Chapter 78

They traded quiet chuckles in the suspended silence until the timer pulsed amber, heralding its expiration.

Focusing his mind, Eui-rim extended 〈Rewinding Hand〉. Like passing a baton in a relay race, he grafted the temporal flow onto the existing suspension, renewing the freeze without a hitch.

Sensing the subtle temporal shift, Hae-gun murmured in a low whisper, “Did you recast it?” Spoken so close, his warm breath brushed the shell of Eui-rim’s ear, making him flinch involuntarily.

Nodding lightly, Eui-rim gently took hold of Hae-gun’s wrist. “The bleeding has stopped. I need to stand up.”

“Shouldn’t you rest until it clots completely?”

“No. Stalling here helps no one. It has subsided, so I’ll handle the rest.”

When Eui-rim firmly pushed his hand away, Hae-gun didn’t stubbornly contest it.

Watching Hae-gun step back, Eui-rim stuffed the crimson gauze into his pocket.

Good grief. Ever since reawakening as a hunter, it feels like I’ve bled enough to fill a reservoir.

Readjusting his grip on the hunting knife, Eui-rim approached the occult drawing as Hae-gun readied his axes. Stepping into the center of the mural, Eui-rim plunged his blade straight into the dark red iris.

Krr-kkk-kkk-kkk!

The moment tempered steel pierced the occult eye, an ear-splitting shriek tore through the air. As Eui-rim leaped back from the erupting crimson fluid, the floor sigil began to warp and writhe like living flesh.

[IdidntwantthisIdidntwantthisIdidntwantthisIdidntwantthisIdidntwantthis]

In a heartbeat, the blood pooled across the stones surged upward, coalescing into a colossal, weeping eye suspended in midair. It stared down at them, weeping copious tears of dark crimson, its screech vibrating directly against their skulls.

[IdidnotwantthisbrotherIdidnotwantanendlikethisthatwewouldpursuesuchathing]

Brother.

The word crashed like a lead weight into Eui-rim’s chest. Realizing the apparition’s weeping gaze was locked squarely onto Seo Hae-gun, Eui-rim stepped in front of him on instinct. Even knowing how fragile his physical body was, the primal urge to shield Hae-gun from the Fragment’s recognition superseded all logic.

Yet contrary to his dread, the Fragment made no hostile move. It simply shed ceaseless tears of blood as its form collapsed inward, displaying zero intent to strike or consume.

Drip. Drip. Drip

The falling drops dissolved into black ash before touching the stones. Staring blankly at Hae-gun, the entity murmured in a tiny, fading voice:

[Brothersurvivetotheveryendandfleeforever]

[Withoutbeingcaughtbytheotherbrothersforever…]

Flee?

His shock at receiving advice from a monster lasted only a heartbeat. Above the crumbling mound of gray ash, a golden notification illuminated the space.

Turning his head, Eui-rim caught Hae-gun’s gaze. Rather than suspicion or shock, Hae-gun looked strangely detached, a subtle flicker of irritation darkening his brow.

Eui-rim canceled 〈Rewinding Hand〉 the instant Hae-gun gave a curt nod. In accordance with his pragmatic focus on clearing the mission first, Eui-rim released the temporal lock, and the chamber shuddered violently.

The battle against the horde of magic-immune undead resumed in an instant.

With Yoo Tae-geun contributing his full A-rank strength, the skirmish concluded with clinical precision. Having developed muscle memory from their first encounter, the strike team dismantled the undead wave in mere minutes.

Yet despite the swift victory, Eui-rim’s mind was in turmoil. The Fragment’s agonized weeping—its desperate cry that it had never desired this apocalypse, its plea for Hae-gun to flee—refused to leave his ears.

He had assumed every Fragment obsessively desired the restoration of the primordial Origin. Realizing that some were unwilling prisoners of their cosmic destiny stirred an agonizing tempest in his chest.

The entity that had just dissolved into ash likely had no wish to become a cosmic parasite, just like the Seo Hae-gun of his previous life.

And should they fail to avert the cataclysm in this timeline, Hae-gun would inevitably be reduced to that very same wretched fate.

…Damn it. This is truly fucked up.

Even now, closing his eyes dredged up the resigned words spoken by the previous timeline’s Seo Hae-gun. That terrible ultimatum—either be devoured by his cosmic brethren to reconstitute the Origin, or be hunted for eternity—ground his heart to dust.

Why did it have to be Seo Hae-gun? If this fate was engraved upon his soul at birth, it is sickeningly cruel. If it was thrust upon him without warning, it is an atrocity. A destiny forced upon a man without his consent.

What could be more wretched than this?

Forcing himself out of the dark spiral, Eui-rim approached the comrades sheathing their weapons. “We should move immediately.” Yoo Tae-geun cast another inquisitive glance his way, clearly baffled as to why a D-rank healer with no offensive capabilities was serving as their tactical navigator.

Feigning ignorance, Eui-rim looked toward the golden beacon waiting at the doorway. “We will confirm upon arrival, but judging by the spatial current, this passage loops back toward the three-way junction.”

“Agreed. There are no other branching corridors on the sector map,” Moonhyuk said, nodding as he summoned a fresh Divine Steed. He lifted the amputated hunter onto the saddle, securing the limp torso firmly with mountaineering straps.

