Childhood Friend Of The Zenith – Chapter 1294

Beyond a time that felt as if it would never flow.

I gently pushed away the woman who had been resting still in my arms.

“……”

Unlike the feeling of relief in my chest, my head felt a bit stiff.

What was that. Why did I hug her? It felt as if some mechanism had misfired and something inside had broken.

“……”

Namgung Bi-ah stared straight at me. I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes. Embarrassing. What was I supposed to do with this? I tried to ignore the heat rising bit by bit and forced my brain to work, but—

“You.”

The corners of Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes curved slightly as she looked at me.

“Your ears are red.”

Her hand touched my ear. At the cool sensation, I shivered a little. Startled, I sprang back and widened the distance.

“What—why are you touching me.”

“……”

At my words, Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You hugged me first.”

“……”

I was at a loss for words—because she was right.

“…That was… now it’s…”

“Not going to hug me anymore?”

“……”

She spread her arms a little. At the gesture telling me to hug her again, I turned to stone. Should I?

‘Are you insane.’

Smack—!

I slapped my own cheek. That brought me back to my senses.

“…Don’t mess around.”

“It’s… not… a joke…”

“Explain now. How did you come here.”

“……”

“This isn’t a place you should be.”

A world my mother created. A false world. In other words, it wasn’t a place where Namgung Bi-ah could come by riding in Hyeon Soyeon’s body, let alone me.

“What are you, really.”

Then what exactly was the Namgung Bi-ah in front of me.

“Don’t even think about running away this time.”

“……”

“Answer me.”

I had no intention of letting her slip away. Reminding myself of that, I gripped her wrist and spoke.

“…I got permission…”

“What?”

You got permission?

“From whom.”

“…Mother…”

“…Mo—what?”

Mother? Don’t tell me—

“Are you talking about my mother?”

“Mm.”

“…What kind of address is that—no, forget it. How did you get permission.”

Mother is in the Myriad Realms. Namgung Bi-ah should be in the Central Plains.

What point of contact could there be between the two for her to get permission? I stared at her, dumbfounded.

“…Because I had to find you.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Find me?

“In the Central Plains? That can’t be.”

Time in the Central Plains and in the Myriad Realms is entirely different. In the brief time I was apart from Shin Noya there, he spent several decades in the Myriad Realms.

If so, even if I disappeared, it shouldn’t be a big problem. I was certain of that.

“There’s no way that much time has—”

“…A lot has passed.”

“…What?”

“Time… a lot has passed.”

“What kind of insane talk is that.”

Time has passed? My eyes widened. I grabbed Namgung Bi-ah by the shoulders and asked urgently.

“How much. How much time has passed.”

“…I can’t say.”

“What do you mean you can’t. Say it clearly—”

I stopped mid-question and narrowed my eyes.

“A ban?”

“……”

It was blocked. As soon as I heard that, I was about to open the Mind’s Eye, but—

Zzt.

‘Ah, damn it.’

My inner qi was completely empty; I couldn’t even use the Mind’s Eye.

‘Who set it?’

Who placed the ban? If it was related to Mother, was it Mother? That could be, but—

‘What matters is—how did Namgung Bi-ah even get entangled with my mother.’

I couldn’t think of any way Namgung Bi-ah, who was in the Central Plains, could connect to Mother. On top of that—

‘If the timeline is different from what I expected—’

Contrary to my expectation that, no matter how long you stayed in the Myriad Realms, not much time would pass in the Central Plains…

‘…if time is flowing—’

[omitted]

This was bad. In that case, all my plans would be thrown off. My face twisted up.

‘On top of that, my energy is a problem.’

If I wanted to fix things quickly, I’d at least need to restore my condition, and not being able to do that was another problem.

Tsk. I clicked my tongue inwardly and asked Namgung Bi-ah:

“…So, what happened to Miss Hyeon?”

What about the original owner of the body? At that, Namgung Bi-ah tilted her head and said:

“She’s sleeping.”

“Sleeping?”

“I borrowed it.”

She’d borrowed the body. That seemed to mean Hyeon Soyeon’s consciousness was gone.

“…How long can you maintain it?”

“Not long. It’s almost over.”

“Then the reason you ended up inside Miss Hyeon… is it the reason I’m thinking of?”

Because of Mother. Beyond the chillingly similar appearance, I was asking whether it was because she was the one who gave birth to Namgung Bi-ah.

Bluntly, it was also asking if Namgung Bi-ah knew that Miss Hyeon was her mother.

“That’s right.”

Namgung Bi-ah answered calmly. She knew, and my reason was correct.

“Did you choose her?”

“No…”

So it wasn’t a choice she made herself. She could say at least that much.

