By Zephyria “Y-you’re giving me water, right…? Thank you….”
Yohan-ssi stammered, looking around frantically before awkwardly bringing his mouth to it. He carefully licked the unknown substance he held in his hand. A liquid, like mineral water, flowed down, coolly wetting Yohan-ssi’s lips and the base of his throat.
“Mmm, ah…”
Yohan-ssi drank the water as if he were clinging to it. Once his terrible thirst was quenched, he felt a little better. In this situation, it was probably a good thing that he couldn’t see anything. After all, an adult drinking water like this would look quite unseemly.
With his thirst gone, he had a little more room to think. Yohan-ssi called out his teammates’ names, but there was no answer. He couldn’t feel any presence. Yohan-ssi, growing anxious, squeezed and fiddled with the thing that was wrapping around his body with just the right amount of force.
“When can I leave? You’ll let me out when it’s safe, right?”
Again, there was no answer to this question. Yohan-ssi tried to estimate how many abilities Lee Hyun-muk must have used, and how much his contamination level must have risen. He would surely have become a Madman by now. Just as Yoon Seung-ryong, who had overused his abilities, showed signs of mental instability at first and then transformed into a monster resembling a centipede, Lee Hyun-muk was surely in a similar state. Yohan-ssi tried to optimistically believe that his companions were safe, just like him.
Thud-thud. Suddenly, something rolled into his arms. Startled, he carefully touched it and sniffed it; it smelled sweet. It was fruit, including apples and bananas. Yohan-ssi, who was very hungry, peeled one using the sense in his fingertips. As he ate diligently, a sudden worry struck him, and Yohan-ssi asked into the air.
“Did you bring this from Hyung Seung-ryong?”
It was still silent, with no reaction.
“You did bring it, right…? You didn’t take it by force…?”
Yohan-ssi decided to believe that the banana peel in his hand was proof that Yoon Seung-ryong was alright….
After eating the fruit, his hunger subsided a little, and he felt a bit more energetic. He wanted to sleep right there, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so, being alone in a space he had never experienced before. Yohan-ssi gathered his courage and decided to explore his surroundings. However, moving around a place with no light, relying only on his senses, was more difficult than he had imagined.
Dragging his feet, Yohan-ssi sighed and sat down again. A terrifyingly silent and lonely quiet descended. In some ways, it was worse than being buried alive alone on Black Mountain. He felt he wouldn’t be able to maintain his sanity if he stayed here alone for even a few days. Although he considered Lee Hyun-muk to be by his side, he was still scared.
Sniffling, Yohan-ssi slowly lay down. His fingertips, fumbling along the floor, brushed against something with a different texture, and Yohan-ssi raised his head again. The tears that fell from his face faintly illuminated the floor.
“What is this….”
Beneath the soft, yielding floor was something hard. When he pressed gently, the soft, yielding floor pushed away as he pressed. In the space that receded, something smooth and very hard settled. Yohan-ssi, tracing it with his fingertips as if entranced, mumbled.
“Eternal, Stone…?”
But it’s this big? Is this really an Eternal Stone? Moreover, the line that had been smoothly descending was indented in the middle. It looked like a piece had been broken off from a larger block. Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Yohan-ssi touched the indented part and flinched.
“What was that just now?”
Was it an illusion? It was an indescribable sensation, like reading someone’s memories. His heart pounded rapidly. Hesitating, Yohan-ssi moved forward on his hands and knees. He pushed his trembling fingers into the indentation from earlier….
With a shock of a thrilling current, someone’s memories flooded in….
……
…
I felt a deep despair. This cursed place sickened the body from the moment one breathed. No, it was more than just getting sick….
I wish I had fallen here alone. As a High-level Awakener, my heightened senses could detect every bit of despair, fear, and anger that my teammates tried to hide. A heavy sense of responsibility weighed on my shoulders, but I didn’t show it. If I, too, collapsed, my teammates would never be able to endure this place….
……
…
All the food ran out. I found something edible. No, there was nothing edible here. Everything was rotten and spoiled. But to survive, I had to eat anything. I was injured while hunting the first monster. I felt my regeneration was weaker than before. I couldn’t even tell if this feeling was normal or abnormal.
