[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith":3,"chapter-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-331":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Childhood Friend of the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1240307,1667,"Chapter 331: The Apostle (2)","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-331",331,"\u003Cp>I instinctively frowned at its words…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apostle?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did it mean by that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it referring to me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean by that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I am glad we got to meet like this. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sad and empty tone of World Tree’s voice now held a flicker of hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree was speaking to me as if it was happy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why is it like this with everyone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every single one of them reacted this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone who met me spoke as if they were amused or entertained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt as though my very existence brought them some strange joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To me, it felt anything but welcoming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that these mysterious existences gained amusement from me, meant that there was something special in me in the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaking these thoughts aside, I asked the World Tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know who I am?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the bastard’s reaction, I wondered if it knew about my regression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree fell silent at my question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Craaack-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its massive branches began to stir slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Apostle. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why do you keep calling me that? What even is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I don’t know who you are, but it seems you know who I am. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I started to wonder after hearing the bastard’s response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree claimed I knew it, yet it had no idea who I was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I understood the former but not the latter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could it be unaware of me when I knew it so well?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean by that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ It seems like you’ve traversed through time, Apostle. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gasped at hearing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did it know?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it lying when it claimed it wouldn’t remember me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree said those words like nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My pupils trembled nervously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wondered if the tree remembered who I was. Does this tree have a memory of its own?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Are you curious as to how I know that? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Don’t be that shocked. I do not know what kind of life you lived in the past. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then how do you know about it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tree root emerged from the ground, slowly stretching toward me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More accurately, it was pointing toward my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I sense the trace that I left within you. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like I sort of understood how the tree recognized me after hearing its response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A trace from my past life, huh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rubbed my chest, as I thought about my past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trace the tree had left on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I don’t recall giving it to you, but that’s undoubtedly my mark. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remembered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d had no choice but to accept it to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-That’s a strange thing you carry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Demon mentioned it when we met, and I thought he had erased it from me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did it fail to?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Even if you try to erase it, you won’t be able to erase it completely as it is engraved in your soul. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Can you read my mind or something?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Of course not. How could a mere tree like me do such a thing? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite the tree saying those words, it felt as if the tree was reading my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sensation was unsettling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Engraved in my soul, huh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How lovely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It meant that my soul didn’t change even through my regression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I came here to ask you something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on my questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was so much to ask, so much I needed to know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason I came here was to ask the tree the countless questions weighing on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wondered if the tree could answer them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Question you say? So, what are you curious about? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its voice echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt this same sensation when we first met, but I still wasn’t used to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While enduring the pain, I asked the tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Were you the one who sent me back to the past?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time traveling to the past was a miracle, and I knew miracles didn’t happen without reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeon Il-Cheon said that there was definitely a reason for my regression, and the first existence I could think of regarding that, was this tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m asking… did you bring me back to life and send me into the past.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Traveling through time was illogical and impossible, but if there really was an existence that was capable of doing such a thing, it had to be someone abnormal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that said, this tree in front of me definitely wasn’t normal, which was why I was suspecting the tree first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Apostle, that was not my doing. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree answered no to my words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ The process of traveling through time brings an unimaginable amount of burden into one’s soul. That is out of my strength, as I am just a mere normal tree. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A normal tree can’t talk. Nor can it be that big like you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Whichever your response may be, I’m saying that I am not the one who brought you such a miracle. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I was about to ask how I could believe its words, I shut my mouth since I knew that it was pointless of me to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you aren’t the one… who brought me back, huh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Unfortunately. I no longer possess the strength for such a feat. It is beyond me. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does that mean the tree once had the power to do it, judging by its words?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Apostle. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wind suddenly blew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I do not know what happened to you. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sadness in its voice grated on me. I didn’t like how it sounded as though it pitied me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why do you keep calling me ‘apostle’? Just what is an apostle?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ You carry my mark, which means that the past version of you was chosen by the future version of me. That makes you my apostle. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you know that I met you in the future?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ You came here earlier than you were supposed to, am I correct? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I am happy. I’ve waited so long, and I finally met someone who would take my mark. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long time, huh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It said the same thing that time as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What… is your identity?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Did I not tell you already? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t get to hear much from the tree. I only heard how I returned to the normal world and how this false world differed from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You rotted and disappeared away after telling me those things, so of course I didn’t get to hear much from you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In my past life, just like Jang Seonyeon’s body earlier, the World Tree had crumbled into ash and vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I will never be able to forget the sight of such a giant tree turning into dust and being blown away by the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I am Muah. