Han-Ho walked east for forty minutes.
Not running.
Not hurrying.
Walking pace.
The entity closed the distance from its side.
By twelve forty PM they were approximately two kilometers apart.
Han-Ho stopped.
Pressed his hand against the ground.
Read the Dragon Vein energy.
The entity's approach was affecting the Dragon Vein flow in the area.
Not disrupting it.
Enhancing it.
The clean energy the entity carried was feeding into the Dragon Vein network through the ground as it moved. Every step of its passage left the Dragon Vein network in the area slightly more energized.
Like sunlight on a clean floor.
Not cleaning. Just adding warmth.
Han-Ho read this carefully.
Made notes.
Entity Dragon Vein interaction: passive positive enhancement. Not disrupting the network. Adding clean energy to it. The entity is made of the same fundamental clean energy as the Dragon Vein flow. It is not a contamination source. It is a clean energy source. He paused. Filing update: entity assessment revised from unknown to beneficial.
He filed it.
Looked up at the entity.
From two kilometers it was very large.
Not threatening large.
Just large in the way of something that has been existing for forty thousand years and has the physical scale to show for it.
It was the color of deep water.
Not blue.
Not black.
The color that exists between them.
Moving with the patient deliberate quality of something that was being careful.
Trying to be smaller.
Not succeeding.
Three kilometers across trying to be careful still looked like three kilometers across approaching.
Han-Ho looked at the entity.
The entity looked at Han-Ho.
Or the closest approximation of looking that a three kilometer ancient entity could manage at a person standing two kilometers away.
The attention was unmistakable.
Everything that large had focused on something that small.
Moru on Han-Ho's left shoulder was very still.
Not the alarmed still.
The awed still.
"Master," said Moru.
"Yes."
"This is—"
"Old," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Moru. "Very old. Older than me. Much older." He paused. "The energy it carries. The clean energy. It is original. Foundational. The Dragon Vein energy that flows now — the energy after your cleaning — approaches this quality. But this is the source quality. What the Dragon Veins were meant to carry."
Han-Ho made a note.
Moru assessment: entity energy = original Dragon Vein source quality. Pre-contamination baseline. This is what the network was supposed to carry before the blockage. Filed.
He looked at the entity.
"Hello," said Han-Ho.
Not loud enough to reach it at two kilometers.
Just said it.
The entity moved closer.
One kilometer.
Han-Ho could feel the Dragon Vein network responding to its proximity. The clean energy feeding through the ground. Warm and right in the specific way that the Dragon Vein music had been warm and right when the old man heard it on the KTX.
He raised his hand.
Not the cleaning hand.
Just raised it.
The way you raise your hand when you are acknowledging something.
The entity stopped.
Made a sound.
Not a sound Han-Ho's ears could hear.
A sound that came through the ground.
Through the Dragon Vein network.
Through the clean energy flowing from the entity into the earth.
Han-Ho felt it through his hand.
Through his feet.
Through the air around him.
He read it.
Made notes.
"Moru," said Han-Ho.
"Yes."
"The sound."
"Yes," said Moru.
"It is not a threat."
"No," said Moru.
"It is—" Han-Ho looked at his notes. "Something like thank you."
Moru was quiet for a long moment.
"Yes," said Moru. "That is what it is."
Han-Ho looked at the entity.
At the three kilometer ancient being from a very large world that had been asleep for forty thousand years and had woken up because the Dragon Vein network was clean again and had traveled to Seoul specifically to say thank you.
He made a note.
Entity communication: gratitude. Confirmed by Moru. Entity woke because Dragon Vein cleaning restored original source energy quality. Entity recognizes clean energy as correct state. Entity came to acknowledge the source of the correction. Filed.
He filed it.
"You are welcome," said Han-Ho.
Not to the entity specifically.
To the air.
To the Dragon Vein network.
To the fact of it.
The entity made another sound through the ground.
Han-Ho felt it.
Read it.
Made a note.
The note said: I have been waiting a long time.
"I know," said Han-Ho. "The blockage was twenty thousand years old."
The ground sound again.
Longer than that.
Han-Ho made a note.
Entity: has been waiting longer than twenty thousand years. Dragon Vein blockage may have been the final blockage in a series. Previous blockages possible. Filing for Ms. Yoon's assessment.
He filed it.
He and the entity stood at approximately one kilometer distance.
Communicating through the Dragon Vein network.
In the specific simple way of two things that share a fundamental language.
