"Yes, let's go together."
"I'm sure I'll have nightmares."
"I'll lie down next to you."
"Mom, will you sing me a lullaby?"
"Of course."
"Alright, let's go upstairs."
Grace glanced at Yoon Seo. As he nodded with shaky eyes, she wheeled La Bijina towards the elevator. It seemed the bedroom was on the second floor.
Riceball, reluctant to part with La Bijina after meeting her again after so long, followed her but turned back at the elevator.
Though Yoon Seo had known she wasn't mentally sound, witnessing it firsthand left him deeply shaken.
La Bijina, along with Lee Kangjin, had once been someone the Revengers relied on heavily. She had always spoken strange things with a calm expression. Despite her emotional stability, her strength and mental resilience made many depend on her.
Perhaps she had grown tired of being relied upon. Now, it seemed she wanted to rely on someone herself, creating the concept of a mother figure. Maybe she had spent so much time abroad that she had forgotten her native language.
"Hyung."
Kwon Jihan approached Yoon Seo, who was lost in his sad thoughts. With Riceball perched on his head, Kwon Jihan knelt in front of Yoon Seo, just as Grace had done with La Bijina, and inspected his face with a worried expression.
"When did you last take your medicine?"
"Half a day ago. I don't really need any medicine right now."
"Really? Your head doesn't hurt?"
"No."
Kwon Jihan studied Yoon Seo's expression with a serious look. Judging by the wrinkle on his forehead, it seemed like Kwon Jihan was the one in pain. Yoon Seo couldn't help but find it amusing.
"You must be mistaken. I'm not weak. You're looking at someone who could destroy the world at any moment, so don't give me that face."
"What face am I making?"
"You look like someone staring at the last leaf about to fall."
Surprised, Kwon Jihan ran a hand over his face as if he hadn't realized that was the expression he had been wearing.
Kwon Jihan pressed his forehead with a peculiar look in his eyes, then quickly changed his expression. Returning to his usual cynical demeanor, he pulled a chair and sat next to Yoon Seo.
"Hyung, it seems like you're taking your medicine less often. That's a good sign, right?"
"It's not a bad sign, I suppose. But what do you think?"
"Huh…? Um… I think it's really sad."
"Pardon?"
"I mean, for Hunter La Bijina to struggle that much in that place… it's sad. And since I've known you, I've realized a lot. I used to be arrogant… The Revengers, I mean the old Revengers, they were truly amazing heroes."
Kwon Jihan started rambling.
Yoon Seo stared at him for a moment and then said.
"That's not what I was asking."
"It's not?"
"Do you think what Hunter Lee Kangjin mentioned—the task he has to do—is related to the black portal?"
"Oh."
Kwon Jihan blinked.
For some reason, Yoon Seo felt the sadness that had been building up in his chest begin to dissipate at that sight. He couldn't help but wonder why the phrase "cuteness will save the world" popped into his head right then.
Kwon Jihan stroked his chin with a serious expression.
"Well… it's hard to imagine a single person doing anything about a portal that's already disappeared."
"Then what could the task be?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll have to ask during today's revelation."
Checking the time until the revelation, they saw there were still about three hours left.
Do Deungsoo would arrive at the lakeside via teleportation once the time came.
"Does the revelation even provide information on past events like that…?"
"It's worth asking. Wasn't this your first time seeing a revelation?"
"Yes. Have you seen one before, Hunter Kwon Jihan?"
"I've seen an A-rank prophet receive revelations twice before I received Gaia's blessing, but since becoming one of the 'Chosen One,' I haven't had the chance to witness one. This will be the first time in Gaia System history that two 'Chosen One' witness an S-rank prophet's revelation, so it's bound to be something special."
As everyone kept talking, even Yoon Seo began to feel excited about the upcoming revelation. If nothing special happened, he would likely be greatly disappointed. More than anything, he wanted to know what task Lee Kangjin had been so adamant about completing.
The dungeon clear message had appeared, the black portal had disappeared, and an exit portal had opened. What else could there have been to do?
Apart from being related to the vanished black portal, no other reason came to mind.
***
When the time arrived, Grace, Kwon Jihan, and Yoon Seo headed toward the lakeside. Yoon Seo left Riceball to watch over the sleeping La Bijina at the villa.
When they arrived, the members of the Europae guild and Do Deungsoo were already there.
"Seo Chaeyoon, it's been a while. Did you meet with Hunter La Bijina?"
Do Deungsoo greeted him warmly, asking the question. The Europae guild members had also been informed of Seo Chaeyoon's visit in advance, so Yoon Seo was fully covered in a long robe with the hood pulled low to obscure his face.
"Yes, I've met with her…."
Oddly enough, Do Deungsoo's health looked far worse than La Bijina's. His face wasn't just pale—it was dark, making him appear even more seriously ill.
"Is Seokyoung busy these days?"
"That's an understatement…. Just now, we announced the 'Chosen One' and met with the Federation leader. We'll be even busier from now on with reviewing Gaia's skills and the 'Chosen' ones."
No one had yet emerged who possessed
Due to the Galaxaia incident, Seokyoung's schedule had been delayed. To avoid scrutiny over using interrogation skills for ideological screening, they decided to publicly announce the existence of the 'Chosen One' trait. While Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan had been quietly meeting La Bijina and discussing the revelation at the villa, the outside world had been abuzz with the announcement of these special traits.