Isn’t it natural to feel depressed and heartbroken in a place like this?
……
…
I butchered the hunted monster. A disgusting stench, and an even more terrible taste. I tried roasting it, but it only tasted more revolting. The other team members refused to even touch it, saying they would rather starve, but Seungryong ate it all. He gagged, but he seemed happy….
……
…
Ho-young kept running away and didn’t properly engage in combat. Covering Ho-young’s share was not a problem. However, the arguments between Yakrin and Seungryong were increasing. They fought with broken limbs and torn flesh.
The biggest problem was Chan-ha. She suffered particularly here, not sleeping at all, and started scratching herself yesterday. I barely stopped her from peeling off all her skin. It was bleak and horrific. But still, no one had died….
But eventually, she peeled it off and crumbled it. They ate each other. They didn’t recognize each other. They were turning into beasts.
……
…
Flood. Flood. Flood. Flood. Flood. Flood. Flood. Flood. Flood. Flood.
Are you satisfied now? Perhaps, maybe everyone?
Perhaps I secretly wanted this.
……
…
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe this place is hell.
We might all be dead already. Is that a good thing? I should be happy. But in reality, I haven’t died because I wasn’t allowed to….
I tore apart my pitiful darlings and scattered them evenly in all directions.
May you not grow well. May you be fixed in place forever, rotting as slowly as possible.
Only endless pain and despair kept us alive….
Forever, forever, unable to decay and disappear completely, endlessly….
Today, I buried the last piece of flesh deep and, without rest, infinitely.
My reason and thoughts were shattered, but I couldn’t give up, so I couldn’t fully escape into madness.
Countless wanderings…. Terrible solitude.
Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness! Loneliness!
Corruption and malice filling all directions.
Endless and boundless sorrow… despair…. The bottom beneath the bottom….
But, Yohan-ah.
You don’t need to know all of this.
Gasp, Yohan-ssi gasped for breath. Even though only fragments of the other’s memories were conveyed, he was overwhelmed by the fragments of emotion, his face streaming with tears. His pale face contorted, and he let out heaving sobs.
He had suspected it, but he hadn’t known it would be this horrific….
He writhed, sharing a pain and despair so overwhelmingly long and terrible that it made the three years feel insignificant. Even having received only a part of it, he couldn’t bear it, feeling so sorry for him. Bursting into tears, he collapsed, hugging the Eternal Stone. His milky tears dripped, wetting the space filled only with emptiness and darkness.
Enough now.
Something strong, soft, and tender embraced Yohan-ssi. It licked his tear-streaked cheek, then sucked. Yohan-ssi, sobbing uncontrollably, embraced a part of his beloved. While his sweat and tears were licked away by something unseen, he felt pity and compassion.
Perhaps anticipating his exhaustion, something damp touched his lips, as before. He opened his mouth to receive water, but something that was neither tongue nor hand caressed his lips. Then, as it fumbled inside his lips, Yohan-ssi, who had been lost in tears, opened his eyes wide in surprise. His crying stopped abruptly.
The way it held his body, the gentle movement that seemed to lick his parted lips—everything was soft and tender. Yohan-ssi, who had been frozen, mustered a little courage and gently sucked on the part that was fumbling at his lips.
“Mmmph…”
At Yohan-ssi’s action, the moist extremity pushed deeper. It slowly filled his mouth, meticulously tracing the salty interior. It sucked and caressed his tongue as if kissing him. Before he knew it, Yohan-ssi’s nerves were on high alert, focused on this.
“Ngh, ugh, …hnnng…”
It was fortunate that it was dark. If he had seen the concrete form of what was touching him, he might have screamed and run away. But with almost nothing visible, Yohan-ssi simply surrendered himself to the other. It was only upon entering Lee Hyun-muk’s deepest, darkest place that Yohan-ssi realized that everything touching him was made of affection….
More extremities touched Yohan-ssi’s body. Then, it sensually stroked his flushed ears and the downy nape of his neck. Yohan-ssi, half forgetting the sorrow he had felt earlier, focused on this strange and slightly frightening act.