By Zephyria “Sparrow….”
The mumbling sound brought Yoon Seung-ryong’s unfocused gaze back from his past recollections. His eyes turned towards Yang Yohan, sleeping safely beside Lee Hyun-mook inside the hollowed-out tree. He mumbled something indistinct before letting out a sleepy sigh.
Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young, who had been sitting around the campfire, craned their necks to peer into the hollowed-out tree. Just as Yohan had relaxed with relief upon seeing them, they too finally eased their tense energy after seeing Yohan safely returned.
All expression vanished from the faces of the three. They didn’t even blink. They merely sensed the warmth of purification emanating from Yohan, unconsciously leaning in and staring intently. It was a blatant gaze that would have awakened even a High-level Awakener with their heightened senses. But Yohan, who was naturally dull and had suffered mentally for days, knew nothing, merely breathing softly and wandering in his dreams.
They watched a perfectly human sight. The occasional heaving chest with a deep sigh, scratching a cheek, or frowning and mumbling something low in their sleep – it was all so human. They watched for a long time, as if observing a curious animal. It was because they themselves were not so human.
They could barely get any sleep, only managing to close their eyes for a bit after meeting Yohan. They could go without blinking for extended periods, or survive without breathing or eating. After being dissolved and melted away in the Flood, only to have their bodies painstakingly reassembled, they no longer retained their former forms. These were all characteristics they hid from Yohan, so as not to be discovered. It was because the other party saw them as human.
Yoon Seung-ryong edged closer to the entrance of the hollowed-out tree, casting a glance at Lee Hyun-mook. His mood was grim, as if he were replaying the moment Yohan disappeared. However, it wasn’t as terrifying as that nightmarish moment when Yohan vanished into Black Mountain. With Yohan by his side, Lee Hyun-mook felt less afraid.
Yoon Seung-ryong, like Lee Hyun-mook, replayed the events of a few days ago. He pondered how to prevent the same thing from happening again. They were that desperate. After a long period of deep thought, Yoon Seung-ryong mumbled dryly,
“It’s probably better to avoid Black Mountain from now on.”
“No, it’s still a safer path than the Flood. At least he didn’t die.”
Lee Hyun-mook replied, and Yoon Seung-ryong looked at Yohan again. Yohan was just stirring and turning onto his side. Lee Hyun-mook reached out and properly covered him with the sleeping bag that had slipped down. Watching the scene, Yoon Seung-ryong chuckled.
“This feels damn awful.”
“Me too.”
Joo Ho-young replied, suddenly biting off a fingernail mid-game.
“I knew this was a shitty place, but this time it was truly horrific.”
Yoon Seung-ryong muttered that he’d rather go back into the Flood. He was no longer bothered by physical pain, no matter how many times he experienced it. But mental anguish never became familiar, no matter how much time passed.
What if Yohan had died? What if they had lost him forever? After finally being able to live like a human, only to be buried again in an endless pit of suffering… The mere thought was unbearable. It would be better to just die right there. Without Yohan, they would become crawling insects, eating filth again.
No one could have predicted that a part of Black Mountain would suddenly erupt from seemingly solid ground, but that didn’t absolve them of responsibility for losing Yohan in an instant.
“Next time, I really need to stay close…”
“I’ll have to run at full speed too.”
While Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young shivered, Lee Hyun-mook remained indifferent. His vacant gaze stared into the void, and a heavy silence stretched on. The shadow cast inside the hollowed-out tree was particularly deep, gloomy, and dark. It was the abyss that swallowed the Light Particles Yohan shed in his sleep without a trace.
As Lee Hyun-mook’s silence deepened, Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young fell silent, watching him nervously. Though the other man said not a word, they found themselves lowering their gazes. Fear flickered in their eyes as they glanced at Lee Hyun-mook. Joo Ho-young nudged him with his elbow, and Yoon Seung-ryong, who had been swallowing nervously, squeezed his eyes shut and knelt before Lee Hyun-mook.
“Team leader, I was wrong. I should have protected Yohan, but I couldn’t…”
As the gaze that had been fixed on the void turned towards him, Yoon Seung-ryong’s body shrank. Lee Hyun-mook’s hand moved upwards, then downwards. It fell lightly on Yoon Seung-ryong’s head with a soft thud. His heart felt like it plummeted downwards as well.
