By Zephyria Ever since coming home, the timing hadn’t been right, so I couldn’t say it, but I don’t know how long I’ve wanted to say this. Kim Ye-ju was the first to grasp the truth upon hearing it.
“You awakened there? Then…. that Park Seung-min guy….”
“Yes, he can never become a High-level Awakener.”
The first Awakened in the same category was always a High-level Awakener, and Yohan had awakened much earlier than Park Seung-min, so it was impossible for Park Seung-min to become a higher-level Awakener than Yohan. Kim Ye-ju, who had been dazed, replaying the events just moments ago, suddenly felt a surge of anger and exclaimed.
“No, then why is that guy getting that treatment instead of you? That con artist, right now, just…!”
“Let’s talk outside for now, Mom. Hyung will wake up.”
Yohan, well aware of how sensitive an Awakened’s senses were, gestured and spoke. Only then did Kim Ye-ju and Yang Hwa-pyeong, who had been observing Yang Yosep, leave the room, turning off the light as they wished him a good sleep. Yohan sat on the living room sofa and explained to his parents.
“I awakened shortly after entering the Abyss. Thanks to that, I was able to avoid Corruption. This ability also allowed me to Escape the Abyss.”
Of course, he didn’t mention the myriad of shocking and bizarre hardships he endured in the Abyss, even with this ability. He would never tell anyone, not even his family, that Lee Hyun-muk and the others had become so severely Corrupted that they lost their human forms. Upon hearing Yohan’s words, Yang Hwa-pyeong finally understood what Lee Hyun-muk had said last time.
“So that’s why he said that. I wondered why someone like Lee Hyun-muk would say he received such a great favor… I thought he was just being polite. Our son has become a great person.”
Yang Hwa-pyeong and Kim Ye-ju looked at Yohan with proud and pleased gazes. Their faces were filled with affection for their son who had returned alive from the Abyss, and pride that he had even become a High-level Awakener and was able to help someone like Lee Hyun-muk.
However, for some reason, Yohan felt a surge of emotion rather than joy.
He had always been compared to his Hyung, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t loved. Yohan confirmed his parents’ love through his Hyung’s Corruption for his sake, and through his parents’ efforts, worries, and sorrows in searching for him. Despite that, a bitter feeling lingered.
Yohan recalled the lack of great joy on his parents’ faces when he was told he was a Low-rank Awakened. Perhaps, in their hearts, the standard for being happy was becoming at least an intermediate-level, like his Hyung’s Awakening grade. As always, he felt hurt that Yang Yosep served as the standard by which he was judged, but Yohan hid his feelings for now and explained.
“Hyun-mook Hyung advised me that it would be best to hide my Awakening for now. How many people in the world are desperate for a Purifier? I could be kidnapped without anyone knowing. Most importantly, we can’t trust the government. I will reveal it someday, but not now. So please, both of you, keep it a secret for a while.”
Having hidden Yang Yosep in the basement because they couldn’t trust the government, the two readily agreed and nodded with firm expressions. They chose to look towards a more distant future rather than immediate, tangible gains.
With both their children now home, safe and healthy, Yang Hwa-pyeong and Kim Ye-ju’s faces seemed to have forgotten all their worries and anxieties, appearing peaceful. They even smiled when the conversation ended. After checking on Yang Yosep again and ensuring Yohan’s sleeping arrangements were taken care of, the couple returned to their bedroom. They slept soundly for the first time in days.
Back in his room, Yohan also felt a little more at ease. His guilt had lessened after cleanly purifying his Hyung’s Corruption.
‘It was a childish act…’
Even if an Awakening Party wasn’t illegal, he couldn’t deny it was dangerous. He had acted out of frustration, but looking back now, hadn’t it ultimately been the catalyst that made his family unhappy? This was something Yohan would have to regret and atone for in the future.
Yet, on the other hand, he felt fortunate. Because of his childishness, he joined the Awakening Party, fell into the Abyss, and consequently became a Purifier, thus meeting Lee Hyun-muk and others, and escaping the Abyss together.
