The sound of crackling flames echoed all around me. With blurred vision, I turned toward the source of the sound.
From the sky, embers gently fell, and along with them, something else dropped to the ground.
Thump.
The soft noise reverberated across the vast space.
Crack.
Crack.
The embers on the ground seemed to form a path, guiding me to my destination.
Following them, I arrived to find something lying on the ground. It was him, his chest pierced through.
Around the gaping hole in his chest, cracks were slowly spreading.
Crack, crackle.
Not just his bodyâthis entire space was fracturing.
âHaahâ¦ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
My exhaled breath carried heat, and I ran a hand over my chest.
Wooong.
The lost heat was gradually returning.
The sensation, one I hadnât felt in days, didnât bring relief. For some reason, I felt indifferent.
My weary body felt light, almost detached, rather than weighed down by fatigue.
Even my heartbeat, which should have been thundering, felt faint and distant.
It felt as though even the slightest lapse in focus would send me floating away.
This sensation of my body and the flames becoming oneâit was the same as when I first consumed the Dokcheon Pill I had created.
Back then, I had fought desperately to maintain control.
But now, I didnât even bother.
I was too preoccupied staring at the bastard lying before me.
Haaah⦠haaahâ¦
The shallow breathing, the dimming eyes that signaled the approaching end.
From his chest, where his body was breaking apart, to the rest of his formâit was all deteriorating.
He was truly dying, or so it seemed.
Then again, could it even be called death?
This wasnât a humanâit was pure energy.
Though countless thoughts crossed my mind, this wasnât the time for such reflections.
âHey.â
At my call, his eyes turned toward me.
I looked at him and spoke.
âWhy did you hold back?â
[...]
He didnât answer. His resigned eyes seemed to accept the current situation.
That only irritated me more.
âI asked you why. Why did you hold back?â
Even if I had surpassed my past lifeâs body in cultivation, he wasnât the me of my previous life.
âYou couldâve done more, couldnât you?â
He could have ended it earlier. When he used that feint to drop the flame cores on me, he couldâve easily killed me.
If he truly intended to kill me, I wouldnât still be alive.
But insteadâ