Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Chapter 697

Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!

The moment the flames touched my skin, my heart pounded wildly, as if about to burst. Nine Flames Firewheel began spinning out of control, its energy raging chaotically inside me.

My blood burned.

Through ragged, distorted breaths, I stared straight into the flames.

“What a truly perfect vessel.”

What was this flame speaking to me?

I didn’t have to think long.

For it to resonate with me so powerfully meant it was Nine Flames Firewheel. That much was certain.

This burning flame in front of me was my family’s legacy.

The problem was, I had never seen this flame before.

Which could only mean—

‘A blood relative I don’t know.’

And if so…

‘Then who could it be?’

Again, there was no need to agonize over it for long.

If it were before, I might have been uncertain.

But now, there was only one person who came to mind.

Crack.

I tried to move my body.

I couldn’t. An unknown force was holding me down.

I tried to open my mouth, but it was the same. My lips felt locked in place.

Woooong.

I focused on my heart, drawing power into it. Fortunately, I could still control my energy.

Kiiiiiing—!

I spun Nine Flames Firewheel faster, compressing the rampaging energy.

Fwoosh.

Gathering the swirling flames into a single point—

Bang!

I detonated it.

Kwaaaaaa—!

Blue flames exploded outwards, spinning violently as if a storm had been unleashed.

The massive surge of energy filled the area.

Crack.

The oppressive force around my body shattered.

“…Hoo.”

Finally, my lips were free.

The sudden use of power left my meridians and bones aching, the strain immense.

“Hooh.”

While I flexed my shoulders and tested my body, the flame’s voice came again, tinged with admiration.

“Impressive.”

“…”

I frowned deeply as I glared at the flame.

“I’ll ask you this directly.”

I spoke while drawing my senses to their absolute peak.

“Are you my grandfather?”

“Hmm.”

Was it my imagination?

I could almost feel the flame smile.

Though its form was purely made of fire, with no face to speak of, I somehow knew it.

“Curious. Your father never told you, and yet… How did you know?”

The flame’s response made me click my tongue.

So I was right.

The flame was my grandfather.

I sighed heavily and asked,

“How are you alive?”

“Haha.”

Asking someone why they weren’t dead might seem crude, even to me, but I needed to know.

“That’s quite a startling question.”

“It’s more startling for me, I assure you.”

How could I not be startled when a humanoid flame suddenly appeared, claiming to be my grandfather—a man everyone thought dead?

On top of that—

‘He said In’wae (inhuman).’

He had asked me why I had become something inhuman.

Which meant he could tell I was no longer human.

Maybe that’s why—

“What do you want?”

My voice came out sharper, edged with suspicion.

“Why did you seek me out?”

As I narrowed my eyes and asked, the flame replied,

“Is it so strange for a grandfather to seek his grandson?”

It was a reasonable answer, on the surface.

But it made me laugh.

“If that’s the case, then why didn’t you show up until now?”

I had never seen him once in my life, not even in my past one.

And now he suddenly claimed to be my grandfather?

Not to mention—

“Showing up in such a hostile manner doesn’t help your case.”

“It was merely a gesture of affection.”

“One more ‘gesture’ like that and someone might end up dead.”

“Cluck, cluck.”

I heard him laugh faintly and rolled my eyes, scanning the still-silent surroundings.

‘Grandfather, huh.’

The former head of the Gu family.

I had heard nothing about him—not his story, not his life.

So why was it that…

Even now, looking at him, I felt nothing?

To me, Grandfather was Elder Il.

The person in front of me felt infinitely distant.

“Child.”

The flame spoke again.

“It’s been so long, yet you’ve grown so well. It’s a sight to see.”

I frowned at the unexpected praise.

“What nonsense is this…”

“Your flames are proof of your effort. They are truly beautiful.”

His words felt like praise, yet somehow made me uneasy.

“Your vessel is firm, your body is strong. There’s no need to worry about the next generation… But.”

The flame’s hand gripped my shoulder.

“How could you, with such potential, become inhuman? That is what confounds me.”

“…”

Crackle.

The hand burned hot.

As the swirling energy filled my senses, I stared into the flame’s form.

There was no avoiding it now.

“I lived my life, and it just turned out that way.”