‘What are they all doing?’
Yohan entered the group chat and saw a few photos from the company dinner posted. They all depicted a warm and joyful atmosphere, making it impossible to imagine what terrible states these people had been in within the Abyss, or what horrific and harsh experiences they had endured. After saving the dinner photos, Yohan typed a message.
I’m going to sleep now. Everyone have a good night!
Seo Yakrin
Sleep well, maknae ^^
Joo Ho-young
Goodnight!
Lee Chan-ha
I hope you have a good night too, Yohan-gun.
Yoon Seung-ryong
Sleep tight, Yohan!
As if everyone was still awake, replies from the team members came back in an instant. Finally, Lee Hyun-mook’s reply was posted.
Lee Hyun-mook
Sleep well, Yohan-ah.
Yohan gazed at the message, feeling as if Lee Hyun-mook’s gentle voice could reach him, and smiled. Meanwhile, several texts filled with low-quality curses arrived from Park Seung-min, but Yohan paid them no mind. He probably still didn’t even realize he was being used, let alone that he was being avenged. While wishing for that misconception to last, he also hoped it would end soon.
In a peaceful and quiet atmosphere, Yohan began organizing the photos taken at the dinner that day and drifted off to sleep.
However, Yohan’s peaceful face, sleeping soundly, began to contort little by little. Cold sweat started to bead on his forehead, and his lips trembled. He groaned and tossed and turned for a long time before suddenly waking up with a start. He quickly looked around, rubbed his eyes, and sighed.
“It was a nightmare…”
He had a terribly unpleasant nightmare. In his dream, Yohan was in a heavily Corrupted city. He couldn’t tell if it was the Abyss or a Rift zone. Everything was dirty and stank, and monsters roamed about. But that wasn’t why he thought it was a nightmare.
In the darkest, most shadowed part of the city, there was a hole. A small hole, endlessly black and abysmal, looking terrifying and repulsive just to behold. The hole gradually grew larger, eventually swallowing an entire building. And from the hole, something slithered out, something that twisted everything alive into a grotesque form…
Yohan could vividly feel the malice of the entity trying to swallow people, and himself. Despite being a dream, it was so unnervingly real that cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His chest churned with an ominous feeling. It felt like the nightmare he had just before the Flood struck in the Abyss, and Yohan shivered.
“This isn’t the Abyss anymore. I’m back on Earth. It’s a safe home.”
Muttering to himself, Yohan, curled up in bed, sniffled a little. He floated a few soft, glowing Light Particles in the room like a nightlight. It’s okay, even if the Flood comes. It’s okay… He comforted himself like that for a long time, watching the scattered cluster of lights shimmer like a galaxy, before finally falling asleep again.
The light did not disappear after Yohan fell asleep; it continued to twinkle. At some point, a shadow crawled out from under the bedside lamp. It then slowly began to devour the Light Particles scattered around the room. Each time it did, the room grew darker. Even for nighttime, it was an eerily profound darkness.
Now, in the pitch-black room, the only source of light was Yohan’s softly glowing body. The shadow, having consumed all the Light Particles, crawled up over Yohan. Like a cool breeze, or like shade under the sun, it quietly and gently enveloped the light source. Eventually, the tip of the shadow reached Yohan’s face. Only then, as if sensing something, did Yohan frown.
“Don’t eat my cheek…”
But… Even as he mumbled something in his sleep, Yohan’s frowning face relaxed further. Enveloped in that cozy and comfortable shadow, Yohan slept deeply this time, without a single dream.
A certain Rift zone.
A Corrupted monster, its long whiskers probing the surroundings, scurried busily across the road. Its high-pitched squeals and peculiar gait suggested it had been a rat before being Corrupted. The monster, darting between collapsed debris while hunting for food, paused.
The tips of its unnaturally long and numerous whiskers dipped into an impossibly deep and black darkness. The sensing rat froze, unable to move. Soon, something crawled out from the darkness beneath the debris.