"Yura?! " In my returning vision, I saw her shedding more tears than ever before, desperately pleading with .
"Please don't go... I can't bear to be left alone again..." Her concealed emotions seed to unravel, revealing her true feelings that had never surfaced before.
"Honestly, I was at my limit... It was right before I was about to break down when you ca back!!"
"It's because you ca back that I was able to hold on! If you disappear again, even for a mont... I might not be able to endure it...!"
"Please don't leave... Just stay like this..." She held onto my suit so tightly it crumpled, refusing to let go.
I had never seen Yura in such a state... She seed to be crying out all the pain of her life.
"Just a mont, Yura... Calm down..." I tried to soothe her, but her emotions were far from settled.
"No... I can't bear it if you disappear again..." Her embrace tightened as if to impress upon her unwillingness to part.
Though I felt restrained, her grip wasn’t strong; it was more out of desperation than force.
"Everything will be fine, honestly. If I hadn't ntioned it, it would have been such a short ti you wouldn’t even have realized I was gone. I’ll just be away for a brief mont, no need for days."
"But what if sothing happens? How can you trust the words of soone who says they'll return soon from war?!" Her analogy was apt yet exaggerated; I had no real response.
"Well... The money will co in properly, and you won't have to struggle like you did before."
Was she acting this way because she rembered the hardships when I was gone? I tried to reassure her, but...
"It doesn’t matter! Even if I had to struggle, having you here is a thousand tis better than being without you!" Clearly, her concerns were about sothing that money couldn't resolve. "Yura..." Why is it like this? Although we, as siblings, have always been close since childhood, like in a fantasy story, I never knew she depended on this much.
"Just stay here! Why do you need to go back to that world? Is it more important than your family?!" She was imploring with a technique that seed impossible to resist, compelling to agree with her.
"Your voice is too loud! Others might hear...!" We were in a shabby mansion, not well soundproofed. Yura usually took great care not to bother others, but her heightened emotions were making her unusually loud and agitated.
"Like I've said several tis already, it won't be for long... just a brief mont..."
"Even if it's true that you went to another world and ca back, wouldn't there be consequences there too? Isn't your short visit due to being unable to let go of the people you're attached to?"
Her sudden pointed questions, either calculated or coincidental, dug deep into an uncomfortable truth. Did she have an exceptional intuition, or was she reading my mind sohow?
"I have to go now." Continuing the conversation seed futile as we were going in circles. It was ti to take leave, especially since I had barely persuaded Mir to let go. I didn’t want to risk changing her mind by delaying too long.
Carefully, I helped Yura to sit and stood up. She didn't resist but wept silently, looking utterly forlorn, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"I'm really sorry... but this will be a really short trip, so don’t worry."
As heart-wrenching as it was to leave Yura in such a state, I had to move towards the door.
She just wept quietly, her head bowed in sorrow. It was a tragic scene, but I believed things would be fine once I returned from this brief trip. "Sorry... I'll be back soon." I said, reaching for the door.
"Are you... going to et a woman?" Her words ca with a sudden chill in the air.
"What?! No!" I quickly turned around in surprise, feeling a familiar chill down my spine.
"Oppa..." Yura stood there, her fierce deanor replaced by a somber one.
"You're going to et soone in that other world, aren't you?" Her insight felt almost invasive, as if she was reading my mind.
"Yura, what are you talking about?"
"Your panic seems to confirm it... Just a guess, though." How could she be so accurately guessing my thoughts? I instinctively knew this was the worst-case scenario.
"Co with !" She grabbed my arm, demanding to accompany .
"What?! Why?"
"People et for a reason, right? And if you're going to et soone, it ans you can explain things to them." Yura's confidence in her reasoning was unsettling.
"I want to co with you. I don't know who this person is, but I need to talk to them." Her sudden desire to et Mir was alarming.
"Why...?" I couldn't fathom what she would say to Mir, and the potential outcos of their eting seed dangerously unpredictable.
