Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The room felt unusually dark.

That was likely because I hadn’t left a light on before falling asleep.

I drew on my inner energy to brighten my vision, and the room finally came into focus, albeit faintly.

Simultaneously, cold sweat began to trickle down my back.

Thump… thump…My startled heart refused to calm down, pounding heavily in my chest.

It was only natural.

How could I not be shocked to wake up and find an assassin standing before me?

And not just any assassin—the figure before me was none other than the King of Assassins, the Amwang (Shadow King).

Honestly, if he had merely dropped by for a visit, I might not have been so alarmed.

But the problem was…“…What exactly are you doing there?

”The Amwang was kneeling before me.

When I opened my eyes, there he was, directly in front of me.

Kneeling stiffly as if performing some solemn rite.

His head was slightly bowed, and his gaze lowered.

The posture was so meticulous that it almost seemed perfect—an impeccable show of respect.

If this had been some noble youth from a prestigious family, I might have thought, Wow, what excellent manners.

But no.

‘This is insane.

’The fact that the one kneeling in such a position was the Amwang, the master of assassins, was what made it a problem.

‘What the hell is he doing here now?

’Lately, I had thought things had been unusually quiet.

I had almost forgotten.

‘Right… there’s the Amwang too.

’Yes, this man was still around.

I had momentarily overlooked the fact that he had joined my group, disguised under Paejon’s orders.

‘Is this place even safe anymore?

’Looking at the Amwang, a thought crossed my mind.

The value of a single martial artist at the level of Hwagyeong was immense.

Even those at the Jeoljeong stage were sought after by prestigious martial sects.

If someone reached Hwagyeong, their worth became immeasurable.

Just look at the elders of the major martial clans—all of them were Hwagyeong.

To have reached Hwagyeong was to hold a position of unparalleled value.

‘And how many of them are here right now?

’How many Hwagyeong-level martial artists were currently gathered in the Tang Clan?

Even excluding those belonging to the Tang Clan itself…Baekryun Sword, the Hermit, and others.

Just counting them, there were five.

‘This place is practically a nest of living weapons.

’While it felt like I had somehow drawn all of them here, that wasn’t the issue.

Of all these elites, if I were to evaluate the Amwang standing before me…‘He’s someone who could kill anyone.

’That was the simplest way to put it.

He was the King of Assassins, renowned for being capable of killing even the Samjonja if he wished.

The master of the infamous Cheolya Assassination Squad, whose identity was entirely unknown.

Well… almost unknown.

‘I do know a bit, though.

’While few, if any, had survived an encounter with the Amwang, I knew something others likely didn’t.

‘A descendant of Yeon Ilcheon.

’The Amwang was, in fact, a descendant of that accursed Yeon Ilcheon.

I didn’t know if anyone else was aware of this, but considering I hadn’t known in my previous life, it seemed to be a well-kept secret.

‘Is that why he’s here?

’Could he be here to silence me for knowing that?

Though I doubted it, the mere thought crossed my mind.

What dismissed that notion, however, was the Amwang’s behavior.

‘Why?

’Why was he kneeling in my room?

Even my groggy, half-awake mind grew cold at the sight.

There was no killing intent.

But given his level, hiding such intent would be trivial, so that didn’t mean much.

Then I considered something else.

‘Since when?

’When had the Amwang entered this room?

I had set up a barrier to awaken me if anyone approached while I slept.

Oh.

‘That doesn’t matter either.

’If it was the Amwang, that barrier was useless.

What a ridiculous situation.

‘Living like this is exhausting.

’No matter how many precautions I took, there were always people capable of breaking through them.

The reality was absurd.

Yet perhaps that absurdity was what brought my thoughts into focus.

‘This must be a reminder not to get complacent.

’It was fortunate that I had been reminded of that fact, albeit in this unsettling way.

As I worked to piece together the situation, Shin Noya spoke from within.

[It’s been about an hour.

]‘Since when the Amwang entered the room?

’[Yes.

I tried everything to wake you up, but you wouldn’t stir even if you were dying.

]An hour.

The Amwang had been here for that long.

And judging by the timing, it seemed he had waited for me to fall asleep before entering.

Realizing this, I addressed him directly.

“…Do you have business with me?

”Thankfully, my voice didn’t tremble.

That alone was a small victory.

If it had, I’d have looked utterly pathetic.

At my question, the Amwang finally raised his head to look at me.

Silver-white hair glinted in the faint light.

Even in the dim room, his hair seemed to shimmer unnaturally.

Though he typically wore a mask or disguised himself, I had the impression that this was his true form.

And his eyes…White eyes that, despite their color, felt dark—like a void pulling you in.

The first time I saw those eyes, they had terrified me.

‘What’s this?

’But now, strangely enough, they didn’t scare me as much.

Just as I continued to look into his eyes…Whoosh!

“…!

”Suddenly, his eyes changed.

The pupils narrowed vertically, like slits.

The sight sent chills down my spine.

Not because it was grotesque, but because it was familiar.

I had seen those eyes before.

It didn’t take me long to recall.

‘The Blood Demon’s eyes.

’Those were the same crimson pupils I had seen during the faction meeting.

The same ones that stared at me through Jang Seon-yeon’s body.

And the changes didn’t stop there.

Buzz…A strange vibration spread through the room.

Heat surged through my blood.

Was my body reacting?

Unbidden, an intense warmth filled me, rising until it reached my eyes.

I didn’t need a mirror to know.

My own pupils had likely transformed to match the Amwang’s.

And then…—Shhh!

From a drawer, Doldol leaped out, coiling his body in azure flames.

The flames flared up briefly before revealing not the small, wiry snake I knew but a massive beast.

His colossal form curled protectively around me in the cramped room, baring his fangs at the Amwang.

