Cha Eui-jae fiddled with the watch strapped to his wrist. The round watch dial had three smaller watches etched into it. Two had stopped, while the last one ticked busily on its own. Cha Eui-jae pointed at the small watches.
"Are you talking about these small ones?"
"Oh, you're wearing it well. That's right. Originally, there was only one big watch. I modified it to be more visible."
Kkokko lifted its head proudly.
"All my handiwork."
"Why did you modify it? I doubt it was just to make it look better."
"I did it because it was necessary."
"Necessary for what? This modification was done when Lee Sa-young from the ruined world used it, wasn't it? When I first used it to turn back ti, these small watches weren't here."
"Wow, you actually rember that? I thought you didn't know anything."
Kkokko chattered on. Cha Eui-jae sighed and ran a hand over his face. Then, he called out,
"Hey."
His voice, now low and ominous, reached Kkokko. The light in the thatched house flickered nacingly before going out completely. The table humd. When he lifted his head, blue lights flickered in the darkness. An icy, sharp energy that seed to freeze everything from within engulfed the house.
From a face so shadowed that it was barely visible, a calm voice erged.
"You must've thought I was okay if you can joke around and beat around the bush like this."
"..."
"But I'm not. I'm really freaking anxious right now."
The heavy atmosphere began to twist. Crack, the cup fractured. A suffocating pressure filled the space, as if it would choke anyone at any mont. Yet the voice remained gentle.
"I didn't co here to joke with you."
"..."
"I ca to find out why this happened and how to solve it. I don't have ti to waste."
"..."
"So just get to the point. You said this was our last chance. We need to cooperate."
At that mont, he sensed movent from the inner room. He quickly turned his head. Beyond the half-open door, Lee Sa-young, covered by a blanket, was tossing and turning.
Cha Eui-jae exhaled a short breath and covered his face. Blink. The flickering light regained its brightness. The oppressive pressure that had weighed down on them vanished without a trace. The look of terror on Hong Ye-seong, who had been huddled on the bare floor, also returned to normal.
Cha Eui-jae sighed.
"Sorry."
Kkokko flapped its wings and shook its head.
"No, your point is valid. But to talk about that, we need to move to a different place. There are things I can't say here... Is that okay?"
"It's fine."
"Then look into my eyes."
Cha Eui-jae lifted his head. The Eyes of Appraisal in front of him began to spin rapidly. He felt his consciousness being pulled into sowhere distant, and he let himself fall into the flow, closing his eyes.
When he opened them a mont later, he found himself standing in the middle of Hong Ye-seong's workshop, the one he had seen at the end of the morial Dungeon. The monochromatic space, existing only in black and white like a photograph shot on black-and-white film, had a peculiar, tiless atmosphere. It felt as though he was peeking into soone's old photo album.
He could even sll the scent of dust from sowhere.
Cha Eui-jae looked around. In a backless chair in the workshop sat a man dressed in training clothes. He wore a confident smile and held up a peace sign. It was Hong Ye-seong, his hair tied back in a short ponytail.
A voice erged from his unmoving lips.
—I won't keep you long.
Like the rest of the photo, he was entirely in black and white. Only the golden patterns floating above his eyes had color, and they were the only part of the photograph that moved. The Hong Ye-seong before him had a different aura than the one Cha Eui-jae knew.
'He looks much more experienced and relaxed.'
He was soone who could be described as a veteran.
Hong Ye-seong's voice echoed through the workshop.
—I hadn't planned to explain things in such detail or even get involved... but I didn't anticipate Lee Sa-young ending up like that. So I've decided it's better if you know everything. You're the only one who can quickly respond to these variables, my friend.
"..."
—All I was allowed to do was observe, but this is an ergency, so... I'll explain everything from the very beginning.
The Eyes of Appraisal, which had been spinning rapidly, began to slow down.
—Let's start with the watch. It's used to turn back ti, but more accurately, it erases the previous world and starts anew in a new one.
"Yeah."
—That ans the watch was originally a one-ti-use item. The idea of using sothing that erases the previous world and resets it in a new one multiple tis is absurd.
"..."
—It was ant to be used only once. Once used, it was supposed to disappear completely. That's why, when we first turned back ti, we didn't plan for another chance. We said the next ti would be the last.
Cha Eui-jae touched his wrist. The cool tal surface soothed his overheated fingers.
"But the watch is still here, on my wrist."
—That's the problem. From what I've seen, the issue began with the first use.
The Eyes of Appraisal began to weave a complicated pattern.
—Your power, which was the initial anchor, was so overwhelming that it left a lingering trace on the watch. Instead of disappearing, it remained, along with the power to turn back ti, but in a half-baked, incomplete form.
"..."
—It was so incomplete that, while it can still turn back ti, there's no telling what side effects might occur. It's beco a gamble, a risky item. You still had it in the second world, but after you died, it fell into Lee Sa-young's hands.
"..."
—I modified the watch to reduce the side effects, and Lee Sa-young used it. But even though he bore the burden with his entire being, he couldn't completely avoid the side effects.
Side effects. Cha Eui-jae thought of Lee Sa-young, who must have wandered endlessly through the ruined world. The mont they t, with eyes like mirrors reflecting Cha Eui-jae entirely, silently shedding tears. He had beco sothing other than human, sothing drained of all emotions.
"...I thought it was all aningless."
"Everything I did..."
Could that also be part of the side effects? Becoming the warden of a ruined world, endlessly wandering, waiting for an end that might never co, not knowing if he had failed or succeeded.
That was just too...
Cha Eui-jae stared at Hong Ye-seong, speechless. Countless thoughts rose and fell, but he couldn't find any words that felt adequate enough to express them. Afraid that any incomplete words might spill out, Cha Eui-jae covered his mouth.
Hong Ye-seong murmured. His voice sounded sowhat defeated.
—You experienced one of those side effects yourself.
"...I did? What?"
—The West Sea Rift.
It felt like he'd been struck in the head with a hamr. Cha Eui-jae's mouth fell slightly open. Hong Ye-seong, still trapped within the black-and-white photo, stared at him with a confident expression, his face devoid of emotion.
—I told you, right? The watch erases the previous world and creates a new one. But because the watch is incomplete, this ti, the previous world wasn't completely erased. That's why the ruined world continues to affect the present one.
"So... the West Sea rift too?"
Cha Eui-jae's voice trembled slightly. His stomach churned, and his vision blurred as if he might pass out. Hong Ye-seong's voice carried a tone of pity.
—Didn't you ever find it strange? The West Sea rift kept growing, swallowing up hunters, until you entered it. Have any other hunters gone in since you? Probably not. You were the last.
Just as he said. After the hunters who had entered before him, as well as those who went in with him, had all perished, after he had killed the monsters roaming inside and stabbed the Basilisk in the head, no additional personnel were sent in.
"..."
Because the rift had closed.
It was as if... Cha Eui-jae had been the target all along.
A heavy voice drove the point ho.
—The ruined world found you, the original anchor. The current anchor's sacrifice wasn't enough, so it sought out the person to pay the rest of the price.
Hong Ye-seong paused briefly, letting out a short sigh. The Eyes of Appraisal, which had been spinning non-stop, grew faint.
—Listen, my friend, we made a promise.
"..."
—You don't rember it, but...
There was a hint of sadness in his voice.
—You were supposed to turn back ti and prevent the apocalypse...
"..."
—And I was supposed to observe.
"Why did you make such a promise?"
—...
Hong Ye-seong spoke heavily.
—To save the world, of course.
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