The process of forging the base structure with a hammer while simultaneously inscribing the magic formula using the sharp edges of the Sky Wings proceeded without incident.
It required intense focus, but there were no mistakes along the way.
The resulting ring had a porcelain-like appearance, with a refined and elegant design. Satisfied that the desired functionality was successfully embedded, I nodded in approval.
And then—
What the hell is this?
Guhwa Flames began acting erratically.
Suddenly, the flames swelled dramatically. Expanding explosively, the Guhwa Flames surged, rippling violently.
I quickly grabbed hold of the unruly fire, suppressing it before it could scorch everything around me.
Worried it might move toward Baek Arin, I redirected it in the opposite direction, gripping my right arm tightly as I stood abruptly.
The abnormal phenomenon made my face twist into a grimace.
This unruly power had been calm, docile even, like a well-trained dog during the forging process. But now, it was behaving like a rabid beast, lashing out unpredictably.
...Wait, is it not trying to burn the surroundings?
The realization struck me.
Though I had restrained the flames from spreading, they didn’t seem as destructive as I initially feared.
The heat rippled, significantly raising the workshop’s temperature. Sweat poured down my skin like rain, the flames burning fiercely.
But even if I hadn’t restrained them, they wouldn’t have caused much external damage.
Instead, the flames were growing internally—within me.
The seed of Guhwa Flames inside my body was swelling.
Emotions began fueling the fire.
Grrr...!
Thump! My pulse thundered in my chest. Vibrations rattled through my bones, making me hunch over.
For a moment, my mind blurred as though shrouded in smoke and flames. My thoughts wavered.
The Guhwa Flames clung to my emotions.
The emotional surge wasn’t unusual—this was one of Guhwa Flames’ most infamous side effects.
The flames could consume many things as fuel, but they were especially adept at feeding on their wielder’s emotions.
To grow larger, stronger, the flames provoked and amplified emotions, stoking the fire further.
I had experienced this often before and had learned to endure it. It had never caused any significant harm.
When the flames first manifested in the Tower of Growth, I had briefly succumbed to negative thoughts but managed to control them. Since then, I had used them with caution.
But this...
This was different.
The flames were fiercer than ever. My emotions surged uncontrollably, and the fire refused to subside.
And then—
A vivid vision replayed in my mind.
Golden hair and blue eyes—a man’s neck torn apart.
A monster, an Ecliptic Hound, chewed the flesh it had ripped from the man’s throat.
The man’s scream stopped abruptly. Blood gushed like a waterfall, and his bloodshot eyes rolled back as his body collapsed into the crimson pool.
I didn’t know who he was.
Or rather, I had seen him before.
Someone I had failed to save by a narrow margin in Siifnaha.
In the vision, my face twisted in agony.
Back when my hair was still black, and my mana glowed blue, I had clenched my teeth and charged at the Ecliptic Hound.
Thud! My fist, cloaked in qi, smashed the monster’s head.
The hound’s shattered skull crumpled onto the man’s lifeless body.
The culprit was dead.
But the man who had been killed couldn’t be brought back.
At the time, Lee Hayul’s spatial awareness had captured that scene vividly, searing it into my mind.
From Siifnaha to the present—
I had saved many lives, jumping into danger to rescue them at the last moment.
But I had failed to save just as many. Faces of those who had perished because I was a step too late or hesitated flashed through my memory.
People who had died because of me.
If I hadn’t interfered in China, some of them might still be alive. Even as I justified their deaths as necessary to prevent far greater disasters in the future, guilt clawed at me.
...Ugh.
My breath caught in my throat. My lungs and heart hardened like stone.
The guilt I had buried deep within resurfaced, massive and overwhelming. It became fuel for the Guhwa Flames, which greedily latched onto it.
Seizing upon this vulnerability, the flames roared even higher. More visions surfaced, feeding the inferno.
The weight of this guilt crushed me. Normally, I would have rationalized it away, but the emotional turmoil made that impossible.
What is this...?
Amid these visions, there was an inexplicable one—a man who looked like me but wasn’t me.
The flames surged again, and my body jerked violently.
Forget that for now—focus on the flames...
The Guhwa Flames continued to expand, the heat accumulating in my body.
My emotions swelled, overwhelming my reason.
The heat rose to unbearable levels. I felt like I would explode.
If I let the flames rampage any further, I would undoubtedly die.
Recognizing the mortal danger, my scattered reasoning sought a solution.
“Homogenization, Changae.”
Water and ice collided with the flames.
Quickly mimicking Changae, I tried to push back the Guhwa Flames.
The cool energy surged into my overheated body, countering the fire’s rampage.
The flames hesitated for a moment but burned through the Changae I had manifested.
It’s not enough.
My hastily summoned Changae wasn’t enough to suppress the emotionally fueled Guhwa Flames.
“This is a terrible time for this trial...”
Just then, external Changae enveloped me.
I had momentarily forgotten about Baek Arin. She approached through the flames, encased in a shroud of icy mana.
Placing a hand on my hunched back, she formed a seal with her other hand, flooding my body with her Changae.
Her icy energy intertwined with my own, creating a torrent of cold that overwhelmed the Guhwa Flames.
Gradually, the flames diminished.
The last ember flickered over my shoulder before the Guhwa Flames were extinguished entirely.
Suddenly, all strength drained from my body.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, I slumped forward.
“Oh, dear. What a disaster... Are you alright?”
Before I hit the ground, Baek Arin caught me, cradling my limp body.
My breathing was labored.
Hot...
