Chapter 873
"Judging by how fervently you were looking for me, they must have said something significant, right?"
Although he could only refer to his hands as 'they', it wasn't entirely incorrect. However, Yuder couldn't help feeling a bit strange about it.
"They weren't speaking... more like a kind of conversation."
"A conversation? Using their fingers, as they did before?"
Yuder nodded. The inside of his palm, previously enveloped by a white glove, grew warm, tingling as if by illusion. He wanted to clench his fist to alleviate the itch, but the bandages made it impractical, so he ended up just fidgeting aimlessly.
Yuder, shifting his gaze away from his hand, took a deep breath and recounted his encounter with the white gloves in his dream. From the greetings, questions, and answers, to the final moment of being pushed and falling.
Reliving the dream didn't feel as difficult as before. If anything, it seemed to clear his mind. After recounting the short dream, Yuder summed up all the feelings he experienced during and after the dream in a single statement.
"To be honest, after having this dream, I'm not sure if I can still call it just a dream."
"Do you mean it felt like something that happened in reality?"
"Not exactly, but... similar. Especially after hearing Enon's words when I woke up. Did you know? Before I woke up...”
"He said your soul suddenly became invisible. It was the first time I saw him so perplexed."
His voice was soft, but his gaze wasn't. The red pupils looking at Yuder briefly darkened before returning to normal.
"Um... Yes. I'm still not sure why it happened, but maybe it was related to the disappearance of my soul during that time."
Kishiar slowly lowered his eyes and muttered, "Indeed."
"Are you suggesting you might have had an experience similar to those legends where souls leave their bodies to meet mysterious beings and return? The truth of such tales is uncertain, but they are indeed found in various places."
"Yes. That's the impression I had, if I had to describe it."
The presence of the white gloves in the dream was too vivid to be merely a figment of imagination. They seemed to know something Yuder couldn't comprehend and expressed their opinions more clearly than before.
Even without a mouth or a body, some things can still be conveyed through brief contact. The being, embodying all those indescribable elements, couldn't simply be dismissed as a mere dream.
Furthermore, the darkness where he had encountered the hands didn't feel like a meaningless, dark void. This impression was further confirmed by Kishiar's remarks.
"If we assume you went to a real place and returned, we should first look for clues about where that might be. Did you notice anything unusual in the darkness at the end?"
Yuder recalled the writhing black shadows behind the white gloves at the last moment. It felt familiar, but only now did he remember the answer.
"When I saw that darkness, I felt like I had seen it somewhere before. Now that I think about it... the inside of a strange crack... exactly like the one I saw before monsters poured out of it."
The ominous blackness writhed and squirmed, as if something dire was about to burst forth at any moment, churning without any discernible pattern. So dense and deep it was, that its true form, a harbinger of disaster, remained unknowable. What if this mere crack, a tiny fissure, stretched beyond its bounds to engulf the world?
Yuder felt as if what he had seen was a manifestation of that very reality.
"It might be an excessive thought, but... I can't think of anything else that felt as similar."
"The inside of the crack, you say. Everything eventually converges back to the existence of these cracks."
Kishiar murmured softly.
"The first instance of that strange dream coincided with the appearance of the crack, and now again. If it's happened twice, it might not be too far-fetched."
"..."
"If the place was filled with the same darkness seen in the strange cracks, then it's quite literally the inside of a crack... perhaps even beyond it?"
"The inside of a crack... you mean?"
"Yes. A mysterious place no one has ever directly seen. Known as the land of the black moon where monsters emerge."
Despite knowing that the term 'land of the black moon' was just a metaphorical reference from sacred texts, Yuder's heart raced with unease.
No one knew what lay beyond the cracks that appeared when monsters emerged, as Kishiar said. These cracks, naturally fleeting, tore open space momentarily before vanishing, barely observable by human eyes.
The strange cracks, which appeared and disappeared after a longer duration, were an anomaly, and witnessing monsters emerge from them was even more unusual.
"It might be easier to understand if I thought of it as a place one visits briefly after death before returning."
"Well, it might be both. Who's to say?"
"Excuse me?"
As Yuder looked up in confusion, Kishiar spoke with a faint smile.
"The place you thought was a dream might actually be where the dead go, and at the same time, it could be the space beyond the crack. It's not entirely implausible to consider that they might be the same place."
This was a perspective Yuder had never considered before.
"Think about it. The existence of space beyond the cracks where monsters come through is a certainty, proven by the cracks themselves. Whether humans can reach it is unknown, but its existence is definite. Isn't it?"
As Yuder nodded slowly, Kishiar continued.
"Separately, if there's a space where parts of beings, long embraced by the sun, after death exist, it would be closer to an afterlife than reality. If the same darkness seen beyond the cracks existed in such a place, then the most reasonable guess in this situation would be to think that the two are the same place. Whether it makes sense or not."
This was similar to the attitude he had shown when he said he believed Yuder was a being who had returned through time.
Even the most incomprehensible problems could yield an answer when evidence was methodically gathered and pieced together.
Even if the answer defied conventional belief, Kishiar was willing to believe it if it was the remaining conclusion.
