"Master?"
Uijae looked around, confused, and realized to whom he had handed the Basilisk’s Fang. It was Lee Sayoung, standing lazily with his usual indifferent posture, still wearing the sa clothes from the morial Dungeon.
‘No way…’
The sword in his hand wriggled like a fish out of water, seemingly confirming Uijae’s suspicion.
---
**[Fang’s thoughts: Finally, I’ve found you, master!]**
**[Fang’s thoughts: This one who held is boring and neglectful! I’m going back!]**
---
But Sayoung, supposedly the sword’s true master, only gave a slight nod, unimpressed.
“What are you doing, hyung? You pulled it out, now drive it into that skull.”
“I, uh…”
“…Huh?”
---
**[Fang’s thoughts: …Master?]**
**[The Basilisk’s Fang looks shocked.]**
---
Uijae didn’t need to hear the sword’s thoughts to understand. The sword, which had been so lively in his hand, suddenly went still as if the weight of the betrayal hit it. Its supposed master, the one it longed to reunite with, wasn’t welcoming it with open arms. Instead, he was ordering Uijae to use it to crush the skull of a fellow creature. Even though Uijae didn’t particularly like the sword, having shared dangerous monts together in the rift, he couldn’t help but glance at it sympathetically. The once chatty blade was now eerily silent.
“…You okay?” Uijae asked, his concern misdirected.
“I think you should be asking that to yourself,” Sayoung retorted.
“No, I an… the sword.” Uijae clarified. The Fang remained mute.
Despite the awkwardness, Sayoung was right—escaping from this place took priority. Uijae gripped the Fang tighter, feeling a sense of déjà vu, but his determination didn’t waver. This ti, he had people to protect.
Yun Gaeul didn’t have much ti left. They needed to leave. Uijae glanced down at the bones beneath his feet, recognizing that they could be mixed with his fallen comrades. But…
“….”
Would he ever be able to return here?
Could he be abandoning them again, just like before?
This might be the last chance.
“You’ll co back, J.”
The confident voice ca from Yun Gaeul. Uijae looked up to see her golden eyes glowing as she spoke.
“Our souls will rember the way back. Maybe not many tis, but we can co back, just like I was able to find my way to you.”
“….”
“But I know… you want to find them now.”
Gaeul’s head lowered as she fidgeted with her hands.
“I’m sorry we can’t stay longer to help you search… I wish we had more ti.”
Even though she assured him they could return, a small part of Uijae remained uneasy. The guilt of not being able to save his comrades would always haunt him. However…
“…No, thanks to you, I know that my comrades are here.”
“….”
“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve kept wandering around the West Sea Rift, doing nothing.”
Uijae caught Sayoung’s gaze, and with a slight grin, he nodded toward Gaeul.
“Thank you.”
Gaeul nodded back, her lips pressed tightly together. She wiped her eyes roughly with her sleeve. Uijae took a deep breath, then leaped into the air.
With a *whoosh*, he landed lightly on the massive pile of bones. The giant snake’s skull ca into view, its open jaw filled with white ash. He saw the black mark in the center of the skull where he had once driven the Basilisk’s Fang through it.
‘It really is the sa place…’
His heart raced. The mories of that battle, the quiet desolation afterward—it all threatened to overwhelm him again. But there was no ti to dwell. He had people to save.
Uijae gripped the Fang with both hands. He raised the sword high, then drove it deep into the blackened scar.
*Thunk*.
“….”
The air shifted. A quiet hum vibrated around them as the once-still atmosphere began to stir. Behind the Basilisk’s Fang, a white vortex appeared, swirling steadily.
“Ah… it worked.”
A sigh of relief escaped Uijae’s lips. He held onto the sword, exhaling deeply just as a sharp cry followed by a light thud rang out. Sayoung landed nearby, holding Gaeul under his arm, bundled in his coat. She covered her mouth with one hand, looking pale as she mumbled.
“Y-you’re not supposed to touch the poison…”
“Stand on your own now.”
“Y-yes….”
Gaeul shakily stood on her own feet. The three of them stood silently before the swirling vortex. But they couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer. Uijae gestured for them to move, pulling the Fang free and stepping into the vortex first.
---
…Cha Uijae opened his eyes.
A dark ceiling greeted him. He shot up in bed, blinking rapidly as his vision struggled to adjust to the dim room. Slowly, the shapes around him beca clearer—he was lying in a bed, in a dark room, with the lights off. A sharp pain pulsed in the back of his hand.
“What the…?”
He glanced down to see an IV drip attached to his hand. Minggijeok must have patched him up. Gently, Uijae removed the IV and looked around. Beside him was another bed, obscured by a curtain. He pushed it aside and found Sayoung lying in it, an IV also in his hand.
“…Sayoung.”
At the sound of his na, Sayoung’s delicate brow furrowed slightly. A small groan escaped him before he slowly blinked his eyes open.
“…Where are we?”
“I don’t know. It looks like so kind of hospital room?”
“…Ugh.”
Sayoung winced, clutching his head.
“Wait, is your head hurting? Let get soone.”
Uijae rushed to open the door. The room beyond was oddly familiar. The space was barren, as though no one lived here. He saw a familiar couch in the living room. This was Sayoung’s house.
And then…
Uijae’s gaze drifted to the large window, and what he saw left him speechless.
White ash was falling from the sky.
“…Why?”
At that mont, a sharp *beep* sounded, breaking the silence. The source was a comm device in the living room.
---
**―Guildmaster, this is Seo Min-gi. I’m leaving this ssage because it’s not sothing I can report to you directly. The situation outside isn’t good. The black hole has turned white, and debris is falling from it continuously. On top of that, countless infected are roaming the streets, attacking both Awakeners and civilians indiscriminately. It’s like they were waiting for this mont.**
---
Why?
---
**―The Wave Guild has initiated ergency protocols, and Deputy Guildmaster Bae Won-woo is overseeing the evacuation of civilians and containnt of the infected. This concludes my report.**
**―……**
---
After a long silence, a single sentence followed.
---
**―Please return quickly, J… and Guildmaster.**
---
The device went silent. Uijae stood there, pressing his hand against the cold window, staring at the scene outside. This… this was the ruined world. This wasn’t supposed to happen here. Sothing had gone terribly wrong. There had to be a trigger.
Suddenly, he felt a tremor in the air, as if sothing was stirring. Instinctively, Uijae reached into his inventory. The Basilisk’s Fang was vibrating.
He pulled it out, and imdiately, the sword’s thoughts flooded his mind.
---
**[Fang’s thoughts: This is happening because the master is gone.]**
“What? What are you talking about?”
---
**[Fang’s thoughts: …Don’t you know? You’re such an idiot.]**
**[Fang’s thoughts: The master was holding back the collapse of the ruined world, preventing it from rging with yours.]**
---
Master.
If Uijae thought back to the fragnts and the behavior of the sword, its original master had likely been none other than Lee Sayoung—the one who wandered the ruined world alone.
---
**[Fang’s thoughts: The master was both the warden and the chain holding it together.]**
---
Holding it together. A chain. White ash continued to fall from the White Hole, along with remnants of the ruined world. The West Sea Rift, which had been connected to the ruined world, and the rapid increase in dungeon erosion—it all made sense if the dungeons had been consud by the ruined world.
The Fang’s thoughts continued.
---
**[Fang’s thoughts: But now that the master is gone…]**
---
The White Hole began to glow brightly. And then, slowly, sothing massive began to erge from it.
---
**[Fang’s thoughts: The ruined world is coming.]**
---
A colossal whale, like the one they had seen in the ruined world, was breaking through the White Hole.
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