Free Web NovelYohan, chewing diligently on the mountain of beef that Yoon Seungryong had piled onto his plate, lifted his head at Lee Hyunmook’s words.
“The government agreed to transfer about thirty percent of the high-contamination Awakeners they were detaining over to us.”
“Wow, really?”
Yohan brightened. Words like “detaining” and “transfer” made them sound like prisoners. Socially speaking, that wasn’t far off. Seo Yakrin, who had been drinking non-stop but showed no trace of drunkenness, spoke evenly. freewёbnoνel.com
“Well, of course they’d be desperate for the Eternal Stone. Especially considering Captain Jung Siyoung and the Special Suppression Division—by the government’s own standards, her contamination level should land her in confinement. But since they lack the manpower, they keep forcing her to work.”
“Her contamination really did look severe. I don’t think the purification contained in the Eternal Stone alone will be enough to resolve it.”
Yohan sighed. Having seen Lee Hyunmook and the others contaminated far more horrifically in the Abyss, Siyoung had seemed less dire by comparison. But in truth, her condition was serious. During her interview she had seemed fine, but Yohan had noticed injection marks on the back of her neck. Painkillers or tranquilizers, surely.
And the Eternal Stone was, at best, like a battery. Pour in purification power, and it released a fixed amount of energy, eventually running dry with time. They planned to handle everything within that limit, but it was worrying.
“Yeah, I bet her arm doesn’t even look human anymore.”
Joo Hoyoung spoke offhandedly as he stole meat straight off Seungryong’s plate. For them, perhaps it really wasn’t a big deal. Then he reached for Yakrin’s meat but was caught in telekinesis, and Chanha’s portion vanished before he could even find it. Against Yakrin or Chanha, his ability was useless. And Hyunmook’s meat he wouldn’t dare touch. So Seungryong glared daggers at Joo Hoyoung for stealing only from him.
Anyway, back to the Eternal Stone—the government had no choice but to hand over contaminated Awakeners. If they tried to seize it by force, the guild could simply take the Stones abroad, and they’d be helpless. But to leave them be meant the only means of curing contamination lay in private hands.
Naturally, the internet buzzed with criticism, accusing a mere guild of monopolizing the one treatment for contamination. But at this table, not one face looked troubled. Ever since escaping the Abyss, they had all looked constantly cheerful, constantly happy. Yohan decided to follow their example.
“By the way, Yohan, the location of our headquarters has finally been settled.”
Lee Chanha refilled Yohan’s glass and showed him the spot on his phone. Not far from where the Sunrise Guild had once been. They needed a transport hub that allowed immediate deployment. Seo Yakrin leaned in.
“So, Yohan, where are you going to live? For commuting, I mean.”
“Uh...”
“You could live at headquarters, or rent a place nearby. Or keep staying with your parents if you want.”
Commuting! The word still felt strange to Yohan. But now he had a job—he was a member of society. He almost answered out of habit that he would go from his parents’ house, but then stopped.
‘Wait... the distance is way too far.’
From home to the Sun Guild and back would take four or five hours round trip. The old him would have said he’d ask his parents first before deciding. But now his answer came without hesitation.
“Then I’ll stay at headquarters!”
As a purifier, raiding rifts would be unavoidable anyway, so living near the guild was the only choice. And honestly, he was suffocating at home, always compared to his brother. This was a relief. Besides, at twenty-four, it was time to work, date, and live independently. ...And wouldn’t he be living together with Hyunmook hyung? Yohan swallowed down his drink, along with that secret thought.
“Our Yohan joining the guild calls for another welcome dinner.”
Seo Yakrin chuckled as if tipsy. Yohan giggled too. He thought he had already endured the hardest things life could throw at him in the Abyss—there was nothing left to fear. Joo Hoyoung leapt up with excitement. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
“Second round, karaoke!”
“Sounds great!”
He shouted boldly, clinking glasses with the rest. It was pure joy, a night of laughter and delight.
* * *
The good times lasted late into the night. When it ended, Hyunmook himself offered to drive Yohan home, since Yohan had no car. The lingering cheer from the gathering left Yohan’s cheeks flushed. Though he’d drunk plenty, he was hardly drunk—something he found a little disappointing.
“Did you enjoy the dinner tonight, Yohan?”
Hyunmook asked gently as he started the car. Buckling his seatbelt by reflex—though as a high-tier Awakener, even a car crash would hardly injure him—Yohan nodded eagerly.
“It was amazing! I want to do it again sometime!”
In the Abyss, they had eaten and drunk together too, but always for survival. Tonight was different—a real social gathering, almost ceremonial proof that he belonged with the Sun Guild now.
“But... since I’ll be staying at headquarters, where exactly will I live?”
As the car rolled out, Yohan finally asked the question he’d been holding back, sneaking a glance at Hyunmook. Smiling, Hyunmook answered. His smile had always been faint in the Abyss, but now it shone clear—through the whole dinner, it hadn’t left his face.
“Wherever you want.”
“Ah... then...”
“But, if possible, I’d like you to live with me, in my house.”
Yohan’s already flushed cheeks burned hotter.
“...Of course, that’s what I was planning too!”
Grinning, he rolled down the window, pretending to cool his face with the night air. So this is what being in love feels like. Outside, brilliant city lights spread out before him. Despite the Great Rift disaster, the skyline hadn’t changed much. But he knew it could all vanish the moment a rift opened.
“Rifts will keep opening, won’t they?”
“As long as the Abyss exists, yes.”
“What’s going to happen then? The Abyss... and this world.”
Yohan murmured, gazing at the peaceful city too beautiful to disappear. His heat of joy cooled a little. After basking in vague happiness ever since escaping, he finally felt as if he was confronting reality.
“In my view, a Great Rift will probably open soon.”
“...A Great Rift.”
Every time a Great Rift had appeared on Earth, countless lives were lost. A normal rift affected only a limited area, giving people a chance to escape. But Great Rifts always erupted in crowded cities, capitals above all. Monaco, Macau, Hong Kong, Delhi, São Paulo—all wiped off the map in an instant. Even Seoul’s center and Busan had vanished.
“For the Abyss, it’s like being ravenous and robbed of its food supply. It tried devouring a city, we stole it back. If it gives up now, it starves. So... I predict a Great Rift will open nearby again soon.”
Unlike ordinary rifts, which appeared sporadically, the Abyss and Great Rifts had a traceable path. Ten years ago, rifts flooded across Earth. A year later, the first Great Rift tore open—India was obliterated. Since then, it had struck cities worldwide, circling the globe nearly ten times—roughly one per year.
Despite the danger, people still lived in big cities, knowing the risk. Because rifts weren’t the only threat—monsters spilled from them constantly. Only in cities could civilians hope for immediate help from government or guilds.
“But this time, if a Great Rift opens, we have a way to stop it, right?”
Yohan’s voice rang firm—not pretending, but truly resolute. A Great Rift usually brought the Abyss within hours, before evacuation could finish, leading to mass death. But for Yohan, the window was enough.
“If I purify the ground the moment a Great Rift appears, there’ll be nothing for the Abyss to swallow. Every time one opens, I’ll cover it with a purification field and... wait. But... right, Great Rifts don’t only appear in Korea, do they? What if one opens overseas?”
Slowly, the realization dawned on him. Eventually, mid-tier and low-tier purifiers would appear, cleansing ordinary rift lands and preventing the Abyss from taking root. But Great Rifts—those, Yohan would have to face himself.
