By Zephyria The improved eyesight that came with becoming a High-level Awakener clearly showed what the two were doing. Seo Yakrin bravely walked into the Black Mountain, then crouched down and reached out her hand. She fumbled around for a bit, then lay down flat on her back. Joo Ho-young, Yoon Seung-ryong, and Lee Hyun-muk nearby were unfazed, but only Yohan was restless.
He worried that he might have made a pointless suggestion, or that the Black Mountain might suddenly swallow Seo Yakrin or Joo Ho-young. What’s more, nearly an hour passed, and the two showed no signs of returning. Joo Ho-young quickly returned to where they were and relayed Seo Yakrin’s message.
“It seems like it’ll take some time, so go back first, eat dinner, and sleep,” she said.
“How long will it take? And it’s not dangerous or anything, right?”
“Don’t worry, Yohan Hyung! Yakrin Noona is quite strong!”
Joo Ho-young replied cheerfully, and it seemed like there was truly no issue. Yohan reluctantly returned to the ancient tree, leaving the two behind, but still urged them to come back for meals every time.
Even after returning to the ancient tree dwelling, Seo Yakrin didn’t come back for a long time. The next day, Yohan barely managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning, and it wasn’t until Yoon Seung-ryong had prepared breakfast that Seo Yakrin returned with Joo Ho-young.
“Yakrin Noona! Ho-young!”
As Yohan jumped up to greet them warmly, Seo Yakrin’s frowning expression brightened.
“My Yohan! Were you worried about Noona?”
As Seo Yakrin approached with long strides and gently touched his cheek with her fingertips, her gaze gradually turned wild. She ground her teeth with a kkkudeuk sound, and then, as if unable to bear it any longer, tried to pull him into a tight embrace. Just then, Lee Hyun-muk pulled Yohan back. Seo Yakrin, embracing empty air with a sigh of frustration, had the corners of her eyes shoot upwards. A dark red flame flared in her eyes.
“Why have you always monopolized Yohan, Team Leader? Give him back! Or I won’t stand for it!”
She shouted ferociously, her eyes and voice burning with rage. She even showed an unusual sign, as if trying to draw power. Golden ripples leaked out, and her hair fluttered as if in zero gravity. Joo Ho-young let out a gasp and quickly put distance between them, clutching his Game Console protectively. Yoon Seung-ryong, who had been simmering something similar to samgyetang with Bone Birds and Flesh Birds, tasted it and muttered as he sprinkled salt.
“Damn, is she crazy? Challenging the Team Leader like that…”
Seo Yakrin acted as if she would attack at any moment, but when Lee Hyun-muk simply watched her silently, she hesitated, unable to attack easily. Sensing the red aura in Seo Yakrin’s eyes, Yohan realized that this sudden rage was due to the Madness brought on by Corruption. Corrupted individuals usually become more mad the more they use their abilities, and it seemed Seo Yakrin had used her powers a lot in the Black Mountain.
Yohan quickly showered her with light, and the corners of her eyes, which had been glaring at Lee Hyun-muk while grinding her teeth, gradually calmed down. A moment later, Seo Yakrin regained her senses, her pupils shaking erratically. As Lee Hyun-muk continued to watch her, her head drooped lower and lower. After she was completely dejected, Lee Hyun-muk said calmly.
“Yakrin-ah.”
“Yes…”
Just as Yoon Seung-ryong had been once, Seo Yakrin became very polite and used formal speech.
“If you can’t control your strength, don’t come near Yohan.”
“Yes…”
As the situation calmed down with Seo Yakrin being subdued by Lee Hyun-muk’s gaze alone, Joo Ho-young quickly returned. Yohan felt awkward and purified Seo Yakrin more diligently. As he was also a High-level Awakener, Seo Yakrin hugging him forcefully would only result in minor injuries, so he felt somewhat embarrassed. …Or not? Lee Hyun-muk, confirming she had truly calmed down, made a suggestion.
“Shall we eat first and then talk?”
Curious about the results of attempting to communicate with the Black Mountain, and also hungry, everyone gathered. After each person devoured at least three or four Bone Birds and Flesh Birds, Seo Yakrin fumbled in her pocket and took something out.
“First, I brought some Eternal Stones.”
The Eternal Stones she took out from her pocket shone with colorful hues. Yohan glanced at his own Eternal Stone, a blend of black and white. Despite purifying it countless times, its innate color was black, and it still remained dark. It felt as if its inner darkness, having embraced Yohan’s energy, had finally gained a white core.
“And also…”
Seo Yakrin paused for a moment before spitting out the conclusion everyone had been wondering about.
“It turns out communication is possible.”
“Really?”
