CLANG—!!

CLANG—!!

The sound of metal scraping rang against my ears. It was an irritating, unpleasant noise.

CLANG—!!

CLANG—!!

Like iron grinding against a wall.

I cracked my eyes open at the noise—just hearing it was enough to make my face twist.

What is that.

What the hell is making that sound? The moment I opened my eyes in confusion—

“...!”

My eyes went wide as lanterns. Because a scene so vicious it made my blood run cold flooded into view.

A squelching sensation. The ground beneath my feet was drenched, soaked through with blood.

And the sky spread above it was stained red in the exact same way.

Is this hell?

It looked like it could only be described by that word.

If this wasn’t hell, then what was?

And it wasn’t just “stained red,” either. Weapons were jammed into the earth everywhere you looked.

Rust-eaten, dulled, chipped—broken and ruined arms littered the place.

And the rancid, heavy stench rising off it all was so vile I covered my nose without thinking.

What is this place, anyway?

It was unfamiliar and artificial. Somewhere that couldn’t possibly be reality.

The problem was—

I feel like I’ve seen this before.

Even though it was so alien, it was also—somehow—familiar. Unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. What kind of screwed-up sensation was that?

I couldn’t understand it, but the feeling itself was unmistakably real.

As I rolled my eyes hard, scanning around—

Over there...?

Something came into view ahead. Between the heaps of piled weapons, there was a massive boulder.

I was about to think, Why is there a random rock in a place like this? when—

That’s familiar too.

Even that felt familiar. Like I’d seen it somewhere before. This space, that rock—me, seeing it.

That couldn’t be.

It couldn’t... and yet my gaze kept getting dragged toward the boulder ahead.

And...

Not just the boulder. It felt like someone was sitting on top of it.

So I slowly lifted my head.

“...There really is someone there?”

Someone was actually perched on it. And even this felt familiar. Like I’d seen this scene before, too.

Where the hell did I see this? The sense of familiarity kept building, heavier by the second.

And when I finally focused on the top of the boulder, the figure sitting there came into view.

Black martial robes hung in a miserable slump, and behind the bowed head, messy black hair spilled down.

Just looking at that broad back made my fingertips start trembling.

My whole body was shaking from seeing nothing but his back.

Fear.

I was sure of it. What I was feeling right now was fear. What is that?

Not a ghost... though.

It wasn’t the simple sensation of a wandering spirit. I was terrified, but that didn’t mean it was a malicious ghost, either.

Then what the hell was it? What was it doing in a place like this?

And—

Why am I—

Why was I walking toward him? The tip of my foot stepping forward on its own.

One step.

Then another.

As I kept closing in—

SWISH.

“...!!”

The one sitting on the boulder turned his head.

Our eyes met.

A chill stabbed through me.

“What....”

Goosebumps exploded up my skin. The eyes staring back at me were drenched in red.

The instant I met that gaze, my body went rigid. It was the overwhelming sensation of standing right in front of a predator.

“Huuk... hhuuu....”

My breathing turned ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) ragged on its own. I barely forced myself to endure it.

If I didn’t, it felt like I’d collapse on the spot.

Who the hell is that? Who is he, that I’m meeting him here?

As I stared at him with my anxiety crawling up my throat—

SSSS.

He moved.

Slowly, he narrowed his eyes at me.

Then—

[Not yet.]

“What?”

[Not yet.]

He spat out words I couldn’t make sense of.

[Go a little farther. It’s still far.]

I was about to show my confusion—

[Go back.]

He said it.

And in that moment, my vision blinked out like a snapped flame.

*****

FLASH—!

“Keuk!”

Light wrapped around me and the scene changed. I shut my eyes, opened them again—and at the same time, I jerked my body upright.

“Huff... huff....”

I clawed at my chest, coughing out cramped breath.

“Haaah....”

What was that just now? What did I see? My whole body was shaking, drenched in cold sweat.

My body trembled shallowly. I didn’t even feel cold, but the sensation was all wrong.

“Hngh....”

It writhed in me, nasty and sick, like I’d seen something I was never meant to see.

As I barely managed to steady my breathing, again and again—

[Oh.]

A voice.

I lifted my head toward the sound, and familiar blue eyes greeted me.

[You woke up.]

“......”

It was Yoo Cheongil. He was looking at me with a wide grin.

So this is reality. The moment I saw the old man, I realized it. It seemed I’d been unconscious until just now.

I swallowed dry, about to push myself up—

RRRRAK—!!

The door flew open and someone rushed in.

The moment they entered, our eyes met.

“...Ah...!”

A woman—Murong Yeongsun—stared at me, eyes going huge.

“Bang Sungyeon...!”

She called my name and lunged, throwing her arms around me.

“Keuk...!”

She hit me so hard I had to catch her with my whole body.

“...Why are you so strong?”

I tried to push her back a little. No—I tried, but her grip was so damn strong she barely budged.

“Hey, get off me... I’m gonna suffocate.”

No matter what I said, Murong Yeongsun didn’t move.

Then—

“Bang Young Master...!”

