EFME 59

Two days had already passed since Sunyul began his stay in the hospital room.

The outside of the hospital room was noisy. Everyone was talking about the incident caused by Yoon Garam. Many people said Yoon Garam was innocent, while only a few insisted that he should be held accountable.

The reason public opinion was so skewed was largely due to the influence of Valeria’s words.

Valeria had a skill called [Today’s Memo]. The name seemed ordinary, but once a day, this skill would tell Valeria a single truth.

A truth about an event that had happened or would happen in the past, present, or future.

The accuracy of this skill was extremely high. However, its accuracy dropped somewhat for future events, and there were suspicions that Valeria had manipulated the skill’s results for money, so it couldn’t be trusted one hundred percent.

Nevertheless, despite these facts, Valeria was the most powerful prophet of this era. And such a person had warned about Sunyul twice.

‘Lim Sunyul is deeply related to the rifts.’

Although it was an ambiguous truth, it was enough to incite people who were already on edge because of the rifts.

In such a situation, the inside of the hospital room seemed peaceful. A peace that Muyoung had created entirely with his own power.

But that peace was also shattered.

A commotion arose outside. It broke through the security that Muyoung had set up. Quite boisterously, a few people stormed into the hospital room.

“We’re from the Superhuman Management Agency.”

They were Investigators, hunters belonging to the Superhuman Management Agency. A Cheongyeon hunter who had followed them in stood between the Investigators and Sunyul.

“Even if you’re from the Agency, you can’t just barge in like this.”

“A seizure warrant has been issued.”

“What…”

“Please confirm it, and cooperate.”

Seizure.

Seizing an ordinary person was nonsensical, but it was possible because Sunyul was classified as an item. Just as Muyoung had taken ownership.

Sunyul was bewildered. But he wasn’t that surprised. He had been mentally prepared not to be surprised by whatever happened.

The Cheongyeon hunter hesitated, not actively blocking them. For them, they were only following Muyoung’s orders; their desire to protect Sunyul was likely not that strong.

“Come out, quickly.”

The Investigators were in a hurry. As if trying to get things done quickly while Muyoung was away.

Should I resist, he briefly wondered… but who knew when Muyoung would come. Sunyul obediently rose from his seat and followed the Investigators.

The walk to the car was extremely unsettling. Since the ownership was with Muyoung, they probably wouldn’t do anything too severe like before. Sunyul tried to be optimistic about the situation.

Sunyul, lacking information, couldn’t imagine what would happen next. But he could tell that for things to turn out well for him, Muyoung would have to suffer a loss.

‘This is the worst…’

Perhaps because the situation had worsened, his head began to ache. Sunyul clutched his throbbing head. The headache that had been continuing for the past few days didn’t get better even with medicine.

As he held his head, the vehicle suddenly shook violently. It was a huge impact, enough to make him slam into the side despite wearing a seatbelt.

“Ugh!”

“What the?!”

In the midst of that chaos, Sunyul saw it clearly. A white hand had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

The hand was holding a small can. Smoke was leaking from the can, and it instantly filled the inside of the car.

“Win, window, open…”

“Hgh…”

The Investigators barely managed to open the windows, but they lost consciousness faster than the smoke could clear.

Sunyul, who had been holding on somehow, felt someone lift his body and then completely let go of his consciousness.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

Feeling a throbbing headache, Sunyul slowly opened his eyes.

He was awake, but his consciousness was still hazy. His hands seemed to be tied behind his back. He tried to move them, but his entire body felt paralyzed and wouldn’t move well, and they were tied so tightly it seemed unlikely he could untie them.

“The sacrifice has awakened.”

An unsettling shiver ran down his spine at the incongruous word.

It was bad enough that he had been poisoned just a few days ago, but now he gets kidnapped, and is being called a sacrifice… He didn’t know how to make sense of this surreal situation.

Slowly, his vision cleared.

In front of him stood several people wearing hoods large enough to cover their eyes. One of them, wearing a red hood, approached Sunyul.

“I-21.”

“…”

“You will be the sacrifice for the ritual we are about to perform.”

The lips revealed beneath the hood were drawing an arc. It was a smile that gave off an ominous feeling. Looking at that face made his head hurt even more. Sunyul struggled to move his lips.

“Don’t, do that…”

“And what do you know about it?”

“If it were… something good, you wouldn’t have, resorted to this.”

“No, we are about to do something very great.”

While listening to the nonsense, his head now began to hurt as if it would split open. Sunyul bit his lip, holding back the urge to scream.

“Let us begin. To purify this world.”

Sunyul could bet everything that their idea of ‘purification’ was nothing proper.

Regardless of what Sunyul thought, the hooded figures approached. In the midst of a headache that felt like it would drive him mad, the physical pain became nothing.

Between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Like a dream, a memory surfaced.

In that place, Sunyul often hurt himself. Not with the intention of dying. Because if he died there, everything would end.