Leaving the chamber, the group formed a single-file march. Eui-rim navigated at the front alongside Hae-gun, while Chaeyoon and Yoo Tae-geun flanked the two steeds behind them. Moonhyuk held the rear to secure the formation against ambushes.

Halfway down the passage, Eui-rim turned to Hae-gun. “Are you all right?” When Hae-gun merely arched an eyebrow without replying, Eui-rim added softly, “You’ve been unusually silent since we destroyed the sigil.”

From the moment the second anchor dissolved, Hae-gun had withdrawn into absolute silence. Just as Eui-rim had wrestled with the Fragment’s parting words, Hae-gun appeared lost in contemplation.

“I was merely turning over a few thoughts,” Hae-gun said.

“What kind of thoughts?” Eui-rim asked reflexively.

Hae-gun’s eyes widened slightly. Staring intently at Eui-rim for a beat, he caught him by the elbow to steer him clear of a pool of muck. “Why? Curious? You show an extraordinary amount of interest in me.”

The touch releasing his arm was gentle, echoing the tenderness with which Hae-gun had stroked his nape earlier. Rubbing his elbow, Eui-rim replied, “Because of what happened back there.”

“What happened?”

“The sigil uttered strange words.”

“The sigil?”

Is he truly unbothered by what it said?

Seeing Eui-rim’s bewildered expression, Hae-gun offered a nonchalant shrug. “I pay no heed to the ramblings of monsters. Most of it is gibberish.”

…An unexpected reaction. If not that, what caused his mood to darken?

“My irritation simply hasn’t dissipated,” Hae-gun muttered. “Because of that déjà vu I mentioned earlier.”

Ah. He mentioned feeling something similar when we cleansed the first mural.

Beyond perceiving the Fragment’s domain, Hae-gun had complained of an unsettling, visceral déjà vu.

“Strangely, whenever I lay eyes on those cyclopean marks, that sensation becomes unbearable.”

“…I see.”

There had to be a reason his soul instinctively resonated with déjà vu. His effortless acclimation to the Fragment’s aura pointed toward a chilling reality.

Could it be a sign that his status abnormality—the cosmic seal locking away his memories and origin traits—is beginning to unravel?

“By the way, were you particularly close with Hunter Yoo Tae-geun?” Hae-gun asked out of nowhere.

“Hunter Yoo?” Startled by the sudden topic change, Eui-rim blinked. Hae-gun tilted his head slightly, his tone laced with subtle scrutiny. “Yes. Looking at you two earlier, you seemed to share a deep rapport. Even now, he is burning a hole into your back with his gaze.”

At Hae-gun’s warning, Eui-rim glanced over his shoulder. Yoo Tae-geun, who had moved up alongside Son Chaeyoon, was indeed staring intently in their direction.

His gaze is undeniably intense. It was a look laden with questions, suspicion, and suppressed urgency.

“He is simply someone I treated frequently at the public health center. I was not his personal physician, but I oversaw his recovery whenever he was assigned to our ward.”

“Why?” Hae-gun asked.

“Pardon?” Eui-rim blinked, startled.

“Why did Eui-rim-ssi specifically end up being the main one in charge of Hunter Yoo Tae-geun?” Hae-gun pressed.

What’s with that weirdly interrogative tone? Don’t tell me he dislikes that I’m friendly with an Association employee?

“Since it’s a public health center, you could just take turns treating patients,” Hae-gun continued, turning toward Yoo Tae-geun. “And wasn’t the clinic Association employees frequent located north of the river? What reason did you have to travel all the way to the health center in Seon-i-dong?”

Seo Hae-gun had simply shifted the target of his inquiry, yet the air between them noticeably froze. Flashing a bright, breezy smile at the stiffened Yoo Tae-geun, Hae-gun tacked on another question: “Was Eui-rim-ssi’s skill really that exceptional?”

Yoo Tae-geun answered after a pause. “…Regardless of rank, he was an exceptionally skilled healer. To the point where it felt like a waste when he transitioned to being a hunter.”

Being praised out of nowhere left Eui-rim feeling awkward. To think he thought that highly of me—I’m grateful. In truth, being a healer had suited his temperament much better than being an active hunter. It was far easier on the body, too. Above all, when he had been a civil-servant healer, no one faulted him for having below-average stamina and strength.

“I was worried when you suddenly went out of contact… but I never imagined you had joined Cheongho,” Yoo Tae-geun added quietly.

Yoo Tae-geun is unusually talkative today. Was he trying to keep the conversation going now that the floodgates had opened?

Then again, Tae-geun had plenty to be curious about—it was only natural.

“Indeed,” Eui-rim answered apologetically. “Things were so chaotic that I couldn’t reach out to inform you in time.”

Since their eyes had met dead-on, pretending not to hear had been impossible. But the moment Eui-rim answered, he felt Seo Hae-gun’s heavy gaze shift onto him.

Ridiculous. Hae-gun was the one who instigated this topic, so why is he wearing such a petulant expression? If he hadn’t picked a fight with Yoo Tae-geun with that question, the conversation wouldn’t have gone this way in the first place.

At any rate, having to cooperate with an Association employee was clearly uncomfortable for him. Seeing how the other guild members also found Yoo Tae-geun difficult to deal with, the rift between the two organizations ran deeper than anticipated.