FSA 79

“Ugh….”

Yohan came to his senses amidst a pounding headache. He barely managed to lift his heavy eyelids, revealing the familiar sky of the Abyss.

“Hyun-mook, Hyung…?”

Yohan habitually looked for Lee Hyun-muk first. But the person who had always stayed by his side, watching over him, was nowhere to be seen. Yohan’s senses sharpened, and he sprang to his feet. No one was around. Not just Lee Hyun-muk, but the rest of the party as well.

“Seung-ryong Hyung? Yakrin Noona? Ho-young?”

Yohan’s terrified voice echoed like a cry. He had been lying alone near the brine lake, and there were signs of a fierce battle all around. Familiar with his companions’ abilities, Yohan could tell who had left each trace. Joo Ho-young had frozen the lake, and Yoon Seung-ryong’s toxic miasma had stained the ground black. He also saw pits pounded by Seo Yakrin’s psychokinesis and the scorched marks of Lee Hyun-muk’s lightning strike. Beyond that, mountains of monsters lay dead everywhere.

“Where… where did everyone go?”

Lee Chan-ha’s giant face, which had been floating on the brine lake, was also gone. I’m alone again…. Fear and anxiety washed over Yohan, and he began to cry. Hyun-mook Hyung had promised he would never leave him alone again. Yohan stared at the remaining traces for a long time, but he couldn’t even guess what had happened to make them leave him behind.

Was it because of those monsters? Had they all gone mad and rampaged because Yohan had lost consciousness and couldn’t use purification, forcing Lee Hyun-muk to leave him to control them?

Searching the vicinity thoroughly, Yohan found evidence to support his ominous speculation. There were tracks like those of a giant centipede, scattered giant feathers, and an ice path stretching across the lake.

“Sob….”

Terrified, Yohan flailed. The traces scattered in different directions, making it impossible to follow any single one easily. This was even more true since Lee Hyun-muk’s tracks were nowhere to be seen. As he wiped his tears with his sleeve,

Kiiiruk…. A bubbling sound came from the ground, and two eyes suddenly popped up. He thought it was another monster goby, but it wasn’t. What crawled out next was a monstrous crab with enormous pincers. Yohan screamed, narrowly dodging a pincer that threatened to slice him in half.

Clang! Clang! The sharp clanging sound, like that of steel shears, echoed. Yohan looked up with a frightened face at the giant hermit crab surging from the mud. A dark shadow fell over him.

Kruuuruk…. As the hermit crab, spewing foul foam, began to charge, Yohan ran for his life. While fleeing across the muddy, splashing ground, Yohan spotted a cave in the Black Mountain. It was a size the hermit crab absolutely couldn’t enter.

“Aaaargh!”

Screaming, Yohan ran desperately. He barely made it inside the cave as the pincers grazed his back. The sharp, clanging tips of the pincers poked into the cave, causing a few Eternal Stones to roll down. Trembling, Yohan crawled deeper inside. Only after he had gone so deep that he was no longer visible did the hermit crab give up and retreat.

Finally catching his breath, Yohan slumped onto the cave floor, dazed. Clutching his bag tightly, unable to do anything, he lifted his head. He thought he had heard familiar voices from deep within the cave.

“H-Hyun-mook Hyung?”

He sprang to his feet and ran towards the interior. Had all the monsters piled up outside come from this cave? Was that why the party had headed inside? With such hope, he ran to the end of the cave, only to find the empty center of the Abyss, devoid of any monsters.

And where the core had been, there was a circular escape portal.

A portal that looked like the mouth of a sack or lips hanging in the air. Beyond it lay the reality of Earth, which he had longed for so dearly. Yohan stumbled and leaped into the center of the Abyss. All those monsters were gone. Hurrying to the escape portal, Yohan blinked in disbelief.

“What in the….”

He reached out a trembling hand towards the exit. The moment his fingertips touched the shimmering surface, like a mirage, Yohan was sucked in.

He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them to face a dazzlingly clear sky. The brilliant sunlight shining on his face was tearfully welcome. The white clouds, the blue sky, and the fresh breeze.

