By Zephyria “Excuse me, excuse me?”
Yohan walked on, ignoring the woman’s voice calling out to him repeatedly. He knew now. This, too, must surely be Lee Chan-ha’s illusion. This woman, too, was a figment of an illusion, not real. Yet, even having recognized it, the illusion remained astonishingly real. It felt as if he were standing in a subway station somewhere in Korea.
The cool subway passageway, the figures of office workers, whether on their way to or from work, the smell of sweet bread sold at the station entrance, even the peculiar noise—everything felt real. Cold sweat beaded on Yohan’s cheeks. Passengers, glancing at him as he stood stock-still without doing anything, passed by. To calm his trembling body, Yohan took a deep breath, hoo.
I have to wake up from this illusion quickly. So, let’s purify first. With that thought, Yohan drew upon his purification power again. Fragments of a soft, white light shimmered and leaked from his hand. At that moment, all the passengers rushing through the subway turned their heads in unison to look at him. Yohan flinched, startled by the chilling sight, something he might only see in a nightmare. It was then.
Baaang! The familiar sound of an approaching subway could be heard. The train, packed with passengers, stopped beyond the screen doors. As the screen doors opened, passengers busily got on and off. Yet, their gazes remained fixed squarely on Yohan. Mustering his courage to scatter light, Yohan’s knees felt weak from how terrifying the scene was.
“Quickly, quickly, I want to wake up… sob, why isn’t the purification working…?”
He emitted light even more strongly, but for some reason, the illusion showed no signs of disappearing. The subway departed. And then, with another baaang of its horn, another subway arrived. At that moment, Yohan felt a sense of déjà vu. It was the illusion he had experienced first in the Abyss. That terrifying, colossal monster that had pretended to be a subway when he fled from Lee Hyun-muk and the Flood.
As soon as he realized it, Yohan understood he shouldn’t have thought of that. Baaang! The subway arrived again… But this time, what entered was a giant insect monster, crawling in with a kwakwakwang sound.
“Wh…▉ what is it? ▉”
“It ▉ sees me ▉ sees me ▉ sees me ▉ sees me ▉ sees me ▉”
“Wake ▉ up! Clean ▉! ▉ Clean! Me too! Me toooooooo▉▉▉▉▉!”
Seeing the monster with Lee Chan-ha’s giant face, Yohan felt like he would faint. Kwajangchang! Following that, Lee Chan-ha’s subway, smashing through the screen doors, crawled in ferociously. Even knowing it was all an illusion, Yohan screamed in terror and turned to flee.
He ran towards the direction marked Exit ▉. The sound of something being smashed repeatedly echoed from behind him. He wanted to look back but forced himself to keep running. He leaped over the ticket gates and searched for an exit. Lee Chan-ha wailed from behind him. Unlike previous illusions, it was a monstrous roar that was almost unintelligible. He could feel the despair of suffering and pain.
“Help ▉ me ▉! Ah! Ah! Ahhhhhhh ▉!”
As nightmares often do, this subway station illusion, rather than leading to an exit, continued with an endlessly long, dark passageway. The light Yohan scattered was the only source of illumination here. Yohan, who had purified himself countless times, suddenly realized.
‘This isn’t some hallucinogenic substance… it’s Vice Team Leader Lee Chan-ha’s ability!’
It was a newly added ability, like Joo Ho-young’s rapid dash or Lee Hyun-muk’s shadow, acquired through corruption. He didn’t know how she cast illusions, but it was clear that Yohan’s purification ability couldn’t stop it. This illusion was incomparably stronger and more vivid than the subway monster or the flower garden illusion he had experienced before.
So, can I not escape this situation?
It was when Yohan felt despair. His waist was yanked hard once more. It was a sensation he had felt every time he wandered through this illusion. Why was this happening? He fumbled at his waist. There was nothing there, yet he felt a force constantly pulling him.
No, was it truly nothing? After falling into the illusion, Yohan, tracing back memories that had been obscured, let out a sound, “Ah.”
That’s right. So, perhaps… this is a chain. When entering the Black Mountain, Yoon Seung-ryong had taken out a carabiner and metal chain he had obtained from somewhere and proposed, ‘It would be a big problem if our Yohan lost it, so let’s tie him up tightly!’
And that chain had never been undone…!
Yohan, panting, fumbled at his waist again. Yes, it wasn’t nothing. After fumbling several times, his fingertips felt a texture. He felt a chain wrapped around his waist. The chain was being pulled relentlessly.
“Hyun-mook, Hyung.”
