EVS Chapter 242 – EmberLib

He had long since grown accustomed to the sensation of crossing between spaces, but for the first time in a long while, he felt a wave of motion sickness. Dizziness struck him like a blunt instrument, and he pressed a hand to his temple.

Darkness was everywhere. The entire space was so pitch-black that he couldn’t distinguish between sky and ground. Even the superior physical abilities of an S-Class were useless here; he could see nothing, and his hands instinctively clenched.

He felt the warmth of another person in his tightened grip. Realizing it was Han Geon-joo, Sa-yoon swallowed a sigh of relief.

At least we didn’t get separated.

Some malicious Gates were designed to scatter party members, but thankfully, it seemed they had avoided that this time. However, upon seeing the system window that followed, Sa-yoon had to spit that relief right back out.

“Shards of Truth…?” Han Geon-joo murmured, his voice laced with confusion. He must be seeing the same thing. Among the unfamiliar phrases, Sa-yoon’s eyes locked onto the only one he recognized.

Heaven’s Secret.

Thanks to Lee Jaehee, it was no longer a strange or novel concept.

So, whatever these trials are, if I collect these fragments, I’ll be able to see the future that Jaehee saw and kept to himself.

He had a lot of questions, so this was a welcome development. If he could find out why it had to be him, or how he could finally put an end to this life and return to his old one, he felt he would be willing to pay any price.

The format was new, the structure of the Gate was one he’d never encountered, but he didn’t feel for a second that he couldn’t clear it. Perhaps it was because he had survived such relentless hardship that he could face whatever trial came his way with a calm heart.

In times like these, living a rough life comes in handy.

A self-deprecating smile touched his lips. It was followed by a surge of confidence; as long as he could protect Han Geon-joo, he felt he could even take down an L-Rank monster if one appeared.

They stood there in the darkness for a while. He had expected something to appear after the notification popped up, but contrary to his expectations, no monster emerged from the gloom. Having been blindsided before, he kept his guard up, but after about ten minutes, he was simply bored.

“What kind of a Gate is this?”

No enemies, no scenery. Just an oppressive darkness and silence. There was no ominous presence or malevolent energy, which in itself was unsettling. His nerves frayed, and he let out an irritated sigh. The voice of the person whose hand he was holding reached him.

“Should we try exploring for now?”

“I think we’ll have to.”

He agreed, thinking they needed to run into something before the tension dissipated completely, and took a step. He walked on a surface he couldn’t tell was a floor or a ceiling, forging a path in a directionless world, when a hand pulled on his.

“That way.”

Following the simple instruction, he saw a glimmer of light.

“…”

A fist-sized cluster of light was floating in the darkness. It was a brilliant glow that someone more sentimental might have called beautiful, but Sa-yoon and Geon-joo remained silent.

And for good reason. To the two of them, that light was an unforgettable memory.

Scenes he had kept buried surfaced, piecing themselves together and overlapping with the view before him. It was the exact same sight he had seen just before entering the Ruined City Replay. He had touched a light just like that one and ended up in that godforsaken dungeon.

Is this a hint? That a similar situation is about to unfold?

A curse rose to his lips. Any hope that this might be a smooth run evaporated in an instant, the space it left filled with a heart-pounding anxiety.

“…What should we do?”

Geon-joo’s voice trembled slightly, a sign that he was just as anxious. Sa-yoon forced himself to get a grip. At least one of them had to remain calm.

“What do you mean, what should we do?” Sa-yoon replied, his tone deliberately nonchalant as he strode toward the light.

“It’s not like we have a choice.”

He let go of Geon-joo’s warmth and reached for the cluster of light. The moment the tip of his index finger touched it, a clear, popping sound, like a water droplet bursting, echoed as ripples spread out, just like when a new drop falls on still water.

In the next instant, the light rushed toward him as if to swallow him whole.

Swoosh!

The sword he swung on reflex cut through empty air, failing to strike anything.

“Hyung!”

He heard a panicked shout as his vision was consumed by light.

***

「Ugh…」

「What’s wrong, dear?」

「The story is so unsettling. It makes me feel bad that I feel sorry for the villain.」

Shit.

What had been a vague suspicion at the first groan became a certainty at the sound of the childish, pouting voice. Though his vision was still filled with light, the voices continued steadily, as if playing from a vinyl record.

「Is it wrong to feel sorry for a villain?」

「Villains are supposed to be just bad. They’re bad people. If they have a sad past, it makes you feel pity for them. And that’s unsettling.」

「My, my, does my Sa-yoon know a word like ‘pity’?」

The voice, laughing in praise, seemed to brighten the darkness. Yes, that was her laugh. That was her voice. She was a person who had always held such light and warmth.

Just this far.

No more than this. A headache slammed into him as if a drill were being driven into his skull. Sa-yoon groaned and shut his eyes.

「Then what kind of story do you like, Sa-yoon?」

He clamped his hands over his ears. He didn’t want to hear it. The confidence he’d felt just moments before, the belief that he could handle whatever came his way, was now shattered on the floor, his fingertips trembling.

