TTOA Chapter 92

#92

Dawn. I had a brief, fantastical dream. It was a cosmic dream where Saturn and its moons appeared in a row. Titan, Enceladus, Mimas, Dione, Iapetus, Tethys, Hyperion, Epimetheus… Kwon Jae-jin swept his gaze over the 82 moons, which reappeared after a long time, with an awkward look.

‘Why am I having this dream again…’

A vast and magnificent upper world. A world without Espers or Guides. A world unrelated to the Gate Impact, creatures, or humanity’s wars. A space solely for escaping reality, away from all of Kwon Jae-jin’s worries and concerns. That was what this vast universe was.

Kwon Jae-jin had always dreamt this dream only when he felt the urge to escape from reality.

But why now…?

Why…?

I don’t know the reason.

‘I was just starting to enjoy life for once.’

I have no intention of escaping. Kwon Jae-jin will live in reality with Seo Eui-woo. I want to. I’m picturing that future.

At that moment, a flickering shape in front of my eyes solidified. Light gathered to form the figure of a person. It was Seo Eui-woo, whom Kwon Jae-jin knew well, but the 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo. A Seo Eui-woo who was a little taller and more mature than the 20-year-old now…

That Seo Eui-woo looked at Kwon Jae-jin and smiled quietly.

He didn’t do anything in particular, just stood there and smiled at Jae-jin.

Kwon Jae-jin gradually felt calmer. Like the bursting of a swollen bubble, Jae-jin’s heart quietly sank.

‘…Why. What.’

‘…’

‘What do you want me to do? Why now?’

Kwon Jae-jin died and regressed, and parted ways with the 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo he knew before.

That Seo Eui-woo can never be met again. It’s an unavoidable situation. That’s why Kwon Jae-jin accepted the heartbreak and separation, and took the hand of the 20-year-old Seo Eui-woo. He had no choice. He didn’t want to regret it again. No one could blame Jae-jin for his choice.

‘Am I supposed to miss you…? You, you erased all my memories.’

Self-deprecating thoughts followed one after another. Bitter resentment also followed.

‘And you even hid that fact until now…’

It’s not that I don’t understand the situation of the 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo.

I know in my head that it was inevitable at that time.

The previous Kwon Jae-jin resisted Seo Eui-woo with a desperate resolve, fought like a war, and was in a relationship where they couldn’t be lenient with each other even if they wanted to.

I also know that it’s thanks to spending those turbulent 4 years with this 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo that I can picture a bright future with the current 20-year-old Seo Eui-woo. The time, experiences, and emotions I shared with him became the foundation, allowing me to move in an unexpected direction and sprout new seeds.

Now, I’m confident that I can build a healthy and complete relationship with the 20-year-old Seo Eui-woo, without any distortions.

So, it’s not that I’m not grateful. It’s not that I don’t feel sorry.

But, no matter what… I can’t be swayed by the 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo now.

He was Kwon Jae-jin’s past. He couldn’t be the present or the future.

‘No.’

Seo Eui-woo, who had been smiling quietly, shook his head. As if that wasn’t it. As if what Kwon Jae-jin should be seeing now wasn’t him.

The 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo slowly raised one arm. He extended his index finger and folded the other fingers, pointing to the opposite side.

‘Look, Jae-jin ssi. It’s over there.’

‘…Over there?’

‘Yes, over there.’

Like a signpost at a fork in the road, the 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo pointed to a distant place. Jae-jin slowly turned around, following the tip of his finger. The edge of the dark universe. In a space filled only with darkness, something ominous and unidentifiable was wriggling little by little.

Kwon Jae-jin, holding his breath, narrowed his eyes. He strained his eyes to see clearly into the distance. He furrowed his brow and stared for a long time, and was able to recognize the darkly stained shape.

It was a horde of creatures swarming together.

Millions of creatures teeming together.

Even at the edge of the invisible universe, Gates were opening and creatures were pouring out.

They approached, exuding a terrible stench. Threatening the peaceful humanity, devastating the land, and horribly as if they would devour everything on the surface.

