CFZ

A pitch-black background came into view.
No matter how hard I tried to see, there was nothing visible. Only the heavy, charred darkness filled the space.

What is this?
Why am I suddenly surrounded by this bizarre scene?
Just as the absurdity of the situation started sinking in—

‘Ah….’
I finally realized what was happening.
So that’s what it is—I had my eyes closed.

‘…When did I close them?’
I was sure I had been touching the mana stone just moments ago.
How did I end up like this?

Something felt off.
“…Hmm?”
I immediately tried to lift my eyelids, but strangely, they wouldn’t move easily.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t move them at all, so I forced them open with sheer willpower.
“Ugh.”
At last, the familiar ceiling came into view.

It was the ceiling of the storage room I had entered earlier.
Which meant…I had been lying down.
‘What exactly happened?’

I couldn’t remember what led to this.
The last thing I recalled was using the Demonic Heaven Absorption Technique on the mana stone.
“That’s right…”
I was certain the technique had activated properly. The mana stone had poured out its energy—

And that’s where my memory cut off.
“...”
What really happened?

I tried to sit up and check my surroundings.
At that moment—
Wooong—!

“…!”
As soon as my hand pressed against the floor, vibrations erupted from my body.
The source—my heart.

A sudden pulse of energy swept through me, spreading to every corner of my body.
“…Ugh…”
I swallowed the pain that washed over me.

What the hell was this?
The energy surged through my meridians, racing like wildfire.
I tried to regain control, but—

‘Damn it….’
It wouldn’t listen.
The energy spiraled out of control, rampaging in every direction.

Wild and intense.
If not for my strengthened body, I wouldn’t have just failed to endure—I would’ve exploded on the spot.
All I could do now was grit my teeth and hold on.

“Grr…ugh….”
I endured the pain for what felt like forever.
Eventually, the intensity began to wane.

The energy didn’t disappear, but its rampage slowed.
Even the tremors in my heart subsided.
Thanks to that, I was finally able to move my body a little.

“…Shit.”
Cursing under my breath, I carefully examined myself.
There didn’t seem to be any visible changes—

Crunch—!
“Hm?”
I paused mid-movement as something crunched under my foot.

I looked down to check.
“What the hell is this?”
The floor was littered with something.

It was so translucent that it was easy to overlook at first glance.
I reached down and picked one up.
It felt smooth and slippery to the touch.

Though it was an unidentified material, something about it felt oddly familiar.
“This…”
Where had I seen it before?

‘Scales?’
It reminded me of the scales carried by snakes # Nоvеlight # or similar monsters.
Except—

I had never seen scales this transparent before.
And why were they scattered all over the floor?
On top of that—

‘Where’s the mana stone?’
The strange scales were one thing, but the white mana stone—the one I had absorbed energy from—was nowhere in sight.
And it wasn’t just the white mana stone.

‘Where did the red mana stones go?’
Not only was the white stone missing, but the red mana stones scattered all over the place had vanished too.
It made sense if the white stone disappeared after I absorbed it, but what about the red ones?

Had someone entered while I was unconscious?
‘There’s no sign of that.’
Nothing about the scene suggested an intruder.

The situation made no sense.
I tried to piece it together as I turned my head.
Then—

Crackle.
“…!”
The scale I held suddenly crumbled apart.

Not just the one in my hand—
Every scale on the floor disintegrated at once.
“What the hell…?”

They vanished before I could even figure out what they were.
It was ridiculous.
What had happened while I was unconscious?

And why did I pass out in the first place?
My head swirled with questions.
But there was one thing that mattered the most right now—

‘Did I actually absorb the energy?’
I had taken in the mana from the white stone.
Or had I?

That was the real question.
Judging by the energy that raged inside me earlier, it seemed like I had.
‘Then what about my internal injuries?’

What was the state of my body?
Before absorbing the stone, I had expected to need at least three months of rest.
I hoped the stone’s energy might cut it down to a month or two.

I hesitated for a moment, worried the energy might go berserk again if I tried to check.
But still—
‘I can’t just leave it alone.’

I had no choice.
I carefully gathered a bit of energy to examine myself.
Woooong—

The energy slowly flowed through my meridians.
It started circulating through my body, and thankfully—
There was no pain.

And then—
“What?”
My eyes widened as I checked my condition.

I had expected my injuries to have improved a little, but…
“This… I’m completely healed?”
My body hadn’t just healed—it had completely recovered.

No, it wasn’t just recovery.
I actually felt…better.
“What the hell?”

