By Zephyria “What is there to remember? What good comes from dredging up bad memories?”
“Right?”
Suspicion flickered in Park Seung-min’s eyes, wondering if he truly had no memory. But even if he suspected, there was nothing he could do. He must have been living comfortably, as no one had ever returned alive from the Abyss, so how bewildered must he be now that I’ve appeared like this? Yohan, scoffing inwardly, gestured and issued a dismissal.
“I’m getting tired. My head hurts, so I need to rest. See you next time.”
“Uh, okay… See you then. We’ll talk again.”
Still clinging to his desire for the Eternal Stone that cures Corruption, Park Seung-min left the hospital room. Perhaps he was inwardly furious, as his steps were somewhat rough. As soon as Park Seung-min left, Yohan’s expression vanished from his face, and he muttered.
“What a coincidence…”
Originally, Yohan’s plan was to first pretend to have no memory to reassure Park Seung-min, and then find the mercenaries from that Awakening Party. Now, with nothing but his own testimony, he intended to socially bury Park Seung-min after securing other evidence or witnesses. Even if he couldn’t secure them, it was fine. He was determined to get his personal revenge.
However, facing Park Seung-min directly today, he knew instinctively.
Park Seung-min has the potential to awaken as a Purifier.
Surprisingly, he was the first suitable candidate for Awakening he had seen since escaping the Abyss. Of course, that didn’t mean he had great talent. It was as small and weak as a firefly; if left alone, he likely wouldn’t have awakened as a Purifier in his lifetime. He seemed to have more talent in other areas. Perhaps a Dealer, or a tanker? He couldn’t know the specifics. What was important was…
‘I can make him awaken as a Purifier.’
Yohan was certain, having already heard about this. Over the past few days, Lee Hyun-muk had told Yohan things that only a High-level Awakener would know.
‘He doesn’t know it yet, but when other Awakeners appear later, he’ll understand. That Awakeners below them cannot exist without a High-level Awakener.’
Indeed, after Lee Hyun-mook disappeared into the Abyss, no more Awakeners with lightning strike abilities had emerged. This was why people strongly suspected Lee Hyun-mook’s death. Wasn’t it because the High-level Awakener had died that no Awakeners of the same type were appearing?
In reality, this happened because the Abyss was a space completely cut off from Earth. When the water flow from the upper stream disappeared, the middle and lower streams merely pooled, no longer flowing. And as if to prove this, as soon as Lee Hyun-mook returned, new lightning ability Awakeners began to appear.
Furthermore, there was another fact Lee Hyun-mook had told him, asking him not to tell anyone.
‘If they have even a little potential, you can forcibly awaken them. You forcefully open the water channel. And… you can take it back.’
The moment he learned the truth that High-level Awakeners kept hidden and never revealed, Yohan’s lingering questions were finally answered. Why did Awakeners who committed heinous crimes often lose their abilities? And why was all of this kept secret?
If it were revealed that High-level Awakeners had such a secret, it would be a huge headache. People would immediately demand abilities, offering vast sums of money for a transaction. It would be fortunate if it ended with a transaction. They would somehow try to control them by holding something precious to the High-level Awakeners hostage.
‘To create an army of artificial Awakeners, or to blackmail Awakeners who displease them.’
How did it come to be that only High-level Awakeners could do this? What was the source of this ability, and why were they, as if chosen, the ones possessing restrained and benevolent personalities?
Just as the Abyss’s origin and destination could not be precisely defined, he thought that this, too, would be beyond the reach of a mere human. In fact, whatever the reason, he didn’t care as long as he could live in this safe and comfortable world.
And now, that wasn’t important. After much deliberation, Yohan, having made up his mind, made a call.
“Hyung Chan-ha, I have a favor to ask…”
Although it was a potentially troublesome request, Lee Chan-ha readily agreed to Yohan’s plea. After finishing the long call, Yohan looked out the sunlit window.
