When I recall memories of my mother, I find that there isn't much I remember.

"Son."

A slightly high-pitched yet gentle voice calling out to me.

The soft touch of her hand brushing my rough hair, while holding my younger sibling in her other arm.

The smiling face looking at me, and the image of my mother enjoying the breeze as if embracing spring lingers in my mind.

In later years, when I realized this was what people called memories, my mother had already disappeared.

My mother had a particular fondness for the seasons.

It seemed like she liked spring the most, but even if that weren't the case, she enjoyed all four seasons.

She would light up at the sight of blooming flowers in spring.

Even during the unbearably hot summer, she would find its own charm, and when it poured with rain, she would sit on the veranda with me, and we would watch the falling raindrops together.

In autumn, as the leaves fell, and in winter, as the snow descended, the warmth of her hand holding mine was something I could never let go of.

Yes, my mother loved the four seasons, and she loved this world.

At least, that's how it seemed to me.

"Son."

Lying in bed at night, after putting my younger sibling to sleep, I would stare at the ceiling and close my eyes.

"Are you sleepy?" "Mm..."

Her voice, soft and affectionate, would accompany the gentle stroking of my belly, and she would hum a lullaby in my ear.

Perhaps it was the comfort of her lullaby that allowed me to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, completely unaware of the world around me.

In this desolate place, the only memory that sustains me is the embrace of my mother.

And because of that...

"Son... I'm sorry."

The last gentle touch on my cheek, the final trembling voice calling out to me through sobs, these remain in my mind to this day, binding me like shackles.

"...What do you mean by that?"

I bit down on my tongue, trying to find words to speak.

Why?

Why is the World Tree speaking of my mother?

"Are you saying that the creature inside me is somehow connected to my mother?"

The turbulent energy inside me wouldn’t settle easily. I never expected to hear about my mother in this context.

"Mother... Is involved in all of this?"

How is that possible?

"Calm down, apostle." "You ask me to calm down after saying something like that? That’s an unreasonable demand."

This is something I had never even considered. I had endlessly pondered the beast within me.

But in the end, the only thing I learned was its name. Even that didn’t seem like a huge revelation.

What is this creature?

At first, I speculated that it was something connected to Magyeong’s Absorption Art.

Isn't that the case? The creature filled itself by consuming demonic energy stored in the magic stones.

Whenever it devoured demonic energy, the Magyeong’s Absorption Art would automatically activate.

As it consumed the demonic energy, it purified it and turned it into inner energy.

So, I thought the creature might be related to some power granted by Heavenly Demon.

But as time passed, my thoughts shifted.

It wasn’t related to Magyeong’s Absorption Art.

I began to suspect it might be connected to The Nine Flames of Purification Art.

If the creature's focus wasn’t on consuming demonic energy but rather on purification, then it was closer to The Nine Flames of Purification Art than Magyeong’s Absorption Art.

The problem is, whatever it may be, I still don’t understand why this creature is inside my body.

Even the Divine Doctor mentioned it.

The mixture of inner energy and sword energy in my dantian was so chaotic that it wouldn’t be strange if my body exploded at any moment.

It was the Divine Doctor who was suppressing this chaos, preventing my body from being destroyed by the clash of inner energy and sword energy.

Without the Doctor's intervention, the sword energy would rampage and inflict unbearable pain on my body.

Thanks to him, the inner energy and sword energy coexist without conflicting in my dantian.

'But...'

If inner energy and sword energy can coexist, what about demonic energy?

Becoming a demon means that the inner energy in the dantian converts entirely into demonic energy.

The moment demonic energy enters my body, The Nine Flames of Purification Art begins to purify it, converting it into inner energy.

However, the process isn’t quick enough.

Which means that I’ve been living with demonic energy inside my body.

Looking at it this way, there are now three types of energy coexisting in my body.

While the Doctor prevents the clash between sword energy and inner energy, what about demonic energy?

Demonic energy, unlike other forms of energy, doesn’t cause much harm when mixed.

Even the greatest masters could be turned into demons by the Heavenly Demon’s power because demonic energy can coexist with other energies.

'But that’s only when someone becomes a demon.'