Clean energy.
The entity did not need words.
Han-Ho did not need words.
The Dragon Vein network carried what needed to be said.
The S-Ranks were two hundred meters behind Han-Ho.
They had stopped when Han-Ho stopped.
They were watching.
Nobody was speaking.
"He is having a conversation with it," said Wei Junhao.
"Yes," said the old man.
"Through the ground."
"Through the Dragon Vein network yes," said the old man.
"Can you hear it," said Wei Junhao.
"Some of it," said the old man. "The parts that use the main Dragon Vein channels. The finer communication is beyond my range."
"What can you hear," said Wei Junhao.
The old man was quiet for a moment.
"Gratitude," said the old man. "The entity is expressing gratitude. And—" He paused. "Recognition. It recognizes the cleaning energy. It knows what Han-Ho's cleaning has been."
"It knows what he is," said Wei Junhao.
"Yes," said the old man.
"Does Han-Ho know what he is," said Wei Junhao.
The old man watched Han-Ho standing at one kilometer from a three kilometer ancient entity exchanging Dragon Vein communications with the focused patient attention of someone conducting a useful assessment.
"No," said the old man. "I do not think he does."
Min-Seo, beside them, was looking at his phone.
Not because his phone was interesting.
Because if he looked at his phone he had somewhere to put his expression.
"Min-Seo," said Oh Kyung-Soo.
"Yes," said Min-Seo.
"Are you alright."
"I Re-Awakened twice," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Oh Kyung-Soo.
"Twice."
"Yes."
"And a forty thousand year old entity the size of a small city just traveled to Seoul to say thank you to him." Min-Seo looked at his phone. "For cleaning the drains."
"For cleaning the Dragon Vein network," said Oh Kyung-Soo.
"Same thing," said Min-Seo. "To him it is the same thing."
Oh Kyung-Soo looked at Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Oh Kyung-Soo. "It is."
Aria beside them had the sword drawn.
Not aggressively.
The sword was glowing at full intensity.
The brightest Han-Ho had ever asked her to dim it.
She had not dimmed it.
"Aria," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Aria.
"The sword."
"I know," said Aria.
"It is very bright."
"I know."
"Can you—"
"Han-Ho is not here to ask me to dim it," said Aria.
Min-Seo looked at the sword.
At the full intensity glow of a three thousand year old prophecy sword in the presence of a forty thousand year old entity meeting the person it had been pointing at for three months.
"Is this the moment again," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Aria.
"Again."
"Still," said Aria. "It has been the moment since Thursday. The same moment. Continuing."
Min-Seo looked at Han-Ho.
"The drain," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Aria.
"Always."
"Yes," said Aria.
"Of course," said Min-Seo.
He put his phone in his pocket.
Watched.
The entity communicated one more thing through the Dragon Vein network.
Han-Ho felt it.
Read it.
Made a note.
Entity final communication: it is going back. It came to say thank you and has said it. It will return to its world. But it wants to leave something. It has carried a piece of the original Dragon Vein energy — pre-contamination, original source — as a fragment. It wants to give it. As acknowledgement.
Han-Ho read the note.
"You do not need to give me anything," said Han-Ho.
The ground sound.
I know. I want to.
Han-Ho looked at the entity.
At the three kilometer ancient being from a world the constellations described as very large.
"Okay," said Han-Ho.
The entity moved.
Not toward Han-Ho.
Sideways.
Careful.
In the way of something very large trying very hard to be careful.
It deposited something.
Approximately fifty meters to Han-Ho's left.
In a section of ground that was clear of any structure or person.
Then it moved back.
East.
The patient deliberate movement of something returning the way it came.
Toward the ocean.
Toward whatever was beyond the ocean.
Toward the very large world that it had come from.
Getting smaller as it went.
Not smaller in size.
Just further.
Until the eastern sky was just the eastern sky again.
Han-Ho watched it go.
Made a note.
Entity departure: returning east. Peaceful. Left something at fifty meter left position. Assessing.
He filed the departure.
Walked to the fifty meter left position.
The thing on the ground was small.
For something left by a three kilometer entity it was very small.
Approximately the size of Han-Ho's fist.
A shard.
The color of the entity.
Deep water between blue and black.
But lit from within.
Not glowing exactly.
More like a window.
A window into something that was very clean and very old and very fundamental.
Han-Ho crouched down.
Pressed his hand against the ground around it.
