THIFSGSTW CH 37

Chapter 37: Even If I Don’t Understand

I didn’t particularly dislike it. It was just that there was no reason to hug him. It wasn’t something that needed to be insisted on so desperately either. At that moment, a breeze gently swept past us. Raen’s robe softly draped over me. A sweet scent spread around me.

“We’re going up now.”

With Raen’s voice, my view slowly began to rise. I looked down and saw that the ground I had just stepped on was getting farther and farther away.

The three figures by the campfire became smaller and smaller. One of them waved a hand broadly as if bidding farewell. Then, in an instant, they disappeared completely. Only the flickering flames remained in that spot. I stared blankly at the empty space before shifting my gaze upward. The sky was just as empty.

A darkness without stars or moon stretched above us, looking lonely. Tilting my head slightly, I leaned against Raen. Warmth seeped into me—through my body and through my heart.

For some reason, I thought I could hear the sound of a pounding heart.

‘What is this?’

It was the sound of a heart beating as if I had run with all my strength.

I wasn’t nervous. There was no way I would be afraid of heights just because I had slipped and fallen once.

Just as I was about to raise a hand to my chest—

“…Yi-han.”

Raen’s voice came from right beside me. The wind mixed with his words, making them sound slightly unsteady.

Raen lowered his gaze to meet mine. In his golden eyes, which seemed to be slightly widened, I saw my own reflection. His red hair fluttered gently. The sound of the wind cutting through the air filled my ears. Raen raised his brows slightly in a faint smile before parting his lips slowly.

“…thing …you.”

A small whisper scattered into the air. Not all of his words reached me.

Before I could say that I hadn’t heard him, Raen lightly shook his head, as if it hadn’t been something he intended to tell me in the first place. I already had enough unanswered questions piling up these days, and now, Raen was adding to them with such ease. I was about to ask him to repeat himself when the surroundings gradually brightened.

In the darkness, tiny yellow lights flickered into existence, one by one. They looked like stars, twinkling as they spread. As if they were following us, they floated upward along our ascent.

“…There’s magic like this too.”

I murmured without realizing it. If I could walk through the Milky Way, would it feel like this?

Raen let out a small laugh. Then, he held me even more firmly. I could still hear the sound of a heartbeat in my ears.

I understood why. The sight before me was dazzling enough to sting my eyes. It was only natural that my heart would pound as if it were about to burst. Even the warmth pressing against me felt vivid.

We had ascended quite a bit when I suddenly felt a strange sensation as if we were passing through a veil.

“Raen-hyung. That was it just now.” Raen closed his eyes, furrowing his brows slightly as if concentrating. Then, he opened them again with a puzzled expression.

“Yi-han, can you cover your ears for a moment?”

“Yes.”

“Can you still hear me?”

He was speaking right next to me while holding me. Of course, I could hear him. I nodded with both hands over my ears. Raen made a troubled face before continuing.

“Hmm. That’s not supposed to happen….”

“Why not?”

“It’s going to be a bit loud. I’ll block out the surrounding sounds for a moment, so don’t be alarmed if you can’t hear anything.”

After confirming my nod, Raen slowly moved his lips, reciting an incantation I couldn’t understand. Suddenly, everything fell silent.

Even though I could still feel the wind against my skin, there wasn’t even the faintest sound of it brushing past my ears. I lowered my hands from my ears, but I still couldn’t hear anything. Raen lowered his gaze toward the empty darkness below as if trying to pinpoint the location I had mentioned. I watched him. Though I couldn’t hear anything, he seemed to be reciting another phrase.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew up from below. Raen’s robe, which had been covering me, lifted slightly before settling back down. A bright flash of red flickered for a brief moment.

Raen turned his head toward me. His tense expression softened slightly as he mouthed his words clearly.

Are you cold?

It seemed like he was asking that. I shook my head. Raen smiled faintly and ascended a little higher. Following his gaze, I looked down again. In the darkness, red sparks flared and faded repeatedly. It looked like something was exploding.

Once the sparks had died down, the sound of wind brushing past my ears gradually returned, bringing back the noise of the surroundings. Raen looked at me and spoke.

“I checked just now, but I didn’t detect any mana in the area.”

He added that although there was a faint, unclear presence, it likely wasn’t mana. If there really was a barrier distorting this space, then such a small amount of mana wouldn’t be enough to create it.