I simply struggled to survive.

That was all I could say.

“Hmm…”

The flame tilted its head as if curious.

Then it murmured,

“Perhaps I should have burned her after all. A precious flame tainted with impurity…”

The words froze me in place.

“…Her?”

I knew instinctively whom he was referring to.

“I should have removed her the first time I saw her. Things would have been better that way.”

“…”

“What a shame. Your vessel is so pristine, yet its light has dimmed because of that filth—hmm?”

The flame paused, tilting its head again as it looked at me.

“Why do you wear such an expression?”

My expression?

I could guess it wasn’t pleasant.

How could it be?

“You talk so much shit. How am I supposed to smile?”

Even if he was my grandfather, how could I accept someone who called my mother an impurity?

Crack.

I stretched my shoulders and looked at the flame coldly.

“You don’t look so ‘human’ yourself.”

The title of “grandfather” no longer suited him.

A body wrapped entirely in flames?

At best, it mimicked the shape of a human.

The flame replied calmly.

“You cannot see me properly because you lack the qualifications.”

“Qualifications…?”

Was he talking about my level of mastery? Or something else?

“Is it because I haven’t taken the Soga-ju position?”

I asked directly, and the flame laughed softly.

“That’s right.”

If I inherited the position, would I be able to see beyond the flames?

I didn’t know.

Even in my past life, when I had become Soga-ju, I had never seen him.

And so, I was curious.

“Why are you here now?”

Why, after all this time, had he come to me?

“As I said before, a grandfather seeking his grandson—”

“Cut the useless affection and get to the point.”

“…”

I couldn’t take it anymore.

It was sickening.

“You speak as though you care, yet there’s no warmth in your voice or gaze. Just say what you came to say. You’re making me sick.”

“Hooh…”

I spat my frustration at him, and the flame’s demeanor shifted instantly.

“This is disappointing.”

The soft facade disappeared.

His tone turned cold and emotionless, sending a chill through the air.

“Is this not the approach you preferred?”

“There was no effort to hide it. Stop talking nonsense.”

His gaze, his voice—everything about him was different now.

Grandfather?

The word made me think of Elder Il. To me, that was the only image of “grandfather” I had.

What did this being want?

“What is it you want from me?”

I asked again, knowing it wasn’t because he missed me.

The flame finally spoke.

“Because the time has come.”

His voice resonated ominously.

“You are ready. The time has passed, and the extra time I gave your father has run out. And yet—”

Whoosh.

The heat around me grew even more suffocating.

“Child, you still haven’t received the key, have you?”

“…”

The key.

I immediately understood. He must be referring to the Gu family’s insignia—a symbol passed down to the Soga-ju.

“It is time for you to inherit the karma. That is what we must do.”

His words weighed on me like a boulder.

“Is that why you came to see me? To tell me to hurry up and take it?”

Did this man—who had played dead for who knows how long—come all the way here just to pressure me?

When I asked, the flame replied,

“No. I came purely out of curiosity.”

“…Curiosity?”

“The Gu family despises the inhuman more than anyone. And yet you, the one meant to inherit our karma, have become something vile.”

“…Ha.”

So it was because I had turned into a dragon.

But did becoming a dragon somehow interfere with inheriting the karma?

‘How does he even know?’

For him to know I was no longer human, he must have been watching.

‘Wait…’

A thought struck me, and I asked sharply,

“…By any chance, is what happened to the Patriarch your doing?”

Father couldn’t make it to Henan because something had happened.

Madam Mi said it was related to something only the Soga-ju could understand.

And now my grandfather had appeared?

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

The flame gave a simple answer.

“Yes.”

“…!”

I clenched my teeth. My hunch was right.

“What… What did you do to the Patriarch?”

“I acted according to reason. Your father is guarding the Gate in my stead.”

The Gate?

What gate was he talking about?

“It was something your father should have done long ago, and one day, it will be your responsibility as well.”

“…All this just to guard a door?”

“How can you call it ‘just a door’? Guarding it is our karma.”

Our karma…

The Gu family’s very reason for existence, something I knew nothing about.

It was clear that only the Soga-ju, or perhaps the Patriarch, could know this truth.

Thinking it over, I asked,

“If becoming inhuman is such a problem, doesn’t that mean I can’t inherit it anymore?”

