Free Web Novel“Excuse me, excuse me?”
Yohan ignored the woman’s voice calling him repeatedly and kept walking. Now he knew. This too had to be one of Lee Chanha’s hallucinations. This woman was not real, just another figure within the illusion. And yet—even as he recognized it—the hallucination was disturbingly lifelike. It truly felt as though he were standing in some subway station in Korea.
The chill of the underground passage, the office workers rushing past—whether to work or from it, he couldn’t tell—the smell of sweet bread sold at the station entrance, even the characteristic din. Everything felt real. Cold sweat trickled down Yohan’s cheek. Standing frozen in place, he drew occasional glances from passing commuters. To steady his trembling body, he exhaled deeply.
I need to wake up from this hallucination quickly. First, purification.
With that thought, Yohan summoned his power. From his hand, faint shards of pale light glimmered and leaked out. At that instant, every ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ passenger in the station turned their heads to stare directly at him in unison. The nightmarish sight made Yohan flinch. Then—
Bwaaang! The familiar sound of an arriving train. Beyond the screen doors, a subway pulled in, packed with riders. As the doors opened, people rushed on and off, yet their gazes remained fixed, unwavering, upon Yohan. Mustering courage, he spread more light, but terror gripped his legs so badly he nearly collapsed. freewёbnoνel.com
“Hurry, hurry, I want to wake up... Uhk, why isn’t purification working?”
The light blazed brighter, but the illusion refused to dissolve. The train departed. Then—Bwaaang!—another screeched in. And Yohan felt déjà vu. This was the very first hallucination he had suffered in the Abyss, when he and Hyunmook fled from the Bumram—a monstrous subway-shaped creature.
The moment the thought came, Yohan realized he should not have recalled it. Bwaaang! Another train pulled in... but this time it crawled with a thunderous clatter, a colossal insect monster.
Wha...■ is ■tha-a-at■■■■?
Ca■n you s■■ee me■? Can you s■■ee me■? Can you s■■ee me■? Can you s■■ee me■? Can you s■■ee me■?
Clea■nse me! Clea■nse me! Ma■ke me clea■n! I too! I aaaaaalsooooo■■■■!
The sight of the enormous monster bearing Lee Chanha’s face nearly made him faint. Crashhh! The screen doors shattered as the subway-shaped Chanha came barreling in. Even knowing it was an illusion, Yohan screamed in terror and bolted.
He ran toward the passage marked ■Exit 1. Behind him came constant sounds of destruction. He resisted the urge to look back and sprinted on, leaping the turnstiles, searching desperately for the exit. Behind, Chanha wailed. Unlike previous hallucinations, this cry was nearly incomprehensible—a howl of agony and despair.
Le-eave me■■! Uhh! Uhhhhuuuhhh! Ghhhuuugh!
As nightmares go, the subway station had no exit. Only endless, pitch-dark corridors stretched on. The only light was that which Yohan scattered from his body. Purifying himself again and again, he suddenly realized—
This isn’t hallucinogenic substance... this is Lee Chanha’s ability!
Like Joo Hoyoung’s speed or Hyunmook’s shadow powers—abilities gained after contamination. He didn’t know exactly how Chanha cast illusions, but it was clear Yohan’s purification could not dispel it. This hallucination was far stronger and more vivid than the subway monster or flower field illusions he had faced before.
Then... does that mean I can’t escape?
Just as despair crept in, he felt that tug at his waist again. The same pull he had sensed every time he wandered these hallucinations. Why was it? He groped at his waist. Nothing there—yet something was tugging.
Or was it truly nothing? Probing through the haze, memories surfaced.
Yes. That’s it... a chain.
When they had entered the Black Mountain, Yoon Seungryong had pulled out a carabiner and a metal chain he’d found somewhere, joking—
“If we lose Yohan, it’ll be a disaster. Let’s tie him up good and tight!”
And since then, that chain had never once been undone.
Panting, Yohan groped again at his waist. Yes—it wasn’t nothing. At last his fingertips brushed it. A chain, wrapped firmly around his waist, tugging, pulling.
“Hyunmook-hyung.”
Are you there? Whispering, Yohan followed the chain with his hand, turning his head with it. The chain stretched... straight into the gaping mouth of the pursuing, howling Chanha. Yohan closed his eyes. He suppressed the instinct to run. He stopped, and instead turned, moving in the direction the chain pulled. A chilling gust and a beast’s roar grazed past his forehead—but no pain followed.
Yes, Yohan. I am here....
A steadying voice seemed to echo in his ears. No—someone truly was speaking right into his ear.
“I promised I’d never leave you alone again.”
This time the voice was vivid. Recognizing the chain and what lay at its end, Yohan’s terror eased. Eyes clenched shut, he clung desperately to the chain. Heat warmed his arm, the firm grip of human warmth. Surely, Hyunmook was by his side.
Alright. Calm down. Yohan repeated to himself. Shrieks, roars, the sensation of debris falling close by—all gnawed at his nerves, but he kept his eyes shut. He trusted Hyunmook beside him to keep him safe.
How can I break free from this hallucination?
Sight was most vulnerable. Hearing, nearly as much. Only touch revealed the falseness. Focusing on sensation through his skin, Yohan could faintly distinguish illusion from reality.
What could shatter Lee Chanha’s hallucination?
Clutching the chain, he checked within himself. His purification still pulsed there—something Chanha couldn’t touch. Focusing further, he felt another presence.
This is... Hoyoung’s buff.
The buff Hoyoung had cast in the Black Mountain still remained. Moving his other hand, Yohan realized he was gripping something besides the chain. Feeling it—his weapon, crafted for him by Hyunmook and Seo Yakrin. With weapon in hand, his heartbeat slowed, steadied.
Yoon Seungryong obsessed over food, Joo Hoyoung over games, Seo Yakrin over her rage—heedless of danger to themselves. And Lee Chanha—he had obsessive cleanliness. He must be consumed by it.
Then I need to show him a cleanliness he’s never seen in the Abyss.
But not just clean. It must be so beautiful that no one could deny it. He must see filth washed utterly away. That alone might shake him.
And the target was right here.
“Take me to the Black Mountain.”
Yohan whispered. Uncertain Hyunmook could hear, he shouted.
“Hyunmook-hyung! To the Black Mountain—take me to the highest peak!” freёwebnoѵel.com
The warmth gripping his arm shifted, wrapping his waist. A sensation of falling, again and again, then stopping. Yohan drew a breath. He could only trust that Hyunmook had taken him where he asked.
Trusting only Hyunmook, he raised his weapon. Pouring purification into it, he drove it into the ground. Crack! It bit into something like jagged gravel. Yohan clenched his teeth and exhaled. Then he spread his purification field.
The same power that had once cleansed the endless sea of reeds spread outward. He poured all his strength into it, praying desperately.
Please, please... Chanha, look here. Here is what you long for. Clean, beautiful, pure.
And after a while—
The suffocating sensations peeled away one by one. The clamor of the station, the shrieks, the chill air—gone. The warmth embracing him grew vivid. What had been a vague heat now was Hyunmook’s hand, cupping his neck, lips brushing his in a tender kiss. Hyunmook spoke.
“Well done, Yohan-ah. It’s safe to open your eyes now.”
And Yohan opened them.
What he saw—everything beneath him glowed. As though a giant ice cream scoop had dug out a vast crater, all within its radius shone in pastel hues—dazzling Eternal Stones, radiant, white, flawless, beautiful, resonating with his purification.
“My little Yangyang.”
Murmuring so, the gaze brushing Yohan’s cheek was endlessly gentle. With pride, Yohan answered.
“That’s right. That’s it. Yangyang!”