My body still felt like it was burning. Though the immediate flames were gone, the residual heat lingered. Steam rose from my overheated skin.
So hot...
I hated this. Warmth was fine, but once it exceeded a certain threshold, it became unbearable.
I craved coolness.
As I gasped for air, a hand gently patted my back.
“It’s okay now. Take slow breaths...”
Baek Arin’s soothing touch carried her characteristic coolness.
No...
Her hand swept over my back, cooling my flushed skin.
I didn’t even need to check—her icy energy was palpable.
I wanted relief from this suffocating heat.
Though the worst had passed, the lingering heat and my heightened emotions pushed me to act.
“You’re doing great. Just keep focusing on your breathing and—oh!”
I wrapped my arms around her slender waist and pulled myself closer.
Her soft embrace welcomed me, and with it came the coolness I desperately needed.
Haaah...
[So cool...]
My body shuddered involuntarily, and a sigh escaped my lips. The accumulated heat was dissipating.
It felt as if I had been drenched in sweat and then plunged into a pool of icy water.
“Haha, are you being clingy again?”
Baek Arin let out a soft laugh.
One hand gently patted my back, while the other unzipped her windbreaker all the way down.
As the jacket opened, it revealed her black sleeveless top underneath.
“Aww, my little Hayul, were you scared because of the trial?”
With an oddly affectionate tone, Baek Arin pressed my head gently into her peach-colored cleavage.
It was soft and cool.
The flames, which had long been subdued by the Changae flowing through my body, now clung to the coolness of Baek Arin’s skin.
“...Huh?”
Suddenly, Baek Arin’s movements froze.
A rare, dazed sound escaped her lips.
Baek Arin viewed Lee Hayul as someone akin to a hedgehog.
Fundamentally, he was full of fear and suspicion.
When others approached him abruptly, he didn’t greet them with enthusiasm but instead recoiled, bristling with defensive quills.
He wasn’t aggressive by nature, so he rarely lashed out first. However, if someone tried to harm him, he wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate.
If left alone, he wouldn’t approach others either.
He preferred to quietly observe from the sidelines, watching others with wary eyes.
[So cool...]
That was the Lee Hayul she had known before they grew closer.
Baek Arin gazed down at the boy nestled in her embrace with a curious expression.
He seemed entirely content, his face buried snugly in the cleavage exposed by her sleeveless top.
Once someone got close to Lee Hayul... he transformed entirely.
The wary hedgehog turned into a puppy brimming with affection.
When approached suddenly, he would startle at first but secretly feel pleased, his curiosity betraying his attempts at indifference.
He rarely showed aggression toward those he trusted, preferring to retreat into his own shell rather than lash out.
Baek Arin had worked hard to get closer to Hayul.
From their first meeting, through discovering his Guhwa Flames, which rivaled Hong Yeonhwa’s, she had sought a deeper bond with him.
After realizing that he could simultaneously manifest both Guhwa Flames and Changae—an unprecedented feat—she had resolved to create a relationship where she could support him unconditionally.
It wasn’t merely selfless. Baek Arin believed that Lee Hayul had the potential to fulfill her own desires as well.
And now...
“Haha!”
Baek Arin felt hope—a tangible, achievable hope.
A smile spread across her face as her heart skipped erratically. Whatever objections her body had to this "intrusion" into her personal space were irrelevant.
Sniff...
Baek Arin suddenly lowered her head, burying her nose in Lee Hayul’s white hair.
She took a deep breath, causing Hayul to flinch.
She didn’t care. Instead, she tightened her arms around him, holding him securely in her embrace.
He was warm. She could feel his body heat through the soft, damp texture of his skin.
The smooth strands of his white hair brushed against her face as she inhaled deeply.
His scent was intoxicating.
Even though he was drenched in sweat from the ordeal with Guhwa Flames, there wasn’t a trace of an unpleasant smell. Instead, his natural scent had deepened, overwhelming her senses.
For a moment, Baek Arin felt as though she were drowning in honey.
Even her dulled senses, blunted by her accursed condition, couldn’t resist the sensation.
The curse seemed to weaken slightly.
Though it was faint, Hayul’s Guhwa Flames had an effect on her curse.
If it was Guhwa Flames that had come to understand Changae...
“It’s possible,” she murmured.
Before long, her dulled senses returned.
She lifted her head, breaking the contact.
[Huh...?]
Lee Hayul’s wide eyes looked up at her in confusion, his face clearly startled by her sudden actions.
Even then, he didn’t resist—his head tilted slightly, completely vulnerable.
“You know, Hayul,” Baek Arin whispered with a playful smile.
[Yes?]
“I saw it.”
[Saw what?]
Hayul tilted his head again, genuinely puzzled. Perhaps he had forgotten in the chaos of the situation.
Baek Arin leaned down further, bringing her lips close to his ear.
“I saw you using Changae.”
Lee Hayul froze completely, his memories flooding back as if a switch had been flipped.
His head tilted further, stiff as if he were a frozen fish.
[... ...]
[...?]
[Uh?]
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
[What?]
[Oh, shit?]
“Haha, look at that reaction!”
Baek Arin giggled, lowering her hand.
“Hey, Hayul, could you do me a little favor?”
Her fingers trailed gently over his back, down to his waist.
Even as her hand brushed over him, Hayul remained completely immobilized, unable to respond.
[Player Adjustment System: Affection]
Lee Hayul → Baek Arin
●●●●●●●○○○ (69 ▶ 74/100)
Keywords: "Coolness," "Comfort," "Affection," "Curiosity," "Confusion," "Cow?," "Guilt"