"There's already a flood of people claiming to be 'Chosen One.' In our country alone, over a hundred have come forward. Some might be attention-seeking lunatics, and others, like the cultists from Galaxaia, will surely try to manipulate their system profiles to make it onto the list. We have to see through all of it, but with just our personnel, it's not easy. Hunter Kwon Jihan's
"Just let us know, and I'll come with Hunter Kwon Jihan. I've already spoken with Guildmaster Yoo Juncheol about it."
"Oh, I see. Thank you! As expected, there's no one like you, Seo Chaeyoon."
Moved by emotion, Do Deungsoo tried to grab Yoon Seo's hand, but Kwon Jihan swiftly intercepted with a knife-hand strike, knocking it away. Do Deungsoo winced, stepping back while clutching his reddened hand. It was truly unsettling…
In the meantime, it seemed preparations were complete, as one of the Europae guild members gestured for silence. Grace handed her robe to the vice guildmaster.
[The
Yoon Seo had never seen a prophecy being received before and, curious about the process, activated his
The S-rank prophet, with her long blonde hair cascading down her back, walked into the lake.
['Grace Elysia' has activated the
A soft silver aura flowed from Grace's body. The magic circled the blue lake, gradually intensifying in color. Though there was no wind, Grace's hair swayed as if caught in a breeze, and ripples began to form on the surface of the water.
Yoon Seo quietly marveled at the mysterious and beautiful scene. Just then, an unexpected message appeared.
[
[The Lake God has detected the Observer of the Universe.]
[Interaction with the undetectable universe is temporarily possible through
Receiving a message about a deity's blessing outside of a dungeon usually only happened when obtaining a skill or trait. This was the first time Yoon Seo had encountered such a message since his awakening.
The sudden appearance of the usually silent Observer, coupled with the strange phrase "undetectable universe," shocked him so much that he flinched each time a new log appeared.
"Hyung? What's going on? Something's wrong?"
Sensing something off, Kwon Jihan immediately asked. Yoon Seo, glancing around, quietly replied.
"My skill and the prophecy skill are interacting. I've never experienced this before, so I'm not sure what's happening."
"Is it dangerous?"
"It's a blessing from a deity, so I don't think it poses any danger to me."
"What kind of god?"
"The 'Observer,' but it seems to be prefixed with 'of the Universe.'"
"Whoa. The Observer of the Universe? That sounds like an incredibly special god just from the name. I figured something amazing was about to happen. Hyung, you're an extraordinary person, so of course, extraordinary things happen to you. But are you sure it's not dangerous?"
Yoon Seo was feeling tense without realizing it, but when Kwon Jihan asked the same question twice, the absurdity of it made him relax.
"By any chance, is this 'Observer' related to the observation in quantum mechanics?"
It seemed Do Deungsoo, who was nearby, had overheard their conversation and chimed in.
"What mechanics?"
"Quantum mechanics…"
How would I understand if you say it like that? Yoon Seo shot Do Deungsoo a glare.
"That could be it. In quantum mechanics, all matter exists only as a wave until observed, and only after observation does it truly exist as matter. The Observer in that sense could be even greater than Gaia."
"Hunter Kwon Jihan, do you know about things like that too? You really know everything."
"Yeah, since a lot of the Gaia system's skills relate to physics, I studied a bit."
"You're a well-prepared hero. That's the right attitude."
Yoon Seo looked at Kwon Jihan with a soft gaze.
Do Deungsoo, noticing the stark difference in Yoon Seo's response compared to when he had spoken, wore an awkward expression.
"Shh. Everyone, keep quiet."
One of the Europae guild members whispered, bringing a finger to their lips. Do Deungsoo bowed in apology, and the three men fell silent.
Grace's body slowly submerged beneath the lake.
When her long blonde hair was completely submerged, a message appeared before Yoon Seo.
[Gaia System Notification!
Skill
23% probability. Do you wish to continue?]
This was also a type of message Yoon Seo had never seen before. The fact that some of the characters were corrupted made it even more suspicious.
"What's happening now?"
Kwon Jihan and Do Deungsoo looked at Yoon Seo curiously. Although the Europae guild member gestured for silence, Yoon Seo couldn't just stay quiet this time.
Yoon Seo shared the message he saw with the two men. Do Deungsoo's eyes widened.
"Being ejected from the region? Could that mean leaving Earth? Why not try accepting it?"
"Are you crazy? You don't even know what it means, and you want to accept?"
"Well, I mean… it seems like a chance that won't come again…"
When Yoon Seo's expression turned serious, Do Deungsoo shrank back.
"It's crazy to accept something when you don't even know what it is. Just reject it, hyung."
Kwon Jihan said firmly.
Yoon Seo couldn't help but chuckle. Knowing Kwon Jihan's personality, there was no way he'd let a unique situation like this slip by. If it were his message, he'd probably press accept right away.
"Hyung, you heard me, right? Reject it. Quickly."
Kwon Jihan, sounding anxious, grabbed Yoon Seo's arm. Just as Yoon Seo was about to respond, a new message appeared.
[Time's up!
You should've clicked faster.]