“Ah, h-hic, I-I’m back…. I’m back! This isn’t the Abyss!”

It was an absurdly easy return. Yet, it was tearfully welcome. As Yohan looked up at the blue sky, shouting like a madman,

“Whoa! A person, a person!”

“Hey!”

Yohan turned his head at the sound of being called and blinked. Rift Management Agency officials nearby, having spotted him, rushed over in surprise.

“Did you just come out of there?”

“My god, someone survived the Abyss!”

“We need to confirm your identity. Please state your name. …Yes, Yang Yohan?”

The officials, dressed in clean clothes, surrounded Yohan. They wrapped him in a soft blanket and handed him a bottle of clear water, something never seen in the Abyss. As they guided him towards a safe place, Yohan, moving without realizing it, regained his senses. And in his joy at escaping the Abyss, he urgently asked about what he had momentarily forgotten.

“What about the Sunrise Team? Where are all the people who returned?”

“What are you talking about? Sunrise, Team?”

“You are the first person to escape the Abyss.”

Yohan blinked at the reply. If any members of the Sunrise Team had returned, these people would have known. Therefore, Yohan had escaped the Abyss alone. His gaze naturally turned behind him. To the place he had just emerged from.

Beyond the escape portal he had just exited, the distant, dark, and utterly unpleasant Abyss shimmered. He didn’t want to go back. He truly wanted to follow these people and return home, to see his family’s faces again. He wanted to lie in a familiar, comfortable bed and eat delicious, warm food. But, but….

“…They wouldn’t have left me behind. Then. They’re still… inside the Abyss.”

Muttering, Yohan spun around and shook off the Rift Management Agency officials holding him. The officials shouted in surprise.

“Whoa! What is this guy doing! Grab him!”

“You can’t go there!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yohan practically ran and threw himself back through the escape portal. But for some reason, instead of the center of the Abyss from before, he felt a dizzying vertigo along with a terrifying fall. And he felt a strange tightening around his waist….

Yohan managed to lift his head and saw the figures of the officials standing tall beyond the escape portal. One of them lifted the brim of his hat and smiled. Yohan’s eyes widened. He had… Lee Chan-ha’s face! A terrifyingly clean and beautiful face. His lips didn’t move, but a strange voice was heard.

Ah, is this not it?

How brave you are…. Or do you find this place lovely? You couldn’t leave?

This place is indeed so lovely that I want to die, die, die, die!

But it’s not an easy love. It’s painful! It’s agonizing! I want to stop loving! But I must love!

…Then, if that’s not it, perhaps something like this…?

…….

…..

“Hah!”

Yohan’s eyes snapped open, drenched in cold sweat. What was that? It felt like a terrible nightmare. His head throbbed with a severe headache. Groaning, he felt a strange sensation and fumbled at his waist, but there was nothing.

“Where… am I…?”

He managed to lift his head and look around. The bed he was lying on felt soft and plush. The bedding was clean, and the texture was smooth to the touch. He found this strange and kept touching it. It felt wrong for it to be so clean and perfect.

Tearing his gaze away from the white, clean bedding, he surveyed the room. Warm sunlight streamed through a large window, brightly illuminating the white room. Apart from the bed, there was no other notable furniture. The room was pure white, without a single stain or speck of dust. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge, and Yohan aimlessly wandered the room.

Knock knock-. A knock sounded. Startled and tense, he watched as the door opened and someone entered. Seeing a familiar face, Yohan’s eyes widened, and he rushed forward.

“Good morning, Yang Yohan-ssi….”

“Hyun-mook Hyung!”

He hugged him tightly, afraid he might fall away, but for some reason, his embrace felt cold. As he rested his cheek against the broad chest and let out a sigh of relief,

“Oh dear.”

A voice, tinged with a smile and embarrassment, echoed, followed by a gentle hand stroking his back. Feeling something was off, Yohan lifted his head to see a handsome, attractive face looking down at him with a smile. Yohan felt a strange sense of unease, yet remained bewildered. He understood nothing.