Chapter 386:

Chapter 386:

Since the greatest threat, Magni, had disappeared, Yu-hyun judged that it was safe to release the Wandering World and send Baek Seo-ryun and Kang Hye-rim outside.

Baek Seo-ryun, Kang Hye-rim, and Baek-hyo, who had returned to reality, trembled with joy despite being startled by the devastated surroundings.

"Yu-hyun, you really won, right?"

"Yes, we won, but barely."

"It could’ve been disastrous without my help."

Baek Seo-ryun flinched at the sudden voice that cut in.

"Ji, Jia?"

"Yeah. It’s been a while."

Kwon Jia, with her hood deeply pulled over her head, greeted them with a faint smile. Baek Seo-ryun, confirming that the real Kwon Jia was standing before her, was utterly dumbfounded.

Yu-hyun was just as bewildered by the situation. He had been searching for Kwon Jia, but who could have guessed that she would be the one to come looking for him first?

"Jia, how did you get here? No, more importantly, where have you been all this time?"

"I’ve been wandering through the Hybrid Realm. For a long time, I wandered aimlessly from place to place... looking for you."

"W-What?"

Yu-hyun was flustered by Kwon Jia’s sudden and direct words.

The Kwon Jia he remembered from five years ago had been very reserved, shy, and never one to show her emotions.

But just as the world had changed over the past five years, so too had people. That applied even to those who had returned from a regression.

For Kwon Jia, this timeline was likely her one and only chance to end the cycle she had been trapped in. Beyond that, the bonds with comrades she thought she had forgotten had resurfaced, mending her once-broken heart to some extent.

Yes.

In this timeline, she was determined to live her life to the fullest, sincerely.

"I... really missed you."

"Huh? Jia...?"

"Do you know how much I suffered for the past five years, searching for you?"

"I-I’m sorry."

"You bastard."

Before Yu-hyun could respond, Kwon Jia suddenly rushed forward and hugged him tightly.

With a significant height difference, it was less like hugging and more like Kwon Jia being enveloped in Yu-hyun’s embrace. But Yu-hyun felt as though the sky had collapsed on him.

Kwon Jia—that Kwon Jia—was hugging him, glaring up at him with teary eyes.

He had believed that even if the world fell apart, something like this would never happen. But the world hadn’t collapsed, and yet here he was, facing this reality.

Yu-hyun’s hands hesitated in the air, unsure of where to place them. However, he eventually steeled himself and gently patted Kwon Jia’s back.

Kwon Jia, snuggled in his arms, trembled with laughter.

"Hehe. You’re flustered."

"Ugh... Anyone would be if someone suddenly acted like that."

Kwon Jia tilted her head up slightly and looked at Yu-hyun with a playful expression. Seeing her display such raw emotion, which was much more open than before, Yu-hyun truly realized how much the world had changed.

"Why are you still keeping that robe on?"

"......!"

When Yu-hyun reached for her hood, Kwon Jia jumped back quickly in surprise.

Yu-hyun, who had been reaching out, felt awkward instead.

"Jia?"

"Um, well... the hood... I’m not quite ready yet."

"Did something happen? Are you hurt? Do you have any injuries?"

"No, not exactly... But, uh... it’s something like that..."

Kwon Jia trailed off. Seeing her hesitation, Yu-hyun, worried that she might be severely injured, stepped closer to her.

"Let me take a look."

"Huh? W-Wait—"

"I might be able to help."

"N-No, it’s really fine!"

"Don’t think of it as a burden. Just let me check."

"I-I said it’s fine!"

Every step Yu-hyun took closer, Kwon Jia took a step back. Baek-hyo and Baek Seo-ryun watched the scene with somewhat dazed expressions. At that moment, Kang Hye-rim, who had been silently observing Kwon Jia, moved.

Her actions had no logic or intention behind them. Nearly reduced to a blank state of mind, all of Kang Hye-rim’s actions were instinctive, driven by her subconscious.

No one present could anticipate Kang Hye-rim’s movements, which was only natural.

"Jia... Did you just say ‘Bookworm’?"

