Chapter 84: If Only This Were Real
The mont that surprised them most ca when they stepped outside the walls of Bey World.
Beyond the amusent park, they could see a peaceful New Capital in perfect detail. Far in the distance, they could hear the faint sound of car horns. It looked exactly like the city had just before the incident began.
Lykan’s eyes went wide, his tiny hands clenched with excitent.
«W-Wow... Is this truly the city of humans?»
«Your Majesty! Are humans truly such great beings?»
«How do they build such tall towers!»
«Look! Scrap tal is flying in the sky!»
«Wooooah!»
Watching him react like that in such a small body made it feel like they were chaperoning a kid at an amusent park.
Honestly, he even sounded like a kid.
...Well, co to think of it, Lykan was never the sharpest, Jhin thought.
Back then, he’d just been Neon’s puppet. Even when he grew strong enough to beco C-rank, he was just a creature obsessed with devouring souls. Not exactly a master tactician.
In a way, this version of him made more sense.
Actually, maybe he had gotten a little smarter.
At least now, he could speak without slurring.
«Mr. Kyle, I brought ice cream!»
Jhin , who had been sitting on a bench for a quick break, looked up at the ice cream cone being offered to him.
Luke stood with both arms full of cones.
«...This really feels like we’re on vacation.»
«Lykan said he really wanted so.»
«W-When did I say that!»
Jhin shrugged and took the cone.
«...Thanks.»
Millie plopped down beside him, pulled down her mask, and took a lick of her ice cream.
Jhin bit into his chocolate one. It was cold, sweet—and shockingly real.
They’d even recreated the taste?
At this point, it was hard not to question which world was real.
They sat there quietly, soaking in the mont, and then Millie spoke.
«It’s like nothing ever happened.»
Jhin gave a quiet nod.
Just like she said, everything here was bright and cheerful—like none of the chaos had ever existed.
It felt like they’d co to Bey World on a perfectly normal day, before Exodia2 ever opened.
Honestly, it felt like that had been the dream—
And this was real.
The background music played cheerfully over the speakers.
People laughed.
The crowd bustled.
Sowhere in between, their reality had started to wash away.
Really...
If Lykan weren’t sitting next to Luke, grinning with ice cream all over his face—
If the little sniffing noise in Jhin ’s pocket from Kimmy weren’t constantly tickling his ear—
This would’ve been a perfectly normal weekend at Bey World.
Jhin pulled sothing from his pocket—a crumpled old ticket he had found earlier.
He looked at the date.
«2019...»
The issue date was from 2019.
Maybe Millie was right.
Maybe this really was a world where nothing had gone wrong.
Millie took a big bite from her ice cream and said,
«Do you think we’ve traveled through ti?»
Jhin shook his head.
«No. This is still the sa world. But this entire area—it’s showing us a specific mont from the past.»
In other words, it was an illusion.
Right now—
The couple feeding each other snacks.
The child holding cotton candy with one hand and his mother’s with the other.
The students running around laughing.
The group gathered to take a class photo.
It was all from a regular weekend in 2019.
None of it was real.
«...I miss it,» Millie whispered.
It was a life they’d never get back.
A day they had always taken for granted—
Now that it had reappeared before them, it made her chest ache.
Suddenly, she stood up.
«Just a second.»
«Hm?»
She took Jhin by the wrist and led him to the carousel.
She switched her phone to selfie mode, pulled down her mask, and threw off her hat.
Her long hair caught the breeze.
«Just one photo, okay?»
«Wait—»
«Here we go!»
Click.
«You blinked. One more!»
Jhin found himself awkwardly posing again without even realizing it.
The two of them stood in front of the spinning carousel, taking one more photo.
It looked clumsy and mismatched.
But Millie smiled, clearly satisfied.
She scrolled through the photos and spoke with a soft, faraway voice.
«It’s beautiful. Like a dream I never want to wake up from.»
«...Yeah.»
Jhin looked down at the photo.
And he couldn’t help but think—
Maybe this was her real self.
Not the cold sniper Clark.
Not the warrior who never hesitated to pull the trigger.
Maybe that was just a mask she wore.
Just like how the idol Millie had always smiled on stage for the public.
She pressed the power button on her phone, turning the screen off.
But by now, people had started to gather around.
Even that brief mont without her hat and mask had drawn attention.
The way people looked—
He knew that expression.
This was 2019’s Millie.
Back then, she was the most famous celebrity in the country.
It would’ve been strange not to recognize her.
She had been on TV, on every stage, in every magazine.
«Is that really Millie? Are they on a date?!»
«Whoa...»
«Who’s the guy? Her boyfriend?!»
«I’ll kill him.»
«Quick, take a picture!»
Click! Click!
Cara shutters went off.
Voices grew louder.
Jhin spotted Luke and Lykan rushing back toward them, panic on their faces.
The mont felt like a scene from a movie.
And standing in it, Millie turned her head slowly—like a film actress mid-shot.
Her eyes looked just a little sad.
«If this were reality... how nice would that be.»
Jhin nodded.
It really did feel like a dream.
«So, what do we do now?» she asked.
But it was almost ti to step out of the fra.
They couldn’t live inside this stage forever.
Jhin ’s eyes turned golden as he looked toward the distance.
«We find out who made this... and why.»
«This isn’t a dungeon.»
That was the first thing Jhin said after they’d found cover from the growing crowd.
«Huh?»
«I an it literally. This place—it’s not a dungeon.»
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