I never became the Patriarch of the Gu Clan.
From the moment I was made Young Lord, I had no desire to become Patriarch—
But in the end, that was due to someone else's doing.
Wasn’t it?
Whether I wanted it or not—
I should have become Patriarch eventually. That was the life I had been destined for.
Even if I despised it, I was meant to take that seat. Even if I resisted, no matter how much I strayed, I would inevitably end up there.
That was the life I had lived.
Even if it was a miserable existence, I would have had to accept it.
I could rebel all I wanted, run away as much as I pleased—
But in the end, I would have taken that seat.
I would have become the very thing I resented—my father.
That was the path I had always expected to walk.
But then, the Demonic Cult and Cheonma appeared.
Cheonma—no, at the time, she was still Little Sword Saint—had tried to kill Divine Sword.
And I… I had entered the Demonic Cult in her place.
That was how I distanced myself from the Gu Clan.
How I fell away from the role of Young Lord, from the Patriarch’s seat—
And ultimately, how I ended up living a wretched and pitiful life.
That was my past life’s story.
“Cheonma twisted fate?”
So, was that why I never became a Calamity?
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
I scowled. How did that even make sense?
I couldn’t understand it. My mind refused to accept it.
That statement implied that Cheonma had known everything and deliberately changed fate.
“Why the hell would she do that?”
What for?
I had already heard that Cheonma was responsible for my regression, but even then, I couldn’t comprehend it.
Why had Cheonma sent me back in time?
I still didn’t know.
And now, I was being told that she had twisted my fate?
“…Why?”
Why me?
What was Cheonma’s goal?
‘…What is she, really?’
What was Cheonma's true identity? What was her real intention?
I couldn’t grasp what she had been thinking back then.
And even if I asked her now, I would never get an answer.
Because the Cheonma of this life was a completely different being.
Then—
‘Did she have a purpose even now?’
Was there still some meaning behind the current Cheonma’s existence?
‘Damn it. Why do I always—’
Why do I always have to live buried in questions?
Everything that was happening was directed at me, yet I knew nothing.
Even now, I was only beginning to piece things together.
Crunch.
I clenched my fist.
Should I chalk this up to my own incompetence?
As my thoughts churned with frustration—
Tap.
Something touched the top of my head. A hand.
Shin Noya had approached and was ruffling my hair.
His rough touch, strangely enough, helped me calm down a little.
“Descendant.”
Taking advantage of that moment, the Ancestor spoke.
“Forgetfulness can be a blessing, in some ways.”
“…What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Not knowing something can sometimes be the best path for you.”
“That’s a pathetic excuse. Just say you don’t want to tell me and stop talking in circles.”
“You’re right. It is an excuse. But it is not entirely my decision alone.”
“Then whose decision is it?”
Whatever Cheonma had done—
Whatever my fate had been—
Whatever the Gu Clan’s will was—
I had been at the center of all of it, yet I had remained completely unaware.
My own life had never truly been mine.
That was the one truth I could feel in this moment.
“…What’s the conclusion?”
What was the endgame of all this?
“The conclusion to this shitty story—”
“The bottom line is, you’re telling me that I have to become a Calamity, aren’t you?”
The vessel’s collapse.
To prevent my death, I had to absorb the Ancestor.
And I already knew what absorbing the Ancestor meant.
‘Carrying on the will.’
The Ancestor, bound to Nine Flames Firewheel—
His concept of absorption was just that.
Absorbing him would mean inheriting the Gu Clan’s will.
And if I did that, I would inevitably become a Calamity.
At that point—
Wouldn’t it be better to just die?
“Do you really think I’d do that? I already told you—just let me die.”
Dying here would be better.
I meant it.
Rather than burning everything down with my own hands, I would rather let it all collapse.
As I steeled myself for that thought—
“I told you. There is an arrangement.”
The Ancestor reminded me of what he had mentioned earlier.
An arrangement.
Right. He had said Mother left an arrangement for me.
‘That’s what he called the Divinity I obtained from the Divine Tree.’
Even though I didn’t fully understand Divinity, I knew that something had taken root inside me.
It had even caused the collapse of my vessel. How could I not notice?
The problem was—
“What difference does that arrangement make?”
So what if I had received it?
The conclusion was still the same.
‘I have to become the Master.’
If my vessel collapsed and I absorbed the Ancestor, I would inherit the Gu Clan’s will.
That would ensure my transformation into a Calamity.
So what difference did the arrangement make now?
I was seething as I asked the question.
“Nothing changes. If you want to survive, you must become a Master.”
“…So you’re saying—if nothing changes, then I won’t do it—”
“However, if you do not become Zhongyuan’s Master, then the story is different.”
“…Huh?”
I paused at the Ancestor’s words.
If I don’t become Zhongyuan’s Master?
“The Divinity within you belongs to your Mother. In other words, it is Divinity of the Myriad Realms (Mangye). The reason the world set you as Zhongyuan’s Final Fate—your mother played a significant role in that.”
“…Are you saying—”
“Your mother was greedy. She implanted Divinity within you for a reason. Figure out what that reason is.”
