[{"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-619":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},1240469,1667,"Chapter 618","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-619",619,"\u003Cp>Squeeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I checked my body thoroughly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After repeating a few movements to confirm, there was nothing wrong with my left arm. The same went for my internal injuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How can it be this clean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been something I thought would be a long, arduous process to recover. But the regeneration was already complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What on earth is going on here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, I had expected three months. At most, six months to heal the internal damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Divine Doctor had said it would take six months to recover, yet here I was, fully healed in one go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even more so….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked at my left arm—the arm that had been torn off by his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's perfectly fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if it had never been torn off in the first place, completely intact. There was no sense of disparity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could something like this happen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The place I was just in, too, was the same.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked around. Although the area was still covered in snow, there had been a faint impression of a garden earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it was nothing but a snowfield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had I been transported to another location?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That might be the case.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn’t seem that simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prior space itself felt false from the beginning. The reason wasn’t hard to figure out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That feeling.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sensation when the space crumbled, and the atmosphere that space carried with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was something I had experienced before. I didn’t have to think for long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a memory deeply ingrained in me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Shadow King’s domain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dark space the Shadow King had unfolded—a place where I had died hundreds, even thousands of times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was exactly like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Was it what they called authority?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The authority that only a dragon could wield. The Shadow King had referred to his power as such.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The memory of dying countless times in that place and coming back to life—it bore a subtle resemblance to my current situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then, was the power I experienced earlier also some kind of authority?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would somewhat explain how my arm was restored. Though I still didn’t understand why my internal injuries were healed as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After checking my body again, I let out a sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever the case may be, the important thing was…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I survived.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I managed to hold on to my life. My arm was intact, and I hadn’t lost my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking about it, cold sweat ran down my back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How long had it been since I was in a situation where my life was so severely threatened?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even more so, to have survived purely by the mercy of my opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[\"Are you a pureblood?\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words my opponent had left behind lingered in my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pureblood….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could they have meant by that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a dragon too. Everything that had happened indicated as much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is a pureblood, then? Is he saying he’s not one?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meaning behind \"pureblood\" puzzled me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had shattered my vessel and shed my old self. By definition, calling me a pureblood was nonsensical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he had looked at me and called me a pureblood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Specifically.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I had unconsciously used Dragon Speech, he had heard it and called me a pureblood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the difference?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Could it be that he can’t use Dragon Speech?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had thought Dragon Speech was merely part of my authority. But his reaction upon hearing it…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That bothered me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if there was something about Dragon Speech itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he thought of me as a pureblood, his reaction…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was like he had found a goal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could being a pureblood be that significant? The questions kept piling up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the most important point here was…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the end, it means there are more dragons besides me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the crucial thing to consider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just figures like the Shadow King or the Lord of the Palace, but beings I could recognize as dragons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Excluding the Blood Demon, another one had appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And not just that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s someone who became a dragon through shedding their old self, like me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe dragons themselves aren’t born but are transformed through evolution?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thought crossed my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I mulled it over…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed the shackles in front of me and crushed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a bit of force, the shackles crumbled easily. For something broken through brute force, it didn’t seem to have caused any issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So they had the effect of suppressing energy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t feel much of a difference. I casually brushed away the debris.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…Oh.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A peculiar reaction came from ahead as I looked at the broken shackles. It was Namgung Bi-ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes were wide with surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They… didn’t break before…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by her expression, it seemed she had been trying to break them herself. The effect of the shackles appeared to be real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her wrists, still bound by the remains of the shackles, were red. I lightly grabbed her wrist as I noticed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does it hurt?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know it doesn’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just wanted to do it anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, I examined her upper body and waist. Bandages peeked out through the gaps in her martial robes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t the usual compression bandages she wore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…How’s your body?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t look fine at all, which is why I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed and gently stroked her forehead. Thankfully, I had found Namgung Bi-ah alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering how anxious I had been, wondering if something terrible had happened to her, it wasn’t a bad outcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it wasn’t entirely a good one either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Holding her wrist, I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…What were you doing to end up like this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her wrist trembled slightly in my grasp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I told you to behave. Didn’t we agree on that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No unnecessary risks. If something goes wrong, abandon everyone around you and run away as fast as you can.