That is true only when Heavenly Demon grants divine power and transforms someone into a demon.

Why is that?

'Demonic energy consumes both inner energy and the body.'

When someone who isn’t a demon harbors demonic energy, it blocks the flow of inner energy, slowly causing the body to rot from within.

Thinking of the Sword Mistress in this life proves that point, as do the countless individuals who fell victim to demonic energy in my past life.

Demonic energy is lethal to martial artists.

While Heavenly Demon possessed overwhelming power, the speed with which the Demonic Cult overran the Central Plains was due to the ruthless nature of demonic energy.

Their energy seemed designed to kill martial artists.

Yet here I am, carrying such violent energy within my body.

'I am not a demon.'

Though I handle and house demonic energy within my body, I am not yet a demon.

Which means that under normal circumstances, I should have already died, as demonic energy should have caused my body to decay upon entry.

When I first consumed magic stones in this life, I realized something was off. The Magyeong’s Absorption Art absorbs demonic energy from the stones, while The Nine Flames of Purification Art purifies it and turns it into inner energy.

So I thought that, as long as I wasn't a demon, it wouldn’t harm me to carry demonic energy.

But is that really the case?

Just like the Doctor prevents sword energy from tearing my body apart, is something else stopping demonic energy from invading my body?

That’s a thought that crossed my mind recently.

And if there’s something that could prevent that, within me...

'It would be that creature that always growls.'

I've been uneasy about its presence for years. Other than consuming food and constantly whining about hunger, it hasn’t posed much of a threat.

At times, I even wondered if it might be trying to help me, given that it provided me with information or aided me in some way. Perhaps it wasn’t a curse after all, but something else.

'Could this creature... really be connected to my mother?'

The World Tree said that to understand this creature, I must first understand my mother. That statement made me furrow my brow.

"That’s absurd." [Why do you think that?] "I’ve only encountered this creature in this life."

If this thing had been attached to me in my previous life, I would have known.

But if it’s connected to my mother, why am I only learning this now? I had always thought that the reason I reincarnated was connected to this creature.

"This creature wasn’t around in my past life, so how could it be related to my mother?" [Are you certain that it wasn’t there in your previous life?] "What do you mean?"

The World Tree’s words made me scowl. It asked if I was really sure the creature hadn’t been there in my past life.

[Have you considered the possibility that it was simply dormant?]

The World Tree’s suggestion filled me with doubt. That would make things even stranger.

"Even if that were the case, it’s still odd."

If the creature had been dormant throughout my previous life, why would it suddenly awaken in this one?

"When I met you in my previous life, you never mentioned anything like this."

Back when I first encountered the World Tree, it told me how to escape this world and disappeared shortly thereafter.

It never explained what the fire of karma was or what it wanted from me.

Which means...

[Do you truly believe nothing has changed in this life?] "Changed?" [Reflect on the changes that have occurred within you.]

The World Tree asked about changes, but I couldn’t think of anything specific. No, the problem was that there were too many.

'What could it be...? What is it?'

If this creature was truly dormant inside me in my previous life, what change could have caused it to awaken in this life?

‘Where could it have been?’

I started to rewind my memories.

What changes did I experience right before the creature awakened?

‘The Mount Hua Sect...’

I remembered encountering a strange flower from the Black Night Palace at Mount Hua and consuming it, absorbing a significant amount of energy.

I also recalled devouring the demonic energy writhing inside the Sword Mistress. Perhaps it was one of those events.

‘But even before that...’

This was during the time when the Divine Doctor was with me, and I remembered him being shocked by whatever was inside me.

If it happened before that, then...

‘What could it be?’

Could it have been when I absorbed energy from the Mount Hua treasure? That was when I first encountered an extraordinary opportunity.

"...Wait?"

As I thought back, I suddenly realized that wasn’t my first opportunity at all.

My first true opportunity...

'...was in the Golden Heavenly Mansion’s secret room.'

That was when I experienced the power of the array in Sichuan.

The enormous snake that had filled the entire room. The snake had gifted me a bead filled with the fundamental energy I needed to advance in my cultivation. And it had caused my inner fire to behave strangely for a time.

"...Could it be?"

When I started connecting the dots, everything seemed to point toward the same conclusion.