‘Do you understand now…’

A frightening whisper came from behind. The familiar low and affectionate voice scratched at the nape of his neck, delivering a great shock as it murmured.

‘You can’t escape. Jae-jin ssi.’

‘…Seo Eui-woo.’

‘You mustn’t escape.’

Kwon Jae-jin quickly turned around.

The 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo, who had met his eyes, slowly disappeared. His entire body gradually became translucent, then turned into a faint light and vanished without a trace. Jae-jin took a rough, empty breath. Cold sweat ran down his spine.

Kwon Jae-jin, his face contorted, clenched his fists tightly. He stood upright, his feet planted firmly on the ground, and looked around the universe that had been created as his illusion.

When he finally came to his senses, there was nothing there.

Just as the 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo had suddenly disappeared, the universe, Saturn, the moons, and the swarming creatures had all been erased.

As if it had been empty from the beginning.

A nightmare… no, an ominous dream.

*

“You’ve come all the way to a site like this, Lieutenant Colonel Jang.”

“Yes, Major Ma Tae-o. What is the search situation?”

Two sturdy men exchanged brief words through the biting cold wind. A pile of dirt was piled high beneath the crushed rocks. Search unit members, who had reached the terrain collapsed by the landslide, were using tracking abilities in teams of three.

“There are no particular special circumstances. Since the remaining creatures were eliminated after joining the 1st Special Task Force, I think it’s just beginning now.”

“I see. Even so, it doesn’t seem like a very hopeful situation.”

“Yes. We will re-search the area, and if no traces are found even after that, we plan to expand the search area and re-search. If nothing is found even after that… we will have to search the entire Special Residential District.”

“Hmm… is that so. You’re thinking of finding him to the end.”

“Yes. If he didn’t fall from the sky, there must be traces somewhere.”

“Are you that desperate?”

“Excuse me?”

“Guiding.”

Major Ma Tae-o pulled back his chin. Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san’s gaze felt heavy for a moment. It felt as if it was penetrating his face and seeing through his inner thoughts.

“…I didn’t hear you correctly, Lieutenant Colonel.”

“That look. Be more careful. That’s not the look of following a superior’s orders.”

“……”

“No matter how well you hide your claws, the eyes that defy you will eventually be revealed. Major Ma, are you not devoting yourself to the search in order to satisfy your personal desires?”

The experienced Lieutenant Colonel Jang read Major Ma’s stiffened expression. Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san was a man with an extraordinarily keen intuition. He could easily see through the inner thoughts of Major Ma Tae-o, a military dog who had never disobeyed an order in his life. Major Ma had never lied during a mission, nor would he ever think of doing so.

“I will not wait for an answer. So, an S-rank Guide is that amazing.”

A person who has grown up upright will become all the more prominent when they bend once.

It wasn’t someone like Major Ma Tae-o who was difficult to notice.

It was someone like Captain Seo.

Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san recalled Captain Seo Eui-woo, who had disobeyed orders and left on a long vacation. He had given the order to kill the S-rank late-blooming Guide, Kwon Jae-jin, first and bring back the body, but he had submitted a request for a long vacation and disappeared as if to show off.

The premonition is not good at all.

A lingering, unpleasant taste always remained on the tip of his tongue. He could only hope that his worries would end up being unfounded.

“…Lieutenant Colonel Jang. Is this a good time?”

“Hmm?”

Major Ma Tae-o, who had lowered his eyes and was deep in thought, lowered his voice and began to speak.

“I haven’t reported to Brigadier General Oh yet…”

At that moment, one of the search team members who was digging through the dirt below the landslide shouted loudly.

“I found it! It’s here! I found it!”

The search team members waved their arms and sent signals. The area was buried under rocks and dirt, and no traces were visible. It was a place that had been passed over without any results in the first search, but after even re-searching, one of the A-rank Tracking Type ability users barely managed to catch a faint wave, seemingly about to disappear, from deep underground.

“Here, underneath, something is buried.”

Is the body of the late-blooming Esper buried there?

If not…

Two pairs of eyes, Major Ma Tae-o’s and Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san’s, met at the same time.