Logically, it seemed implausible, but if that were true, then the very existence of Yuder Aile here was the most unrealistic answer of all.
Yuder, with his eyes lowered, recited some of the words written by the white gloves.
"A place that is neither reality nor dream. That's what they said. If we go by the Commander's words... then it would indeed be a place where all answers fit."
"Setting aside how to get there or whether this is the correct answer, it definitely sounds like a place one would be warned to 'not come ever again.'"
Don’t come ever again.
Yuder remembered the words emphatically written by the white gloves.
"While I can't guarantee that I fully understand their intentions, from what I've heard, I don't think they lied. They didn't summon you there. They believe it's not a place for you to return to. They seem to have no intention of harming you. With that in mind, the conversation might not be too difficult."
"..."
A strange turmoil rose and then settled in his chest. Yuder bit his lip firmly.
"...Anyway, it's certain that I didn't go there because I wanted to. I didn't choose to have such a dream."
"That's true. It would have been better if they had also told you how you ended up there."
Kishiar reached out his hand. His touch, easing the lips he had been chewing, involuntarily relaxed him. In his crimson eyes, Yuder saw the pain he was feeling.
"Don't be in pain. There's no need for that."
"..."
"I don't know how you got there, but anyway... it's not bad to think that you have one more ally in an unknown place, right? For me, I'm even grateful that they helped send you back here."
How could this man show such a strong reaction to a story that should evoke more complicated emotions? Yuder didn't understand.
But there was a strange comfort in his words, so he simply followed the gesture, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.
"...Understood."
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Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
In the autumn of his 18th year, after winning the high school kendo championship finals, an unexpected accident occurred.
Due to that incident, Kang Mu-heon lost one of his legs, his closest friend, and his promising future. He closed off his heart and shut himself away alone.
A few years later, the world's first real virtual reality game <THE MIST> was announced, where even those with physical disabilities could play in healthy bodies.
By chance, Kang Mu-heon encountered it and began a new life as the mage Kapros, facing unexpected meetings, reunions, and days of change....
***
"Why was someone like you born into this world to make me so miserable? Do you understand when I say it like this?! You were born with talent for the sword, a bright personality, everything - you must have been laughing at me always lagging behind! Did you even know how pathetic I felt because of your stupid hypocrisy? A genius? What does any of that matter!"
Seung-jo's cries stabbed at his heart, wailing as if he were crying even though he wasn't, but there was no time to think further. He quickly clutched my stomach, got up, and ran towards him.
He looked surprised for a moment, but he was desperate.
Just as the car was about to reach us, he shoved Seung-jo hard. Right after Seung-jo fell and rolled away with wide, startled eyes—
Screech!
Bang! With an impact that felt like his whole body was being shattered, he flew through the air.
And in that brief yet long moment of floating in space, he remembered his reflection in Seung-jo's eyes for the last time.......
***
[ Then in THE MIST, may you become the master of infinite possibilities. ]
Whoosh!
When his vision returned after everything went white, he was standing in the middle of a bustling town. Amidst the clamor, countless people were busily going about their business here and there.
He looked down at himself, standing dazed and wearing clothes of unknown origin. When he touched the sleeve, he felt the texture of fabric as real as reality. His hair felt the same, and even when he touched the wall of a nearby house, he could clearly feel the solid, cold surface.
Is this... VT?
It seemed like a joke. It truly felt as if he had come to another world and was touching everything.
As he stood there unable to think due to the shock, he suddenly remembered the biggest reason he had decided to play this game, and snapped back to attention. His two legs were still as they had been when he first stood.
'Can I really walk?'
He first stepped out with his left foot, then very slowly put strength into his heavy right foot. It felt like cold sweat was running down his spine.
And then,
He lifted it,
Moved it,
And took another step to touch the ground again.
So easily. As if there had never been any problem with this leg from the beginning.
"Ah..."
At that moment, something that was neither joy nor emotion shot up his spine. Suddenly feeling a lump in his throat, he lowered his head and leaned against the wall. His right foot, bearing his weight, was doing its job perfectly.
"..."
Holding back the tightness in his throat, he took another step.
It didn't hurt. It wasn't heavy. His leg was no longer a useless piece of wood that ached.
Damn it, to be able to walk so easily like this.
To be able to run so easily like this.
He had wished even in his dreams for the day to come when he could walk and run like this again.
And so he walked again, kept walking, slowly getting faster, until finally he started running like a madman through the entire town.
***
"Kap. ...There seems to be a misunderstanding. That's not what I meant."
Just as he was thinking he should throw a punch, Yu-wan sighed with a troubled look and said.
A misunderstanding? How could it be a misunderstanding when he said with his own mouth that he didn't think of me as a friend?
"I didn't expect to receive such a question suddenly, so my explanation was probably too brief. Let me rephrase."
Yu-wan reached out his hand, his face completely changed from before - intense yet resolute - as he stared at him. As he didn't reject the hand suddenly approaching his face and kept his gaze fixed, his cool large hand touched his cheek completely.
A shiver ran down his spine at that moment.
"I'm sorry to say this to you, but I don't see you only as a friend. ...This is the complete answer."
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Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
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