Bookworms were one of the Five Kings of Destruction, artificial beings created by the King of Betrayal, Praytion, and his followers.

That’s what Yu-hyun had learned from Oello.

Bookworms were beings that literally consumed the letters of the world, causing entire regions to vanish or collapse just by their presence.

And now Kwon Jia was saying that Fenrir was a Bookworm? That she had inherited Fenrir’s power?

It was a situation impossible to reconcile.

"What do you know about Bookworms?"

"Other than the basics, not much..."

Baek Seo-ryun hesitated to respond. But that didn’t reduce the danger posed by the Bookworms. Ever since Praytion had revealed his true nature five years ago, Bookworms had sporadically appeared across the Hybrid Realm, endangering the world.

This even occurred within the territories of the Union. The occasional appearance of Bookworms caused casualties, forcing Executors and Lords to step in and exterminate them.

In fact, a large-scale Bookworm extermination had been executed just recently.

"The Bookworms we know are mindless beings that destroy the world. But did you know that some Bookworms have intelligence, and that there were beings who weren’t originally called Bookworms?"

Baek Seo-ryun fell speechless at the sudden shift in scale, while Yu-hyun narrowed his eyes.

"Are you saying... that’s Fenrir?"

"And it’s not just Fenrir. Jörmungandr and other mythical beasts are also considered forms of Bookworms."

"You’re not suggesting that the Great Gods...?"

"You’re well-versed in mythology, so you should know. There was primordial chaos in the myths of countless Great Gods from the very beginning."

Yu-hyun nodded gravely.

All myths began with the creation of something out of nothing. And at the beginning of such myths, there was always some great formless void or chaos from which everything emerged.

"In Norse mythology, it all starts with the giant Ymir and the cow Audhumla."

"Olympus begins with Chaos."

"The Hwanin Empire comes from Mago Halmi, and the Thirty-Six Heavens of the Celestial Realm from Hongjun Doin, while Amesha Spenta originates from Angra Mainyu. There’s also Pangu, Apophis, and others. Most Great Gods share similar origins."

"Are you saying... all those primordial beings of chaos were Bookworms?"

"You could call them Bookworms. Or you might not."

Kwon Jia revealed a shocking truth.

"They weren’t originally Bookworms. The name Bookworm was branded on them by the Divine Spirits who survived the Mythic War of the distant past."

"Wait. From what I know, the Bookworms were creations of one of the Tellers of Origin..."

"Praytion, the King of Betrayal?"

"How do you know that?"

"It’s not like I spent the last five years aimlessly wandering."

Kwon Jia had traveled the Hybrid Realm for five years, gathering and organizing information, all while searching for Yu-hyun.

"I’ve been to many places. Some of them were even territories of the Great Gods. I explored countless ruins and delved into their secrets."

"Ruins... in the territories of the Great Gods?"

"Given how ancient their existence is, it’s natural for the traces of time to remain in various places. Though the Great Gods seemed to have forgotten, I relentlessly unearthed their ruins. And I realized something. The Mythic War that took place in the distant past was a battle where the existing Divine Spirits fought against the primordial beings born from chaos. And they won."

The defeated beings either perished or, those who survived, were labeled as Bookworms.

They were beings not permitted by the universe itself, beyond just the Mixed Realm.

"But... how?"

"There was one being who approached the exiled losers of that war."

"Praytion, wasn’t it?"

"Exactly."

Originally, the beings of chaos weren’t Bookworms. They only became such after encountering Praytion.

"And after that, what happened?"

"Beyond that, I don’t know. All I’ve learned is that the Mythic War occurred in the distant past, and the chaotic forces were driven to the far corners of the universe. It’s only recently that I realized they were connected to Praytion."

"...Then the true destruction of the world that you foresaw..."

"Yes. It’s possible that another massive war between the chaotic Bookworms and the Great Gods will soon break out."

If another Mythic War were to occur, this time, the universe itself would be doomed.

And based on the patterns from previous cycles, there weren’t many years left until the second Mythic War would take place.

"The time... is running out."

"......."

Just when they thought they had saved the world from destruction, it turned out that it was only the beginning.