The Fallen World (2)
Once Hans had pinpointed the location, moving to that place was not too difficult for him.
This held true even in this extreme environment that was worse than hell.
As he swiftly flew toward the area where a life signal was detected, he casually glanced down at the ground.
In an instant, the scenery that rushed by was all too similar.
Ruined buildings, collapsed ground, devastated nature…
‘This is truly a fallen world.’
The end of a dimension.
Even for someone like him, who had faced many crises in the past, it was his first time witnessing a world that had completely fallen apart.
The Ganghwan Realm, where the Dragon Heart was being ripped apart, had at least some minimal chance of revival, and even the recent Debore had some, if faint, hope.
‘If all the life forms of a dimension were wiped out at once… how many must have died?’
Even Hans, who prided himself as the ruler of death, could not easily fathom it.
If there were remnants like the souls of the victims or their last thoughts, or a lingering aura of death, it might have been understandable, but all of that was utterly desiccated.
He couldn’t find even a single corpse that was intact, as if they had melted away in the stomach.
‘But one thing is certain. At least hundreds of thousands must have lost their lives because of this.’
That was speaking only of humanity.
When considering all life forms, including plants and animals, within the dimension facing extinction…
‘What is the Buncheon Society aiming for? Why go to such lengths?’
The fallen world he saw now was not unique to Koshiyas.
Under the pretense of nurturing mysteries on Earth, there likely were many worlds that had vanished without anyone knowing.
What could possibly be the goal behind accumulating such immense evil?
[We have arrived.]
As those thoughts passed through his mind, he quickly reached his destination and slowly began to survey the surroundings.
He needed to focus even more on this search to uncover the truth.
This place was not much different from elsewhere he had seen.
Other than the remains of what seemed once to be a slum, gathering in one place, and shabby clothing suspected to have been worn by humans scattered everywhere.
‘Is this it?’
Hans landed on the ground and walked up to one of the wrecked huts.
With a light wave of his hand, he delicately released his magical power.
Kugugung—
At that moment, all the clutter in the air began to rise together.
As if in a state of zero gravity, the debris floating before him scattered, drawing something hidden inside closer to him.
[Found it.]
Hans quietly stared at what had approached him.
The very being that had drawn him here, emitting weak life signals even at this moment.
A translucent blue crystal encasing a teenage girl, crouched like a fetus, tightly gripping something in her hands…
*
She was dreaming.
A long dream with no knowledge of when it began or when it would end.
– “#%@—!!”
A voice seemed to call her, and she turned around, but there was no one there.
Only the pitch-black darkness that she was used to welcomed her back.
She resumed her position, burying her face in her knees.
There was no point in trying to think, as it only made her head hurt; she intended to spend her time aimlessly as she always did.
How time passed, who she was, and why she was in this situation were all forgotten.
– “#%@—!!”
But this time, something felt different.
The voice that had usually vanished if ignored resonated in her mind once more.
This time, it was louder than before.
Her hands grabbed her temples.
Hearing that voice made her mind tingle, as if something was trying to surface, but the immediate follow-up stabbing pain interrupted it repeatedly.
‘I don’t want this.’
She hated pain.
She merely wanted to forget everything and sleep.
Deeply submerged in a world without any pain or suffering.
Alone as always…
‘Alone?’
Her previously restless hands abruptly stilled.
Even as stronger pain tormented her, she bit her lip and endured, having already focused on one thought.
Even still, the voice continued to resonate, and her thoughts slowly began to awaken.
‘No. I don’t want to be alone. I… I am…!’
And in the next moment.
– “Ramu—!!”
With the familiar voice shaking her head.
“Brother!”
She blinked her eyes wide open and shot up.
“…Huh?”
In a clean room she had never seen before.
Wrapped in soft blankets she never imagined could exist.
As she blinked in confusion, she tilted her head.
“What… what is this… where am I…?”
Dazed by the sudden change in surroundings, she looked around with a perplexed expression.
A magnificent interior she dared not even dream of, having been born in a garbage dump and lived her whole life in ruins.
In a daze, her gaze suddenly fixed on a certain spot.
“Ah!”
Beyond a large window, a world laid out that she could only imagine after seeing it in a fairy tale.
“Could that be…”
Although it was her first time seeing it directly, she instinctively knew.
That clear and transparent thing she had been hearing about all this time…
Was truly the ‘blue sky.’
“Ah, you’ve woken up.”
As she mindlessly gazed out the window, a voice from behind her, near the door, broke her reverie.
“…Who are you?”
She turned back, full of suspicion, clutching the blanket tightly.
Though her head was still dizzy and her thoughts disorganized, she was certain that the situation was anything but normal.
Her question contained a mix of inquiries about the stranger’s identity, what they wanted, and why she was here.
“Well, it’s me, right?”
The man who entered the room carrying a tray filled with water and food placed it on the bedside table and scratched his chin.
Then, after a brief moment of contemplation, he let out a small laugh and shrugged.
“Well, let’s keep the details simple for now. For the time being, you can call me…”
With a sturdy build, clear skin, and clothes made of expensive fabric typically reserved for the elite, he was a type of man she had never seen in her short life, and he continued with a sincere smile.
“…‘Hoon.’”
This was her first time introducing herself since being born.
*
After closing the door to let the girl rest in peace, Hoon let out a short sigh.
“I never expected it to come to this.”
He then slowly began to walk around the room, meticulously checking where everything was, even though he was technically the homeowner.