Was this some kind of transformation?
“Did I undergo Rebirth or something?”
I had experienced it once before when ascending to become a dragon, so it wasn’t entirely shocking.

But could simply absorbing a white mana stone really trigger something like Rebirth?
I found it hard to believe.
Raising my arm, I sniffed at my clothes.

‘No foul smell.’
Rebirth often involved expelling impurities from the body, leaving a foul stench on clothes.
But there wasn’t even a trace of that on me.

‘Maybe it’s because I never accumulated impurities in the first place.’
When I became a dragon, my body naturally purified itself, as if it couldn’t tolerate impurities.
Even Paejon had jokingly called my body flawless.

So maybe that’s why there wasn’t any odor this time—if it was Rebirth at all.
Or maybe it wasn’t Rebirth, and this was something else entirely.
Either way, it was clear something had changed.

‘But what’s the point of gaining more Qi now?’
Since my return, I had consumed so many resources that my Qi reserves already surpassed those of my previous life.
And from experience, once Qi reached a certain threshold, it stopped enhancing physical strength or cultivation levels and only boosted raw firepower.

That should’ve been the case—but now…
“…What the hell is this?”
Was this some rare stroke of fortune?

I couldn’t just celebrate without knowing the cause.
I clenched and unclenched my fists a few times before looking around.
As curious as I was about my condition, I first needed to figure out how much time had passed.

Creak.
I pushed open the warehouse door and stepped outside.
It wasn’t night yet.

The sun was setting, casting faint rays across the horizon.
‘Either it hasn’t been a full day, or not much time has passed.’
Maybe an hour or two at most.

Given how my body felt, it was unlikely I had been unconscious for long.
Besides, if I had been out for too long, I wouldn’t have woken up in the warehouse at all.
So time wasn’t the issue.

‘Then why the hell did I pass out…?’
I froze mid-step.
Just one step forward—and my body stopped cold.

Slowly, I raised my hand and ran it through my hair.
I couldn’t help it.
-Creak. Creak. Creak!

-“And then I told her—”
-“Mom! Mom, listen to me—!!”
-“No, but really, this time Yeon said—”

“...”
Voices.
Countless voices echoed all around me.

Not just sounds—the sensation on my skin had intensified too.
Whoosh—!
Even the wind felt sharper.

I could make out every subtle shift and ripple as it brushed against me.
I immediately realized what had happened.
‘My sensory perception has grown.’

It wasn’t just a slight increase.
It had at least doubled.
I quickly circulated my energy to suppress it.

The flood of information was too much for my body to handle.
If I didn’t block it, I felt like I’d collapse on the spot.
Once the noises faded and the sensations dulled, I finally felt stable again.

“…Damn.”
What the hell had happened to me?
Could absorbing the white mana stone really have caused this?

‘My cultivation hasn’t advanced, but my perception has skyrocketed?’
The range and clarity of my senses were completely different now.
‘Not that it’s a bad thing….’

For martial artists, enhanced sensory perception was always beneficial.
It expanded awareness and improved reaction speed.
But it still didn’t make sense.

Normally, cultivation advancements drove improvements in perception, not the other way around.
‘Could my cultivation have advanced without me realizing it?’
No way.

I had checked my internal state earlier when I circulated my Qi.
My cultivation level hadn’t changed.
But still…

‘Maybe I should double-check.’
I hadn’t examined myself too thoroughly before.
It wouldn’t hurt to take another look.

Instead of just circulating energy, I decided to test my flames.
That would be the quickest way to confirm.
However—

“...”
The flames didn’t ignite.
Not because I couldn’t summon them.

It was the opposite.
‘If I light this up now, I’m screwed.’
I knew instinctively—

If I unleashed my flames, it would end badly.
My body wasn’t in danger.
But—

‘I won’t be able to control it.’
The sheer intensity of the flames would be impossible to contain.
That’s why I hesitated.

‘What kind of ridiculous situation is this?’
My cultivation hadn’t advanced.
Yet my firepower had surged.

How the hell did that make any sense?
Even I couldn’t figure it out.
But my body had already decided for me.

Just how much stronger had my flames become?
As much as I wanted to test it out, losing control of my fire was too risky.
‘I’d burn this whole place down.’

Normally, controlling my flames to prevent damage was second nature.
But now?
Not being able to control them felt more like firing them recklessly.

If I wanted to test this, I’d have to do it somewhere isolated—away from people.
“Hm….”
What the hell had happened?

It was clear I had stumbled upon some kind of opportunity.
But not knowing what it was left me frustrated.
‘…If I don’t know, I need to check.’