The opportunity I had experienced in the Golden Heavenly Mansion. And...

The existence standing before me was the World Tree, and I remembered seeing a beautiful tree with white leaves in that secret room.

I pieced it together and looked at the World Tree.

"...I once ventured into the Golden Heavenly Mansion’s secret room." [I see.] "There, I encountered a tree with white leaves."

I also recounted how I received a fateful opportunity from the enormous snake within that room.

[Yes... That child gave it to you.] "You know about the snake I encountered there?" [Of course I do.]

There was sorrow in the World Tree’s voice.

[That child was a loyal protector of mine. How could I not know of it?]

The words of the World Tree widened my eyes.

The tree with white leaves that I saw there, and the enormous snake in the secret room— both were connected to the World Tree standing before me.

Even though the World Tree had claimed that all traces of its existence had been erased from this world, something had remained.

...But for now, that wasn’t what mattered.

"...So, is it true that the creature inside me awakened because of that encounter?"

I had to ask that question first.

Hearing my words, the World Tree extended a root and gently touched my chest.

[Have you heard of resonance?]

It seemed like the World Tree was about to explain.

[What you consumed at that time was the dream of that child. It was my seed.] "...What?" [It was something the child had cherished for eons, always longing to rise to the heavens.] "Could you put it more simply, please?" [By swallowing my seed, you absorbed the traces of its master into your body.]

Crack.

The root pressed harder against my chest, prodding at my dantian.

[The moment the other master’s power entered you, the resonance awakened it.] "...Resonance? What do you mean?" [It, too, is a ruler of a world. It reacted to my power.]

"...!"

I placed my hand over my dantian, where the World Tree’s root was prodding.

The creature, which had always growled inside me, was a ruler of another world?

That reminded me of something the Blood Demon had once said to me.

—The master of the Abyss...

It was something the Blood Demon had muttered while glaring at the growling creature.

The master of the Abyss.

At the time, I didn’t understand, so I had dismissed it. But now, that word—master—resonated clearly in my mind.

The Abyss. The master.

If what the World Tree said was true, this creature was also a ruler of a world, just like the World Tree.

Could this creature be far more significant than I had ever imagined?

"Why is something like that inside me?"

It was already strange enough that it wasn’t the master of this world, but the master of another world inhabiting my body.

And the fact that this creature was connected to my mother...

'Mother.'

That could only mean that my mother wasn’t just an ordinary woman.

I recalled the image of my mother disappearing helplessly into the Magyeong Gate.

It was the event that had shattered me and led me to lose faith in everyone in the Gu family.

[Apostle.]

The World Tree called out to me softly, breaking through my confusion.

"...You said you knew something about my mother." [I do not know everything. As I mentioned, I have already been erased from that world.]

"But you know something, don’t you?"

I felt a sense of urgency.

Never before had I considered the possibility that there might be something more to my mother.

"Please, tell me. I must know... about my mother."

Damn it.

Everything was connected. The events I was experiencing...

Everything was damn well connected.

If it was because I was a child of the Gu family, or if it was because of the karmic burden I carried, then it was no longer a matter I could ignore.

I needed to know.

I needed to uncover the secrets surrounding me.

As I stared intently at the World Tree, it paused for a moment before speaking.

[Though I have been erased from that world, I do know a little. After all, it was the world I once embraced.] [I believe your world has already faced two great calamities.]

"Two?"

I tried to recall the two calamities the World Tree mentioned.

The first must be the Blood Demon. But what was the second?

The Heavenly Demon...? It had to be the Heavenly Demon. The only other entity that could be considered a calamity was the Heavenly Demon.

Unless the curse the wandering spirit had mentioned wasn’t referring to me as a calamity.

While I was lost in thought, the World Tree continued.

[You wanted to know about your mother, didn’t you?]

The World Tree began to speak about my mother, and I felt my forehead crease deeply.

...Why now?

We were just talking about calamities. Why did the conversation suddenly shift to this?

Just as I was about to voice my confusion,

[Your mother...]

The World Tree’s next words stunned me.

[...was your world’s second calamity.]

Upon hearing the World Tree’s words, it felt as if time had stopped.