Cheon Eujin came in right after her, and a few more people appeared behind him.

“I’ll call a Therapist.”

The moment Cheon Eujin confirmed I was awake, he hurried out, and watching that, I thought to myself—

Looks like...

...I’d been out longer than I thought.

*****

Seven days and nights.

I wondered how long I’d been asleep, and they told me seven days and nights had passed.

I slept for a disgustingly long time.

I figured it couldn’t have been that much—only for it to be seven days and nights.

This is the first time I’ve slept that long.

Maybe because I slept so excessively, my body felt subtly stiff.

A Therapist lifted my arm and examined me this way and that.

After a long checkup like that—

“...There are no serious abnormalities.”

The Therapist said it with a face that looked outright shocked. No abnormalities is good news, so why are you making that face?

“Really?”

Murong Yeongsun spoke with her brows drawn tight.

“You’re sure you checked properly?”

“I’m certain. It is true that some external injuries remain, but even those should heal without issue with one or two months of rest.”

“...Whew.”

Only after hearing the certainty did Murong Yeongsun finally let out a sigh of relief.

Ignoring Yeongsun, I asked the Therapist.

“So you’re saying I can move right away without much trouble?”

“Yes. Intense training could be dangerous, but daily activities should not be a problem.”

“Mm.”

I could get up right now. That was good news.

After exchanging a few words, the Therapist left. The moment he was gone, I loosened my body.

It still felt stiff, but it wasn’t to a level that truly bothered me.

“Ah—Young Master. You should rest a little more...!”

Cheon Eujin spoke with worry, and Murong Yeongsun grabbed my sleeve too.

“...You’re not going to move immediately, right? Stay a little. The strategist will be here soon anyway.”

“Mm?”

Leaving aside that she’d somehow gone back to polite speech, the rest made me narrow my eyes.

Who was coming?

“The strategist is coming here?”

“Yes. He told us to contact him the moment you woke up. He’s probably on his way right now.”

“Hm.”

If he was coming personally, then I had no intention of staying still.

“He said I can move right away anyway. I’m just going to get some air. I’ve been lying down too long—I’m going insane.”

I pushed away the hands trying to stop me and went outside.

The sunlight hit me clearly. While I squinted and looked around, I asked Cheon Eujin, who followed behind me.

“Cheon Young Master.”

“Yes?”

“You said I was down for a long time.”

“That’s right. Ah—are you feeling unwell anywhere...?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

I rubbed my eyes lightly and asked him,

“Then while I was unconscious, did anything happen? Any... situation that developed?”

Any changes during that time. The moment I asked, Cheon Eujin’s expression turned slightly strange.

“A situation....”

I could tell just by looking at his face. Something did happen.

“What is it?”

I asked with an uneasy stare, and Cheon Eujin made a weird expression—half laughing, half crying.

What kind of face is that?

“Why are you doing that?”

When I asked again, not understanding, Cheon Eujin tried to say something—

“If something happened... it probably happened to you the most, Young Master.”

“...Me?”

What, me?

When I looked at him in confusion, Murong Yeongsun stepped in close and cut in.

“Just look at yourself first. That’ll be fastest.”

Myself?

The moment she said it, I looked at the lake beside us.

And there—

“Huh??”

My reflection stared back at me, and I grabbed my hair.

“What is this—why is it like this?”

I panicked. Because my hair had turned completely white.

I’d heard it changes when I use Moon Heaven, and that the form looks like this.

But—

“...Why?”

Why now?

I didn’t even use Moon Heaven. Is it... staying that way?

That shouldn’t be possible.

Then why is it like this?

It was bizarre as hell. I kept touching my hair, over and over—

“So you really didn’t know?”

“...How would I know something like this.”

I go to sleep and wake up with white hair. How could anyone predict that?

Still rattled, I looked straight at Yoo Cheongil.

At my stare, Yoo Cheongil scratched his cheek again and again, like he didn’t know either.

What? Even he doesn’t know?

If Yoo Cheongil didn’t know, then how would I?

Was there something wrong with my body? Worried, I checked myself. I wrapped a thin layer of inner power around me and ran it through my body.

Huh?

The instant I moved it, I froze. Something was off.

It didn’t seem like the only thing that changed was my hair.

This...

The more I checked the energy in my dantian, the more it felt that way.

This is—

Compared to right before I lost consciousness—

It doubled.

The amount of inner power I had had increased by two times.

How the hell did that happen?

I was staring at myself in shock when—

“You woke up.”

“...!”

I spun around at the voice.

Jegal Jin.

At some point, he’d appeared and was looking right at me.

“Strategist.”

I widened my eyes a little, not even realizing when he arrived.

“I heard you woke up, so I came immediately. Good. You look like you’re in decent shape.”

He glanced me over and spoke.

Heh heh heh. Jegal Jin let out a chuckle. But unlike the laugh, his face looked exhausted down to the bone.

Then—

“Alright.”

Jegal Jin looked at me and said,

“So. How does it feel to become Henan’s hero, my grandson?”

“...What?”

I frowned hard.

Hero...? What are you talking about?