Are you there? Whispering, Yohan moved his hand along the chain tied around his waist. His head followed. The end of the chain was connected to the mouth of the giant Lee Chan-ha, who was wailing and chasing him. Yohan closed his eyes instead. He suppressed the urge to flee. He stopped his running steps and turned his body to move in the direction the chain pulled. A monstrous roar accompanied by a cold wind brushed past his forehead, but there was no pain.
Yes, Yohan. I am here….
A voice that gave him strength seemed to echo in his ears. No, someone was clearly speaking directly into his ear.
“I promised I would never leave you alone again.”
The voice he heard this time was vivid. As he recognized the chain and the being at its end, Yohan’s fear subsided considerably. He tightly shut his eyes, not opening them, and desperately held onto the chain. His forearm grew hot. A warm body temperature was gripping his arm. Clearly, Lee Hyun-mook was by his side.
Okay. Calm down. Yohan told himself. His nerves were on edge from the distracting roars and bellows, the sensation of crumbling debris right beside him, but his tightly shut eyes remained closed. He believed that Lee Hyun-mook, who was nearby, would protect him safely.
How can I escape this illusion?
Sight was clearly the most vulnerable. Hearing seemed to be the next most vulnerable, and it was only touch that alerted him to the strangeness of this illusion. Yohan focused as much as possible on the sensations he felt on his skin. Then, the illusion seemed to become slightly distinguishable.
What must I do here to disrupt Lee Chan-ha’s illusion?
Focusing on the sensation of gripping the chain tightly, he first checked his purification power from within his body. The purification power sloshing within him seemed to be something Lee Chan-ha couldn’t control. Concentrating a little more, he felt something else.
‘This… is Ho-young’s buff.’
The buff that had been cast on him in the Black Mountain was still remaining. Moving his other hand, Yohan then realized he was holding something besides the chain. Fumbling with his hand, he found his weapon, made by Lee Hyun-mook and Seo Yakrin together. Once he confirmed his weapon, his heart, which had been pounding with fear and anxiety, slowly calmed down.
Yoon Seung-ryong was obsessed with food, Joo Ho-young with game consoles, and Seo Yakrin with the object of her anger; they threw themselves into danger without regard for their own safety. And Lee Chan-ha has mysophobia. She must be terrifyingly obsessed with cleanliness.
Then, after falling into the Abyss, he must show her a cleanliness she had never seen before.
But it couldn’t just be clean. It had to be clean and beautiful for anyone to see. He had to show that what was dirty was clearly washed away to unsettle Lee Chan-ha.
And the target to do so was nearby.
“Take me to the Black Mountain,” Yohan mumbled. Unsure if Lee Hyun-mook could hear him, he shouted loudly.
“Hyun-mook Hyung, to the Black Mountain… to the highest point among them!”
The warm touch that had been holding his forearm wrapped around his waist. The sensation of falling continued for a few moments before stopping. Waiting for a moment, Yohan took a deep breath. He had no choice but to believe that Lee Hyun-mook had moved as he requested.
Trusting only Lee Hyun-mook, he raised his weapon. Infusing it with purification power, he thrust the raised weapon upside down into the ground. Pahak! He felt the sensation of digging into something like a rough pile of gravel. Yohan took a deep breath and clenched his teeth. Then, he unfolded the Purification Field.
The purification power that had once purified the vast Reed Sea spread out in all directions. Even as he poured all his strength into it, Yohan was unsure if he was doing it correctly. He prayed earnestly in his heart.
Please, please… Lee Chan-ha, look this way. There is something clean and beautiful here. What you desired so much is here.
And a moment later.
The heavy sensation of the illusion that had covered his body peeled away one by one. The murmuring sounds of the subway station, the ghostly cries, the cool air—none of it could be felt anymore. The warmth that had enveloped him became much clearer. Lee Hyun-mook’s touch, which he had only felt as a vague warmth, wrapped around Yohan’s neck. Kissing his lips softly, Lee Hyun-mook said,
“You did well, Yohan. You can open your eyes now.”
Only then did Yohan open his eyes. And he witnessed the scene he had created.
Everything cast beneath his feet was shining. As if scooped out with a giant ice cream scoop, the vast radius was entirely filled with pastel-toned, shimmering, dazzling Eternal Stones. They were clean, white, and beautiful, as if resonating with the purification power Yohan was pouring into them.
“My cute Yangyang.”
The gaze of the one who spoke that, affectionately stroking Yohan’s cheek, was infinitely gentle. Yohan replied triumphantly,
“That’s right, that’s it! Yangyang!”