—Grrrrrr…Doldol trembled with rage, exuding hostility toward the Amwang.

The Amwang turned his gaze to Doldol.

Watching this unfold, I braced myself for the worst, but…“It seems I was right,” the Amwang finally said.

Instead of reacting with violence to Doldol’s aggression, he nodded as though everything had fallen into place.

What the hell does that mean?

The Amwang’s gaze shifted back to me.

And then, he moved.

His sudden motion made me instinctively prepare for an attack.

"Hmm...?

"I instinctively tensed as the Amwang moved.

He abruptly bowed his head, offering a respectful salute toward me.

Startled, I opened my mouth to ask why, but before I could utter a word…“…A guardian born of Yeon Ga’s lineage greets the great Dragon.

”His words froze me in place.

Dragon .

That single word knocked the breath out of my lungs.

For a moment, I hesitated, struggling to process what he had just said.

Then, pushing past the confusion, I asked:“…Senior, what are you doing?

”What was going on?

Was I cursed by some celestial misfortune lately?

Or had every old man around me suddenly decided to lose their minds?

This was far scarier than anything else.

Watching the Amwang—of all people—act like this was unnerving.

‘Am I already dead?

’The ridiculous thought crossed my mind, though I quickly dismissed it.

Even as I tried to lift the Amwang from his kneeling position, his words lingered in my head.

DragonThe word sent a chill down my spine.

A term used to describe legendary creatures, or as a collective term for White-Rank beasts.

It was also the image that had flashed through my mind during my battle with the manifestation of blood energy—the same form I’d seen when Doldol transformed after my rebirth.

‘…A dragon, huh.

’It was no longer a foreign concept, though it still felt surreal.

Am I a dragon?

Was this strange body of mine truly that of a dragon?

The scales on my arms, the altered state of my body—were these signs of a dragon’s form?

Even if that were true…Dragon or not, that’s not the issue right now.

Whatever I had turned into, that could be dealt with later.

For now, I needed to understand why this terrifying man was acting this way.

The sheer dread I had managed to suppress was threatening to rise again, especially with his drastic change in tone.

“Please, Senior… Get up first…” “I beg before a being so great as you.

”I tried to pull the Amwang away from Doldol, but he simply continued speaking.

“Please take pity on this wretched bloodline.

”When my hand touched his shoulder…Ssssss…“…!

”The moment I made contact, his flesh began to change.

Startled, I withdrew my hand.

Even as I stepped back to distance myself, the changes continued, spreading further across his body.

His skin transformed.

Just as his pupils had earlier, his flesh began to morph.

It became rough and textured, resembling the scales on my right arm.

The difference was that while my scales were blue, his were golden.

I stared at him with wide eyes.

And then, something changed in me.

My heart began to pound violently.

The heat coursing through my veins became unbearable, far beyond what I had felt earlier.

What was this?

As I struggled to find a word to describe it, a voice from my past echoed in my mind.

—Instinct.

It was what the Blood Demon had once said to me.

Back then, when I had lost control of myself amidst the frenzy of blood energy, the Blood Demon had remarked on it.

—That’s simply the way it is.

—Arrogant creatures that cannot bear the existence of an equal under the same sky.

He had said this while looking directly at me.

Then, was this emotion I felt toward the Amwang hostility?

No.

It wasn’t hostility.

It was something colder, more disdainful.

If I had to put it into words…Inferiority?

Yes, inferiority.

I was looking at someone far stronger than myself, yet all I could feel was a sense of their insignificance.

Why was I feeling this?

It was a disgusting emotion, one I wanted to rip out of myself.

As I recalled the Blood Demon’s words, another thought occurred to me.

He must have known from the start.

The Blood Demon must have realized what I would become.

Even before I had fully shed my mortal shell, he had understood that I was destined to become a dragon.

Which meant…Is this about the blood energy?

It made sense.

My flames had transformed into blue fire, born of blood energy.

But the Blood Demon’s earlier words stuck in my mind:—You are not my fragment, so how did you begin to awaken?

Those words implied that my transformation had not been his intention.

Though I couldn’t fully trust the Blood Demon, his words suggested something important.

Was the Blood Demon also… a dragon?

If he was part of this unknown species, then his remarks about being the “seed of the Dragon Emperor” also made sense.

The Blood Demon’s claim wasn’t just a metaphor—it was literal.

Wait… If that’s true…A realization struck me as I began to connect the dots.

From the beginning, creatures associated with the term dragon were always…White-Rank beasts.

In the past, people called them dragons based on their form and immense power.

But as of now, no White-Rank beasts had appeared in Zhongyuan since the Blood Demon’s disappearance.

Even in my previous life, while Red-Rank beasts had started to emerge, I had never seen a single White-Rank beast until my death.

While this absence had brought peace, was it truly just a coincidence?

Why, then, were Red-Rank beasts appearing now?

What was causing this shift?

The more I thought about it, the rougher my breathing became.

The blurry outlines of these events were starting to take shape.

But the clearer the picture became, the larger and more daunting it seemed.

As my mind raced to piece everything together, the Amwang spoke again in his dry voice.

“…Please…”His words snapped me back to the present, and I turned my gaze toward him.

My brow furrowed instinctively—not because of his grotesque appearance, but because I couldn’t understand him.

Heroes were said to have saved the world.

They hadn’t been able to kill the Blood Demon, but they had managed to seal him, preserving peace.

Despite seeing me as a disaster, I had respected their achievements.

They were the ones who had turned back time to save this world.

That was how I had viewed Yeon Ilcheon.

But why…Why was this descendant of Yeon Ilcheon in such a state?

Why was he now kneeling before me, begging:“Release the curse bound to my bloodline…”How had the foremost defender of the world ended up like this?

For some reason, that realization left me feeling deeply unsettled.