RG 131

I felt a dizzying sensation of falling from a high place. Soon, a strong shock hits my entire body. I gasped roughly, my body jolting. 

Someone calmly spoke as they covered my distorted vision with their hand. “Pull yourself together. Control your breathing.”

“Haah, ugh…”

The person pinning down my struggling body kept telling me to regulate my breathing. A heavy forest scent drifted from the hand covering my eyes.

As I inhaled it, my wildly racing heart quickly calmed. My uncontrollable breathing gradually began returning to its normal pace.

“You almost had hyperventilation.”

The fake clicked his tongue and removed the hand covering my eyes. As I cautiously opened my eyelids, the bright fluorescent lights and the Circle Guild’s office came into view. My body was sitting on the sofa, just like before I went to meet the replica. Nothing had changed in reality. And yet, my hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

I covered my mouth with a hand, feeling the uneasiness in my chest. “What the hell… did you do?!” I glared sharply, demanding an answer, and the fake looked confused.

“I should be the one asking. What did you do to end up in such an unstable mental and physical state?”

“You said the replica… wouldn’t move, that it wouldn’t have will.”

The fake’s eyes widened slightly at my words. There was no sign of deception. Clearly flustered, he asked quickly, “Don’t tell me it moved? Did it try to kill you?”

“Yeah. It didn’t try to kill me, but it definitely moved. It grabbed my arm…” I tried to explain what had happened, but the words caught in my throat. Even I couldn’t understand the replica’s behavior.

‘Grabbing my arm could’ve been nothing, but touching my cheek or the look in its eyes…’

While I was caught in confusion, the fake fell into thought for a moment before speaking again. “There’s no issue with that space. It may seem simply made, but I checked it thoroughly several times before putting you in. If the replica still moved despite that…” Letting out a contemplative sigh, he crossed his arms and sat on the sofa across from me. “When did the replica start moving?”

“…Near the end. It probably wasn’t even for a full minute.”

“You said it grabbed your arm.”

“And there was emotion on its face. I definitely saw life in its eyes.”

“Is that so.” The fake nodded as if he understood. “It seems, for some reason, the original’s intent influenced the replica.”

“The original’s intent?”

“You know the Great Calamity’s skill well, don’t you?”

As the fake gestured, the water in the teapot began boiling on its own and floated into a teacup. This insane transcendent bastard isn’t even pretending to hide his powers in front of me anymore.

“All shadows are connected. It looks like that connection briefly extended to the replica I created. It didn’t fully regain will, but it recalled a fragment of the original’s strong emotions.”

A fragment of the original’s strong emotions?

Even with the explanation, I still couldn’t understand. If the replica’s original was the pre-regression Calamity, why the hell would that bastard grab me or touch my cheek? That guy shouldn’t even know me.

“Could there be another reason?”

“There isn’t. As of now, the only possibility is that the original’s intent manifested.”

“…”

So certain.

‘Why the hell is he so sure? Like he didn’t mess up.’

Feeling thoroughly disgusted, I furrowed my brow and glared at the fake. “Hey, Transcendent. This isn’t cool. You said it was safe, so I trusted you, but look how it turned out. You didn’t earn my trust—you made me never want to step foot in here again.”

“Hmm…”

“What if I’d died in that crappy space because of the replica and your so-called ‘original intent’? Huh? Could you save the world without me? You that confident?”

“Ahem, well…”

Even the fake seemed to have no excuse this time, avoiding my gaze with an awkward expression. I didn’t let up, pressing him harder as he coughed pointlessly. “Is life easy just because you’re a transcendent? You think I’ll save the world for you if you just half-ass things with me? What a reckless attitude. This delicate regressor is disappointed in you, Mr. Transcendent.”

This bastard’s got no discipline.

Sure, neither of us had been in the military, but I pushed the point anyway. After all, I was the victim here. When else would I get a chance to squeeze something out of this transcendent bastard? 

Mixing formal and informal speech like I was about to collapse on the office floor finally broke the fake, and he shouted, “Alright, alright! Just stop already! Even if I take a loss, I’ll negotiate the price in your favor—so shut up, will you?”

“Keep your word.”

No way a transcendent would go back on his word, right?

Ah, this is no doubt the high-stakes arena where the fate of the world is bartered. No room for amateurs.

“Ha, I’ve never met a lunatic like you.”

With a tired look, the fake rubbed his forehead and let out a deep sigh. Unbelievable. Who’s the one who should be sighing here?

‘So I guess I’m not going to get a clear answer on why the replica acted that way…’

There wasn’t much reason to dig deeper unless something was obviously wrong. In the end, the replica disappeared once I left, and I returned intact, with all my limbs in place.