He understood clearly after falling into the Abyss. What causes people the most pain is falling from a brilliant height to the dizzying depths below. Yohan intended to inflict that same inescapable pain of falling onto Park Seung-min.
“Ah, fuck, nothing is going right!”
Park Seung-min roughly threw his phone onto the bed. He couldn’t bring himself to throw it on the floor, so instead, he kicked the bed repeatedly, only to stub his toe on the dresser and jump back in pain. Grumbling, he picked up his phone again, examined the screen, and sighed as if the world was ending.
The fifteen days after Yohan’s disappearance had been truly happy. Recalling when Yang Yohan fell into the Abyss, he felt a little sorry and a little scared, but the first thought that came to his mind was satisfaction. Seeing Yang Yohan’s face, bewildered and terrified by his betrayal, he could barely contain his laughter.
Park Seung-min first met Yang Yohan in high school. On the first day of school, one of his friends in their group saw Yang Yohan and recognized him.
‘Oh? It’s Yang Yohan?’
‘Who’s Yang Yohan?’
‘That kid under the tree over there. His family is super rich. What was their name, Sahmyung? A company that sells medicine.’
‘Sahmyung? Never heard of it. Is his family really rich?’
Park Seung-min scoffed, mentioning famous domestic electronics brands and asking if that’s what it took to be rich, but he still searched for Sahmyung Pharmaceutical. Honestly, it was an unfamiliar company to a high schooler. He just saw Sahmyung Pharmaceutical mentioned occasionally in news articles and thought how unfair life was that some people were born with a silver spoon.
But after the Rift appeared, the pharmaceutical company became a much more valuable business than Park Seung-min had imagined. Ordinary people, even when sick, would endure the pain, hoping to get better, because of the expensive medicine. In such a situation, Yang Yohan secretly gave his friend, who was suffering from a headache, a painkiller. After witnessing that, Park Seung-min decided to latch onto him.
Unlike himself, Yang Yohan chose friends like him. Even in this world, they were nerds who considered skipping study hall their biggest rebellion, but he endured it and played along. It was agonizing to do things he wouldn’t normally do, but he endured it because he benefited from it. And at the same time, he thought.
That annoying bastard. Living comfortably thanks to his parents, yet whining about being a little discriminated against at home.
I wish he’d just fall on his ass. Or better yet, something would go wrong with his body. Park Seung-min genuinely thought that. That’s why, when the opportunity arose, he didn’t stop himself from tripping Yohan and throwing him into the Abyss. He rather enjoyed it.
The Abyss appeared, and it was unavoidable. Wasn’t it for the best if one person could be sacrificed for many to survive? Besides, he hadn’t actively participated that much. The mercenaries did everything. If he hadn’t done it, the mercenaries would have. In fact, the mercenaries were quite surprised when the Abyss closed immediately after throwing Yang Yohan in.
‘Just throwing one person in makes it disappear like that? That guy’s efficient.’
‘Hey, did you see that guy grinning after throwing his friend in? Isn’t he a total psychopath?’
‘Am I a psychopath? If you saw how annoying that guy was normally, you guys would have done the same thing I did.’
Even those conversations with the mercenaries, joking around, were truly enjoyable.
Some people can’t find jobs, or the jobs they get don’t suit them, and they struggle like rats, but this is fair. He had lived his life enjoying himself to the fullest.
It was just a shame he couldn’t witness firsthand the transformation of the arrogant guy into a monster in the gutter. The huge sum of money he extorted from his parents under the pretense of searching for Yang Yohan was also sweet.
‘Good thing I didn’t say that guy fell into the Abyss.’
He genuinely thought so.
109 – #109
#109
How could they possibly find someone who fell into the Abyss? If they said he was missing from a Rift, they could keep extorting money by attempting searches with hope, trying to find even a corpse. It would be better for Yang Yohan’s parents to know he was missing from a Rift than to know their child fell into the Abyss, so Park Seung-min felt no pangs of conscience.