If so—

“…Why did you come.”

Maybe I could at least hear the reason Namgung Bi-ah came. When I asked—

“To search.”

“Me?”

“Mm.”

“You came all the way here to find me?”

I might not hear how she came, but I at least heard that I was the reason.

“I had to find you… there are many looking.”

“…What?”

Not just Namgung Bi-ah—there were many searching? I knit my brows at that. What on earth was happening outside?

“What is going on, and how.”

“That…”

As she began to speak, Namgung Bi-ah suddenly swayed. Eyes widening, I caught her.

“What’s wrong. Are you okay?”

“…Time.”

“Time?”

“It’s up… I’ll come again later.”

“No, not yet. I have a lot to ask—what do you mean, you’re leaving again…!”

We’d barely managed to meet; we could finally have a conversation. Leave again?

Grip.

At that moment, Namgung Bi-ah grabbed my arm and said:

“…Find it.”

“What?”

Find…? I didn’t quite catch it, so I brought my ear closer. Only when I leaned in did I hear it.

“…Find Ddoldoli.”

“…Huh?”

Ddoldoli? My eyes widened at the sudden words.

Fizz—!!

A short crackle of thunder-qi jumped, and Namgung Bi-ah’s hair color began to change. It reverted to that distinctive shade Miss Hyeon originally had.

Thump.

She lost consciousness on the spot and slumped against my shoulder.

“……”

Feeling her warmth, I recalled what she had just said.

‘Find Ddoldoli?’

Why bring that guy up all of a sudden? Don’t tell me—

‘…He came here too?’

Ddoldoli came into this world as well? Is that even possible? As my head rang dully in confusion—

‘Oh.’

I suddenly remembered what Mother had said to me here.

—Snake!

‘…Snake.’

I didn’t know why, but—

Strangely, the word “snake” made me think of Ddoldoli.

After that, I walked a bit to get out of the area. Namgung Bi-ah’s disappearance was a problem, but I took meaning in the fact that I’d managed to escape somehow.

‘I went too far.’

It was a brute-force method. Did I think I could pull it off? Maybe I’d grown conceited because I’d gotten stronger in my own way.

‘…I was stupid.’

Whether I overestimated my strength, or fixated on the idea that I could devour Apostles—whatever it was, it wasn’t a good choice.

From the start—

‘I should have focused only on searching.’

I shouldn’t have panicked at the sight of Paejon. I should have dug deeper into the entity called Geomhu.

‘…Did I forget because this is a fake world.’

Maybe that was a reason, too.

“…Tsk.”

I was getting impatient—in spirit and in circumstances. In this world I thought I only needed to resolve things—

‘The things I didn’t know—’

—and the events arising from them were tightening around my neck.

‘What should I do.’

First priority was to get out of this world. To do that, I needed to deal with Geomhu.

‘If I do that—’

What happens to Mother? I also had to retrieve the power that had gone over to Geomhu.

‘Hmm.’

My head ached. I didn’t even know why that Paejon fellow was tied up there.

‘A year. That gap is big.’

Why was only I bound for a year?

‘Was it the Blood Demon’s doing?’

Since this Demon Realm itself was the Blood Demon’s work, there was a possibility I’d suffered something at his hands…

‘Wait.’

My eyes narrowed.

‘…What is the Blood Demon’s goal?’

At the point he created this world, what was the Blood Demon’s objective? I’d only been thinking of escape; I hadn’t considered why he trapped us here.

A chill ran through me. I belatedly grasped the problem. The Blood Demon’s purpose—I needed to recall it.

‘What is it?’

Just as I strained to work my cooling brain—

“Uuugh…”

“…!”

I heard movement behind me.

“Mmm…”

“You’re awake.”

The woman I’d been carrying on my back all this time—Miss Hyeon opened her eyes. At my words, she shifted and lifted her head slightly.

“…Where is this.”

“I was going to head into the brush, but I didn’t see much of one, so for now I’m just walking.”

“…Nnnngh.”

Miss Hyeon stretched as if nothing were wrong.

“Ugh, I’m stiff…”

“Are you feeling a bit clea—”

I was about to ask when—

“How was she?”

“Sorry?”

Miss Hyeon cut me off first. How was she? What?

“What do you mean?”

“How was your fiancée you saw after so long.”

“……”

I froze mid-step.

When I turned my head slightly, Miss Hyeon was grinning at me.

“…How did—”

Before I could ask how she knew—

“What should I call you now? Ah.”

With a mischievous face, Miss Hyeon said to me:

“Should I call you ‘prospective son-in-law’?”

“……”

I loosened my grip without thinking.

Thud—!

“Gack!”

Miss Hyeon dropped straight to the ground and screamed.