Yohan’s eyes widened. The suggestion he had made on a whim had actually worked! He was incredibly curious about what the Black Mountain had said. However, for some reason, Seo Yakrin’s expression wasn’t bright at all. It seemed complex and, at the same time, somewhat bitter.
“Those Eternal Stones… they all came from different places.”
Yohan was momentarily bewildered, then quickly understood her meaning.
“So, Earth wasn’t the first. What this damned bastard devoured… it seems to have passed through countless places over an incredibly long time.”
At Seo Yakrin’s words, which hinted that the Abyss had consumed countless worlds unknown to them, a heavy silence fell for a moment. Yohan felt a renewed sense of fear towards this colossal and terrifying entity of the Abyss, possessing a transcendent malice incomprehensible to humans.
“Well, it was too many to be considered as only coming from Earth.”
Yoon Seung-ryong chuckled and muttered. Yohan looked at the faintly visible Black Mountain in the distance, feeling a sense of helplessness. Recalling how rarely Eternal Stones appeared when hunting monsters, the sheer number of Eternal Stones making up that Black Mountain felt impossibly overwhelming.
“And were there any other stories?”
Joo Ho-young asked with a look of little expectation. Seo Yakrin shrugged and replied.
“That it greatly fears and is hostile towards the Flood?”
“That, well…”
It was only natural. Eternal Stones were like the bone fragments left behind after being gnawed, twisted, and melted by the Flood in this place, unable to be digested. It would naturally harbor extreme hatred for the entity that created it.
“And I also asked this. Is there perhaps a way out of here? As I said before, it didn’t feel like talking to a person; it was very difficult to convey and make it understand this question.”
Before Seo Yakrin could even finish speaking, everyone showed little expectation. After all, Seo Yakrin’s expression hadn’t been very bright.
“But it only gave one answer.”
Then, Seo Yakrin raised her hand and pointed downwards. The direction her finger pointed was into the ground.
“Go down.”
“Down…?”
Yohan asked again, bewildered. Seo Yakrin shrugged.
“To be precise, it said to go beneath the Black Mountain. But I don’t know if it even understood my question properly. Why on earth would it tell us to go down?”
Beneath the Black Mountain.
The moment Yohan heard those words, his trauma resurfaced. The incident of being buried alive alone in the Black Mountain was the most terrifying experience he had in the Abyss. The others seemed to be contemplating Seo Yakrin’s words. Yoon Seung-ryong lay down with his eyes closed, Seo Yakrin glared at the Black Mountain, and Joo Ho-young wasn’t even playing his beloved Game Console. And Lee Hyun-muk…
“Want to sleep a bit?”
“No…”
Yohan shook his head and sat down close to Lee Hyun-muk. He furtively glanced around and then, out of sight, fiddled with the other’s hand. Lee Hyun-muk smiled, then held and released Yohan’s fidgeting fingers. While playing with their hands like that, Yohan asked.
“Are we going beneath the Black Mountain?”
“Hmm. I wonder if we really need to go down there. Yakrin also said she wasn’t sure if she communicated properly.”
Lee Hyun-muk was right. Even if Seo Yakrin had understood correctly, how much could they trust this cluster of unidentified Eternal Stones, and to what extent?
“But… perhaps it could be a clue to escaping the Abyss?”
“It could be. Why, do you want to go?”
“No. It’s too scary there.”
Yohan replied with a shudder. He still often dreamed of being buried beneath the Black Mountain. Even if the mountain gradually transformed into a rainbow crystal mountain instead of black, he would still be too scared to go near it. But something suddenly piqued his curiosity.
“But… this Abyss. What kind of structure does it have? Is it a spherical planet like Earth?”
The answer came from Joo Ho-young, the fastest runner among humans.
“It’s just a place like a floating landmass. You know, like the flat-earth theory? It looks like something people who believe that would like.”
Yohan understood what Joo Ho-young was trying to say. He too had seen an image of a flat continent floating alone in space.
“Outside of these distinctive zones, there are endless barren zones, and beyond those zones, there are only cliffs. Beyond the cliffs, only that dreadful sky stretches infinitely.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to see that with my own eyes.”
Seo Yakrin shivered. What must Joo Ho-young have felt when he ran and ran until he confirmed the cliffs? Without a doubt, it must have been utter despair. They were all people who had searched for every possible way to escape the Abyss. How much pain had they endured, despairing and despairing again, before they could speak so calmly like now?
“We’ve dug through the ground before, haven’t we? So what could be so different beneath the Black Mountain?”
Yoon Seung-ryong said, yawning. When asked out of curiosity, the answer was that no matter where they dug, they encountered a very hard rock layer, preventing further progress. But hearing that reminded Yohan of something else.