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And, don’t get hurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Make sure to eat well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Namgung Bi-ah insisted on going to the North Sea, we had made promises.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Which of those promises did you keep?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I... I ate well….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't joke. It's obvious you've lost weight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was even thinner than the last time I saw her, despite supposedly eating well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you weren’t going to listen, why did you even come?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hadn’t kept a single promise. It was infuriating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I told you, if anything happens, don’t look back—just run. But instead, you nearly got yourself killed stepping in recklessly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what’s this about guarding the princess? What have you been doing? If I’d known this is how you’d act, I wouldn’t have let you go—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped mid-sentence as Namgung Bi-ah grasped my arm with her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I'm sorry… please don’t scold me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had so much to say—really, so much—but that small action made me close my mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to force myself to think that way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s alive. That’s enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was alive. At the very least, she wasn’t dead. As long as she was breathing, nothing else mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine, let’s talk about everything else later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That didn’t mean I wouldn’t address it. It just wasn’t the right time now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Bi-ah averted her gaze as she heard my words. Watching her, I stood up. This wasn’t the moment for endless conversations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For now... let’s wake her up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took a few steps to the side. Yuri was lying unconscious there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Approaching her, I placed my hand on her forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft hum as I let my energy flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gasp…!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuri, who had been unconscious, suddenly woke and shot upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She bolted up, her eyes wide, scanning her surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you back to your senses?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gu Gongja…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuri’s gaze fell on me, and soon after, she clung tightly to my sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"V-Vioe-gun? What about him? What happened to him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first thing she asked upon waking was about Woo Hyuk. I bit my lip at her reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The image of Woo Hyuk being taken away by that man flashed in my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I lost him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You... lost him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What happened to you? Why were you captured and brought here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Captured? What do you mean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At my question, Yuri looked confused. Judging by her state, it seemed she wasn’t even aware she had been captured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She probably didn’t even notice him approaching,\" I thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though I was injured at the time, I hadn’t sensed him approaching either. Whether it was due to the sheer difference in skill or some other method, I couldn’t say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless, the fact remained—I hadn’t been able to sense his presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…One of your bloodline was involved. He’s the one who knocked you out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excuse me…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He looked male, so it’s probably either the First or Second Gongja.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, Yuri seemed to grasp the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silver-haired youth who appeared to be a dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had lost to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just that. I had failed to resist properly and lost Woo Hyuk to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[\"Pathetic.\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice echoed in my ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought I had long discarded my pride, but being trampled like this left a bitter taste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an overwhelming defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And worse—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[\"You still haven’t made up your mind, have you?\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[\"I see. So, that’s why.\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was even more infuriating knowing that my unresolved issues had played a part.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What does he know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did he take Woo Hyuk? What did he plan to do with him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And how?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did someone from the Ice Palace's bloodline become a dragon?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was his goal? What did he discern from looking at me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those thoughts wouldn’t leave my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The oppressive gaze, the eyes that looked down on me with disdain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And my instinct, screaming to kill him, still lingered, clouding my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft touch interrupted me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked down and saw it was Namgung Bi-ah’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Calm down….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes drifted to her waist—the injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sight cooled my head instantly. This wasn’t the time to let my emotions take over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For now, we need to head back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If only for Namgung Bi-ah’s condition. I also had questions to ask the Palace Lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I prepared to stand, Yuri spoke up, stopping me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait a moment….\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed softly as I turned to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She seemed troubled by the fact that we had lost Woo Hyuk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right now, it’s impossible to find him. For now—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, I mean, who is that young lady…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confused, I followed her gaze. She was pointing at Namgung Bi-ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was this about?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean? You said she was your guard, didn’t you? What are you talking about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuri had mentioned that Namgung Bi-ah had been acting as her guard for a time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, she didn’t recognize her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I asked for clarification, Yuri still looked lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A guard? What do you mean…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She seemed to grow more puzzled, then muttered hesitantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Princess.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes widened instantly at Namgung Bi-ah’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This voice… oh…? Don’t tell me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As though she’d only just realized, Yuri, who had forgotten herself, jumped up in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The White Fox…? Are you the White Fox?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Bi-ah nodded at Yuri’s question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the answer, Yuri clapped a hand over her mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s this…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why—why? Is she beautiful?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…What?\u003C\u002Fp>",1905,"2026-06-05T15:10:11.188Z",1,"novelbin.me","e01b0f8e1aee60f4e938d0b869145fab7a700d181cc5df19a469e8b398e4f500","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-620","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-618",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]