‘If there’s a problem, it’s just this lingering bad feeling I have.’

But to be honest, that bad feeling didn’t matter at all right now. 

I’d think about it later. As I pushed the unease to the back of my mind, the fake spoke up. “I’ll tell you the price, so shut up and listen. Since I granted your request, you need to fulfill mine. But I’ll help you however I can.”

“Explain first. What’s the request?” Even if he said he’d help, it could just be a pretty lie. Deals should always be made with caution. Even transcendents can be con artists.

“…You’re thinking something pretty rude, aren’t you? Whatever. Fine.” Waving a hand like he had a headache, the fake continued, “Once you hear it, you’re going to be so excited you’ll run off anyway.”

“What?”

“It’s what you’ve been wanting.” He propped up his chin and smiled smugly.

***

With the morning sunlight at his back, Ryu Seonghyeon entered the guild building, exchanging greetings with other guild members who had just arrived for work, and headed toward the representative’s office.

“…?”

Standing before the door to knock, as he always did, he sensed the presence of two people inside. One of them was probably Song Ji-un… but who was the other? It was just past 9 a.m.—kind of early for a guest.

Puzzled, he knocked, and a voice from inside granted him permission to enter.

Looking up from his papers, Song Ji-un greeted Ryu Seonghyeon with a gentle smile as he stepped into the office. “Good morning, Seonghyeon.”

“Yes. Good morning.”

“So, what brings you here first thing in the morning?”

“Ah, I just need to step out for a bit…”

With a slightly awkward expression, Ryu Seonghyeon noticed a leg sticking out from beyond the armrest of the sofa. He had thought it was strange—he could sense someone’s presence but hadn’t seen anyone. It looked like someone had been lying on the couch. Curious about who it was, he lowered his gaze—and was startled.

“H-Hunter Cha Seohu?”

The side profile peacefully sleeping under a blanket was unmistakably Cha Seohu.

As Ryu Seonghyeon stood there, flustered by the unexpected encounter, Song Ji-un spoke in a calm voice. “Perfect timing. I actually have something I need both Hunter Cha Seohu and you to do.”

“Something for us to do? Wait—why is he sleeping here?”

“I ran into him briefly last night. He said he had nowhere to go, so I let him sleep here.”

That answer only made things more confusing. Let him sleep here? Did Cha Seohu and Song Ji-un know each other? Had they been together since last night? Were they that close?

A flood of questions filled Ryu Seonghyeon’s mind. Unsure of where to even start, he finally managed to say, “Actually, the reason I was stepping out was to look for Hunter Cha Seohu. Guildmaster of Yesung contacted me saying he had gone missing.”

“Is that so? I suppose something must have happened out there. For now, wake him. We can talk about it together.”

Even though he clearly knew why Cha Seohu had no place to go—and why Ryu Seonghyeon had come looking for him the moment he got to work—Song Ji-un feigned ignorance without a hint of shame.

“…Alright.”

He had a point. Waking Cha Seohu and talking it out would probably clear up a lot.

Ryu Seonghyeon reached out to wake him, but paused.

Cha Seohu’s sleeping face was pale, and there was a faint tension between his brows.

’Is he having a bad dream?’

Curled up awkwardly on the sofa, it wasn’t surprising.

‘Didn’t Hunter Kwon Taehyeok say he was seriously hurt…?’

Before waking him, Ryu Seonghyeon quickly checked his condition. He was dressed and covered with a blanket, so it wasn’t easy to tell, but thankfully, he didn’t seem to have any major injuries.

At that moment, Cha Seohu furrowed his brows more deeply and let out a soft groan.

‘Not good.’

Thinking he couldn’t leave him like that, Ryu Seonghyeon gently grabbed his shoulder and gave it a slight shake. “Hunter Cha Seohu, are you alright?” 

As he called the name carefully, Cha Seohu stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Meeting the drowsy, unfocused gaze, Ryu Seonghyeon was briefly at a loss for words. When their eyes met—those pitch-black irises stark against his pale face—for some reason, it felt like something was squeezing his throat.

As he stood frozen, staring blankly, Cha Seohu quietly looked up at him and whispered, “…Big Bro?”

Startled, Ryu Seonghyeon quickly let go of his shoulder and took a couple of steps back.

A whisper so soft, an ordinary person might not have even caught it. It was a voice he had never heard before. So full of longing and familiarity that just hearing it made his chest ache in a strange way.

Ryu Seonghyeon felt as if he had overheard something he wasn’t supposed to.