CH 31

Sun Yihan:

As soon as Park Yul’s fingertips brushed past, a light spread from the contact point. I could feel my sticky, blood-stained mouth being cleaned. Park Yul’s hand slipped away.

The blood that had covered the floor and my sleeve had also vanished–he must have used Clean Magic. In the blink of an eye, the bar gauge had been emptied as well.

“Yihan-ah. You…” Park Yul closed his mouth without finishing his sentence. I had never seen him hesitating like this; he had always presented a tranquil front.

He stroked my hair quietly, wordlessly. Then, adopting a smile as usual, he said, “Were you really startled?”

I shook my head lightly. Of course, my heart sank at being caught mid-vomit session by the Chosen Hero, but I didn’t have to particularly tell him the truth. The truth would only worry him further. I should pass this topic by as casually as possible.

Park Yul looked contemplatively at me before tapping the blanket. The soft blanket followed the Hero’s touch.  As he watched that movement, he finally continued to speak, “Do you want to sleep a little?”

I was indeed tired. Mentally, that is. I wasn’t particularly drowsy though. I stared back wordlessly. Park Yul crinkled his eyes in a smile and slowly lifted his hand.

The thick blanket spread out, flapping in the faint wind. For a moment, I felt as if a floral scent wafted over me.

I couldn’t refuse to lay down after he prepared the blankets like that. However, I didn’t have any intention of sleeping–I thought it would be best to simply lie down until Park Yul left.  Perhaps, then, he would be less worried.

Park Yul gently covered me with the blanket as I laid down, wriggling and trudging towards the inevitable. “Sleep well, Yihan-ah.”

His voice sounded hazy. The pillow was so invitingly warm, and the same was true of my blanket. My eyelids slowly fell on their own. I didn’t really mean to fall asleep, though…?

Perhaps I was more tired than I thought. Well, that made sense–the day was jam-packed.

I felt a touch gently sweep my bangs up; the subtle scent of flowers continued to waft around me. Though I heard Park Yul’s voice through a dream-laden mind, I had no idea what he was saying.

I had fallen asleep so quickly. It had been a long while since I’d slept like this…almost fainting into unconsciousness.

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

Park Yul:

I looked down for a long while at that white face–at Sun Yihan’s sleeping visage. Then, suddenly, I recalled how he called my name…so refreshingly clear.

-Yul-ie Hyung.

That was our first meeting. The hem of his white clothes swayed in the autumn wind; his shimmering, light-blue eyes stared into mine. His irises were like tranquil and still waters that captured my reflection.

I had been thinking about Sun Yihan for several days after I had been informed that a new member would be joining us. After all, a short message from the temple stating that, ‘He will be helpful,’ wasn’t really enough for me to accept him into our ranks.

However, when I finally faced the youth, I realized that he was still young. To be frank, the one I should have been wary of wasn’t Sun Yihan in the first place. He was seventeen–an age where one has yet to know of or explore the world. Sun Yihan must have been pushed all the way here in the name of  ‘saving the world.’

Suddenly, the Warrior’s oath came to mind. This happened when I met Min Joo-hyuk, Raen, and Song Ha-gyeon. To be honest, I didn’t want to give these pledges; one Warrior was enough. Nevertheless, in the end, we were fated to be together like this.

After all, the world has always been cruel. And crueler than the world was…

‘…was fate.’

That’s right–fate had always been harsh and cold.

The day I was chosen as this generation’s Warrior and called to the temple… I walked alone, at dawn, into a dark room. That day, the being known as God showed me the world’s and my fate.

A red, dead sky that made it hard to tell whether the time was night or day; countless cracks that tore through the air, and my solitary self standing beneath all that. The blade flashing in the collapsing world; the pulsations of my heart… In the blink of an eye, that inevitable destruction that approached every passing minute disappeared without a trace, as if it had all been just a dream.

In that manner, peace had been maintained and will continue to be maintained. The blade from the dream, which scattered into dust at the end of the vision, flowed into the temple and emerged when someone was chosen once more to hold the sword’s hilt in order to overcome the next crisis.

I didn’t really believe in God. However, now…its existence could not be denied.

‘The future is set.’

Like a well-organized chessboard. Like a chess knight that moved as planned by some higher force. An ending that was determined from the very beginning and will be eventually reached.

I couldn’t ‘see’ everything in detail, but I could dimly feel the stems of the future, the path laid out before me. And that was all the more cruel. Regardless of the process, the ending had definitely been decided.

What will happen to me, what will happen at the end… At that moment, I had discovered fate.

‘…Why?’

I felt a strange void inside. This deep despair felt rather…empty.

I wanted to argue with someone–to tell them that this was nonsense, but there was no one to argue with. I had no way of reaching God, who I now found out existed; even if I told the people around me, I would only be spreading the black hollowness within me.

I sat still in the dark room–so dark I couldn’t even see an inch ahead. I scrunched my eyes closed; my mind felt dizzy from all the information that was being engraved into my brain.

And then, at one point, a thought bubbled to the surface of my mind. Something so obvious.

Mankind was helpless in the face of nature; there was no way humanity can stop rain during a downpour. No matter how good one is at magic, one cannot control nature.

I supposed fate was similar to that. I may feel helpless about not being able to stop the rain, but until now I had no idea of my own helplessness when faced with fate. I would be swept away all the same in water and in destiny.

