The desolate place, now devoid of all life, bore only a single necklace that once hung around my neck.

The Serpent Queen arrived late, saying nothing, and merely stared at the necklace. The Serpent Princess, on the other hand, wept there for days on end.

Eventually, they collected the necklace and disappeared somewhere, mumbling words I couldn’t hear.

Time passed. The necklace was gone now, and someone I longed for with every fiber of my being arrived at the forsaken place.

Baek Yeon-yeong.

She was my teacher.

Her condition wasn’t good.

She was smeared with blood, her eyes devoid of life.

She stood tall in the empty space that held no trace of me, as though she somehow knew her disciple had been there.

She closed her eyes and pressed her hand to the ground.

Crackle.

And when she opened her eyes again, everything had changed.

Her once-blue eyes were now crimson, dyed like blood.

Just as they had been when I first saw her mother.

As she took one more step forward, everything disintegrated.

Crraaaaaack!

Even this illusion I was witnessing.

The scenery I’d seen vanished, replaced once again by the lake.

My breath quickened.

Ssshhhh!

The tranquil lake rippled violently.

What exactly had I just seen?

This was my mental world, an ideal space for my Simma to run rampant.

There was no need to overthink it.

The Simma had shown me a false vision to deceive me.

— Did you enjoy the view?

A voice resounded in my head.

It was unfamiliar yet strangely familiar, brimming with raw, primal energy that suggested an overwhelming desire to devour everything.

A voice drenched in hatred.

It was the Simma.

— You know what I’ve shown you, don’t you?

Nonsense. It was an illusion.

…At least, that’s what I wanted to believe.

— Indeed. That’s your future.

— Exactly one month from now, the Hwasan Sect will invade. Everyone will die a gruesome death. Even the Serpent Queen and your master will lose themselves in madness.

The Simma continued, driving its words into me like cruel barbs of truth.

My mind began to reject it. How could it possibly see the future?

— A series of coincidences overlapped.

— Your acquisition of the Dragon Gate amplified your divinity exponentially.

— The priestess who thinks only of you accepted that divinity.

— And by a rare chance, she obtained an artifact that awakened her abilities.

The priestess’s abilities.

If what the Simma claimed was true, then Nephila would have told me the moment she saw me.

And yet, she waited.

Waited until I handed the Neidan to Tang Soyeong.

— Even if she glimpsed the future in her dreams, your priestess, who has just entered the realm of divine beings, could not fully remember it.

— She was driven by one singular determination.

— She must help you.

— She must share what she saw, no matter what it takes.

The Simma’s blood-red eyes bore into me.

— Do you understand why I said coincidences overlapped?

The Dragon Gate’s divinity. The priestess. The Fox Marble. The Neidan of the Inmyeonjo.

If even one of those had been missing, Nephila wouldn’t have been able to pass on this knowledge to me.

By feeding me the Neidan of the Inmyeonjo, she led me to this place and entrusted the Simma to deliver the message of the future she had witnessed.

But this raised another question.

The Simma was my adversary.

It loathed me and wanted nothing more than my demise.

Why, then, had it agreed to Nephila’s request?

— Isn’t it obvious? I am your Simma.

— I despise you. I yearn to consume you. To see you swallowed by me.

The waters of the lake surged violently.

— Showing you a despairing future, then watching you beg for my help in desperation… is there a greater entertainment than that?

A colossal figure emerged from the lake, so vast it could only be described as titanic.

— Even if you know the future, there’s nothing you can do.

— The best your priestess could do was bring you to me.

— What will you do now?

— Will you cry out the truth to your followers with that pitiful voice of yours?

— Do you think that will change your fate?

The Simma’s booming laughter filled the space, reverberating with a haunting echo.

— Despair over a future you cannot change.

— Run as hard as you can until your body shatters, but you cannot defy fate.

— Cry bitterly and wait for destiny to devour you.

The laughter ceased.

— And in the end… accept me.

— Only I can help you.

It whispered sweetly, like a devil tempting a soul.

— Let me engrave the true meaning of fear into their very bones.

— Everything you worry about, I will solve for you.

Its massive maw opened wide, as though it would swallow me whole if I agreed.

— Yes. Even after seeing the future, you hesitate because you know what accepting me means.

The Simma stared at me for a long moment, as if it realized I wouldn’t answer, then closed its gaping mouth.

— I never expected you to submit so easily.

— But fate is insurmountable.

— I’ll watch and enjoy the show from here.

The Simma began to sink back into the lake.

— Your desperate struggle will be quite the spectacle.

My vision grew blurry.

— Even a fleeting moment is too precious for you, so I’ll take my leave for now.

— And… my offer still stands. Think it over carefully.

With a chilling, sticky voice, it uttered those final words before vanishing completely.

But I could tell.

It hadn’t truly disappeared.

I could feel it watching me, somewhere in the depths of the lake.

I opened my eyes.

“Ko Daehyup, are you awake?”

Everyone was staring at me with worried expressions.

“We were so scared when you suddenly collapsed… If this happened to you, imagine if I had swallowed that Neidan. Ugh, just thinking about it is terrifying.”

Tang Soyeong, Baekrang, Nephila, and Tus and Fus were all crowded around me, each taking a piece of my attention.

I lifted my gaze to Nephila.