"Just take with you!" Her stubbornness was clear in her eyes. From childhood, once Yura set her mind on sothing, it was impossible to dissuade her.
Her grip on my arm tightened, her determination unwavering and fueled by an unknown courage.
In such a situation, I had no choice but to take her. My experience growing up with her told that if I tried to leave her behind, she would stubbornly follow and insist on eting Mir. "Okay, fine..." I resigned myself to the situation, realizing there was no point in making it more difficult than it needed to be.
"But you can't say anything weird, okay?"
"I get it! I'm not planning to cause trouble!" Yura assured , smiling contentedly as she led the way, despite not knowing where we were going.
With a sigh, I sent a text to Mir, warning her of an unexpected guest. We left the apartnt, heading to the designated eting place in the late hours.
We arrived at a luxurious hotel, a place that seed exclusive to the elite, where even a few days' stay could drain my monthly salary. Why had Mir chosen such a venue? I wondered if a grand spell to travel worlds required a more expansive space than a confined hotel room. Despite my doubts, I didn't voice them and followed Mir's instructions.
Knock, knock, knock.
We were at the top floor of the building, outside the suite where Mir was waiting. The sophisticated design of the door itself was beyond my ordinary ans.
Yura's grip on my arm tightened as I knocked on the door. "Hey, could you at least let go of my arm in front of others...?"
"No, I feel uneasy," she refused, her stubbornness unyielding.
The door suddenly opened, and there was Mir.
"Hmm... is that the girl?" Mir's voice held a hint of displeasure as she saw Yura clinging to my arm, having been forewarned about her.
"You're the person my brother wanted to et, right? Please, talk to !" Yura requested boldly, undeterred by Mir's cold deanor.
"A mismatched kid, huh..." Mir muttered under her breath, clearly not fond of Yura's presence. At first glance, Yura and Mir looked about the sa age, which made Mir's condescending tone slightly awkward.
"Fine... both of you, co in," Mir sighed, granting us entry, and I followed Yura into the room. Inside, the facilities were even more luxurious than I had imagined.
"So, you're Minjun's sister, then? What brings you here?" Mir, sitting casually on the bed, eyed Yura with an apparent dissatisfaction.
"I heard about it from my brother... You're planning to take him sowhere, right?" Yura got straight to the point, undeterred by Mir's nacing aura and even projecting a sense of confidence in her inquiry.
"Hmm... it's actually at your brother's request," Mir confird, still eyeing Yura sharply.
"In that case, I'll be straightforward: please don't fulfill my brother's request."
"What?!" I was sowhat prepared for this, but hearing it still made the situation unavoidably tense.
"So, you're telling not to take him?" Mir's question was t with a firm nod from Yura.
"Yes! He's my brother! Whatever happens, I won't let you take him!"
There was an odd confidence in Yura's words, and even without knowing Mir's true identity, she seed overly assertive. It was almost as if she was implying sothing more, which could lead to misunderstandings.
"Yura...!!" I tried belatedly to intervene.
"Really?" What truly shocked wasn't Yura's statent.
"Alright, then I'll leave him be." It was Mir's unexpectedly easy acquiescence.
Perhaps it was the expected response. She had reluctantly transported to this world, so leaving alone would likely lead to a change of heart. Considering that she should have been convincing to stay, her sudden change of mind seed too easy.
"Wait, what?!" I couldn't hide my astonishnt and looked at Mir, trying to convey my confusion.
Mir's ease in changing her stance was unsettling. She had made it seem like it was a trivial decision, despite the likelihood of my potential defiance. Her readiness to agree to Yura's request without a fight was bewildering. "Really?!" I was astounded, but my plea was drowned out by Yura's spirited voice.
"Yes, of course... I never really wanted to take you away in the first place." Mir was surprisingly supportive of Yura's request.
"Thank you!!" Yura bowed deeply, showing gratitude without knowing the full situation.
