SSEI | Chapter 3.5

‘I didn’t know you were such an altruistic person. I know you’re just trying to move me with those words. Damn kid.’

‘Wow, you’re really asking for it. I gave you nice words, and you respond with sarcasm? Would it make you feel better if I cried, saying I don’t want to die?’

The once gentle and soft voice now seemed somewhat annoyed as it scolded Yuan. In response, the past Yuan immediately changed his attitude and began to grumble. Listening to this now, it seemed the past Yuan wasn’t as mild-mannered as he appeared.

And then.

‘…Do you think I’d welcome it with open arms if my lover said they were giving up on life?’

‘……’

‘I’d rather you cry honestly, saying you don’t want to die. Then I’d do anything to extend your life.’

Yuan could vaguely sense that the seemingly cold voice contained far more emotion than he had expected. Why did an inexplicable wave of emotion surge from deep within his heart at that moment?

Yuan had only heard the word “lover,” and didn’t know the face or the voice, which seemed to echo and scatter, making it hard to identify. Yet, he was overwhelmed with a deep and profound longing that made his chest feel heavy. But that was the end of the clue. Yuan strained his ears, hoping to catch more of the conversation, but no more sounds came. Even the light was gradually becoming distant and faint.

‘No, it can’t be!’

Yuan tried to reach out towards the light, but he couldn’t move his arms when he couldn’t even breathe. He couldn’t let the light disappear like this. He had to bring the light over.

‘How?’

The moment he whispered that thought, an instinctual impulse rose from deep within his gut. This was different from the many impulses he had felt before. If the impulse to “move” that he had felt since stepping into this wasteland was something injected from outside, this was a sense Yuan had originally possessed.

‘Let’s bring the light over here.’

The moment Yuan thought that, the scar on his cheek, which had been left from absorbing the aftereffects of Blue Dot earlier, began to heat up. A heavy warmth spread through his body, which had been stiff and devoid of any sensation.

As the scar grew hotter, the fading light began to brighten. It wasn’t that the light itself was becoming more intense, but rather that it was getting closer.

‘Show me more. Let me hear a bit more of that from earlier.’

But no matter how close the light came, there was no sign of hearing that voice again. Instead, the heat that felt like his skin was sizzling only made things harder for Yuan.

The approaching light didn’t show an illusion but instead seeped into Yuan’s body. The heat forced his non-beating heart to move and breathed life into his limbs, which he thought had completely stiffened. Regardless of Yuan’s will, the light lifted him up from where he was.

The more the light was absorbed, the more the mysterious power seeped deep into his body. A solid confidence that he could do anything grew from deep within his chest. What was this power? Could it be the power of calamity? Just like when he absorbed the aftereffects of Blue Dot earlier, it seemed Yuan was now absorbing the power of calamity.

‘I didn’t want something like this… but it’s not bad, is it?’

He didn’t care about the power; he just wished for more clues. Yuan grumbled inwardly, but he decided not to be too dissatisfied since he quite liked the energetic power enveloping his entire body.

It took a few minutes for all the light to be absorbed. The first thing Yuan saw when his vision finally returned to normal was the calamity, now weakened and completely different from before.

‘That calamity looks like it’s almost dying, doesn’t it?’

Now that he looked, the calamity’s body was crumbling like powder. The purple tongue that had fiercely attacked Blue Dot was also bleached white and shriveled, melting away in the rain.

It looked as if it had been drained of moisture. Perhaps it was affected by Yuan’s earlier act of “bringing the light over.” If it was true that he had killed the calamity, there was no greater achievement.

But now wasn’t the time to purely rejoice. The calamity was dead, but the torrential rain remained.

‘There’s no sign of it stopping. I can’t escape!’

The situation was becoming increasingly dangerous. The torrential rain pouring from the sky was now almost like waves. Street stalls and weak parts of buildings collapsed with a cracking sound, and all sorts of debris mixed with the torrent flowed towards him. If he collided with it, it was sure to cause a big accident.

No matter how full of energy Yuan was now, he couldn’t move anywhere through this torrential rain. Moreover, Blue Dot, who was the only reliable ally…

“This was it. Yes, the reason I set foot in this world!”

It seemed he had obtained a better clue than Yuan. Was it because he was closer to the light than Yuan, or had he been exploring his purpose for so long that he discovered the truth with just a small clue?

But the backlash was severe. Blue Dot laughed like a madman, flailing his limbs, then staggered and lost his balance, toppling over. Without even attempting to get up, he was swept away by the rising water.