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I already know that much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ I am the Fifth World Tree, and the ruler of this world. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ruler, huh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how I looked at it, this world was ruined and decayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you the God of this world?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Well, in the past, some did indeed call me that. Judging by your question, it seems I didn’t tell you much before. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t even have the time to, since you disappeared right away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ …Disappeared you say… I see. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree turned gloomy after hearing my response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of its voice sent a chill through me, as if ice were spreading through my veins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ It seems like I don’t have much time left. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…It’s not that short, considering how time flows here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I thought about how a few years was only a day in the normal world, and the fact that I was around the age of twenty when I fell here in the past, it meant that the World Tree still had a very long time left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ For me, human time passes in an instant. What feels long to you is nothing to me. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree didn’t sound too happy about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ That’s why I’m grateful. My apostle looked for me. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your damned apostle this and apostle that. You are so annoying. I asked you why I’m your apostle, didn’t I?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t believe in God.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had already been too long for me to believe in such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You once told me something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to burn away the world’s burdens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t understand this world, but I knew the world I came from was filled with twisted, tangled truths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was embarrassing how, even after regression, there were still more things I didn’t understand than those I did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought about pretending to not know anything and sleep, but it made me feel disgusted since I felt like I was involved with those damned things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if I wasn’t involved directly, innocent people were, and that left me uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So tell me where I need to start first. What is it that you know?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ … ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree remained silent after my question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a rather uncomfortable silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long pause,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Craaack-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thick root rose from the ground, curling behind me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to offer me a seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Sit. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I carefully sat down on it after hearing the tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Apostle. Do you know about the existence of a ruler? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ruler?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree had already called itself the ruler of this world once before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Yes, ruler. A ruler is both the essence of a world and the world itself. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Make it easy for me to understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ It’s exactly as it sounds. A ruler exists because the world exists, and the world exists because the ruler exists. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ However, there is one difference: if a world disappears, its ruler vanishes with it. But if a ruler disappears, the world does not collapse. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t quite grasp what the tree was saying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did I struggle to understand its meaning, but I also couldn’t figure out why the tree brought it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…And why are you telling me this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My regression, the Blood and Heavenly Demon, the calamity that Yeon Il-Cheon mentioned, and the red marble that was also called a seed back in Gu Clan’s territory in the frontlines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had countless questions, yet the tree rambled on about this strange concept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ The ruler of this world isn’t truly its ruler. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there more to it than that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ More precisely, it is the ruler of life. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Life?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ That’s right. All life in this land combined makes the ruler of this world. A world exists, and life exists within it, which is why this world can be maintained. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And what does that have to do with what I’m asking?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ What do you think would happen if the ruler of a world disappears? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree’s words sparked a sudden realization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ When a ruler disappears, it means the death of all life in the world. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree’s words left me stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean by all life disappearing with it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Be it the world, the ruler, or the destined fate, none of it made sense to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree that was currently in front of me, disappeared in my past life after leaving me with a mark and a few words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, even after the tree vanished, the demons in this world remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If what the World Tree said was true, then all life in this world should’ve disappeared along with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…There isn’t a ruler in this world to begin wi-!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was reminded of something midway of my thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree seemed to respond to my shocked expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Life doesn’t vanish immediately when a ruler is lost. But without a ruler, no new life can be born, and eventually, all life fades into extinction. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No new lives can be born you say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ That would be the case normally. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A world’s ruler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a ruler was needed in the world for new lives to be born into it,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…There is no ruler in the world I live in, so how can you explain that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have never heard anything about a ruler existing in the world I lived in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without a ruler, no new life should be possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, my world seemed to be functioning just fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was there a ruler I didn’t know about?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I had that thought,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ We call that a crack. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree spoke to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crack?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Your world has broken away from its own principles, drawing power from that crack. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A world without a ruler was still sustaining life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then does that mean that the world I lived in broke out of the world’s principles?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does that become a problem?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ A world without a ruler defies the principles of existence. A new ruler must be created. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Create a ruler?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ That is also why I am called the Fifth World Tree of this world. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This tree was the fifth ruler of this world, which was why it was calling itself by such a name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…So, as long as a new ruler is established, there’s no problem?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wouldn’t it be fine since a new ruler will appear in the future anyway?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I asked that question,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ Apostle, as I mentioned, all life born in a world belongs to its ruler. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree gave a different answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ With life existing in a world without a ruler, do you know what must be done to restore the cycle? ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What must be done… in order to bring a new ruler into the world?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right as I frowned in confusion,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ The answer is- ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[ All existing life must be erased. Only then can a new ruler emerge. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a rather sickening answer.\u003C\u002Fp>",2371,"2026-06-05T15:09:39.031Z",1,"novelbin.me","986497da5a7aa848f5af99dae623d94f2ffb6e13994df1e26515a572448f65ca","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-332","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-330",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]