[{"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-454":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},1239980,1667,"Chapter 453","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-454",454,"\u003Cp>Upon arriving through the demonic passage, I found myself in a cold and dark space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chill seeped through the floor, penetrating deep into my bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that I was feeling cold here was a problem on several levels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘My energy should be flowing again.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the restraints on my qi were lifted, warmth circulated throughout my body, making it so I shouldn’t be feeling this cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet here I was, faintly feeling the chill in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which could only mean one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This place is absurdly cold.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It implied that this space was intensely frigid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As my eyes adjusted, I began to make out the outlines of the room. There were a few lamps mounted on the walls, but their light barely illuminated the vast, expansive space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where exactly was I?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since I came through a demonic passage, it was possible this place was a demonic realm. As I scanned the area, my gaze settled on one spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The source of this cold...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where was this chilling air coming from? There was no question—it was coming from what lay directly in front of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before me stood an enormous block of ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What in the...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d never seen anything this large before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had heard of an ancient artifact, the “Ice Crystal of the Millennia,” supposedly housed within the Forbidden North Sea Ice Palace. This resembled how I’d imagined it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cautiously approached the ice crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Creeeak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I took a step closer, the cold surged, intensifying to an alarming degree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One step away was completely different from where I was standing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This... might be dangerous.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chill was biting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt such an intense cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if even the flames within me were at risk of freezing over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One more step was my limit. If I moved any closer, I’d freeze solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as I decided to step back, a voice echoed through the stillness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Greetings.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that I was trying to locate the source; the voice was coming unmistakably from the ice crystal itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon closer inspection, I finally noticed something inside the crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A figure was sealed within, exuding the intense cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Not just inside...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sealed” would be a more accurate description.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t look as if they were simply inside it in any ordinary sense. Besides...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘That voice...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I heard it, my eyes narrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a voice I’d heard many times before and one that wasn’t easy to forget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, I had anticipated this, so I wasn’t all that surprised. Looking at the ice crystal, I called out the name of the voice’s owner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Blood Demon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wuum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the mention of his title, the ice crystal trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Oh…]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice sounded intrigued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You seem to know me.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gleaned much from his response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For starters—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It seems he doesn’t recognize me.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this guy in the ice crystal really was the Blood Demon, there’s no way he wouldn’t know me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his reaction, it was evident that this world was not my own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...This isn’t even the world I originally came from.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The confirmation solidified in my mind as I continued looking at the ice crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[How strange.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon spoke again, looking at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[At first, I thought you were an “otherworldly sovereign,” yet it’s odd to see such a being emitting such a presence. Moreover...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An unknown aura briefly brushed against me. I didn’t bother resisting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Even your own energy is suffused within it?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must have sensed the demonic energy within me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘An “otherworldly sovereign.”’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I focused on his words. Both Muhui, that woman, and now the Blood Demon—they both seemed to think of me as some “otherworldly” entity. At first, I assumed they thought that because I’d come from another world, but there was something more to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘A sovereign… could it mean…?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A master? Why would they think that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that’s the case, it raises questions, but upon reflection, it’s not entirely absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d been told before that my body was on the brink of shattering from containing numerous strange entities. Among them was one creature—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The one referred to as the Lord of the Abyss.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon had once called the parasite feeding on demonic energy inside me by that name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, the term “lord” didn’t seem significant, but now it took on a weightier meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A being that rules an entire world, the responsibility and embodiment of that world—this was what the World Tree had said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘That must be why he’s mistaken me for a sovereign of another world.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a being like that within me, it’s no surprise the Blood Demon would be confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real question was—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘How did such a creature end up inside me?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A being worthy of ruling an entire world was somehow in my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree had said that—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It was something given by my mother.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree had mentioned that it was my mother’s doing. I wasn’t certain about it at the time, but hearing her voice when I encountered the Divine Sword, I realized—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘My mother holds some kind of secret.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The World Tree had said she was the second calamity and the sovereign of myriad worlds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Myriad worlds—just the name alone was daunting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, why is everything so complicated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So, why did you want to see me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked the Blood Demon, concealing my inner turmoil. His laughter echoed lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I was merely curious. Why would an “otherworldly” being like you come here?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why indeed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d like to know that myself—why am I here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon, perhaps noticing my expression, continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[It seems you didn’t come here of your own free will.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, he saw through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I mustered a neutral expression as my mind raced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[No matter. The important thing is your purpose for being here.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, if my purpose is problematic, would you do something about it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I may have come here to understand this world, but I wasn’t about to risk my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Thankfully, my energy is flowing again.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could I use it to escape?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heh…]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Rest assured, I’m only curious.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can’t exactly just ‘rest assured’ here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[It appears you have a powerful being within you, yet you seem to know very little.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hit the mark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I have no intention of harming you.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And how can I believe that…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[The proof is right in front of you. You’re still breathing in my presence—that’s all the proof you need.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An empty threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was obviously trapped in the ice crystal, unable to do anything, so what exactly did he plan to do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite knowing this, I couldn’t speak freely. Something in my gut sensed danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What is this…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t say for sure, but I knew this situation was dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My entire arm, down to the scales on my right hand, pulsed painfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Tch.