The money extorted that way was spent on a little bit of luxury, and the rest was invested. As he always was, those investments were a complete failure, but he had no particular regrets. No, he thought so. Just as he was about to extort money again, Yang Yohan unbelievably returned from the Abyss.
Ever since he learned of Yang Yohan’s return, Park Seung-min felt like he was dying of envy.
Was this what they called innate luck? He fell into the Abyss, yet the lucky bastard, Lee Hyun-muk, returned after happily socializing with the Sunrise Team. He even had an Awakening! Apparently, despite being Low-grade, he got a parachute into the Sun Guild through socializing and was earning a high Annual Salary. The thought of that smug face made his stomach churn.
“Ah, fuck! If he’d returned any later, I could have extorted even more money!”
Park Seung-min, who couldn’t stand it the more he thought about it, pounded the bed again. He couldn’t bring himself to smash against the wall, though. A Low-rank Awakened lived right next door. Even if he was close to being trash, he was far stronger than a civilian, so he couldn’t act out.
“That bastard, he doesn’t actually remember anything, right?”
There were suspicious parts, but he soon shook his head, thinking it wasn’t the case. If he had retained his memories, he would have reported him to the police long ago. He would have posted on the internet, letting the whole world know of his injustice, not to mention his acquaintances.
Recalling how he had meekly come away without much of a retort even when Yang Yohan acted annoyingly, Park Seung-min got angry again.
“What if he didn’t hit his head, but was actually Corrupted? Should I report it? Thinking about it makes me feel like shit.”
If he had his way, he’d stomp on him, but now Yang Yohan had the solid connection of Lee Hyun-muk, so he couldn’t scheme anything. Park Seung-min, searching for a cigarette, cursed again, “Fuck.” Both cigarettes and alcohol were completely out. Checking his negative bank balance, he nervously tapped his leg, then picked up his clothes and went out. Even so, if he scraped together what little he had, he could buy cigarettes.
He was on his way back, having bought a carton of cigarettes from the convenience store. While lamenting his fate of having to leech off Yang Yohan again like before and lighting a cigarette, he heard a rattling sound from somewhere.
“What… was that?”
Suddenly feeling a chill, Park Seung-min looked around and saw a red radiance. Was it a red light bulb? He scowled, then soon realized the truth. It wasn’t a red light bulb, but the eyes of a giant monster spider, quietly settled in the dark corner of the alley.
“Ugh, Aaaargh!”
Park Seung-min screamed and ran. The Rift Management Agency, what were they doing when monsters were bursting out of Rifts! Because of them, an innocent citizen was about to die! He threw away the cigarettes he bought from the convenience store and ran for his life, then turned back, his face turning pale.
The monstrous spider was crawling out of the alley, stretching its creaking, crumpled body. Krrrk! The large spider let out a monstrous roar, then slammed its legs down repeatedly, charging towards Park Seung-min at high speed.
“Help me! Help meee! It’s a monster! Someone, please help!”
He shouted until his throat was raw, but it was early morning, so there was no one passing by. In fact, everyone was hastily closing their windows. With no one to help him, Park Seung-min eventually collapsed on the ground, exhausted. The monster spider spewed foul venom and brought down its spiky legs towards him.
“Aaaargh!”
Park Seung-min covered his face with his arms and screamed desperately. At that moment, a flash of light erupted. Kyaaak! Startled by the light, the spider leaped back and hastily, frantically fled. Only then did Park Seung-min, dumbfounded, open his tightly shut eyes. A brilliant light was emanating from his body.
“W-What in the world is this?”
Along with a euphoric sense of omnipotence, as if he could do anything, his body overflowed with strength and energy. Park Seung-min, blankly watching the brilliant light spill from his body, brightened.
“It’s an Awakening! I’ve Awakened!”