"Heh..." But then, Mir suddenly flashed a suspicious smile and giggled, "There is one condition, though."
"A condition? What kind of—" Yura began, tilting her head in confusion.
Thud! Suddenly, Yura was lifted into the air with a violent noise.
"?! " I quickly turned and saw Yura hitting the wall, collapsing lifelessly.
"I need to examine your brother a bit."
"Yura?!!" I rushed to my sister, who was motionless on the ground, and held her in my arms.
"She's still breathing... Just unconscious." Thankfully, she was just knocked out, breathing steadily and with a detectable pulse.
"Mir... What the hell is this- cough?!" Before I could express my hatred, I was rendered helpless.
Click! Click! My physical freedom was suddenly stripped away.
"Argh...?!" Black chains appeared from nowhere, binding .
"Don't worry, I just used enough force to put her to sleep." Mir's sinister smile grew as she spoke to , then lightly lifted my body and laid on the large bed.
These chains... It wasn't the first ti I've encountered them... Could she really wield magic at will in the real world? Desperately struggling, I found the chains unbreakable.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Anger laced my voice, but Mir just smirked briefly and then revealed the entire truth.
"I'm sorry, truly. I never intended to let you go back in the first place." Climbing onto , she began to exhale a strange breath.
"There was never a way to go back, to begin with." Her words made doubt my own ears, denying the reality, but her ruthless announcent continued. "On the day we first t in this world, rember how I shattered a crystal? That crystal actually contained both reality manipulation and teleportation magic."
"The mont I destroyed it, we were bound to remain here forever." Unbelievable... So, from the beginning, she was lying? Did she anticipate this situation?
As despair and betrayal filled , Mir blushed seductively, a threat I'd sensed many tis before.
"The reason I called you to this hotel was, in fact, to finally have you. I've been holding back, not wanting to overwhelm you, but the mont you spoke of leaving, I couldn't contain myself any longer."
Licking her lips lewdly, she caressed my cheek and neck like a puppy. "You claim to live a content life, yet you wish to return. It must be because of those other won in that world, isn't it?"
"Your excuse of a brief visit is clearly a lie... If you really returned, you'd leave for those other won. I can't let that happen."
She began to unbutton my shirt as if to assert her dominance. "That's why I'm doing this... I will completely claim you as mine..."
I struggled against her, but it was futile. "Don't be afraid, just surrender..."
Ignoring her persuasive but hollow words, I continued to resist. "It's useless, resistance is aningless. Just accept it."
Mir's words, seemingly sweet and tempting, began to sway . Is this how it ends? On one hand, I had already given up.
"Good, you're being obedient... Now, shall we begin?"
My resistance halted involuntarily, prompting a happy smile from her. "Finally, I have you..."
As she prepared to unleash her desires on , reveling in the fulfillnt of her wish... Bang! Suddenly, thunder began to crash outside. It was a clear day, and this thunder seed like a bolt from the blue.
"What...?" Mir suddenly stopped, her eyes wide with shock as she stared out the window, sensing sothing.
"No way... It can't be..." She muttered in disbelief.
Crash! The room's window shattered into pieces.
"Ah?!" Mir, seemingly targeted by the flying shards, shielded her face with her arms.
Boom! Another bolt struck from the clear sky.
"How dare you covet what belongs to a deity... You hasten your own end."
Then, the unbelievable happened.
"So, the ancient dragon boasted its dominance...," ca a familiar yet chilling voice.
A familiar face flashed through my mind. I quickly turned towards the broken windows.
"Did you think I couldn't find you if you took him to another world? Foolish dragon..."
The girl, staring at Mir with a mix of contempt and hatred in her hollow eyes, was there. She seed to float in the air outside the window, as if standing on an invisible platform.
"No matter the distance, even across dinsions, nothing can separate him and ... Not even if he were at the very bottom of hell, I would find him..."
The goddess, with a calm but firm decree, seed to warn against touching her property.
"I have co to reclaim what is mine."
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