Like a waterspout, the rising smoke shot into the air, scattering like a scene from a fireworks display before coalescing into a massive, dark cloud. The world around them was plunged into blackness. The Noah members took a step back, forming a circle with their backs to one another.

“What just happened?”

“I don’t know. It looks like they did something, though…”

In the midst of the growing confusion, the Awakeners sensed a primal danger.

“Kwon Sa-yoon?”

Someone spoke his name, but the questioning tone wasn’t directed at Sa-yoon himself.

The Awakeners’ eyebrows twitched upwards. Jaehee let out a low hum, and Geon-joo’s shoulders visibly flinched.

“Ha.”

A laugh laced with madness escaped Sa-yoon’s lips. He’d been wondering how the video from the ‘True Evil of Humanity?’ gate had appeared in the Forgotten Temple, and it seemed this was how.

Amidst the swirling fog, images of Sa-yoon appeared. Many of them. Sa-yoon on the verge of becoming an Unknown, a younger Sa-yoon with a cherubic face staring at a blue system window, Sa-yoon embracing a man unfamiliar to the Noah members, a young Sa-yoon clearing a gate, a dead Sa-yoon…

“What is all this, kid?”

“Is this related to that video they said came from the Forgotten Temple?”

Questions swirled like a tempest, shaking their consciousness.

Sa-yoon, Sa-yoon, Sa-yoon.

Fragments of the truth he had seen in the gate were randomly bursting forth, mixed in with the smoke.

“Hyung.”

As he stared silently into the fog, a hand with long, straight fingers covered his own, which was resting on the ground. Warmth spread through him. He turned his head and met a pair of eyes filled to the brim with worry.

Such a busybody.

His expression clearly showed concern for Sa-yoon’s mental state, but Sa-yoon responded with a relaxed smile.

If you were going to do this, you should have done it sooner. When I was weaker. When I wasn’t so solid.

This was hardly enough to make him lose his mind. So it was fine. The biggest truth hadn’t been revealed, only a part of his life’s process. He could easily pass it off as a fabricated video or a hallucination.

“It’s fine, so wipe that look off your face, pretty boy.”

The roles of who should be worried were reversed, but Sa-yoon paid it no mind, ignoring the bewildered gazes of those who had glimpsed the slivers of his truth. The most cunning way to evade questions in a situation like this was to destroy the situation itself.

And just then, the perfect opportunity arrived.

Hiss, shhhhk!

As the fog cleared, dozens of pairs of vertical pupils were revealed. The creatures, their forked tongues flicking out and necks raised in a defensive posture, slowly approached.

Snakes.

“Everyone, draw your weapons.”

Mi-jeong, quick to grasp the situation, snapped open her fan. With one great sweep, the wind blew away the remaining fog. The afterimages of Sa-yoon vanished, leaving behind hundreds of snakes. By the time Yi-han had drawn his sword to guard Mi-jeong’s side, everyone had assumed a combat stance.

“You two, keep following the trace. The temple hasn’t been revealed yet.”

Jaehee’s advice fell upon Sa-yoon and Geon-joo, who had been about to rise to their feet. The two, who had intended to join the fight, exchanged a look, shrugged, and repositioned themselves.

“Take care of it so they don’t get in the way.”

“We’ll do our best.”

Jaehee smiled faintly at the haughty command and drew a summoning circle, calling forth Rai, Shiro, and Maru. The silver wolf, Maru, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, stiffened its tail at the sight of Sa-yoon before leaping in the direction Jaehee pointed.

“It seems we’ll have to fight them until Mr. Sa-yoon and Mr. Geon-joo find the temple. Just in case, let’s proceed with as little killing as possible.”

There was a superstition that killing the beasts that appeared in a temple would bring a curse. Jaehee, not forgetting this, reminded the group, and Taeseok’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Why are you naturally taking command?”

“I wasn’t thinking of it as taking command. If you’re uncomfortable, I can hand it over.”

“…”

Getting angry at Lee Jaehee was as pointless as yelling at a lake. Sa-yoon, who had kept him by his side for nearly a year and had yet to see him angry even once, felt a strange sense of satisfaction as he watched the speechless Taeseok.

“Focus, hyung.”

Geon-joo, sensing his mood, chided him softly and took his hand. Their fingers, which had merely been resting on top of each other, now intertwined. A sense of stability settled over Sa-yoon, and he released his frost energy without another word.

Ssssssss.

The chill spread among the snakes. It was the signal for the Noah members to begin their attack.

“Let’s split up according to our affinities. The martial artists, Mr. Ho-cheol and Mr. Taeseok, will take the east. Mr. Yi-han and Ms. Mi-jeong will take the west. Mr. Dong-ju, please follow the frost energy Mr. Sa-yoon has spread and provide support. My summons and I will handle the south and north.”

“Very by-the-book.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with by-the-book. Shall we give it a try for now?”

