Childhood Friend of the Zenith
Chapter 359: The Celestial Sword (4)

My shoulders ached, feeling as though weights had been stacked upon them.

My feet wouldn’t budge, as though they were glued to the ground.

I felt uncomfortable as if my entire body was bound by unseen restraints.

Fuck.

The feeling forced a curse from my lips.

The first sensation that struck me was powerlessness. From the moment this strange feeling took hold, I somehow knew I wouldn’t be able to escape it.

I gritted my teeth, summoning all my strength to break free.

Crack.

I poured all my strength into the effort, but nothing happened.

Despite my struggle, my body remained utterly still.

I tried using my Qi,

But it wouldn’t respond.

It was as if my Qi had vanished entirely, leaving me empty.

It felt like the entire world conspired to stop me from saving the girl before me.

My pupils trembled.

A strange light poured from Wi Seol-Ah as she staggered.

What was that? Some form of Qi?

No, it was something else. I could tell just by looking.

The girl who’d spoken to me moments ago was fading away.

Her body was still there, yet her presence, her very existence, was being erased.

Right before my eyes.

I had no idea where she was going or how she would disappear, but I knew one thing, if I let this continue, I would never see her again.

She’s going to disappear after we’ve finally met like this?

Wi Seol-Ah was slipping away before me.

And I’m supposed to just stand here and watch?

Squeeze.

What utter nonsense.

I forced more strength into my body, yet it remained stiff as stone.

I did feel one difference, which was the overload my body was experiencing.

Craaack-!

Muscles tore, and bones splintered under the pressure.

The pain was excruciating, but it didn’t matter.

Fuck…

I pushed myself to the limit, but the restraints held firm.

It would’ve been nice if I could’ve used my Qi, but I couldn’t even use my Demonic Qi, let alone Qi.

Please, just let me move..

Just move somehow.

What was the point of all my training?

I couldn’t even save the one person I wanted to protect.

While I fought to break free,

“I have no right to ask anything of you…”

Wi Seol-Ah began to speak.

“But I’d like to make two requests.”

I wanted to tell her to worry about herself instead of making random requests, but my damned mouth wouldn’t move.

Wi Seol-Ah spoke as if she had no intention of waiting for my response.

“Please take good care of this child…”

Instead of thinking of herself, she was asking me to take care of the Wi Seol-Ah of this timeline.

Her voice was thick with desolation and sorrow, the tone of someone who had surrendered everything and left behind all regrets.

Still, her words made me want to ask in return.

What about you, then?

If she leaves after making these requests, what’s left for her?

What would remain for the woman who risked her life for others, who gave everything she had to save the world?

Not yet.

There was still so much I needed to ask her.

How did we end up coming back to the past?

What happened to her after my death?

And why.

Why did she miss me enough to follow me here?

I wanted to ask her all of these questions.

But now, you’re telling me I have to let her go like this?

I couldn’t bring myself to let that happen.

…I can’t let that happen.

So please move.

I felt my body creaking.

It was a clear sign my body had reached its limit.

Was there truly no way out?

Did I really have to let her vanish like this?

Right before my very eyes?

As shame overwhelmed me, Wi Seol-Ah made a second request.

“…And please, call this child by her name.”

“…!”

Her words hit me like a heavy weight dropping in my mind.

I hadn’t expected her to ask something like that.

Call her by her name…?

I had never called anyone by their name.

And I didn’t even have a clear reason for it.

Maybe I once had a reason, but now it was lost to me.

Back then, I was simply afraid.

I was afraid to call someone by their name because that would mean acknowledging their existence.

I was terrified that someone dear to me might recoil, disgusted by my flaws and failures.

But now, I felt uncomfortable calling a person by their name.

I had simply grown too accustomed to it.

I was so used to avoiding names, and I hadn’t found anyone important enough to carve their name into my memory.

…No, that’s not it. I was just afraid.

I dismissed my weak excuse.

I tried to act tough, but I knew I wasn’t.

I avoided names in my past life because I was unhappy with myself, and in this life, I kept doing it to avoid the pain of loss.

With inevitable calamities and wars on the horizon, and a world brimming with secrets and the looming Heavenly Demon, I couldn’t accomplish anything.

Because of that, I didn’t want to engrave anyone in my mind. I worked tirelessly to protect others, yet I was never certain if I could truly save anyone.

Is that why?

Was Wi Seol-Ah make this request because she understood my weakness?

Maybe she wanted me to change, to call people by their names, because I hadn’t in my past life?

Was that the purpose of her two requests?

Yet…

You’re not going to ask anything for yourself?

She wasn’t asking me to do that to her.

It felt so empty.

It was heartbreaking to see someone who, even in death, cared so little for themselves after a lifetime of selflessness.

Even now, you’re still the Celestial Sword, aren’t you?

Her image was etched in my heart, and I didn’t want her to live the same life in this timeline.

I wished she’d never held a sword.

I wanted her to never learn martial arts.

I prayed she would keep her smile and live freely, following her own dreams.

I had tried to take the Celestial Sword’s place, hoping to free her from the life she endured in my past.

That was my goal.

However.

What had I achieved since coming back?

Nothing.

I hadn’t achieved a single thing.

In the end, Wi Seol-Ah picked up a sword.

She trained in martial arts, reaching the Peak Realm in just a few years, proving that her past life’s talent was no illusion.

