“Noya...?”

Noya, whose upper body had been pierced. I weakly asked, seeing this. I tried to rush toward him, but my vision swayed uncontrollably.

I felt my legs give out, and I kept collapsing. I gritted my teeth and forced strength into my knees, pushing forward.

“Noya...? Noya.”

I asked as I approached him. Noya smiled, showing his white teeth as he looked at me.

“Ah. What a shame. My body isn’t whole, so it’s even worse. If only I had a little more time, it could have worked.”

“Right now... is that really the issue? Noya’s body is...”

“Yangcheon.”

Noya’s hand reached up to my head. He slowly patted me.

“No matter how hard you try to catch the setting sun, you cannot stop the night from coming. Didn’t you already know that?”

It was fate that he ended up like this. I couldn’t accept Noya’s words.

“No... I could have done something. I’ve been searching for the Divine tree to the point of death...! Who’s fault is this...!”

“Whose fault is it?”

“...Huh?”

“Is it really my fault? Or was it something you did for yourself?”

“...!”

I was momentarily speechless at Noya’s firm words.

“I know you get lonely, but if you obsess over it, it’s just gross, no matter how charming you are. Tsk tsk...”

“Is this the time for jokes...?!”

Pash-ssseuk.

Fragments fell from Noya’s body. I reached out with trembling hands to try and catch them.

“Stop it.”

Noya shook his head and stopped me again.

“Did you see what I was going to show you in the end?”

“...I don’t know. I didn’t see it.”

I said with trembling eyes. But something else crossed my mind.

‘Light it up.’

Just as he had created the tree, I too was told to light something up.

Even though I understood that, I pretended not to know. I didn’t want to admit it. If I said I understood, it would be the end.

“Don’t know, huh? You fool.”

Noya chuckled dryly, as if he knew what I was thinking.

“Even though I’ve always called you foolish, I know that you’re a smart one. You’re just pretending to not have any sense.”

“Don’t praise me. Just curse at me like usual.”

Why is he praising me like that?

“I can’t light it up for you. My tree can no longer grow here.”

“...What do you mean by lighting it up again? I don’t know how to do that. I still don’t know.”

I had so much left to learn.

“Please.”

So please, don’t go.

Please don’t go.

I grabbed Noya’s sleeve, but even that turned to dust. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“Do you know why I told you not to come?”

“I told you I don’t know. I’m too foolish for that.”

“Have you seen much of it? I’m not skilled at teaching, and this was the best I could do.”

“...Please, listen to what people say.”

What should I do? What should I do?

How can I solve this? My mind isn’t working.

Creeeek.

Drip.

As I bit my lip, blood flowed from my lips.

‘Damn.’

What’s the point of reincarnation?

What would I do if I had another chance? What difference would it make if it wasn’t ordinary?

‘Damn it.’

Looking at Noya’s collapsing body, it was all I could do.

“Hoho? What do we have here? Are you crying?”

“I’m... I’m not crying.”

There was nothing but sniffling. My broken vision only let me tremble with my hands.

Even at that moment, Noya’s body was already collapsing.

“Aah. This damn... damn, what should I do...? What should I do...”

“What are you going to do, you fool.”

As I was desperately struggling, Noya struck me on the head with his hand.

“Just accept it. What’s the big deal if you’ve gotten attached?”

“Hah... is that really...?”

Is that what you want to say to me?

Just as I was about to speak those words...

“Go ahead first.”

Noya said with a smile.

Pash.

He crumbled into dust.

“Uh... Ah...”

I stopped, looking at the dust in my hands.

It was just dust. What had once been flesh... or rather, dust from what had pretended to be flesh.

I stood there quietly, looking at it.

It felt as though my body had broken down too.

I stood there, blankly staring at it.

Pash.

I heard something crumble again.

Even though Noya’s body had already fallen apart, what was breaking now?

In the blurry vision, it didn’t take long for me to realize.

This sound... it was coming from my own body.

‘Ah.’

The Vessel.

The Vessel that had been formed as I became the dragon.

Recently, it had been unstable, and now the Vessel cracked and shattered.

And then, it collapsed from within.

As soon as I realized that...

Sssss.

The energy that had been contained in the Vessel poured out and invaded my mind.

**********

“Mm.”

Staring at the vacant figure, Taechon spoke quietly.

“Such a pity.”

It was a shame. A truly rare opportunity to witness something like this. No, not just rare—something entirely new.

“A genius ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) of a level I’ve never seen before. What a waste.”

A being born insignificant, who broke through their limits with their own strength.

It was his first time seeing such a being. How could something like that exist?

To carry such a soul—one steeped in fierce conviction and enlightenment—it should have shattered long ago under the strain.

“It’s not the soul that broke... but the body.”

The soul looked ready to endure anything. But the body couldn’t contain it. The falsehood was the flaw.

“Truly a shame.”

No matter the purpose, something like this was worth witnessing. To see such brilliance emerge from the mortal flow of time—it was a treasure beyond value.

“Compared to that...”

Taechon glanced toward the ruined figure of Shin Cheol, then to what Shin Cheol had left behind.

The reason he had charged at him until his final breath, thrusting his sword without hesitation.

“All for that?”

A body containing a dragon.

Or perhaps, a body that contained the Dragon Lord.

