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Childhood Friend of the Zenith (Web Novel) - Chapter 1159: The World of Ascension (89)
Chapter 1159: The World of Ascension (89)
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Crackle—!!A deep blue. Or perhaps, a fleeting white.
The faint energy wrapped around her irises flickered, sending out a barely perceptible current. It was a sensation I knew all too well—one that made my body tingle.
‘That’s Lightning Qi.’
A form of energy that mimicked lightning itself. A branch of Lightning Qi.
And more specifically—
‘...Namgung Clan’s Lightning Qi.’
A technique derived from the Azure Sky’s Thunder, created within the Namgung Clan. For a moment, I wondered if I was mistaken, but there was no way I would misidentify it.
‘I’ve seen it too many times.’
I had witnessed it countless times from Namgung Bi-ah.
Even beyond that—
‘From observing the Celestial Master. And also...’
When I handled Thunder Fang, I had felt it as well.
My body, engraved with these experiences, made it clear:
That was Namgung Clan’s Lightning Qi.
The problem was—
‘Why does Hyun Soyeon have it?’
How was she harboring Lightning Qi within her body?
“...Lady Hyun? What exactly—”
I was about to ask what was happening, cautious and on guard—
Thud!
“...!”
She suddenly threw herself into my arms.
I reacted too late. I hesitated, debating what to do, and missed my chance.
Because I couldn’t sense any killing intent.
What now? Should I react now?
As I hesitated—
Tight!
“...Huh?”
Hyun Soyeon, who had burrowed into my chest, suddenly hugged me tightly.
She wrapped her arms around my neck, and my body stiffened.
I had no idea what to do with my hands, so I just left them hanging awkwardly in the air.
“...Lady Hyun, what are you—”
“I found you.”
“...What?”
“At last...”
Hyun Soyeon muttered incomprehensibly.
Then, she loosened her hold slightly and gazed up at me from up close.
“I finally found you.”
“...!”
Seeing her eyes, my own widened in shock.
Something was wrong.
Her expression.
This wasn’t the usual Hyun Soyeon.
Her hair was still black, but her now-blue eyes gleamed unnaturally.
Her entire aura felt... off.
This wasn’t the Hyun Soyeon I knew.
‘...This is...’
And yet—
A face I knew better than anyone else came to mind.
The person I had recalled every time I looked at Hyun Soyeon.
“You—”
Without thinking, I forced out the words lodged in my throat.
I had to ask.
“Are you...?”
Just as I was about to say the name—
“Wait.”
The blue-eyed Hyun Soyeon interrupted.
“I... will come to you.”
Crackle—!!
Along with those short words, Lightning Qi surged from her body.
For a brief moment, she glowed brightly—
And then, just as quickly—
Fwoosh—!
“...!”
Hyun Soyeon collapsed, losing consciousness.
I hurriedly caught her.
“What the hell?”
She passed out just like that?
I shook her urgently, but she remained unresponsive.
There was no choice.
Bzzzt—!
I released a pulse of Internal Energy (Naegi), forcing her awake.
“Ugh...!?”
With a gasp, Hyun Soyeon finally regained consciousness.
Startled, she shot up and looked around in confusion.
“What the...? What happened...? Huh? Young Master Baek?”
Then, realizing she was in my arms, she blinked in surprise.
“...What’s going on? Why am I here? Oh... don’t tell me?”
Hyun Soyeon flinched and quickly hugged herself.
“...Did you kidnap me for some impure purpose...?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“So it is that?”
She grinned playfully, clearly amused.
I frowned.
“But seriously, why am I here? Where is this?”
“...You don’t remember?”
“No. I lay down to sleep, and now I’m suddenly here... Oh, wait, do I have sleepwalking or something?”
“......”
I swallowed dryly.
She truly didn’t remember.
Which meant—
‘Was that really her?’
Was the Hyun Soyeon from earlier really the same person?
‘...Namgung Bi-ah.’
The aura emanating from her just moments ago—
There was no doubt.
It was Namgung Bi-ah’s presence.
**********
Morning.
It was the first day I spent in this new residence.
As the faint chirping of birds signaled the dawn, I sat up.
“......”
I hadn’t slept at all.
How could I? After everything that happened, my mind was a tangled mess.
‘What the hell was that?’
What exactly had happened?
After Hyun Soyeon woke up, I had sent her back. I only told her to visit the infirmary tomorrow as a formality.
‘...That was Namgung Bi-ah.’
That brief presence within Hyun Soyeon’s body—
No matter how many times I thought about it, it was Namgung Bi-ah.
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize her.
It was definitely her.
But—
‘How?’
How did she manifest within Hyun Soyeon’s body?
I had no explanation.
‘This is a different world.’
This place was fabricated.
And yet, Namgung Bi-ah had broken through.
The Namgung Bi-ah I knew.
Even if she had borrowed Hyun Soyeon’s body, it had undeniably been her.
Which made it all the more incomprehensible.
‘If this world were in the same time period, maybe I’d understand...’
But this was decades ago, in the past—back when my father was still a young warrior.