She tilted her head quizzically.

It seemed, just as the Simma had said, she didn’t remember what she had passed on to me.

In other words, I was the only one who knew this future.

"Lie down for a bit longer."

"Swallowing that kind of Neidan all at once would leave anyone feeling worse for wear. Same goes for the Spider Priestess. Why would she insist you swallow that thing?"

"My guess… she needed an excuse to kiss you?"

"W-what?"

"Eek! Why are you trying to freeze me!"

Normally, I would’ve laughed at their banter.

But now, I couldn’t.

Because this was no laughing matter.

Everyone here, laughing and chatting so carefree, would end up dead.

How could I save them all?

Should I ask my master for help?

No, that wasn’t the right path.

I needed to overcome this crisis on my own, without relying on my master’s strength.

It wasn’t some foolish pride driving this decision.

If the only way to save everyone meant groveling at the feet of the Simma, licking even its claws, then so be it.

But there was another reason I couldn’t turn to my master.

Why had they invaded this place?

Was it because of the Neidans of the mystical beasts?

Would they really launch an assault on the Mountains of Ten Thousand Beasts, where my master resides, over something so trivial?

No, that didn’t make sense.

Starting a full-scale war with the Heavenly Demonic Cult over a few Neidans?

Their objective wasn’t just a handful of Neidans.

If I had to guess, it was my master’s state after my death that I’d glimpsed—a vision of her eyes dyed blood-red and her power spiraling closer to demonic madness.

The mastermind had targeted her from the very beginning.

If they expected her to lose control just because of my death, it meant they knew something about our connection.

And considering that, they must have anticipated her intervention and planned for it.

No—perhaps they were counting on it.

Even as I pieced this together, it didn’t fully make sense.

What kind of lunatic would want my master to go on a rampage?

Did they want to see the Central Plains burned to ashes?

Would the Hwasan Sect, a core member of the Nine Great Clans with a solid reputation, really desire such chaos?

There had to be more to it.

Something I didn’t know. The true mastermind.

I couldn’t seek my master’s help.

Not because I doubted her strength, but because in the worst-case scenario, I might lose her as well.

This was something I had to resolve on my own.

But how could I stop them?

No matter how much I thought about it, no answer came to mind.

The enemy was strong, and they outnumbered us.

Even with knowledge of the future, I couldn’t bridge that gap.

Even if I managed to defeat them, many of my followers would die in the process.

And that was unacceptable.

Even if I repelled the enemy, it would mean nothing if my followers died.

So what could I do?

…Evacuate them.

Remove them from the equation and face the enemy alone.

Yes.

I could do that.

Even if it seemed impossible, I would make it work.

One month.

That’s how much time I had left.

Within that time, I had to grow stronger.

Every second was precious.

I would hunt down every mystical beast I could see and make their strength my own.

There was no room for hesitation or complacency anymore.

If I didn’t grow stronger, my followers would die.

Even if it meant offering my body to the Simma, even if I had to burn through my lifespan by gathering Innate True Qi, I would do whatever it took to destroy the enemy.

…

First, I needed to disband my followers.

If they stayed here, they would be caught in the crossfire.

Even if I warned them of the danger, they would refuse to leave my side.

They were as stubborn as I was, bound to me by more than just duty.

Even if I yelled at them, they wouldn’t budge.

Even if I appealed to their emotions, they wouldn’t leave.

They wouldn’t listen to mere words.

Dragons are mercurial creatures.

Everything I’d shown them until now had been a facade of virtue.

I needed to act as though I were revealing my true self for the first time.

I had a valid reason.

I had claimed the Snowy Mountains and obtained the Fox Marble.

If I feigned corruption, showing a desire for power, they would have no choice but to leave.

They wouldn’t leave otherwise.

Even in the face of death, they would stay by my side.

I let out a low growl.

It was filled with hostility, just as I would sound toward my enemies.

As I raised my head to warn them, I saw Baekrang’s wagging tail.

Tang Soyeong’s mischievous smirk.

Tus pressing their lips against my tail.

Fus gently poking at my hand.

And Nephila smiling softly, as if nothing could faze her.

It all grated on my nerves.

“…Hey, are you crying?”

A low growl escaped me.

“Kiieeeng?”

“Are there lingering side effects? Come here!”

“Well, this is new.”

Why was I feeling so selfish?

Baekrang stroked my head.

Tang Soyeong leaned closer, peering seriously into my eyes.

Tus, as if trying to cheer me up, offered one of their legs to my mouth.

Fus, with their stubby arms, patted my tail gently in what seemed to be a gesture of comfort.

And Nephila simply held my hand, smiling warmly as always.

“…I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t cry. It’s unsettling to see you like this.”

“Kiiiing…”

“Could it be… you’re upset because you swallowed the gift meant for me? Ahem! As someone with a generous heart, I wouldn’t hold a Neidan against you!”

“Kaeeeeng…”

Why was I having these thoughts?

Why did I suddenly want to survive and stay with them?

Baekrang hesitantly offered her tail, despite usually being skittish about it.

Tang Soyeong declared she would dive into the dangerous depths of my mental world again if it would help.

Tus and Рus tried to brighten my mood with their favorite offerings.

And Nephila, wordlessly, embraced me tightly.

…

Right.

I didn’t have to carry everything alone.