Therefore, this was nothing so special or different. When I thought carefully, this wasn’t something I couldn’t accept.

Furthermore, I wasn’t the only one walking down this predestined road.

It didn’t take long for me to stabilize my half-collapsed body and stand back up. A sudden smile emerged out of my now tranquil countenance.

What a relief. If someone had to be given this fate, it may as well be me; I was used to doing my best with what short time was given.

‘But, how did Sun Yihan…?’

Raen wasn’t wrong when he stated that healing magic didn’t exist. After all, it was someone’s fate for them to be hurt and to suffer. And, it was impossible to go against fate.

However, Sun Yihan could truly utilize healing magic. And he did it more than once or twice.

‘How is that possible?’

Sun Yihan was sure to be another person walking along fate’s strings…like everyone else.

Nevertheless, it was impossible to determine how he could possibly use healing magic, something that went against the laws of this world’s reality.

“..Yihan-ah.” While lost in thought, his name tumbled out of my lips automatically. I jumped back to my senses; before me lay Sun Yihan, still asleep.

I heard a quiet breath. I raised my hand and slowly stroked his cheek; perhaps because he was asleep, his soft cheeks were unusually warm.

Sun Yihan was an unknown element–an incomprehensible person. Due to that, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.

‘I didn’t intend to come all this way with him.’

I swept up his black hair–past events vividly flashed through my mind.

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

“I won’t be a hindrance.”

Sun Yihan’s calm voice lingered in my ear and thoughts. That was when, right before we left for Nightfall Forest, we told him to wait a while at home. Sun Yihan’s expression didn’t shake or tremble–not even a bit.

Sun Yihan continued in a calm voice, “You don’t have to worry about me.” He blinked slowly, thought for a while, and smiled brightly. He then concluded, “It’s alright if I get hurt.”

A calm face was captured in my gaze–as if what he said was so casual. My fingertips chilled.

Sun Yihan adopted an even brighter smile, “After all, I can use healing magic. It’s safer if I go with you.”

His voice was so stable. The sunlight poured in through the window behind him as the young man tilted his head. His blue, shimmering eyes looked towards Min Joo-hyuk.

“I know you have defensive magic; I know you’ve been doing well for yourselves until now.” Sun Yihan continued to speak bitterly, “Still, the world doesn’t always go as expected. I’d feel more relieved if I accompanied you all…just in case.”

Min Joo-hyuk’s eyes trembled violently as he looked towards Sun Yihan.

To be honest, Sun Yihan was right. And it was mainly Min Joo-hyuk who focused on our defense–the younger Warrior must have felt an incredibly burdensome pressure.

But, did Sun Yihan think about himself in that ‘just-in-case’ situation? He didn’t seem to care if he was hurt or not.

Sun Yihan’s voice continued slowly, “Therefore, I’d like to go with you all.”

Min Joo-hyuk clenched his fist and relaxed it; his eyes were still fixed on his same-age-friend. He looked as if he didn’t know what to say.

“And, to be honest…” Sun Yihan faltered in his speech, hesitating. He bowed his head before lifting it up again. He looked at Song Ha-gyeon before continuing, “I don’t want to be left alone here.”

Sun Yihan fiddled with his sleeves. Song Ha-gyeon stared wordlessly at his fidgeting self.

“It’s too spacious here.” Sun Yihan murmured, “I don’t like to be left alone at night,” to himself. His eyes were a bit vacant–it didn’t seem as if he realized he was talking out loud.

After a flinch, Sun Yihan’s eyes refocused. He instantly adopted a tranquil expression before turning his head away. His eyes met Raen’s shaky pupils this time. “My wound from last time healed quickly, right?”

Raen bit his lips hard; his complexion looked a little pale even though the sunlight entering through the window was so bright.

Sun Yihan spoke in a light, nonchalant tone, “I can’t use healing magic on myself, but any large wounds will heal on their own.”

There was no doubt in his face. Not even when he whispered, “what a relief.” It seems he truly found that fortunate.

“How?” The words tumbled out of my mouth unwittingly.

How could he be sure those wounds will heal on their own? He may have been lucky this time–the next incident could be different. And, we had no idea if his scars were completely healed without any after- or side-effects.

And yet, how could Sun Yihan pass this all off as nothing?

I could hear Sun Yihan’s voice cutting through my dizzy thoughts–

“Yul-ie Hyung.”

The sun shining behind him was as bright as snow, yet Sun Yihan’s blue eyes, in my perspective, looked even brighter than that.

Without blinking, I locked eyes with Sun Yihan. He smiled brightly, “I can’t die yet.”

What did that mean? At that moment, it felt like my head was empty. Sun Yihan’s incomprehensible words just circled around my brain.

He looked at my expression and breathed out as if he had realized something. He hurriedly continued, “I meant… For a long while… Mm, well, it’s hard to explain…”

He seemed to be momentarily embarrassed before regaining his composure, “The important thing is that I’ll be fine.”

Sun Yihan lowered his eyes slightly–he looked relaxed. It was as if he said everything he wanted to say. “In any situation, I mean. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, Yihan-ah.” I said.

His eyes snapped to mine–his tranquil pupils waited for something, any further words. But, he didn’t look nervous.

…As if he had already guessed what I would say.