Figure it out?
What exactly?
What was the arrangement my mother had left behind?
‘If I am not Zhongyuan’s Master…’
Becoming a Calamity meant inheriting Zhongyuan’s will—the Gu Clan’s will.
So—
‘Even if I become a Master…’
Would it be different if I became the Master of another world?
Then, was my Mother’s arrangement—was the Ancestor’s arrangement—
‘Are they telling me to inherit the Mangye instead?’
Were they asking me to take this vast and cruel world as my own?
If that was the case—
‘…And what about the life forms of that land?’
Becoming a Master meant erasing all the life in that world.
That was exactly why I had refused to become Zhongyuan’s Master.
But if I became the Master of the Mangye—
Wouldn’t that mean I’d have to do it anyway?
‘…I could if I wanted to.’
It didn’t really matter.
Honestly, I had long since discarded any notions of justice.
If I had to kill and discard others for the sake of the people I held dear—
I could do so without hesitation.
It was just an uncomfortable thought, that was all.
“Do not worry.”
At that moment, the Ancestor spoke, as if he already understood my thoughts.
“The Mangye are different.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Mangye are unique. Unlike other worlds, they follow different rules. You already know this—don’t you? The Mangye have not one, but two Masters.”
Ah—
Now that he mentioned it, that was true.
Unlike other worlds, the Mangye had two Masters.
While other realms adhered to the absolute rule that only one Master could exist—
The Mangye were divided into two dominions.
The surface was ruled by my mother.
And the underworld—
‘The Abyssal Pit.’
The origin of all death and monsters.
That was what ruled over the darkness.
“If a Master changes in the Mangye, life does not disappear. The only way for that to happen would be if both Masters vanished at the same time.”
“…So, what you’re saying is—if I become the Master of the Mangye, the problem disappears?”
If I absorbed the Ancestor and became the Master of the Mangye through Divinity—
Would that mean I could defy the fate that the world had set for me?
I asked the question, hoping for confirmation.
But—
“I don’t know.”
“…Are you out of your mind?”
The Ancestor gave the most absurd answer imaginable.
He didn’t know?
Had he lost his mind? What kind of answer was that?
I stared at him in disbelief.
“I do not know,” he repeated. “I only say this because of the arrangement your mother left behind. It is possible.”
“…And you want me to make a choice based on that?”
“Yes. That is why I left it up to you.”
Because even he didn’t know how it would end—
He was simply telling me to make a decision in this moment, as my vessel collapsed around me.
“Absorb me and restore your vessel.”
His words carried the weight of command, as if urging me.
I let out a dry chuckle.
“…How am I supposed to trust you?”
How was I supposed to trust the Ancestor?
That was the fundamental problem.
In the end, the being before me was nothing more than the specter of the Gu Clan.
A remnant that existed only to pass on the Gu Clan’s will.
And yet, I was supposed to believe him and absorb him?
I didn’t even know if the words he spoke were the truth.
And yet, he was telling me to gamble everything on this choice?
That was far too much to ask of me.
Hearing my response, the Ancestor’s body began to change.
Crackle.
The flames that composed his form started to shift.
Drip.
Bits of fire fell to the ground, separating from his body.
And then—his new form emerged.
This time, it was completely different.
Not the reflection of my past self as before—
‘Who… [N O V E L I G H T] is this?’
It was a face I had never seen before.
A man, somewhat small in stature, with sharp eyes.
He looked somewhat like my father—
And, strangely enough, somewhat like me.
And in that moment, I realized—
This was his true form.
“This is atonement. A punishment I bear,” he said. “My descendants should not have suffered for my sins.”
Slowly, he knelt before me.
“I only hope that the end of this will not be despair. If fate can truly be changed because of this… then I can ask for nothing more.”
His voice carried raw emotion.
Whether it was desperation, or something else entirely—
I didn’t know.
But whatever it was, it was genuine.
“I do not know how this choice will end,” he admitted. “But if there is even the smallest possibility… I hope you will be the one to see it through.”
“…Ha.”
I laughed.
“So in the end, you’re just asking me to clean up your mess.”
To ensure that no more people suffered from the consequences of his own greed—
He wanted everything to end with me.
I resented him for it.
But at the same time, I understood.
It was simple.
It was clear.
“…”
I looked at the Ancestor in silence.
If I absorbed him—
No matter what happened, I would become a Calamity.
I was no longer human, but a dragon.
I had severed the attachments that had once held me back.
And now, Nine Flames Firewheel had reached its peak—transcending its limits.
Everything had changed from my past life.
And yet—
At the end of it all, the only path that remained for me was Calamity.
‘You are the Calamity.’
The words of Yeon Ilcheon echoed in my mind.
I had fought so hard to deny them.
But—
‘…Was he right after all?’
Had Yeon Ilcheon been right this entire time?
That thought consumed me.
Should I just let everything collapse?
Or—
Should I take the gamble and accept my fate?
I pondered—
And in the end—
I reached a decision far faster than I had expected.