Before any other complaints could arise, Mi-jeong’s compliance settled the matter. Being the eldest had its advantages in situations like this.

“There’s not a single thing I like about this.”

Dong-ju, who wore a displeased expression as if to ask why he had to follow those orders, saw the rest of the group move and reluctantly followed Sa-yoon’s energy, spreading a blue water. The fresh essence, imbued with the spirit of the mountain, met the frost and froze, forming spears of the shape Dong-ju had intended.

He clenched his fist, gathering the newly formed spears in the air, and with a gesture, the ice lances shot forward, attacking the snakes. The rest of the group, confirming that the long-range attack was in place, moved to their designated positions and began to fight.

To avoid killing, they knocked the snakes as far away as possible and stunned them. To this end, Ho-cheol and Taeseok didn’t shy away from hand-to-hand combat, and Yi-han used the back of his blade. Mi-jeong used illusions to bind the snakes.

Jaehee’s summons ran among the hundreds of snakes, mesmerising them to divert their attention or pressing down on them with their paws to choke them into unconsciousness.

As the monster subjugation proceeded smoothly, Sa-yoon and Geon-joo’s attention naturally focused on chasing the energy that responded to the pulse coursing through their bodies. Gasp. As they held their breath, the pressure in their eyes spiked, and an explosion erupted. As before, fog spread and illusions of Sa-yoon appeared, but the Noah members, focused on the battle, skillfully handled the snakes without being distracted. The number of enemies had doubled with the re-explosion, leaving no room for a break.

Just as a pained groan escaped someone, BOOOOOM! another explosion began. This was the third.

“We’re going straight to the fourth.”

A puff of white breath escaped Sa-yoon’s lips as he spoke. He could feel his frost power amplifying with each resonant explosion. The same was true for Han Geon-joo’s shadow, which supported his frost energy.

His face, which was beaded with sweat, showed he was having a harder time controlling it than before. He must have also thought it better to get it over with in one go rather than dragging it out, as he didn’t refuse Sa-yoon’s proposal. With Geon-joo’s consent, Sa-yoon, thinking this was the last one, poured his power in at once.

K-K-K-KRAK!

Beneath the frozen ground, a savage energy swirled. The shadow enveloped the blindly spreading frost and guided it toward the source of the Divine Artifact’s energy. Just as the pressure from their clasped hands intensified, BOOOOOM! a fourth explosion, accompanied by a strong resonance from his heart, covered the area. It was then that a strange phenomenon occurred.

Pillars of light shot up from the four explosion sites, piercing the sky. The light, which had soared to unknowable heights, soon receded, leaving four white pillars in its place.

THUD!

The ground vibrated.

A white roof settled atop the pillars.

BOOOOOM!

Cracks spread across the land, and from the fissures, grey plants bloomed, covering the earth. The frost zone naturally dissipated, and Geon-joo’s shadow scattered. As if the aftereffects were hitting him late, Geon-joo’s nose started to bleed. Sa-yoon caught him, fought through his own headache, and watched the changing temple.

With the roof created atop the light pillars as its center, the form of a building began to take shape. At first, it was a massive temple, then a scene that included what appeared to be a greenhouse unfolded. The Awakeners held their breath. The snakes that had been troubling the remaining Noah members vanished as soon as the temple was revealed.

“…Is that the Forgotten Temple?”

Bae Dong-ju muttered softly. As everyone’s eyes were fixed on the temple, someone’s sigh broke the silence.

“For a temple, it’s quite…”

“Desolate.”

Dong-ju finished the sentence Yi-han couldn’t, his eyes narrowing. The Forgotten Temple, as its name suggested, looked as if it had been completely forgotten, abandoned by all living things. There were cracks everywhere, the plants in the greenhouse were dead, and the grass covering the ground had all withered to a brownish color.

The white building should have been cloaked in a radiant nobility, but it felt more like a ruin on the verge of collapse. It was a sight that could hardly be recognized as a temple. The group turned to Jaehee.

“Is that the temple you were talking about?”

At the skeptical question, Lee Jaehee nodded without a flicker of emotion.

Clank!

Finally, a massive door was installed on the temple, and the vibrations ceased. At the same time, Han Geon-joo’s nosebleed stopped. He wiped the area around his nose with his bloodstained sleeve and stood up straight.

Creeeeak.

The doors of the now-complete temple swung open.

Ting!

A system notification appeared.

[Gate Clear Conditions]

– Find the Divine Artifact Restore the Forgotten Temple

Just as Lee Jaehee had said, the true clear conditions for the Forgotten Temple gate had appeared.

And then.

Slitherrrr.

From between the open temple doors, a massive black creature poked its head out. A creature with a triangular head larger than a car. A forked tongue with bumpy taste buds, and between its parted lips, purple fangs.

At the appearance of the giant snake, Han Geon-joo’s eyes wavered.

“Why…?”