Boom—!!!
Crack—!!!
A violent impact spread cracks across the barrier. The surrounding space, enclosed in its vastness, was collapsing.
Crackle.
Fragments shattered, falling to the ground. As they hit the floor, they crumbled into dust and scattered.
Watching the repeated cycle of destruction, I furrowed my brows.
“----!!!”
A deafening roar echoed. It came from the Divine Tree. More precisely, from the very roots forming the barrier—if that was the case, then this sound might as well be the voice of the Abyssal Pit itself.
“...This is not good.”
The Turtle spoke in a grave tone.
Vwooom—! A radiant light burst forth from his staff. The glow surged beneath the abyssal space, attempting to reinforce the barrier.
However—
Kuaaaaaaah—!!!!
Boom—!!!
Another shockwave tore through the newly layered barrier, ripping it apart in an instant.
“Kh...!”
The Turtle trembled, staggering from the impact. Seeing this, I quickly rushed toward him.
“Elder...!”
Drip.
A stream of blood dribbled from the Turtle’s mouth.
Even the regenerative heat sustaining him had faded.
I had infused him with a significant amount of energy, yet it had dissipated in an instant.
It meant the backlash he endured had been immense.
As I moved to channel energy back into him—
“...Stay still.”
The Turtle gripped my wrist.
“We must suppress our energy as much as possible... No, that’s meaningless now. It must have already sensed us.”
His expression revealed clear distress as he gazed skyward.
Following his line of sight, I turned my head.
Beyond the massive cracks in the barrier, a woman stood watching us.
A small, floating figure in the air.
Her long, white hair billowed like silk in the wind, blending seamlessly with her pale skin.
Along with that, her eyes held the light of an aurora, and behind her swayed multiple tails.
I recognized it the moment I saw her.
‘That is divinity.’
The overwhelming presence, the unfathomable grandeur—
Was this what my ancestors, or Taechon, had spoken of when they mentioned divinity?
‘This is on an entirely different level.’
She was nothing like Taechon, who had borrowed another’s body, nor like Abyssal Pit, who had merely woven a protective barrier.
Just seeing her was enough to understand—
No, rather—
‘I can’t even comprehend it.’
Her very existence was so far beyond me that my senses failed to grasp her presence.
Despite the evident danger, there was no fear.
I knew, even without understanding why—this being was something beyond normal perception.
Then—
With an exhausted look, the woman lazily lifted a finger.
The aurora spread across the night sky responded.
It had merely been a decorative spectacle in the sky—yet at her command, it surged forward.
Rumble—!!!
A beam of light crashed down upon the barrier.
Boom—!!!
The ground trembled once again.
“---!!!”
The Abyssal Pit bellowed in fury. Though the barrier tried to regenerate, the destruction was faster than the restoration.
Thud—! Thud, thud—!! Boom—!!!
The ground convulsed under the relentless bombardment, teetering on the verge of collapse—
“Abyssal Pit.”
A voice, clear yet chilling, echoed from beyond the fissure.
“What exactly do you intend to do?”
There was no trace of emotion in the voice.
The very source of the attack—
The Master of Mangye was speaking to Abyssal Pit.
“...You carry the burden of karma upon your body, yet you abandoned your penance and fled—only to end up here?”
“---!!”
“The situation is dire. I do not know the reasons behind it, but—this should end now.”
A shudder ran through me.
The mere act of hearing that voice sent tremors through my very soul.
It was suffocating. The stray energies, lacking a vessel to contain them, quivered restlessly in response to their master’s voice.
I had no vessel to hold them in, so the impact of the voice struck me even harder.
“Ghh...”
My knees buckled.
As my body wavered, a gaze fell upon me.
It was heavy.
Even from a great distance, I felt the Master looking at me.
Struggling, I lifted my head, forcing myself to meet her gaze once more.
“...I see.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly, as though she had reached some understanding.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘She’s different.’
Hadn’t they called it Oblivion? I had heard that the Master’s punishment was to forget.
Yet, contrary to that notion, her gaze was as cold as frost, utterly detached.
No emotion.
It was the look one would give a fallen branch or a mere rock in the road.
It was nothing like the gaze of my mother when I encountered her in Zhongyuan, nor like the warmth of the Divine Tree.
That look alone was enough to prove that she was a wholly different existence.
“...So this is what you’ve been hiding.”
Her fingers moved.
Kagagagak—!!!
Another bolt of light was unleashed. But this time, it was different.
The force behind it was far stronger.
“...A dragon.”
She was referring to me.
“What is the reason for concealing a dragon? That thing is nothing more than a remnant of Dragon Emperor’s lingering regrets.”
The moment the words left her lips, the attack intensified.
“Abyssal Pit. You, of all beings, should know—how troublesome the remnants of the Dragon Emperor are.”
Boom—! Thud, thud—!!!
Each successive strike sent vibrations deep into my chest.
This wasn’t just physical impact.
This was—
‘...Resonance.’
The energy within me was rebelling.
As though demanding that I rush toward the source of the attack.
