Given the nature of the situation, Yoo Seowoo had no time for a proper funeral, so he ended up scattering his aunt's ashes in front of their house as a way to commemorate her. Sihyun, feeling sympathy for the boy's predicament and understanding how burdensome it is to carry the weight of death alone, offered to stay by his side. That was why Sihyun was there with him, mourning his aunt's death in front of the house.
Who would have guessed that such a gesture would essentially tether him to the void left by the aunt's death? He had only intended to offer some comfort.
Facing this version of Yoo Seowoo was infinitely harder than dealing with the annoying and ominous Seowoo from before the apocalypse.
Wishing for Seowoo to regain his strength soon, Sihyun hesitantly used a healing spell on him. Upon receiving the healing light from Sihyun's fingertips, Seowoo leaned his head against Sihyun's shoulder, slightly turning to gaze at Haru. The eyes of the two boys met in mid-air.
Observing them exchange glances before falling into an awkward silence, Sihyun lifted Seowoo's head from his shoulder. His gaze ultimately settled on Haru.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"You didn't ask me that."
"You received healing."
But that's not the same as worrying, is it? How are they any different? Quite a lot, Sihyun. Are you the only one who feels that way? The distance between his eyebrows narrowed. The boy expressing dissatisfaction finally realized he had been asked about his condition after a slight delay, as Haru nodded to affirm his well-being.
"Are you not injured?"
"I'm a healer. Even if I was, I've already healed myself."
"Still, try not to get hurt."
Pain feels the same to everyone.
Haru pointed out the bluntly spoken words. While Sihyun was awkwardly accepting the advice, the communicator crackled once.
[Support team here. The rift in Area A has been confirmed as extinguished. Good work.]
It was the sound signaling the end of the battle.
People sitting down amidst the rustle, a clear sign of exhaustion on everyone's faces.
"If another Fire Ant rift opens, we're done for..."
A man, lying flat on the ground amidst the ant corpses, muttered in a dazed tone. Others agreed with his statement, swearing. Sihyun, swept up in the atmosphere, naturally sat down, suppressing the desire to lie down as he exhaled deeply.
Just as he thought it was time to rest for a moment.
Beep beep beep.
The previously quiet bracelet rang out again. It seemed like a significantly large rift, as everyone's bracelets sounded simultaneously, causing a stir in the area.
"...Can't even rest for 10 minutes."
Those who hadn't received permission to rest moaned and cursed as they got up.
"...Two times in one morning?"
Having barely sat down, Sihyun assessed his remaining mana before turning to look at Seowoo. He grabbed Seowoo's wrist, stopping him from responding impulsively, and pressed his own bracelet. The notification sound ceased, indicating the team was complete. Seowoo let out a puzzled "Why?".
"You asking me that? Go get some rest."
"Is it that serious?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm..."
It'd be troublesome if you didn't look pretty.
Muttering nonsense, the boy's eyes were bloodshot. Sihyun shook his head once and pushed Seowoo towards the car they had arrived in.
After ensuring Seowoo got into the car, Sihyun checked the location of the next rift. It wasn't too far, and they could easily reach it on foot. It seemed everyone had the same idea as they began walking towards the next rift.
Sihyun moved with the group, feeling like a zombie among them. Tick, tick, the sound of something breaking echoed in his head.
Since the apocalypse, the continuous assault of Irregulars had been wearing down the spirits of the Awakened.
***
[Good work.]
It was the sixth time he'd heard that voice today.
As people naturally collapsed after the battle's conclusion, Sihyun struggled to make his way to the car. His body felt heavy, and his feet throbbed. He wanted nothing more than to rest in bed as soon as possible.
Pulling out his phone, which he hadn't used for anything other than communication in ages, he checked the time. The display read 9:12 PM, causing his brow to furrow. He had been outside for 15 hours since dawn.
Dragging his trembling legs to the dormitory, he noticed two of the three beds were empty, signaling that his roommates, Geonwoo and Hamin, had yet to return from being drafted for a large-scale rift in Incheon a week ago.
"Has it been a week already?"
Sihyun entered the bathroom to quickly shower and dry his hair before heading to bed. With Pia's abilities now revealed, the discomfort of spending more than two days apart had prompted them to send Pia along with them, making the room feel even emptier.
He wondered if Haewoon's spot in their room was still vacant.