Was it the Dragon Lord’s purpose? Or just a crack in the world's design?

Taechon looked at Gu Yangcheon, lost in thought.

“What is it for?”

He recognized it as a fracture in the world’s design—something unforeseen. But was it the Dragon Lord’s will? Or someone else's?

Either way, it was not something the world—Mangye—would ever have desired.

However—

“In the end...”

Compared to that... Shin Cheol was far more precious.

A life lived solely for his own greatness was worth more than something molded by the will of others.

Why did he throw his life away for that?

Moreover—

“What was he trying to show?”

What did Shin Cheol, who sought enlightenment through his path, hope to reveal to that thing?

No matter what it was, it felt like a meaningless sacrifice. The thought wouldn’t leave his mind.

With that, Taechon, as if done with sentiment, turned his gaze away.

His expression emptied of all emotion as his eyes scanned the surroundings.

“Then. Now.”

The interesting part was over.

Time was short.

Recalling that, Taechon spoke softly.

“I’ll need to move quickly.”

Clear the surroundings. Achieve his goal. If he lingered in this descent any longer, Mangye would take notice.

No... perhaps Mangye already had.

If so, all the better.

Because it meant even with awareness, Mangye couldn’t intervene.

“It seems something else is keeping them occupied.”

That arrogant being—who would normally appear by now—still hadn’t shown their face.

It was likely they had truly fallen outside the world's perception.

“Good.”

It was a perfect opportunity. At this rate, even Mangye would fall into his hands. And if that happened—

“I will claim the world itself.”

A stepping stone to ascend beyond anything before. With grand ambition, Taechon moved forward.

Toward Gu Yangcheon. He would eliminate that ominous thing first.

If he couldn’t destroy it, he would consume it. With that thought, he advanced.

Saaaak.

Someone appeared in front of Gu Yangcheon.

A figure with black hair. A dragon as well. Taechon knew it immediately. Not only that—he sensed the depth hidden within.

“The dregs of the Dragon Lord.”

“...”

A mocking smile played on his lips.

“How delightful. The pathetic remnants of its last struggle.”

“Mm...”

At those words, the woman—Cheonma—scratched her cheek. Her usually dull eyes glinted with something sharp.

“Disgusting choice of words. ‘Dregs,’ you say.”

“Mm?”

Taechon, hearing her words, frowned.

Something was wrong.

“You. What are you?”

He stared at her. Something felt deeply off.

It was unnatural. What should have been a mere mass of energy felt layered—encrusted with something foreign.

Even at his level, he couldn’t fully perceive her essence. That was impossible.

Even if he hadn’t descended in his full form—how could a mortal veil his vision?

“Just what...”

“No need to know. Besides—” she smiled sweetly, her eyes cold. “I don’t feel like fighting you. I just don’t like you very much.”

A bewitching smile. Taechon narrowed his eyes and began to move his hand.

“So, you know me.”

“Of course. I even gained a few things thanks to you...”

Cheonma swept her hair back, and her violet eyes flashed against her pale skin.

“But aside from that—” her voice dropped, colder now.

“I can’t let you get tangled with my man.”

“Your... what?”

“That’s enough. I’ve bought enough time.”

“Mm?”

The instant she said those words, Taechon’s expression twisted in confusion.

Crack.

Gu Yangcheon’s body began to shift.

His muscles swelled, and his form twisted and distorted. White fur erupted across his body, and a tail emerged.

A monstrous form. His body grew massive, erasing every trace of his former self.

“Krrrrrrrrr.”

A beast—a monstrous presence.

“Huh?”

Taechon let out a dry laugh. It wasn’t shock—it wasn’t the transformation that amused him.

No—what he sensed was—

“...Divinity?”

A form that had shattered its mortal limits.

A presence beyond the mortal frame.

“Ha. So that’s it.”

In that moment, he realized.

“Mangye. So this is what you were up to.”

It was clear now—he understood what Mangye’s true master had been planning.

And as realization turned to wrath—

“KRAAAAAA—!!!”

The beast that was Gu Yangcheon lunged at him.

***********

His eyes opened.

“What...?”

A blinding light obscured his vision. He rubbed his eyelids, trying to push the brightness away.

An unfamiliar space came into view.

A white space.

Something was floating in the white expanse.

It looked like ash, and the burnt smell that filled his nose confirmed it.

“...What the hell is this all of a sudden?”

What is this place? Why here, of all places?

Why am I here?

Confusion gripped him at the incomprehensible situation.

“...Wait. This place...”

He felt like he knew where he was. He had been here before.

If he recalled correctly, it was back in Sichuan—that time he fought against that bastard Dae Hyeon and ended up here after swallowing a strange spiritual pill.

It looked just like that place.

“Why am I back here?”

Why would he return to this place?

He was sure—ah.

“Noya...!”

Shin Noya.

He remembered Noya, remembered his body shattering and vanishing.

The memory of Noya’s death widened his eyes in shock.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Huh...?”

A familiar voice rang out. His head whipped around immediately.

And there—

“...Noya?”

Shin Noya stood there, perfectly intact, looking at him.

Seeing that, he blurted out without thinking—

“Why are you alive...?”

“...What the hell did you just say, you brat?”

Noya’s face twisted into a scowl at his words.