[{"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-673":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},1240423,1667,"Chapter 672","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-673",673,"\u003Cp>My life was like a long, unending tunnel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No light, no visibility, and no turning back—it was a path so far gone that even contemplating retreat was futile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet moving forward held no promise of an end, no hope of finding anything waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I walked. And walked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I stumbled and fell, I got up and kept walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When fear of the dark gripped me and my body trembled uncontrollably, I forced myself to endure and moved forward again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was how I lived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say Iexisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked myself, and I answered myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did I do it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because someone had to. Because there was no one else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to my answer, I always countered with another question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it really something I had to do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could I truly justify my actions as being necessary, as having some greater purpose or conviction?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because deep down, I already knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had no such purpose. No grand ideals drove me forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had I ever dreamed of righteousness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I never had. Not once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I neither possessed nor sought such ideals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So then, what was my cause? What had I lived for?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t withstand the tide that swept me away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was my excuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told myself it was inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That I did the best I could under the circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That it was a matter of survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when asked again, the answer was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘No.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was all self-justification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I never had to enter the tunnel in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I walked into it of my own volition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because there was nowhere else to run.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once inside, I endlessly sought the one who had pushed me in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I needed someone to blame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I trembled in the darkness, when I wandered aimlessly without hope, even when I collapsed in exhaustion and despair, I looked for someone to blame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep down, I knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no one to blame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet I refused to admit it. I desperately needed someone to hold accountable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A life spent fleeing into a tunnel, only to be consumed by the darkness when I failed to reach the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A life that scurried away and died, like an insect crushed in the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, I regressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I never thought of it as a miracle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had never hoped for it, so the thought of welcoming it seemed almost blasphemous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I simply lived because I had been given the chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, I decided I’d live a different life—a quiet one, hidden away in some remote mountain, unnoticed by the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It didn’t go that way.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Life, as always, refused to go as planned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The storm I couldn’t stop swept me up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time I opened my eyes, I found myself at the eye of the hurricane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Was it never something I could avoid?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this “fate” something no mere human could hope to overcome?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was I always destined to be caught in its turmoil?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so, then what should I do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could I do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What are you agonizing over?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice echoed within me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Just make it so it doesn’t happen.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I couldn’t avoid being swept away, then I had to make the storm weaker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or better yet, stop the storm entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s all I needed to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssssshhhhh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heat surged within me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boiling emotions bled into my vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body brimmed with Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ahead of me was a harbinger—a precursor to the storm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If left unchecked, it would grow into a tempest that would engulf not just me but the entire world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to consume it before it could blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before it became a greater catastrophe, I had to deal with it now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For what reason?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To take the place of the Divine Sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To save the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Save the world?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Save the world? Me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trajectory of Greed veered sharply, crashing into a nearby tree instead of Cheonma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssshhhhh…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scattered remnants of Greed dissolved into mist, unable to deliver a direct impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood there, frozen, my gaze locked on Cheonma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah… Hah…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breaths came ragged, heat spilling into each exhale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body burned with emotions that threatened to consume me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah… Hah…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took deep breaths, pressing a hand to my forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought of “saving the world” had frozen me in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah… Hah…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My ragged breathing filled the silence as I tried to calm my racing mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Me? Save the world?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was too absurd a reason to even consider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Who am I to save anything?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The justification rang hollow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I don’t have the right.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension drained from my hand, and my grip loosened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Hah… Hah…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had forgotten the purpose I set for myself after regressing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘To live quietly. To run away.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was my goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To escape the consequences of my actions and hide from what was to come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had resolved to live silently, unseen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as things became tangled and complicated, my perspective shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With things to protect, I thought to stop the bloodshed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so I acted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I convinced myself to do whatever it took, to kill without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who deserved death, I turned into demonic pawns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most were tools to be used and discarded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was justified by their guilt, by the fact that they needed to die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I knew better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had long since cast away regret, buried guilt beneath the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet I prepared for this, ignoring the implications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this truly for the world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Maybe.