Having visited this house for the first time, it was a necessary task.
“Still, I’m glad I prepared in advance… It’s always good to be ready, after all.”
This house was a secret safe haven he had prepared separately.
While it didn’t compare to the heavily fortified main base in the outskirts of Seoul, it was a well-equipped two-story house with a quaint little garden.
‘And from now on, this avatar, ‘Hoon,’ will also serve as a base.’
[Entity Information]
– Entity Name: Hoon
– Common Traits: “Mind Hub,” “Persona,” “Great Spirit,” “Super Recovery,” “Clear Mind,” “Great Strength,” “Hyperesthesia,” “Insight,” “Xenoglossy,” “Sturdiness,” “Water Breathing,” “Spatial Dimension Storage,” “Limit Break,” “Imitation”
– Entity Trait: “Mental Sympathy”
– Special Note: Seong-hyun Han’s thirteenth avatar. Can connect minds with others through “Mental Sympathy.”
After scratching the back of his head, he plopped down onto the living room sofa.
He then closed his eyes, reflecting on his plans and past events.
‘Ever since Hans discovered the crystal containing that girl…’
Hans had tried various things with the crystal he obtained.
After all, if they wanted to gather any information, they had to wake the person inside and have a conversation, right?
But that endeavor ran into complications from the very start.
‘If I carelessly tampered with it, the girl inside might be harmed.’
The crystal was a kind of life support system.
It had kept her alive through the harsh environment of this fallen world.
However, if they broke the crystal and forcibly pulled out the girl contained within, exposing her to a hostile environment…
‘There’s no way I could take that risk.’
Even Hans couldn’t be certain he could perfectly prevent that.
That horrific environment had arisen from twisted laws of the world itself.
As an awakened one and an undead, Hans was largely unaffected, but in order to safeguard the native beings bound by the world’s laws, they needed to be prepared to such a degree that it could counteract it.
As he explored various methods, he finally realized something.
For some reason, he could transport the crystal containing the girl to another dimension.
After that, everything fell into place.
If they were in a safe Earth, there was no need to be overly cautious.
Thus, after pulling the girl from the crystal, the next step was to use “Entity Projection” for the holy power treatment of Heinrich Saint Landgard.
The blue crystal might not have been perfect, as she was on the verge of death, severely weakened, so he intended to provide emergency help…
That’s when he found out.
The reason the girl had survived was not solely due to the crystal.
‘Her condition resembled that of the ‘Dragon Child’ from the Ganghwan Realm. There had been an intervention by an extraordinary being from the stage of her birth.’
Of course, it wasn’t entirely the same.
While the Dragon Child had an issue due to lacking immunity against holy power, it seemed the girl had become overwhelmed because her innate capacity was far too large.
Ultimately, this implied one thing.
‘She was meant to be. A countermeasure against the apocalypse arranged by the holy god of the Koshiyas dimension. Not merely in a passive way like the Dragon Child, but actively prepared as a dagger to strike down the enemy.’
The potential held by a holy god who had personally intervened would likely exceed imagination.
Unlike the many scattered Dragon Children, her strength would have been concentrated.
But that was where it ended.
The world could not withstand the child shedding her shell and growing, and ultimately, she was left alone, witnessing the complete fall.
A failed world.
Unrealized potential that withered without ever blooming.
Ultimately, it was a world abandoned even by the holy god, destined to perish in isolation.
And yet now…
‘It has come into my hands?’
The corners of Hoon’s mouth curled up in a smirk.
The very foundation of her existence was to be born as a rival against the Buncheon Society.
It was like winning the lottery with a predetermined outcome.
How could he leave such a thing lying on the ground?
“Hoo, I’ve suddenly become a caretaker. It’ll take some time for her to adapt to a completely different world.”
He considered handing her over to his blood alliance or other subordinates, but he couldn’t carelessly leave a gem like that in someone else’s hands.
More importantly, to truly nurture her, his care was urgently needed.
‘If the timing had allowed for a new avatar to be generated, I would have considered direct management by the main body…’
In that regard, the activation of “Unique Skill Enhancement” moving on to the next stage was nothing short of fate.
Regardless of how much the main body had become stronger, it was better to make choices with minimal risk.
What happens later could be considered at that time.
‘Moreover, given the major tasks unfolding on Earth, an avatar to manage them was also necessary. So I can think of it as a dual purpose; if needed, I can deploy her elsewhere anytime.’
Shrugging his shoulders, he rose from the sofa.
While he had given her time alone, considering the current state of confusion, he did not intend to leave her like that forever.
‘I have many questions to ask. If I want to utilize time as efficiently as possible, I should prepare in advance.’
To avenge the Buncheon Society.
For the sake of ‘our’ wish.
*
In a room filled with colorful smoke.
“… The distortion has intensified.”
The Oracle, holding a hookah, frowned as she gazed blankly into the air.
Based on her experience thus far, only one force could instigate such an event.
“Is it that Masquerade again…? What on earth have they done?”
Plans to shake up Korea, presumed to be their base, were steadily underway.
It was taking time due to the carefulness required to avoid significant impact on causality, but some operations had already entered the execution phase long ago.
Yet, at such a time, ripples began to spread as if a large rock had fallen into a lake…
“… This does not bode well. I hope there won’t be any major issues.”
Nervously chewing on her mouthpiece, she unintentionally revealed her true feelings, uncharacteristic for a prophet.