It was a long way back down. Raen mentioned that this was a height even he wouldn’t normally fly up to with magic.

‘If not for the system, I would never have known about this.’

It felt strange to be led along exactly as the system intended. But since the decision had been mine, I had no real complaints. Of course, the failure penalty had also pushed me forward, but if the quest had been beyond my ability, I wouldn’t have attempted it no matter the penalty.

No matter how many quests the system threw at me, the choice to accept them was always mine. I knew that well.

‘Well, in the end, it wasn’t a bad result.’

We had at least found a new clue about this twisted place. Even if it wasn’t much, it was still something. As I was lost in thought, Raen, who had been watching me intently, finally spoke.

“You said the sky looked like it was rippling to you, and that we completely passed through the barrier.”

“Yes, that’s right. I think we went even higher than that.”

Raen bit his lip, thinking for a moment before speaking slowly. “Yi-han, your mana isn’t in a normal form. You know that, right?”

“I do.”

“So, if there really is a barrier, and if that barrier has a form similar to your mana, then it makes sense that it would react only to you. But…”

Raen hesitated. By then, we were nearly back on the ground. The scattered lights were converging in one place. Just before we landed, Raen spoke in a trembling voice.

“If what you said is true, that we have already passed through the barrier. But why… is the sky still dark?”

A strong wind swept past us. Raen finally touched the ground. The wind hitting my ears made me squeeze my eyes shut.

“You can open your eyes.”

A voice tinged with laughter reached me. I opened my eyes slightly. Raen was smiling faintly as he met my gaze.

He walked a few steps while still holding me before gently setting me down on the log by the campfire. My feet touched the ground. For some reason, it felt like a long time since I had last stood on my own.

Raen smoothed down my hair before sitting lightly beside me. At some point, his robe had settled over my shoulders again. I neatly folded it and handed it back to him.

“Thank you, Raen-hyung.”

Raen blinked rapidly as if deep in thought, then unfolded the robe and draped it over my lap instead.

“I should be the one thanking you.”

What is he thanking me for? For returning his robe? But then, why is he handing it back to me? I couldn’t understand.

Raen gently patted my knee. I couldn’t bring myself to push his hand away and return the robe. It felt like warmth was spreading through my body. Staring at the flickering campfire before me, I mulled over what Raen had said earlier.

‘It is strange that nothing changed, even after crossing the barrier.’

A barrier is supposed to separate the inside from the outside. If that were the case, then the outside should have been intact. But the sky I saw earlier wasn’t. It wasn’t an ordinary night sky but a pitch-black void, devoid of even a single star. Just like it had been from below.

“Yi-han.”

Raen’s voice came from beside me. I turned my head toward him. The firelight flickered near his face as he looked at me.

“There’s no need to be afraid of things you don’t understand. Everything happens for a reason.”

“But… if the reason is unknown, isn’t that the same as it not existing?”

“That’s not true.”

Raen lifted his head, gazing at the dark void stretched across the sky.

“It just hasn’t been found yet. As long as we don’t stop, we’ll uncover it. Because it doesn’t simply disappear.”

In the pitch-black darkness, his golden eyes shone like the moon. His voice remained calm and steady.

“Whatever it is, I’ll find the answer. Before this generation’s term as heroes comes to an end, without a fail.”

I nodded as I looked at Raen. I, too, sincerely wished that we could uncover the hidden truth and save this world before our time ran out.

It was after Park Yul had told me that heroes were chosen every five years. Thinking about it now, the system had commanded me to save the world.

‘So, if we fail to save the world this time…’

If that were to happen, I might have to join forces with the next generation of heroes.

For some reason, I didn’t like that idea. Would a true healer think this way? But I couldn’t help it.

Maybe it was because they were the first heroes I had met, but I couldn’t even imagine new heroes being chosen after them.

So, I wanted them to be the ones to save the world. Of course, that wasn’t my goal. There was very little I could actually do. It was nothing more than a selfish wish.

‘Still, maybe it’s okay to be a little selfish.’

I would give my all and move forward with them. Even if it was selfish, I wanted to hold on to this hope.

Raen’s hand was still resting on my knee. I gently took hold of it and stood up.

Taking a step forward, I faced Raen. He silently looked up at me, his eyes holding my reflection. They wavered faintly.

“Raen hyung.”

The firm hand I held trembled slightly.