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just like the time I’d faced the Blood Demon at the gathering of orthodox sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, the instant I encountered him, my body had surged with hostility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only difference was that, now, the urge to resist was there, but not outright hostility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[It’s a curious thing.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What’s so curious?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You possess my power, yet somehow retain your original strength. Isn’t it peculiar?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shed…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word made me frown. Did he just say \"shed\"?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ice crystal emitted a faint vibration as if confirming my reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ah… You didn’t know, did you?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speak clearly. What are you talking about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Given you seem to know who I am and what I’m called, it seems I still exist in your world… It’s enviable.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Envy? Of what?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[A world capable of accommodating the likes of you—isn’t that enviable?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words brought to mind something he’d once said to me—he had wished for me to wreak havoc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been something to that effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Why does the Blood Demon have such an attitude toward me?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s clearly hiding something, yet he continually displays a bizarre form of favor toward me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was deeply unsettling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Let me ask you something.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon asked suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Was it me who sent you here?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His question made me frown. Did he mean that he was the one who’d sent me to this world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That seemed like an absurd thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing my twisted expression, he murmured regretfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[So it wasn’t me… Then who could it be?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the hell are you talking about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You seem unaware of your own nature, so it’s unlikely you came here willingly. Then who sent you here?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words stirred questions within me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why hadn’t I thought of this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this truly was another world, it wouldn’t be so easy to cross over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘How did the one who sent me manage it?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did Tang Jae-mun, who had supposedly died and left behind only remnants, send me to another world? And what was the Blood Demon trying to get at?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What exactly is this world?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon chuckled quietly at my bewildered question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[An odd question, asking what a world is.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ha!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The laughter echoed as the ice crystal exuded a sharp, intense cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You truly know nothing. How is that possible?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“People from here or there seem to be equally cryptic, making everything needlessly infuriating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tsk, tsk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I apologize. It’s just strange that you lack the knowledge you should have gained after your transformation. How can that be… It feels as if—]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wuum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Someone has deliberately kept you in the dark.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The notion that someone had hidden the truth from me made a twisted kind of sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, the extent of my ignorance would indeed be bizarre. Despite my mounting frustration, the Blood Demon continued speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You asked what this world is.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[This world is no different from your own.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Simply one of infinite possibilities.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a cryptic answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching him closely, the Blood Demon seemed unaffected by my scrutiny and went on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[There’s a stone on the ground before you.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A stone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You could choose to pick it up, or you could leave it. Whichever choice you make, there will be a world where the opposite choice was made.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mention of a stone seemed strange, but I listened intently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[What do you think would happen as a result?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean, what would happen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would anything happen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just a stone, after all—what kind of outcome could it produce?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing my expression, the Blood Demon provided an answer, one that left me dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[It means that a world will exist in which you chose not to pick it up.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The absurdity of it made me laugh in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, you’re saying there could be countless worlds just like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words implied that there were countless worlds derived from trivial actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That there was no limit to—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[How can you be certain otherwise? The fact that you’re here is proof.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I closed my mouth at his retort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Are you saying that, among countless worlds born from trivial actions, your presence in this one is impossible?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anyone else had said this, I’d dismiss it as insane rambling, but in my current situation, it didn’t seem quite as absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Fine.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let’s assume it’s true. That this place is one of those possible worlds created from simple choices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…So, what do you mean by “possibility”?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon had added the word “possibility.” What did he mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s silence, the Blood Demon responded, his tone seeming even lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[This world, as I say, is something that will do anything to reach its intended end.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[If it has failed twice, it won’t want to fail a third time.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Endless possibilities exist as the world’s will not to fail.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words made my eyes widen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two failures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew what he meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The descent of calamities?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, it had been the Blood Demon himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, it had been my mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both of them had failed to bring about a new era as a calamity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Years had passed, and although Yeo-Il-Chun had dubbed me a calamity, I considered the Celestial Demon the true calamity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the Blood Demon was suggesting that the multitude of worlds and possibilities existed to ensure the descent of a calamity on this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A multitude of worlds created with the sole intent that one calamity would succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To… that extent?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was too much to believe. I had my doubts about whether the Blood Demon was even telling the truth, but if he was, one important question remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’re right…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he truly was—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happens to the other worlds that fail?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one world successfully brought forth a calamity as its new master, what would happen to the others that didn’t?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Demon answered in an indifferent voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[If that happens, the remaining worlds would be unnecessary. The purpose has always been singular.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood there, dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the countless worlds, those that failed to bring about a calamity would simply be erased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Life in those worlds would be erased, waiting for the emergence of a new master from another world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The choices for any given world were essentially these two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Wow, really.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a messed-up world we live in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought crossed my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>",2251,"2026-06-05T15:09:39.032Z",1,"novelbin.me","f242808a604cf56b250bc1668a0a5e2e6cb2ca5055fa9af3ef19418a5d560161","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-455","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-453",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]