Thanks to Haehyuk's arrangements, their room was allocated to Class A students. With Haewoon, Hamin, and Geonwoo drafted for the large-scale rift operation in Incheon, only Haru and Seowoo would be left in their room, prompting Sihyun to consider staying there until Haewoon returned. However, fatigue overwhelmed him. The rooms weren't close, requiring crossing a building, so Sihyun promptly gave up on the idea and lay down, staring at the ceiling. The command team had mentioned that by mid-March, additional manpower from the base would allow for some rest, but he doubted the reliability of their words.
He had been called out in the early hours of the morning yesterday and the day before that, and it had been the same story a week and even a month ago. Being dragged out from dawn till dawn, it was hard to believe the command team's assurances of eventual rest.
At least he had returned in the evening today, giving him ample time to sleep. That was his only consolation as he turned to lie down, planning to sleep while he could. However, accustomed to falling asleep at dawn, his mind remained alert.
After tossing and turning unsuccessfully, Sihyun opened his eyes again. The inability to sleep at will was incredibly frustrating.
"When will this end?"
His voice, laced with a sigh, filled the quiet room.
Since the beginning of the apocalypse, it had been a relentless cycle of combating Irregulars, over and over again.
Life felt mechanical.
Respond to the bracelet's call, head out to face the Irregulars, recharge mana like a battery, then go out again to fight. This cycle repeated day after day, leaving him feeling aimless.
With time on his hands, his thoughts wandered, though he couldn't stop pondering. He felt utterly lost.
While aware that killing Gulra was necessary to end this calamity, the means to do so remained unknown.
The massive entity he had seen that day, despite being out of sight, demonstrated overwhelming power. A single blink from it crushed the skulls of dozens, paralyzing everyone. The idea of how to kill such a creature was daunting. Moreover, Gulra existed in the sky, out of reach.
Without a strategy, the situation seemed bleak. Even forming an international coalition to combat Gulra yielded no progress.
The information humanity possessed was all that Sihyun knew.
Direct confrontation with Gulra seemed the most effective way to gain further insight, yet the primordial Irregular had appeared only once each in Korea and the USA before vanishing, leaving other countries relieved but vigilant. The emergence of Gulra in both countries signaled a global threat, putting the entire world on high alert.
And so, the world remained stagnant for two months, caught in a cycle of fear and vigilance towards a potential apocalypse-level Irregular emergence, while also dealing with the immediate threat of other Irregulars.
If Gulra were to reappear, it would undoubtedly be a disaster. Yet, gathering information required confronting Gulra again, a catch-22.
It felt like facing a sleek, insurmountable barrier without any equipment. The goal might be atop that wall, but he was still on the ground, merely looking up, engulfed in a sense of helplessness.
"Are we just relying on Pia and Kang Sihyun for now?"
He mused to himself.
Without facing Gulra, Pia and Sihyun were the only sources for information on primordial Irregulars.
However, Sihyun had hinted in a previous dream that their meeting opportunities were limited, suggesting that obtaining information through him might be a future possibility. That left Pia.
Sihyun's gaze returned to Hamin's empty bed. Staring at it made the weight of the world they lived in press down on him, the responsibility of finding a solution resting solely on his shoulders.
It was as if the fate of the world hung in his hands, though no one had explicitly said so. The situation pressured him into feeling like an unwitting hero. The weight of breathing became overwhelming, prompting Sihyun to take a deep breath before looking back at Hamin's bed.
"It would be nice if they came back soon."
Surely Pia missed him too after a week, especially since the Incheon rift incident shouldn't have kept them away for so long. Moreover, Hamin, Geonwoo, and Haewoon were only temporary guild members.
Like Seowoo, Haru, and himself, they were being exploited daily, but being drafted for large-scale operations differed from responding to spontaneous rift support calls. Temporary guild members could refuse emergency rift calls without much issue, though persistent
refusal would lead to pressure and judgment. If one needed rest or was unwell, some leeway was provided.
However, there was no choice in large-scale mobilizations. Whether temporary or official, individuals selected by the personnel team had to comply without complaint. Pitying Geonwoo, Hamin, and Haewoon, who had become such sacrificial lambs, Sihyun laid straight on the bed. Considering Haewoon's personality, he might have expanded his scope in the large-scale operation, or he might have been whining about the difficulty.
He just hoped they would return safely when suddenly, the door, which had been closed, clicked open with the sound of the door lock. Sihyun's eyes narrowed, having not heard any approaching footsteps.
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