified, but that didn’t an it was a malicious ghost, either.
Then what the hell was it? What was it doing in a place like this?
And—
Why am I—
Why was I walking toward him? The tip of my foot stepping forward on its own.
One step.
Then another.
As I kept closing in—
SWISH.
“...!!”
The one sitting on the boulder turned his head.
Our eyes t.
A chill stabbed through .
“What....”
Goosebumps exploded up my skin. The eyes staring back at were drenched in red.
The instant I t that gaze, my body went rigid. It was the overwhelming sensation of standing right in front of a predator.
“Huuk... hhuuu....”
My breathing turned ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) ragged on its own. I barely forced myself to endure it.
If I didn’t, it felt like I’d collapse on the spot.
Who the hell is that? Who is he, that I’m eting him here?
As I stared at him with my anxiety crawling up my throat—
SSSS.
He moved.
Slowly, he narrowed his eyes at .
Then—
[Not yet.]
“What?”
[Not yet.]
He spat out words I couldn’t make sense of.
[Go a little farther. It’s still far.]
I was about to show my confusion—
[Go back.]
He said it.
And in that mont, my vision blinked out like a snapped fla.
*****
FLASH—!
“Keuk!”
Light wrapped around and the scene changed. I shut my eyes, opened them again—and at the sa ti, I jerked my body upright.
“Huff... huff....”
I clawed at my chest, coughing out cramped breath.
“Haaah....”
What was that just now? What did I see? My whole body was shaking, drenched in cold sweat.
My body trembled shallowly. I didn’t even feel cold, but the sensation was all wrong.
“Hngh....”
It writhed in , nasty and sick, like I’d seen sothing I was never ant to see.
As I barely managed to steady my breathing, again and again—
[Oh.]
A voice.
I lifted my head toward the sound, and familiar blue eyes greeted .
[You woke up.]
“......”
It was Yoo Cheongil. He was looking at with a wide grin.
So this is reality. The mont I saw the old man, I realized it. It seed I’d been unconscious until just now.
I swallowed dry, about to push myself up—
RRRRAK—!!
The door flew open and soone rushed in.
The mont they entered, our eyes t.
“...Ah...!”
A woman—Murong Yeongsun—stared at , eyes going huge.
“Bang Sungyeon...!”
She called my na and lunged, throwing her arms around .
“Keuk...!”
She hit so hard I had to catch her with my whole body.
“...Why are you so strong?”
I tried to push her back a little. No—I tried, but her grip was so damn strong she barely budged.
“Hey, get off ... I’m gonna suffocate.”
No matter what I said, Murong Yeongsun didn’t move.
Then—
“Bang Young Master...!”
Cheon Eujin ca in right after her, and a few more people appeared behind him.
“I’ll call a Therapist.”
The mont Cheon Eujin confird I was awake, he hurried out, and watching that, I thought to myself—
Looks like...
...I’d been out longer than I thought.
*****
Seven days and nights.
I wondered how long I’d been asleep, and they told seven days and nights had passed.
I slept for a disgustingly long ti.
I figured it couldn’t have been that much—only for it to be seven days and nights.
This is the first ti I’ve slept that long.
Maybe because I slept so excessively, my body felt subtly stiff.
A Therapist lifted my arm and examined this way and that.
After a long checkup like that—
“...There are no serious abnormalities.”
The Therapist said it with a face that looked outright shocked. No abnormalities is good news, so why are you making that face?
“Really?”
Murong Yeongsun spoke with her brows drawn tight.
“You’re sure you checked properly?”
“I’m certain. It is true that so external injuries remain, but even those should heal without issue with one or two months of rest.”
“...Whew.”
Only after hearing the certainty did Murong Yeongsun finally let out a sigh of relief.
Ignoring Yeongsun, I asked the Therapist.
“So you’re saying I can move right away without much trouble?”
“Yes. Intense training could be dangerous, but daily activities should not be a problem.”
“Mm.”
I could get up right now. That was good news.
After exchanging a few words, the Therapist left. The mont he was gone, I loosened my body.
It still felt stiff, but it wasn’t to a level that truly bothered .
“Ah—Young Master. You should rest a little more...!”
Cheon Eujin spoke with worry, and Murong Yeongsun grabbed my sleeve too.
“...You’re not going to move imdiately, right? Stay a little. The strategist will be here soon anyway.”
“Mm?”
Leaving aside that she’d sohow gone back to polite speech, the rest made narrow my eyes.
Who was coming?
“The strategist is coming here?”
“Yes. He told us to contact him the mont you woke up. He’s probably on his way right now.”
“Hm.”
If he was coming personally, then I had no intention of staying still.
“He said I can move right away anyway. I’m just going to get so air. I’ve been lying down too long—I’m going insane.”
I pushed away the hands trying to stop and went outside.
The sunlight hit clearly. While I squinted and looked around, I asked Cheon Eujin, who followed behind .
“Cheon Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“You said I was down for a long ti.”
“That’s right. Ah—are you feeling unwell anywhere...?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
I rubbed my eyes lightly and asked him,
“Then while I was unconscious, did anything happen? Any... situation that developed?”
Any changes during that ti. The mont I asked, Cheon Eujin’s expression turned slightly strange.
“A situation....”
I could tell just by looking at his face. Sothing did happen.
“What is it?”
I asked with an uneasy stare, and Cheon Eujin made a weird expression—half laughing, half crying.
What kind of face is that?
“Why are you doing that?”
When I asked again, not understanding, Cheon Eujin tried to say sothing—
“If sothing happened... it probably happened to you the most, Young Master.”
“...?”
What, ?
When I looked at him in confusion, Murong Yeongsun stepped in close and cut in.
“Just look at yourself first. That’ll be fastest.”
Myself?
The mont she said it, I looked at the lake beside us.
And there—
“Huh??”
My reflection stared back at , and I grabbed my hair.
“What is this—why is it like this?”
I panicked. Because my hair had turned completely white.
I’d heard it changes when I use Moon Heaven, and that the form looks like this.
But—
“...Why?”
Why now?
I didn’t even use Moon Heaven. Is it... staying that way?
That shouldn’t be possible.
Then why is it like this?
It was bizarre as hell. I kept touching my hair, over and over—
“So you really didn’t know?”
“...How would I know sothing like this.”
I go to sleep and wake up with white hair. How could anyone predict that?
Still rattled, I looked straight at Yoo Cheongil.
At my stare, Yoo Cheongil scratched his cheek again and again, like he didn’t know either.
What? Even he doesn’t know?
If Yoo Cheongil didn’t know, then how would I?
Was there sothing wrong with my body? Worried, I checked myself. I wrapped a thin layer of inner power around and ran it through my body.
Huh?
The instant I moved it, I froze. Sothing was off.
It didn’t seem like the only thing that changed was my hair.
This...
The more I checked the energy in my dantian, the more it felt that way.
This is—
Compared to right before I lost consciousness—
It doubled.
The amount of inner power I had had increased by two tis.
How the hell did that happen?
I was staring at myself in shock when—
“You woke up.”
“...!”
I spun around at the voice.
Jegal Jin.
At so point, he’d appeared and was looking right at .
“Strategist.”
I widened my eyes a little, not even realizing when he arrived.
“I heard you woke up, so I ca imdiately. Good. You look like you’re in decent shape.”
He glanced over and spoke.
Heh heh heh. Jegal Jin let out a chuckle. But unlike the laugh, his face looked exhausted down to the bone.
Then—
“Alright.”
Jegal Jin looked at and said,
“So. How does it feel to beco Henan’s hero, my grandson?”
“...What?”
I frowned hard.
Hero...? What are you talking about?
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