From the way he talked about impurity and corruption, it seemed like my transformation would interfere with my ability to inherit the karma.

When I asked, he replied calmly,

“Yes, it’s a problem. That is why I have come.”

His tone was indifferent as he continued,

“To burn away the impurity and restore you to your original state. That is why I came personally.”

“…Tch.”

Hearing that, I immediately drew up my energy.

To burn it away.

Did he mean to kill me?

Thump.

I tightened my focus, glaring at the flame.

Fwoosh!

Blue flames erupted across my body as I raised my defenses, preparing for a fight.

But then—

“However,”

The flame folded its hands behind its back and continued,

“I made a deal with your father. I will grant you a little extra time.”

“What did you just say?”

A deal with my father?

“What kind of—”

Before I could finish,

Snap—!

Whoosh!

“…!!”

With a snap of his fingers, the flames enveloping my body vanished.

I froze in shock.

I tried to summon the flames again, but—

Sizzle… Crack…

Only small sparks sputtered uselessly.

The rings of Nine Flames Firewheel had fallen completely silent.

‘What’s going on?’

The energy was still there, but I couldn’t call forth the flames.

As I stared, stunned, the flame spoke once more.

“So for now, I will take your flame.”

I widened my eyes in disbelief.

He had sealed my ability to use Nine Flames Firewheel.

How?

The flame raised his hand, and I saw it—the familiar glow of a blue flame swirling in his palm.

It was my flame.

“That is why I sought you today. If you wish to reclaim it…”

As the radiant flame danced in his hand, he said,

“Come find me in Xinjiang.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Xinjiang?

The loss of my flame was shocking, but what caught me more off guard was that word.

Xinjiang.

‘Xinjiang…’

[“Go to Xinjiang.”]

Namgung Myung had spoken those words through Woo Hyuk’s body in the North Sea.

Xinjiang was also where the Demonic Cult’s main base had been in my previous life.

And now, my grandfather was telling me to come there?

How was this all connected?

This wasn’t just a coincidence.

“I cannot give you much time. Your father mentioned a year, so I will grant you that.”

Hearing this, I immediately shouted,

“Wait!”

He was trying to leave just like that?

I tensed my legs, unwilling to let him walk away so easily.

“You can’t just take something and leave! Who the hell do you think you are?”

Thud—!

I tried to force my flames back, but nothing happened.

I scowled, channeling another power instead.

I didn’t need flames to fight.

I twisted my body, focusing energy into my fist.

Tua Pacheonmu.

Demonic energy surged into my body, and I swung with all my might.

Boom—!

The shockwave exploded forward, tearing through the air toward him.

Rumble—!

“Hm.”

He raised his hand slightly, and flames erupted from the ground, forming a wall.

Fwoosh—!

The shockwave collided with the wall and dissipated.

I didn’t stop.

This time, I used Simkwon.

Boom—!

The force struck the wall, shattering it with a thunderous roar.

“Hmm.”

The flame gave a short, impressed hum.

But by then, I was already in front of him.

I reached out and grabbed the blue flame from his hand.

Clench.

I crushed it, and the familiar heat seeped back into my heart.

Fwoosh!

The blue flames reignited around me.

“…Hoo.”

As expected, that was my flame.

But even though I had reclaimed it, I couldn’t relax.

Somehow, my grandfather had managed to take it from me once. He could do it again.

While I remained on guard, I heard him chuckle softly.

“Good.”

Shiver.

His voice sent chills down my spine.

I swallowed hard, my body instinctively tensing.

What the hell was this feeling?

“Yes. You’ll do nicely.”

He took a step toward me.

And then—

Shhhhhh—!!!

BOOM—!

Something fell from the sky, landing between us.

Wooooosh—!

A heavy, dark aura swirled aggressively around us.

I flinched for a moment at the overwhelming presence, but as the aura faded, I saw a small, slender figure standing in front of me.

Long, dark hair with a violet sheen.

A graceful silhouette.

The figure blocked my grandfather’s path, standing between us.

I spoke quietly, my voice low.

“…You.”

The woman turned her head to look at me, her violet eyes meeting mine.

Cheonma.

It was her.

She was the one who had stopped him.