“Seung-ryong-ah.”
“Uh, yeah…”
“Have I ever scolded you for something that was beyond your capabilities?”
Hearing the words “beyond your capabilities,” Yoon Seung-ryong bit his lip in frustration. But he still hunched over and shook his head.
“No, you haven’t, but… still, if I had been more attentive, Yohan wouldn’t have been dragged away alone.”
“Hmm… Perhaps that might have been the case.”
Lee Hyun-mook nodded calmly and stroked Yoon Seung-ryong’s head. Each time, Yoon Seung-ryong’s body flinched as if wanting to escape. His complexion turned a ghastly gray, despite there being no threat.
“What you did wrong is wrong. You must… take responsibility.”
“Is that so? Then I must. Should I be punished?”
Joo Ho-young, who had been listening quietly to their conversation, gasped in surprise. However, instead of stopping Lee Hyun-mook or defending Yoon Seung-ryong, he moved further away.
“Alright. Punishment. I’ll… accept anything.”
As Yoon Seung-ryong answered bravely, a smile spread across Lee Hyun-mook’s lips. He called out, “Seung-ryong-ah,” and firmly grasped his shoulder. Then, forcing Yoon Seung-ryong, who kept avoiding his gaze, to meet his eyes, he said,
“I won’t kill you.”
At those words, Yoon Seung-ryong sprang up as if he hadn’t been cowering moments before. He looked utterly frustrated that Lee Hyun-mook was retracting his promise to kill him if the worst-case scenario occurred. Joo Ho-young let out a sigh as if he hadn’t been tense at all and returned to his spot.
“Ah, Team leader. No, Hyung… are you really going to do this?”
“And I won’t let you die either.”
Frustrated by the ‘punishment’ Lee Hyun-mook was imposing, Yoon Seung-ryong clutched his head and cried out in a choked voice.
“Just hit me! Hit me! Huh? Beat me to death! And then just kill me in a fit of rage!”
“Shh. Quiet. Yohan will wake up.”
“Nooo… Even so, this isn’t right!”
Finally, Yoon Seung-ryong, whose head was roughly struck by Lee Hyun-mook’s fist, let out a silent scream and rolled on the floor. Joo Ho-young, who had been playing his game, clicked his tongue. A moment later, Yoon Seung-ryong, utterly dejected, slumped down in front of the campfire.
“Let’s talk about the Flood.”
Lee Hyun-mook’s words were followed by a deep sigh. Even for them, who had spent so long in the Abyss, the Flood was always a terrifying and overwhelming phenomenon. Joo Ho-young put down his game console, which he had been playing with enjoyment, and his face became etched with deep worry. He then sighed and said,
“Yohan seems to want to settle down, but the Flood comes too often for that.”
“It’s not a matter of settling down, it’s a matter of survival. It’s dangerous just when the Flood approaches. It’s fatal if even one of us goes mad.”
Yoon Seung-ryong tapped his foot nervously, then let out a breath as if he were about to expire and flopped onto his back on the ground.
“Ha. I really need to bring that old geezer back…”
“Yohan said, didn’t he, that the sky seemed brighter? Was he just saying that?”
At Joo Ho-young’s words, Yoon Seung-ryong lazily turned his gaze upwards to the sky. The sky, regardless of day or night, always writhed with the same unpleasant, damp colors.
“I don’t really know? Isn’t it the same as before?”
“But I definitely feel like the ‘concentration’ has decreased.”
“Ah… That, for sure…”
Yoon Seung-ryong trailed off and turned his gaze back to Lee Hyun-mook, who nodded in agreement. It was as Yohan had said. They hadn’t really noticed it before, but after the Flood in the Japan sector, or more precisely, after escaping Black Mountain, they could tell. The concentration of something like gravity, or perhaps the humidity of a thick Madness, had decreased. Lee Hyun-mook voiced the thought he had been contemplating.
“From what I see, the Flood can’t be mobilized at will. It’s clearly a form of energy that gets consumed. If this were a phenomenon that could occur infinitely… we would have been ‘digested’ long ago.”
“Ha. So if we just keep holding on like this, there will be an end someday.”
Yoon Seung-ryong grinned cheerfully. But his smile quickly faded at Lee Hyun-mook’s next words.
“Yes. And because of that, we must prepare for it to become even more vicious. It seems to be just as desperate as we are…”