Grrrrk.
The volatile energy surged within me, raging beyond control.
Lacking a vessel to contain it, the turmoil within me only grew worse.
As I struggled with the sensation—
“Hm?”
The Master tilted her head, staring at me.
“...What is this?”
An unfamiliar reaction rang out, and the bombardment momentarily ceased.
“This is strange.”
The voice grew closer.
The distance between us was certainly vast, yet the voice felt unnaturally near.
It meant that the Master had truly recognized me.
“...Why.”
That was the problem.
“Why do I sense the divinity of Mangye from that place?”
At that moment, the energy gathering around us changed yet again.
A completely different level than before.
The oppressive force flooding the air sent a shudder down my spine.
And then—
Kuaaaaaaah—!!!!!
An immense shockwave reverberated through the space.
Paaaah—!!
The barrier shattered into countless ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) fragments, creating a massive rift. The barrier tried to restore itself once more, but—
The Master’s steps were faster.
Tap.
By the time I realized it, she had already stepped onto the ground.
A small, pale foot touched the ruined earth—and a miracle occurred.
Crackle...
Starting from the tip of her foot, verdant life began sprouting across the devastated ground.
The shattered earth mended itself, the oppressive air suddenly lightened.
But the tension only grew sharper.
As I trembled, staring at the Master, she glanced past me—toward Cheonma.
“...Two dragons.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“And both carry divinity within them.”
The Master of Mangye murmured as if speaking to herself.
“This is peculiar. How is it that I never noticed this?”
Rumble—!
The dark sky twisted into a vortex.
Perhaps the barrier had lost its purpose—loosened energy began to converge into a single point.
And then—
“...This isn’t a doppelgänger.”
The Turtle murmured as he gazed at the Master.
“...All Realms... You came in your true form?”
The Master’s eyes turned toward the Turtle.
“How could I not? With all this commotion, how could I not come?”
“...Taechon was here.”
The Master’s eyes narrowed.
“Taechon?”
“Yes. He came to All Realms and caused trouble.”
“That’s impossible.”
The Master shook her head.
“I didn’t sense anything like that.”
“It’s the truth. We—”
“Shh.”
“......!”
A small whisper silenced the Turtle.
His expression twisted as if something was physically preventing him from speaking further.
“I won’t entertain meaningless conversations.”
“Unfortunately, I’m quite exhausted at the moment.”
The miraculous energy she had released spread outward, engulfing the space.
By the time the war-ravaged land was fully restored with new life—
Kagagagak—!!!
The dark energy lingering in the sky plummeted toward the ground.
Though it had been massive in scale, upon hitting the earth, its size rapidly shrank.
And by the time the energy had completely faded—
Grrr...
A small dog-like form remained.
It was the Abyssal Pit.
“...Abyssal Pit.”
The Master narrowed her eyes as she gazed at it.
“...You’ve grown small.”
Grrrr...
“And this is your true body. Where have you left your divinity? Just what are you trying to accomplish?”
Her expression was filled with clear displeasure.
“Fulfill your karma. All Realms is crumbling in your absence.”
Grrrr—!
Despite the Master’s words, the Abyssal Pit simply growled, its eyes filled with hostility.
Seeing this, the woman finally frowned.
“...I don’t understand.”
What was the reason?
“You act as if you’re trying to protect them.”
The Abyssal Pit stood protectively in front of me, glaring at the Master with unwavering defiance.
The Master furrowed her brows in incomprehension.
“...Is this about the Dragon Emperor?”
Grrr!
“Even after I sealed him and cast him out, could he still have done something to you?”
A deep crimson glow flickered in her eyes.
It was strange.
The more I looked at it, the more unnatural it felt.
‘Oblivion.’
So this was the punishment she had received.
An existence that believed in nothing, following only the path preordained.
I couldn’t help but feel shaken by the sight of the Master—the woman I once knew as my mother.
“...Enough.”
And just like that, the thought could no longer continue.
“I’ll just erase it.”
The voice came from right in front of me.
The Master was already within reach.
I hadn’t even noticed.
“...Damn—!”
“Grrr—!”
The Turtle and Abyssal Pit reacted, but—
The Master’s hand had already reached my neck.
She was too fast.
At the moment her fingertips touched my throat—
Zzt.
“...Hm?”
“Kh...!?”
A short, sharp pain ran through me.
It was an unfamiliar, fleeting sensation.
Like the static shock of sudden friction.
As my eyes widened in surprise—
—Listen well.
A voice resounded from within me.
It was my ancestor’s voice.
—Time is short, so I’ll keep this brief.
‘What... suddenly—?’
—This is the contingency your mother prepared. And more than that...
I didn’t even have time to answer.
Because my lips, my entire body, the entire world had frozen in place.
The Master’s hand remained pressed against my neck—unchanging, frozen in time.
I had felt this before.
Just as I grasped what was happening—
—Descendant. This is a warning.
The ancestor spoke.
—No matter what you do, nothing will change. Remember this.
And with that incomprehensible final remark—
Darkness consumed my vision.
