Free Web Novel“...A sparrow....”
At the muttering sound, Yoon Seungryong’s focus, which had blurred as he recalled the past, returned. His gaze turned inside the hollow of the great tree, to Yang Yohan, who was sleeping safely at Lee Hyunmook’s side. He mumbled something indistinct, then let out a heavy, tired breath.
Gathered around the campfire, Yoon Seungryong and Joo Hoyoung craned their necks to peer inside the hollow. Just as Yohan had loosened in relief upon seeing them, they too only relaxed their sharp vigilance after confirming that Yohan had returned safely.
The expressions on their faces vanished. They did not even blink. They simply tilted their bodies unconsciously, drawn by the faint warmth of purification leaking from Yohan, staring at him intently. For high-tier Awakeners, such blatant staring should have been enough to rouse the senses, but Yohan, naturally dull and exhausted from days of mental strain, merely breathed softly and wandered in dreams, unaware.
What they saw was unbearably human. The way his chest rose and fell with a sigh, how he scratched his cheek, twisted his face, or muttered faint nonsense in his sleep — all of it was so profoundly human. They stared at him as though he were some rare animal. Because they themselves were no longer so human.
Only after meeting Yohan had they been able to close their eyes and sleep, if only a little. They could go without blinking for long stretches without trouble, breathe or eat no more yet still not die, sink into the Bumram until their flesh melted into slurry and only barely stitch their bodies back together again — never to return to their former shapes. These were all things they hid from Yohan. Because Yohan looked at them as though they were still people.
Shuffling closer to the entrance of the tree hollow, Yoon Seungryong cast a sideways glance at Lee Hyunmook. Hyunmook seemed sunk deep in thought, brooding over the moment when Yohan had vanished. The atmosphere was grim. Yet it was not frightening in the way that nightmarish moment had been, when Yohan disappeared into the black mountain. With Yohan close by, Hyunmook seemed less terrifying.
Yoon Seungryong too turned over those days in his mind. He was trying to devise some way to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. That was how desperate they were. After much pondering, Seungryong muttered in a dull voice:
“From now on... best not to go near the black mountain, maybe.”
“No. It’s still safer than the Bumram. After all... he didn’t die.”
Hyunmook’s reply made Seungryong glance at Yohan again. Yohan had just rolled over in his sleep. Hyunmook reached out and carefully pulled the fallen sleeping bag back over him. Watching that, Seungryong smirked.
“This feels fucking awful.”
“Me too.”
Joo Hoyoung, in the middle of a game, suddenly bit off a fingernail and responded. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
“I already knew this place was fucked up... but this time, it was really hell.”
“Better to go back into the Bumram than that,” Seungryong muttered. Physical pain, no matter how many times, no longer mattered. But mental pain — that never grew familiar, no matter how much time passed.
If Yohan had died? If he had been lost forever? Now that they had finally been able to live with some shred of humanity again — to be buried once more in endless pits of torment? The thought alone was unbearable. Better to die outright than that. Without Yohan, he would once again become nothing but a worm crawling in the filth, gnawing at muck.
No one could have foreseen that a piece of the black mountain would erupt out of seemingly stable ground. But that did not excuse the fact that they had let go of Yohan in a single instant. freewёbnoνel.com
“Next time, I’m sticking right next to him....”
“And I’ll sprint flat-out.”
While Seungryong and Hoyoung shuddered, Hyunmook remained indifferent, his empty gaze fixed on the void. A heavy silence stretched on, the shadows within the tree hollow deepening, swallowing even the flecks of light Yohan breathed out in his sleep. It was the darkness of the Abyss itself.
As Hyunmook’s silence dragged on, Seungryong and Hoyoung grew uneasy and fell quiet. He had not spoken a word, yet their eyes dropped of their own accord. Fear flickered in their glances when they dared to look at him. At Hoyoung’s sharp jab of the elbow, Seungryong swallowed hard and, with eyes squeezed shut, knelt before Hyunmook.
“Team leader, I was wrong. I should’ve protected Yohan... but I didn’t....”
When Hyunmook’s gaze, blank until now, fell on him, Seungryong shrank. Hyunmook lifted his hand, then brought it down — lightly, with a tap on Seungryong’s head. Yet Seungryong felt his heart drop like a stone.
“Seungryong.”
“Y-yeah....”
“Have I ever scolded you for something beyond your ability?”
At those words, Seungryong bit his lip in frustration. But still he shook his head, hunched low.
“No... but if I’d been sharper, Yohan wouldn’t have been dragged off alone.”
“Mm... maybe so.”
Hyunmook admitted calmly, and stroked Seungryong’s head. Each time, Seungryong flinched as if he wanted to bolt, his face gone pale, though there was no threat.
“Wrong is still wrong. I should take responsibility.”
“Is that so. Then you should. Shall I punish you?”
At those words, Hoyoung sucked in a breath, startled. But instead of defending Seungryong, he retreated further back.
“Fine. Punishment. I’ll take whatever comes.”
Seungryong answered boldly. Hyunmook’s lips curved into a smile. Calling his name, he gripped Seungryong’s shoulder firmly, forcing him to meet his eyes.
“I’ll never kill you.”
At that, Seungryong sprang up as if stung. The promise Hyunmook had once given — to kill him if the worst came — had just been revoked, and resentment twisted his face. Hoyoung sighed in relief and returned to his place.
“Ah, team leader. No — hyung... you can’t be serious.”
“I won’t let you die either.”
Crushed by this ‘punishment,’ Seungryong clawed at his hair, whispering hoarsely:
“Just hit me! Beat me bloody! Kill me in a rage, if you must!”
“Shh. Quiet. You’ll wake Yohan.”
“No... no way, this isn’t ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) right!”
At last Hyunmook’s fist came down, slamming Seungryong’s head. He let out a silent scream and rolled on the ground. Hoyoung clicked his tongue, returning to his game. A little while later, Seungryong slumped before the fire, thoroughly deflated.
“Let’s talk about the Bumram.”
Hyunmook’s words were followed by a heavy sigh. Even for those who had dwelt long in the Abyss, the Bumram was a thing of dread and burden. Hoyoung lowered his game device, face dark with sorrow, and sighed.
“Yohan seems like he wants to settle down, but with the Bumram crashing in whenever it wants, that’s impossible.”
“It’s not about settling. It’s survival. Just its approach is danger. If even one of us loses our mind, it’s fatal.”
Seungryong tapped his foot anxiously, then collapsed onto the ground with a fading breath.
“Damn... guess we really do need to bring the old man back....”
“Yohan said it, didn’t he? That it felt like the sky was brighter. Was that nothing?”
At that, Seungryong lazily turned his gaze upward. The sky was always the same: crawling, damp, unpleasant hues with no distinction of night or day.
“Doesn’t look any different to me. Same as before.”
“But it does feel... like the ‘density’ has lessened.”
“Ah... yeah. That... I feel too....”
Trailing off, Seungryong looked toward Hyunmook. Hyunmook nodded. It was as Yohan had said. He hadn’t noticed strongly before, but after the last Bumram in the Japanese zone — no, precisely after escaping the black mountain — he could tell. Some gravity-like weight, some sticky humidity of madness, had lessened. He voiced the suspicion he had long been turning over.
“To me, the Bumram isn’t something that can be unleashed endlessly. It consumes some form of energy. If it truly were infinite... we’d have been ‘digested’ long ago.”
“Hah. So if we just keep enduring, maybe there really is an end to it.”
Seungryong grinned, pleased. But that smile soon faded at Hyunmook’s next words.
“Yeah. Which means it’ll get nastier. Just like us, it’s desperate too....”