He never thought he would experience an Awakening, which usually happened when one’s life was on the line, like this. Fearing the spider might return, Park Seung-min fled in a panic. He cursed his neighbors in his heart, wishing they would be eaten by the spider, even though no one had helped him when he was in danger.
After taking refuge in a nearby shelter, Park Seung-min gasped for breath, his chest heaving. Then, he summoned the ability he had just gained. Light shot up from his palm. What kind of ability was this? It didn’t seem like a Dealer, which was a shame. It didn’t seem like a tanker either, so maybe it was a supporter or Healer type. Wielding the ability around him and testing things out, he saw the shelter wall he touched become clean.
“Huh?”
He touched other parts of the wall, and each part he touched became clean. Could it be…? With trembling hands, he carefully touched the hem of his clothes, where the spider’s venom had splashed. The dirty venom slowly faded and then disappeared completely.
“H-Huh. Wow, crazy. Crazy, crazy!”
A homeless person in the shelter glanced over. Park Seung-min clenched his fist.
‘Fuck! My luck is finally starting to turn!’
He remembered how people had raved about the Eternal Stones that removed Corruption on Lee Hyun-muk’s live broadcast not long ago. He couldn’t forget it, as he had been dying of envy for Yang Yohan, who could remove Corruption whenever he wanted due to his connection with Lee Hyun-muk.
He had intended to humble himself and try to latch onto Yang Yohan, but now, he didn’t care about Yang Yohan at all. Looking back now, it was a much better ability than being a Dealer or a tanker. He would be able to make a fortune without having to risk dangerous Rift exploration!
“Wait a minute, but there hasn’t been an Awakened with the ability to remove Corruption before, right?”
Then, am I… a High-level Awakener?
Dopamine flooded him at the unbelievable reality, and Park Seung-min was lost in thought for a moment. He recalled the bright light that burst forth when he encountered the spider monster earlier and that thrilling sense of omnipotence. He had read many reviews from other Awakeners, but none of them had ever mentioned feeling omnipotent during their Awakening.
There had never been a single person with the ability to remove Corruption before! It was an ability that brought wealth and fame, so there was no reason to hide it. Therefore, he was a High-level Awakener! He must be! Park Seung-min, convinced that he was indeed a High-level Awakener, trembled with exhilaration. Then, unable to contain himself any longer, he burst into laughter.
He punched the air and shouted, causing the homeless people to shake their heads, thinking he was crazy, and begin to leave the shelter altogether. Seeing something flash from his hand earlier, they figured he was an Awakened, and there was no good in being close to a crazy Awakened. Regardless of the homeless people leaving, Park Seung-min yelled.
“Yes, this is it! Life is a gamble! What’s Yang Yohan compared to this!”
He wouldn’t have to grovel before Yang Yohan anymore! No, on the contrary, the thought of Yang Yohan groveling before him already made him feel fantastic. Smiling slyly, Park Seung-min called the Awakener Center.
“Ah, I’m calling to report a High-level Awakener. …Yes, that’s right. …I’m telling you, it’s right? You can come and confirm it yourself. And I was attacked by a monster earlier, so I can’t leave the shelter. I’d appreciate it if you could come pick me up. Could you come as soon as possible?”
And already, two pairs of eyes were watching the now-arrogant Park Seung-min. They were Lee Chan-ha and Yang Yohan. They weren’t exactly hiding, and they were quite close, yet Park Seung-min noticed nothing. Yang Yohan approached the traitor who was once his friend. And he leaned towards Park Seung-min, who was entranced by Lee Chan-ha’s illusion.
“That bastard Yang Yohan, I’ll get you back.”
“I hope you find the greatest happiness.”
“Annoying bastard. I’ll torment you for a long, long time from now on.”
“That’s why it will hurt as much as you were happy when you lost everything.”
Even though Yohan spoke directly into his ear, Park Seung-min heard nothing, only revealing his indignation towards Yang Yohan. He merely grinned blissfully, imagining a future of living luxuriously.