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purpose seemed noble enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Do I truly believe that?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this really for the world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought chilled me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘When did I become so twisted?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The realization suffocated me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I already knew—I didn’t care about saving the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s just an extra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Why should I care if this world falls apart?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When did I start thinking as if I were some kind of hero?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something felt off.The burning heat in my head began to cool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes gradually returned to normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that’s when I saw her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drip—.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheonma stood there, bleeding, her gaze fixed on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her sorrowful eyes, blood trailing from the corners of her lips, caught my attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those eyes irritated me.Was it because they reminded me of someone? The resemblance made them even more annoying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, a question surfaced from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘That bleeding woman...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is she truly the calamity I think she is?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If not a calamity, then what is she?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I steadied my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was only hesitating because she looked so much like Wi Seol-ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, that had to be it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A way to kill Cheonma.No—hope that I could kill her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>MyGreedcould devour even Cheonma’s power. I was certain of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that was the case, I should charge at her right now and end it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t you dodge?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But instead, I found myself asking her a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You could’ve dodged. Why didn’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her barrier had shattered.As a result, Cheonma was struck by myFlame Prison. But it was something she could’ve easily avoided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, she didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just this time. She had been dragged into unnecessary situations and taken all my attacks without retaliating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even just now—you let yourself get hit again, didn’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Greedlunged toward her barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had to see it.Greedcould destroy her barrier entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her cracked barrier began to regenerate.It could be broken, but completely erasing it seemed impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, the fact that opportunities could arise didn’t change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet instead of dodgingGreed, she stood still, watching it come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t you dodge? Did you think you could win without it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Answer me. What are you thinking—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You looked like you wanted it this way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her calm response took me by surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You seemed uncomfortable. You looked like you wanted this. So I let it happen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you talking about? Answer properly—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t that it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tilted her head, and the words I was about to say froze in my throat.But only for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, what? You’re planning to die just because I want to kill you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she let me hit her because I wanted to,If she allowed herself to be dragged along because I pulled her,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, does this mean that since I’m trying to kill her, she plans to let me kill her?To that unspoken question, Cheonma answered without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You wouldn’t have killed me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her quiet confidence made me grind my teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t give me that crap. Then what was all this? Child’s play?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hadn’t I been desperately trying to kill her?How could she speak with such frustrating certainty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You wouldn’t have done it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are you so sure of that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know. I just feel that way. Besides...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheonma wiped the last traces of blood from her lips with her sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My sister told me not to fight recklessly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Ha.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwoosh—!Flames ignited at my fingertips.I compressed and rotated them, forming theSacred Spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, it contained far more energy than before.The limits of what I could control and compress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thirty percent of my total energy.Compared to the ten percent I used in the lastSacred Spear, this one was three times stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think I won’t kill you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What nonsense. The person standing before me is Cheonma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how different her appearance and demeanor are from my memories,She remains the one who caused rivers of blood in my previous life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, with her in front of me, you’re telling me I won’t kill her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be ridiculous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I aimed the completedSacred Spearat her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’re not going to resist, then just stay still. It’ll be easier that way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t let her appearance fool you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m going to kill you here and now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after my declaration, Cheonma didn’t react.She simply stared at me with those violet eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Always the same reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. Let’s see if you won’t dodge until the end—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I was about to shift my stance, her voice stopped me in my tracks.No?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean, ‘no’ all of a sudden?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not ‘you.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of nonsense is that?I frowned, my expression tightening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My name is... not something like ‘you’...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before she could finish, she closed her mouth.Her expressionless face showed a trace of frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘A name?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheonma’s name.Earlier, Gu Heebi had called her something like Yeon. Was that what she meant?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But did she even have a name?She called herself Cheonma and had never mentioned anything else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s your name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked, but she stayed silent.If she denied it, then surely she must have a name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know. I can’t remember.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheonma bit her lip in frustration and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What was my name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, she looked at me, asking as if I would know.\u003C\u002Fp>",1828,"2026-06-05T15:10:12.585Z",1,"novelbin.me","f687c0cbda106445afac00af5faac2cead53145c8b4a8ef3132a4cab5518f835","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-674","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-672",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]