「I like ruthless villains. And I get to be the hero who defeats them.」

The voice was childish to a fault, but the laughter seemed to embrace even that immaturity with affection. A mist began to rise within the light-filled space, and a scene began to take shape. He couldn’t stop it from appearing just because he didn’t want to see it. He shook his head desperately, forcing his gaze to the floor. And then.

「How admirable.」

At that voice, Sa-yoon froze, his lips parting.

He knew he shouldn’t look.

He knew that if he looked, he would break…

But the faces in his memories had always been blotted out, as if covered in black ink. Without thinking, he lifted his head.

He saw a mother and child, laughing on a sofa bathed in sunlight. A scene of perfect affection, perfect peace. The woman, holding a boy who looked to be about seven, was smiling radiantly, as if she could wish for nothing more in the world.

Her gentle gaze, filtering through the sunlight, enveloped the child. Sa-yoon’s eyes trembled as he met her wrinkle-free face.

And then the world turned upside down.

「Kieeeek!」

The peaceful moment vanished, replaced by the screech of a monster that filled the space. There was the sound of something shattering, and glass fragments flew through the air with a loud crash. In the chaos, two adults snatched up the young boy.

「Don’t come out, Sa-yoon. You have to stay in there. Understand?」

The woman’s face was twisted in fear as she shoved the boy into a wardrobe. She repeated her warning. Her desperate plea not to come out, no matter what, made the terrified boy nod his head. Creek. The wardrobe door closed. There was another crash of glass, and a monster that looked as if it had crawled out of a swamp burst into the room.

The scene slowly narrowed, as if he were peeking through a tiny crack. The view split in two, showing the boy inside the wardrobe and the scene outside.

A man swung a golf club violently, but the sturdy metal bent uselessly on impact, as if it were a thin wire. Unable to leave even a scratch, the man’s face filled with despair. A moment later, a massive fist sent him flying into a wall.

「Honey!」

The woman’s shocked cry followed. Her counterattack with a knife was futile, and she too was kicked, sent flying. She crashed into the wardrobe, and the choked groan was horrifyingly loud to the boy inside.

Sa-yoon’s eyes trembled.

This can’t be right.

Disbelieving, his gaze remained fixed on the scene. The boy in the memory was watching the sight through the crack in the wardrobe, silent tears streaming down his face.

The woman who had been thrown against the wardrobe, knowing her child would be in danger if she stayed there, tried to get up, even with what must have been broken ribs. The monster noticed her struggle and grabbed her by the ankle. She was dragged across the floor, her eyes fixed on the wardrobe.

The crack was too narrow for her to have seen the boy, but she let out a desperate cry, as if their eyes had met. The boy watching her clamped a hand over his mouth.

「Sa-yoon.」

The boy squeezed his eyes shut. The scene, which had been playing like a video, went black.

Bang! Bang! The sound of gunshots. After a chaotic noise, the scene returned, showing a man with a gun entering the house, panting. The boy was sobbing. The man approached and slowly opened the wardrobe from which the cries were coming. The boy’s vision was filled with the blood-splattered, ruined floor and the sight of his father, slumped against a wall, unmoving. As the boy stared blankly, the unknown man covered his eyes.

「…Let’s go with me.」

Click.

All sound ceased.

“Hyung!”

“Gasp!”

Sa-yoon coughed, sucking in air like someone who had been pulled from the water. The light-filled space was once again pitch black. He felt his body slumped to the side, as if he had collapsed. Someone’s hands fumbled over his face, and above it, a system window appeared.

The text was brutally matter-of-fact. Sa-yoon’s body trembled as if he’d been electrocuted. He leaned on the hands holding him and closed his eyes. Something—he wasn’t sure if it was blood or revulsion—rose in his throat. He bent over, spat it out, and clutched his neck. With bloodshot eyes, he stared at the spot where the light he had touched had been.

…It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen.

On that day, he hadn’t been hiding in the wardrobe, seeing nothing. That was why he couldn’t remember their faces.

His memory was distorted.

As the realization hit him, he looked at the system notification that had not disappeared.

He thought he now knew what those fragments meant.

…I can’t do it, you bastards.

If time flowed chronologically, he could guess what the next scene would be. His hands trembled. His eyes darted around, unable to focus. A gentle hand cupped his face.

“Hyung. Look at me.”

“…”

“Sa-yoon-hyung.”

At the insistent call, he had no choice but to turn his head. A pair of eyes, looking down at him with anxiety, were there.

“…Are you okay?”

With the impossibly cautious question, the man lifted his sleeve and wiped Sa-yoon’s mouth. He was the one who had just witnessed that hellish scene, but the man before him looked even more pained. His expression was a mask of strained composure, as if he were desperately holding back the question of what he had just seen. Seeing him so anxious and restless, as if he had instinctively sensed his own powerlessness, Sa-yoon bit his tongue and stood up.

So this is why they sent two of us in.

If he were alone, he would have just lain down and refused to continue. But with Han Geon-joo here, he couldn’t do that. He alone could remain in this Gate for a thousand, ten thousand years, but Geon-joo could not.

He had already been trapped in one hellish Gate.

Gritting his teeth until his lips were bruised, Sa-yoon staggered to his feet. Geon-joo immediately grabbed his arm, letting him lean on him to support his shaking body. Sa-yoon steadied his breathing and slowly took a step.

He still had to find six more fragments.