Young-ho walked back.
His legs understanding the direction before his mind fully caught up.
His eyes still moving.
Still trying to process what they had been given.
The blood on the ground.
The crystals still glowing faintly in the dark.
The remains of things that had no right to have existed.
---
He looked at Gun-woo beside him.
"What happens next."
His voice quieter than it had been all day.
"After this."
---
Gun-woo kept walking.
"A team comes in first.", "", "Collects the corpses.", "", "Studies them.", "", "Then another team follows.", "", "They mine for mana crystals.", "", "Mana Orou.", "", "Everything that can be extracted.", "",
A pause.
"Within two to six months there will be no monsters left in here."
He glanced at the dark above them.
"There's a countdown clock.", "", "Only hunters can see it.", "", "When it reaches zero the dungeon resets.", "", "You don't want to be inside when that happens.", "", "The rift outside closes.", "", "Then reopens the next day.", "",
A breath.
"We've tried to put teams in here before.", "", "During the reset.", "", "To observe what happens.", "", "To understand the process.", "",
He paused.
"We've never seen those teams again."
---
He said it with a smile.
Calm.
Easy.
Like a fact that had stopped surprising him long ago.
---
Young-ho looked at him.
Something moving across his face that wasn't quite fear.
Something older than fear.
"You must be very used to all of this."
---
Gun-woo looked back at him.
"Yes."
A breath.
"This is the life of a hunter."
---
They both laughed.
The sound of it strange in this place.
Human and warm against everything that wasn't.
---
Ahead of them.
The rift.
Still there.
A scar in reality that looked exactly like what it was.
Something that had no explanation anyone was fully satisfied with.
They stepped through it.
---
Yellow sunlight hit them immediately.
Hard and warm and real.
Blue sky above.
The kind of blue that had nothing wrong with it.
Drones hovering.
Tents standing.
Soldiers moving in their patterns.
All of it exactly as they'd left it.
---
Hyun-woo was already moving toward them.
Fast.
His face carrying the specific relief of someone who had been performing calm for hours.
"I'm glad to see you made it back safe sir."
A breath.
"But there are some people who'd like to see you."
---
Gun-woo turned to Young-ho.
Looked at him properly.
The way you look at someone before you say goodbye.
"Well Young-ho."
A pause.
"This is where we part ways."
He extended his hand.
"Thank you for everything.", "", "Thank you for coming.", "", "I hope we see each other again.", "", "Stay safe.", "", "The soldiers will see you out.", "",
He smiled.
"I have a gift waiting for you as well."
A beat.
"See you soon."
---
He turned.
Walked toward the nearest tent.
Disappeared inside.
---
The moment the canvas closed behind him his body changed.
The thing that had been holding everything upright quietly stepped aside.
---
He began to fall.
---
Hyun-woo caught him.
Both hands.
Firm.
Without ceremony.
"Sir."
His voice low.
"You don't have to push yourself this far.", "", "You've done enough.", "", "Please rest.", "",
---
Gun-woo looked up at him from where he was being held.
And laughed.
Soft.
Genuine.
"We're not finished yet."
A breath.
"The streets."
He looked at Hyun-woo's face.
"You look dead.", "", "Hopeless.", "", "When I first found you.", "",
A pause.
"Look at you now.", "", "A ray of sunshine.", "", "I'm glad.", "",
---
Hyun-woo helped him to the bed.
Gun-woo lowered himself into it slowly.
Every movement costing something he didn't let show on his face.
---
"Don't worry about the next generation.", "", "The young hunters.", "", "They're being taken care of.", "", "They were too young when all of this began.", "",
His voice quieter now.
Finding the softness underneath everything else.
"When the chaos came.", "", "It was easy to lose yourself in it.", "", "I worked hard to put order back into things.", "",
A breath.
"I can't stop."
Another.
"I won't."
---
His eyes found the canvas ceiling above him.
The sunlight pressing through it in thin lines.
---
"I promise you one thing Hyun-woo."
His voice barely above a whisper now.
"If I fail."
A pause.
"You continue the fight.", "", "For your people.", "", "For this nation.", "", "For humanity.", "",
---
Silence.
---
His eyes closed.
His breathing slowed.
Found its rhythm.
And stayed there.
---
Hyun-woo stood beside the bed.
Looking at him.
At the face that looked younger in sleep.
At the man who carried more than any one person should be asked to carry.
---
His voice came quiet.
To himself.
To the sleeping man.
To no one.
---
"I promise."
---
A breath.
---
"You're the only person in this world actually trying."