As he lay collapsed and bleeding, a voice he hadn’t heard in a very long time spoke to him.

‘It seems it won’t work anymore.’

‘What won’t work?’

‘It means the time has come for you to leave this place.’

To Sunyul, who had endured for so long, the words were a bolt from the blue.

‘What are you talking about? Why would I leave here?’

‘You weren’t originally a being who lived in the rift between worlds, were you? It’s about time you left.’

‘What happens if I leave?’

‘You were fine here, but if you leave, you will also lose your memories of yourself. You’ll surely be confused. You’ll need time to adjust for a while… It won’t be easy.’

‘That’s not what I asked.’

‘The problem is how you’ll leave. I will send you to someone who can protect you. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to protect you.’

‘I don’t need protection or anything, just answer my question!’

‘Sending you to Kwon Muyoung would be best, right? He happens to be running a dungeon. I can hand you over naturally.’

At the unforgettable name, Sunyul, who had been raging, froze. An illusion appeared before Sunyul as he struggled to his feet.

For a long time… a very long time, Sunyul had slowly forgotten Kwon Muyoung’s face. He had replayed it in his mind countless times, not wanting to forget, but the long passage of time had cruelly snatched the memory away.

But the moment he saw him again, he knew.

It was Kwon Muyoung.

Sunyul stared at Kwon Muyoung, mesmerized. Forgetting even that he was supposed to be arguing.

As Sunyul stared at Muyoung, entranced, his body swayed. An intangible force caught the falling Sunyul. Sunyul’s lips moved as if to say something, but speaking wasn’t easy.

‘It’s okay. Everything will be alright.’

‘…’

‘I hope you find a better conclusion than being here.’

Something enveloped Sunyul as he fell into a slumber. It was a large box made of metal. One that would open only to the touch of a single person.

The belongings that Sunyul cherished were also placed in the box. They, too, would find their rightful place. One way or another.

Memories flowed in a jumble.

The orphanage, the moment of his first awakening, Go Yeonjae, the birthday party, the director, the raid team, the homunculus, Lee Bada, Jeong Dakyung, the dormitory, the Superhuman Management Agency, Park Haemin, Park Heena, his first team members, the office, Shim Jaehee, research, my home, Song Jihyun, his parents, a brilliant bouquet of flowers, Kim Jaehoon, the rift between worlds…

And Kwon Muyoung.

Memories continued to flash by. So fast that Sunyul couldn’t register them all.

Along with them, the world re-remembered the existence of Lim Sunyul, which had been momentarily erased.

Whether it was someone who remembered Lim Sunyul vividly, someone with some level of interest, someone who just knew his name, someone who liked him, or someone who hated him, it didn’t matter.

Lim Sunyul, S-rank Hunter, that kid I had a crush on, Korea’s Rank 2, Team Leader of the Agency’s Combat Team 8, a good junior, my friend, Investigator, World Rank 14, Marksman of the Magic Bullet, someone I respect, a kid who gets on my nerves…

Into the place that had become a blank space in an instant, the existence named Lim Sunyul filled it once more.

For some, it was just a light realization; for others, it filled a great void.

In that way, Lim Sunyul was remembered by the world again.

“…Lim Sunyul?”

The first person to recognize Sunyul was the woman who had been injuring his body until now.

The item they had captured… no, what she thought was an item was actually a human, and for some reason, the Lim Sunyul she had forgotten. Surprised, the woman dropped the blood-stained knife.

It wasn’t just the woman. The others who were doing the same thing as her also flustered or stepped back in surprise. Even the person who should have been angry and asking what they were doing did not get angry.

Just then, a loud clattering sound was heard from outside. A person who came to his senses shouted.

“W-wait, leave him and run for now!”

The people gathered around Sunyul quickly scattered. Left alone, Sunyul looked at the numerous messages floating before his eyes and then closed them.

The messages delivered from the system still hovered in front of Sunyul. Even if he himself did not perceive them.

Calculation complete.

Reconnecting to the system.

You have 8 system messages.

A new message has arrived.

Automatically checking system messages.

Re-entering the ranking board.

The Earth’s ranking is changing. Your current rank is 1st.

Region: Republic of Korea’s ranking is changing. Your current rank is 1st.

Stabilization of the body is complete.

Stats that were temporarily decreased will return to their original values.

Your awakening rank has increased. Your current awakening rank is EX-Class.

Your mana stat has increased. Your current mana stat is EX-Class.

Acquired new trait ‘Savior’.

Acquired new trait ‘Otherworlder’.

Acquired new trait ‘Lost Child of Dimensions’.

Contract with the constellation is complete. Your constellation is ‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’.

As per the contract with the constellation, acquired new skill ‘Polar Night’.

As per the contract with the constellation, acquired new skill ‘Meteor’.

The Earth welcomes your return.

We sincerely welcome you back, Lim Sunyul.