“Blue Dot!”

Yuan urgently raised his voice, but his voice was drowned out by the thunderous sound of the rain. Blue Dot was already out of sight. Only that maniacal laughter clung to the inside of Yuan’s eardrums, echoing in his head.

He hurriedly moved to rescue his comrade but lost his footing. Just losing his balance for a moment caused his entire body to be swept away by the torrent, and Yuan began to drift somewhere in an instant. In the pitch-black water, he couldn’t even tell front from back, and in the midst of this abnormal torrential rain, it was meaningless to swim in any direction.

[You have obtained a hint about your specialty!]

Crimson Disease Terminal Stage: This disease involves absorbing power related to calamity. The power that can be absorbed from calamity and the power that can be absorbed from the core of calamity implanted in a human body are different, so please be careful!

He had no choice but to go with the flow. Yuan hoped that the power of calamity, which enveloped his entire body with heat, would protect him, and he entrusted himself to the flow of the water.

If you were swept away by a torrent for several hours, it wouldn’t be surprising for an ordinary person to have lost their life long ago. But fortunately, Yuan managed to survive that harsh ordeal. The power of calamity that enveloped his body shielded him from the rainwater filling his lungs and the chilling cold that threatened to freeze him. The countless debris and wreckage carried by the flood also veered away from him.

Most importantly, he was lucky enough to have crossed the mist-covered lake safely, even while unconscious. The water that swept through Maze Village pushed Yuan’s body far, far away to the opposite side of the lake, and the beings lurking in the depths of the lake did not perceive someone cloaked in the power of calamity as an enemy.

And by the time Yuan reached the other side of the lake, that strange power was completely exhausted.

“……”

The sky was completely dark. The bluish full moon barely illuminated the ground, only enough to discern the shapes of objects. Still, the ground wasn’t that dark, as the white, fine sandy beach faintly reflected the moonlight.

The place where Yuan arrived looked more like a seaside than a lake. Unlike the opposite side of the lake, which was covered in dark soil, the place he drifted to was entirely covered in pure white sand, and the air was filled with a strong salty smell.

And in this strange space that was neither a lakeside nor a seaside, there were only two people. One was the unconscious Yuan, and the other was a man with a black silhouette.

“…What kind of prank is this?”

The Red Man muttered as if chewing on his words, looking up at the sky. The question seemed sincere, but there was no one to answer. The man swallowed a sigh and lowered his head again.

He had already sighed enough. Once when he found the figure collapsed in the middle of this empty sandy beach, and again when he turned the figure over to check the face.

No matter when you look, it was a truly carefree appearance. Even though the red scar engraved on the cheek ominously stood out, looking at the face as soft as well-fermented bread dough inadvertently dulled his vigilance.

But when you actually talk to him, he scratches at your nerves so much that your composure is instantly disturbed. He nags with a sharp edge, yet he seems to think he’s the one being bullied, which makes it even more troublesome.

He even keeps hovering in front of others. Didn’t he do that in the last match too? When he went to check on the windmill’s situation, he interfered with others’ business and acted as if he was being stalked.

Moreover, he even nitpicked at others’ personalities and nagged, making one wonder if he was underestimating people. He looks so insignificant and harmless, as if he’d roll away without resistance if you just poked him.

He’s bound to wake up and grumble, being wary of him again. Even though he’s the one who followed all the way to the night zone when he should still be struggling in the evening zone as a rookie.

“He’s strangely tenacious with his life. Could it be that he’s drawn to me?”

The Red Man muttered, holding his throbbing head. But this didn’t mean that Yuan was attracted to him or anything like that.

Wanderers who have been repeating this survival game for a long time often use the word ‘drawn.’ It’s used when you frequently encounter a specific person during the game, regardless of your will.

Of course, when 50 people keep repeating the same game, it’s natural to run into each other a few times, but even considering that, there are cases where encounters are strangely concentrated. Many dismiss it as coincidence, but that’s an overly simplistic way of thinking.

There is no such thing as coincidence in this game. All wanderers, even those who monitor them, are entangled in some grand flow.

‘There must be something.’

The man looked around the coast for a few more minutes, but Blue Dot was nowhere to be seen. It was probably dead. It must have been prepared for that.

What the Red Man found hard to understand was how this little kid survived the torrential rain that even someone with considerable experience couldn’t withstand.

“…First, I need to find out how this guy survived.”