The young girl with a bright smile was slowly losing it, wielding a sword now to protect me.

In the end, she had taken up the sword once more to protect others, and this time, I was one of them.

What a fool I am.

I swore to change things, yet I failed to alter what mattered most.

What was the purpose of my life, then?

Pssss…

Wi Seol-Ah’s presence began to fade.

As her presence dimmed, I watched her slowly sink to her knees.

She knelt down, closing her eyes.

She was preparing for the farewell.

Wait.

I was far from ready, how could she prepare herself so easily?

Since my regression, I’ve lived a life I could never have imagined in the past.

I’d earned the title of True Dragon.

In contrast to being called the Young Lord of the Gu Clan in my past life, I now carried a title that was embarrassing but strangely cool.

I refused to live another life of regret.

I vowed to protect those around me and, ultimately, to achieve peace.

I was living a life completely unlike my past,

But so what?

Snap.

Unable the mounting pressure, blood vessels in my eyes burst.

What comes after?

Honor and fame.

Then peace?

How utterly meaningless.

I can’t even save the girl right in front of my eyes, so why would anything else matter?

Craaaack-!

I summoned even more strength, pushing against the crushing force.

My body screamed in pain, already past its limit, but I ignored it.

I could always repair it if it broke.

I only looked forward.

I would worry about the consequences later.

Please.

What good would it do, even if I broke free from this crushing force?

Could I even help her even if I approach her? She’s already disappearing, so what would change even if I go closer to her?

Please.

It’s all pointless.

Just watch and wallow in sorrow.

These thoughts raged within me, yet a small, stronger instinct urged that I couldn’t let her remain there.

Even if it cost me my life, I couldn’t let her go like this.

Just as that thought crossed my mind,

Sss…

…Huh?

I felt the warmth of someone embracing me from behind.

Warm hands wrapped around my neck, then gently took hold of my own.

It was just a sensation.

I was alone; there was no one here besides Wi Seol-Ah.

It was warm.

The warmth was so soothing that it quieted the storm in my mind.

Then, the pressure that held me in place began to fade.

I could move my hands, and my feet lifted from the ground.

I rushed forward and pulled Wi Seol-Ah close.

“Ah…?”

Ignoring the searing pain, I pulled Wi Seol-Ah’s small frame toward me.

“How… did you?”

Wi Seol-Ah’s voice trembled with shock in my arms.

“How were you… able to m…”

“Wi Seol-Ah.”

“…!”

Holding her tightly, I whispered her name into her ear.

Despite her shock, she fell silent, flustered by the sound of her own name.

“…Where do you think you are going?”

“…Ah…”

“At least hear a person out before leaving.”

In response, Wi Seol-Ah slowly wrapped her arms around my back.

“…I really must be dying.”

“What?”

“I heard that when someone feels immense happiness, they’re close to death. So if that’s not it… am I dreaming?”

“…”

I pulled her even closer.

I felt her warmth around my body.

I could hear her heartbeat.

But still, her aura continued to fade.

What should I do?

What can I do to…

[ …Embrace it. ]

A voice whispered in my ear.

It was a familiar voice.

This voice…

Just as realization dawned, I opened my eyes in shock.

[ There is no time. Hurry… ]

The voice urged me onward.

I didn’t hesitate. I knew time was running out.

Woong.

I activated my Demonic Absorption Arts. Unlike before, my Qi flowed freely.

“Master… Gu?”

Wi Seol-Ah noticed something and called out to me.

“…Stay still.”

“What… are you doing?”

Would she try to stop me if she knew what I was doing?

She definitely would.

She might even yell at me.

It would have been amusing to see her like that,

But I was never one to listen to anyone.

I had no plans to listen now.

“You’ve acted selfishly too, so I’ll do as I please.”

“…N-No. I…”

The aura that poured out from Wi Seol-Ah changed its direction and aimed toward me.

I saw the aura enter my body, yet I felt nothing.

It was undeniably flowing into me, but I felt nothing at all.

“I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do.”

“Master Gu…”

“I have no idea what will happen to me afterward.”

“Then…!”

“But still.”

I couldn’t see Wi Seol-Ah’s expression as I held her close.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go like this.”

“…”

Wi Seol-Ah remained silent.

But I felt her hold tighten around me.

That much was enough.

Then, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

…What would have happened if we both lived a different life?

Wi Seol-Ah’s earlier words echoed in my mind.

Could we have lived a better life?

Both of us?

Moments later, the light radiating from Wi Seol-Ah vanished, as if it had never existed.

I loosened my grip and shifted to check on Wi Seol-Ah.

Wi Seol-Ah had her eyes closed.

“…”

When she opened her eyes again, it would undoubtedly be the Wi Seol-Ah of this timeline, not the one I’d just spoken to.

Would Wi Seol-Ah remember this?

Or did she know my secrets?

Setting those questions aside, I placed a hand over my chest.

…I wonder what happened.

I had absorbed her aura, yet I couldn’t feel even a hint of her presence in my Dantian or my heart.

I had no other choice.

I only did what the voice told me to do.

“…”

The voice that had called to me…

Someone might wonder why I obeyed that voice so easily, but I’d heard it before.

Of course, I remembered it, I’d never let myself forget.

It was the voice of someone from long ago.

“…Mother.”

It was my mother’s voice.

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