Read the Dragon Vein energy.
The shard was radiating original Dragon Vein source energy.
Not the clean energy of the activated network.
The source energy.
What the network had been designed to carry.
What it had carried before the blockage.
The baseline.
The original.
He read the shard itself.
It was not contaminated.
It was the opposite of contaminated.
It was the cleanest thing Han-Ho had ever touched.
Cleaner than the apartment.
Cleaner than the cleaned Dragon Vein network.
Cleaner than Moru after cleaning.
Cleaner than Han-Ho's own energy which Moru had described as just clean as a fundamental state of being.
This was cleaner than that.
This was the source of what Han-Ho's fundamental clean state was an approximation of.
Han-Ho held his hand over the shard for a long time.
Reading it.
Making notes.
Moru on his shoulder was very still.
River in the bag pocket was very still.
The ley line sprite between the notebook and the left pen was very still.
Kjor on his right shoulder had stopped eating chips.
Han-Ho made a final note.
Shard: original Dragon Vein source energy. Pre-contamination baseline quality. Cleanest energy I have encountered. Purpose unknown. Properties unknown. Taking home for assessment. Filing.
He filed it.
Picked up the shard.
It was warm.
Not hot.
Warm in the specific way of something that had been warm for forty thousand years and was going to stay warm regardless of what held it.
He put it in his bag.
Between the notebook and the right pen.
The ley line sprite, on the left side between the notebook and the left pen, looked at the shard through the bag material.
Made a sustained musical sound.
River translated.
"It says," said River. "That the shard feels like home."
Han-Ho made a note.
Sprite assessment: shard feels like home. Ley line energy from very large world similar in quality to original ley line energy of the fantasy world. Possible connection between the two world systems. Filing for Ms. Yoon.
He filed it.
Stood up.
Looked at the eastern horizon.
Empty now.
Just the sky.
He turned around.
The S-Ranks and everyone else were staring at him.
He walked back.
"Han-Ho," said Min-Seo.
"Yes."
"What happened."
"The entity came to say thank you," said Han-Ho. "For the Dragon Vein cleaning. It left a shard of original source energy." He patted the bag. "I am taking it home for assessment."
Min-Seo stared at him.
"A three kilometer forty thousand year old entity from another world traveled to Seoul to say thank you," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"And left you a shard."
"Yes."
"Of original Dragon Vein source energy."
"Yes."
"And you are going to take it home."
"For assessment yes," said Han-Ho.
"And then."
"And then I need to finish the eastern section," said Han-Ho. "Drain sixteen is still unaddressed."
Min-Seo looked at him.
At the bag.
At drain sixteen fifty meters east.
"DRAIN SIXTEEN," said Baek Sung-Il.
"I know," said Min-Seo.
"HE HAS A SHARD FROM A FORTY THOUSAND YEAR OLD ENTITY AND HE IS GOING TO DRAIN SIXTEEN—"
"I know," said Min-Seo.
"I DESTROYED A DAM—"
"I KNOW," said Min-Seo.
"JIN TAE-YANG," said Jin Tae-Yang.
"FOUR BUILDINGS," said Hwang Chulsoo, who had been listening to this running gag for long enough to have joined it.
Everyone looked at Hwang Chulsoo.
Hwang Chulsoo looked at everyone.
"It seemed appropriate," said Hwang Chulsoo.
The old man made the sound adjacent to laughter.
Oh Kyung-Soo laughed.
Genuinely.
The third time.
The Sword Saint, who had come from the rooftop Gate when the alert went out, looked at the laughing group and then at Han-Ho walking calmly toward drain sixteen.
"He is going to drain sixteen," said the Sword Saint.
"Yes," said Wei Junhao.
"After a forty thousand year old entity left him an original Dragon Vein source shard."
"Yes."
"Because drain sixteen is on the route."
"Yes Master."
The Sword Saint looked at drain sixteen.
At Han-Ho crouching down.
Pressing his hand against it.
Making a note.
"Minor accumulation," said Han-Ho. "Class B. Higher than last week. The entity's approach disturbed the ambient mana in the eastern section. Increased accumulation at all eastern section drains probable." He started cleaning. "Filing a general eastern section reassessment recommendation."
He filed it.
Cleaned drain sixteen.
Made a completion note.
Continued to drain seventeen.
The old man walked with him.
Everyone else followed.
Aria's sword glowed.
The bag held the shard.
The shard was warm.
The eastern section continued.