Right.
If something had changed, the best thing to do was confirm it.
I’d head somewhere quiet and test things out.

Just as I prepared to leap—
Wooong.
Something caught my senses.

Someone was approaching.
At first, I thought it might be Nahi.
‘No.’

Nahi wouldn’t move so openly.
And if it were her, her demonic aura would’ve triggered a reaction before her presence did.
So who was it?

I didn’t have to wait long.
Tap.
A figure landed lightly near me.

“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“…What’s the matter?”
A middle-aged man with flowing white hair appeared.

It was Namgung Hyung.
His sudden appearance caught me off guard.
“You were looking for me?”

It was strange enough that Namgung Hyung was looking for me.
But the expression on his face made it stranger.
Doubt and pity.

Two emotions that didn’t usually go together.
What was with that look?
“Hyung, what’s going on?”

“Well, it’s just that…uh….”
“…?”
“Let me ask you something first, Young Master Gu.”

“Yes?”
“How old were you when you did it?”
“…Excuse me?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?
How old was I when I did what?
I had no idea what he was asking.

“…Hyung, I think you’re leaving out some important context.”
“Ah, well…um…actually, never mind. Explaining it here would be difficult.”
“What does that mean—”

“It’s better if you see it for yourself.”
“…What?”
“Oh, and one more thing—Miss Moyong left me a message for you.”

“What did she say?”
“She said, and I quote, ‘If you don’t hurry up, I’ll kill you.’”
“...”

I had no idea what was going on.
I didn’t understand what Namgung Hyung was saying or what situation had unfolded.
But for now—

“…Let’s go.”
There was no choice but to follow him.
I stepped forward, bracing myself for whatever was waiting.

   ******************
   
The place we arrived at was none other than the residence of the Divine Doctor.
Though called a residence, it was more of a clinic, where the Divine Doctor treated patients.

It was also where Namgung Bi-ah and Wi Seol-ah were staying.
Thanks to frequent visits, I knew this place inside out.
But—

‘What is this?’
Today, the place felt unusually crowded.
Normally, there wouldn’t be more than five people at most.

But now?
I could sense over ten presences inside.
What was going on to draw this many people?

“What exactly is happening?”
I immediately asked Namgung Hyung.
“Well… Maybe there’s something worth seeing.”

Hyung gave an evasive answer, clearly reluctant to explain.
And those quick, sidelong glances he kept throwing at me?
They were seriously getting on my nerves.

‘What the hell is this about?’
What could possibly be happening inside?
And why did they drag me into it?

I couldn’t make sense of any of this.
Especially considering Moyong Hee-ah, who had been avoiding me lately, said she’d kill me if I didn’t show up—
I had a bad feeling about this.

‘Maybe I should just run for it?’
Forget curiosity—my gut told me running might be the smarter option here.
But it was already too late.

The moment we arrived, Namgung Hyung opened the door.
And as the door swung wide, the scene inside came into full view.
A room packed with familiar faces.

The Divine Doctor, the owner of the place, was there, of course.
So were the White Lotus Sword—who hadn’t shown up much lately—Wi Seol-ah, and Namgung Bi-ah, who appeared to be receiving treatment.
On top of that, Tang So-yeol and Moyong Hee-ah—the one who had called me here—were both present.

‘…She’s pissed.’
Anyone could tell from Moyong Hee-ah’s expression that she was furious.
Even Wi Seol-ah and Tang So-yeol looked unusually upset.

What the hell had happened to make them all this angry?
Could it be…me?
Just as a cold sweat began to trickle down my back—

“…Huh?”
I saw something I couldn’t believe.
Among the angry women sat Namgung Bi-ah—calm as always.

But sitting lightly on her lap—
Was a child.
A small child, judging by their size.

For a moment, I wondered why there was a random kid sitting there.
But then—
“…What the hell is that?”

The kid sitting on Namgung Bi-ah’s lap looked disturbingly familiar.
Sharp, unfriendly eyes.
An expression that screamed poor manners and terrible discipline.

A face brimming with discontent and a raised chin that practically begged for a scolding.
‘…That’s me?’
The kid looked exactly like me.

No—
It wasn’t just a resemblance.
It was like someone had taken my younger self and made a perfect copy.

An illusion?
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I must be seeing things.
But then—

“A….”
The child sitting in Namgung Bi-ah’s lap met my eyes.
And at that moment—

“…Da…ddy….”
“What?”
The kid called me Daddy.

And just like that—
Every murderous glare in the room turned toward me.