How could Namgung Bi-ah appear here?
And more importantly—
‘She said she would come.’
She told me to wait.
That part bothered me the most.
‘Something is happening.’
Something was going on in the world I left behind.
Something bad.
‘Damn it.’
Whatever was happening—
It wasn’t good if I didn’t know about it.
This meant—
‘Something must be happening back there.’
In the Mangye, the Celestial Master (Shin Noya) had once warned me—
That time flowed differently here compared to my original world.
Even though Shin Noya had only been absent for a few years, in the Mangye, he had spent what felt like an eternity.
I had relied on that time difference, thinking I could return before anything major happened—
But now—
If Namgung Bi-ah herself had appeared—
Then something might already be happening.
Meaning my assumptions—my expectations—might have been completely wrong.
‘Shit.’
Frustration boiled inside me.
So did urgency.
‘I need to hurry.’
Whatever it was, I needed to finish things here.
Fast.
Exhale.
I let out a slow breath.
To do that—
I had to start moving.
**********
Dragging my unsteady steps, I made my way to the Gu Clan’s banquet hall.
It was the place I had been told to go the previous evening. By the time I arrived, a large number of people had already gathered.
The arrivals from Shanxi, along with the Gu Clan’s blood relatives.
At the very end of the hall, I spotted Do Yun and Namgung Jin. Sitting beside them was Hyun Soyeon. And then—
“Oh, over here.”
Paejon, seated right next to Gu Seongyul in the clan leader’s seat, waved at me.
“......”
I looked at the empty seats. One was beside Paejon. And the other—
‘Right next to my father.’
The empty seat beside my father, Gu Cheolwoon. Of all places, why there?
‘That’s the seat reserved for blood relatives.’
Just from a glance, it was clear that area was meant for the Gu Clan’s direct bloodline. It made sense for Paejon to have been offered a good seat, given who he was, but I felt a bit out of place.
Did I really have to sit there? As I hesitated, pondering over it—
“Sit wherever you’re comfortable.”
Jin Yeonryeong, seated beside Gu Seongyul, smiled as she spoke.
“There’s no need for you to come all the way here.”
“...Ah, yes.”
She must have noticed my discomfort and spoke as if trying to ease it.
Nodding at her words, I squeezed myself into the seat beside Do Yun.
“Then, let the banquet begin.”
Had everyone gathered? Gu Seongyul announced the start of the banquet.
As always, the Gu Clan’s banquets were held in a quiet and stiff atmosphere.
A meal consumed quickly, with little to no conversation.
A stark, somber gathering—fitting for a family like this.
As that suffocating atmosphere persisted for about half an hour—
“But you know...”
A woman, quietly eating, spoke up. It was Gu Seon, one of the Gu Clan’s blood relatives.
“It’s a shame to leave that seat empty. Since we’ve gained a new sibling anyway— Ack!”
Just as she was making a thoughtless remark, Jin Yeonryeong firmly pinched her side.
“Mommy...!!”
“Eat quietly.”
“Ughhh...”
Judging by her groan, it must have hurt quite a bit. I had noticed before—she had a real talent for earning a beating with her mouth.
Then—
“By the way.”
Gu Seongyul, having put down his chopsticks, turned to Paejon.
“I didn’t expect you to return to this place.”
I focused on the way he addressed him—“you.” The fact that he could speak that way to someone like Paejon was surprising.
At that, Paejon responded indifferently.
“What’s so surprising about it? My student happened to have business here, so I followed.”
“...Your student?”
Hearing that, Gu Seongyul glanced in my direction. It was just a brief flicker of his gaze, but he had definitely been looking at me.
“You took in a student?”
“Yeah. Anyway...”
Paejon suddenly pulled a face as if something was bothering him and turned to Gu Seongyul.
“What’s with the way you’re talking? Why are you acting so stiff all of a sudden?”
“......”
At Paejon’s pointed remark, the atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
“Did you get hit in the head while I wasn’t looking?”
Ignoring the mood, Paejon asked bluntly. Gu Seongyul, unbothered, answered in a calm tone.
“There comes a time when one can no longer remain carefree.”
“What a joke. You?”
Just what kind of person was Gu Seongyul before, for Paejon to say something like that?
‘He did seem strange.’
Gu Seongyul had always been known as a lunatic, but when I met him in person, he wasn’t nearly as extreme as I had expected.
Rather—
‘He’s like my father.’
There was a similarity between him and my father. A heavy presence, someone who spoke only when necessary.
Of course, if I had to compare, my father seemed far heavier in demeanor.
But still, they had the same kind of weight to them.
And to think that this man supposedly resembled me? That was beyond imagination.
“So, you’ve gone crazy after becoming clan leader, huh? You weren’t such a boring guy before. Or did you just get old and rusty?”
“What are you trying to say?”
Gu Seongyul turned his heated gaze toward Paejon.
“Well, since we’ve met face-to-face, I was thinking—if you’re not rusty yet, how about a good fight after all this time?”
“......”
At Paejon’s words, the atmosphere shifted once more.
