THIFSGSTW CH 55

Chapter 55: There’s no way I’m lost

The stairs were pristine white, untouched by time.

Sunlight streamed down on the stairs, clear and bright, as they lined the outer wall at the back of the building. Blue flower petals had gathered on the steps and were now slowly overflowing downward. The sight was like a gentle, cascading waterfall.

I lifted my head. The stairs seemed to stretch all the way to the rooftop.

‘Third floor…’

It wasn’t an impossible height to climb. I wasn’t sure when I’d get another chance to come here. I had to do everything I could while I was here.

I stepped up the stairs one by one. As my view rose, the warm wind grew stronger.

I could feel the end of spring approaching. The only sounds were the wind rustling in my ears and the sound of my footsteps.

I climbed up the last staircase. The round roof was right in front of me. I could see a distant landscape. The ground and the sky were all blue. I couldn’t figure out where the boundary was.

‘Right. Will the flowers here turn white too?’

I had forgotten about it. The flowers on the west side had turned white as if they were bleached.

I walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, leaning against the sloped surface. My feet dangled freely in the air. I reached out and gently held one of the scattered blue flowers. How long had I been sitting there?

—Whoosh.

Suddenly, the blue flower lifted into the air. What? It almost felt like… resonance. For a fleeting moment, I had the sensation of something within me connecting to it. I wonder if this is what it would be like to use magic.

The flower, which had been floating in midair, soon fluttered back down. Before I could make sense of it, a gust of wind blew past me from the side, casting a shadow over me.

“Oh, Ha-gyeon hyung?”

Before I knew it, Song Ha-gyeon was standing next to me. He was quietly looking down at me with his lips pressed together. How did he know I was here?

Soon after, Park Yul appeared, stirring the wind as he approached.

“You weren’t about to fall, were you, Yi-han?”

“Me? No?”

“Yeah. If not, then that’s fine. How’d you get up here?”

“There was a staircase in the back.”

“Hmm, you don’t mean that steep one, do you?”

“…Sun Yi-han.”

A low voice grabbed my wrist. In an instant, the scene before my eyes changed.

Before I knew it, I was back on the ground, plopped onto the same chair I had been sitting on before I climbed up. Song Ha-gyeon was still holding my wrist. His voice, slow and steady, followed.

“Do you like high places?”

Suddenly? I hadn’t expected to be asked that. What kind of context had led him to ask that? As I hesitated, Park Yul spoke softly beside me.

“Ha-gyeon says his heart drops whenever he sees you in a high place, Yi-han.”

“…I never said that, hyung.”

“Right. Then let’s just say he was a little startled.”

Park Yul concluded his sentence as he quietly settled down beside me. Song Ha-gyeon neither confirmed nor denied it.

“Why?”

I asked, but this time, neither of them answered. A brief silence passed before Park Yul finally spoke again.

“I just want you to be careful. More importantly, I came to find you because I have something for you.”

Something floated gently in front of Park Yul. It was a round, pure white cloud, slightly larger than my face. A wooden stick was attached to the bottom.

Park Yul handed the stick to me.

“Wait… is this really a cloud?”

I couldn’t believe it. Was this something magic could create?

I stared at him, unable to even blink. Park Yul simply smiled and tousled my hair.

“You can eat it. It’s cotton candy. You’ll like it.”

You could eat clouds? Park Yul had been giving me curious things for a while now.

I hesitantly placed a piece in my mouth. It had no weight, no texture, yet it melted away instantly, leaving behind an intense sweetness. It was as if I had just scooped up a spoonful of pure sugar.

“…! It’s delicious.”

“Good. Let me know if you want more.”

Park Yul lightly brushed my lips. The sticky residue around my mouth was quickly cleaned away.

Park Yul also handed a tiny piece of cotton candy to Song Ha-gyeon. It was just one bite-sized piece. Song Ha-gyeon nodded and accepted it.

“In a few days, we’ll be heading back to Redeo.”

Park Yul’s gentle voice reached my ears. I turned my gaze toward him. He was looking up at the bright blue sky.

“Spring is almost over, isn’t it?”

I nodded. This spring felt especially short.

“It might get a bit busier when the weather gets hotter.”

“…Yeah. There are many places we need to go.”

To be honest, I already thought everyone was quite busy as it was. But apparently, it was only going to get even more hectic. Maybe this was the most peaceful time we would have. I needed to brace myself.

Like the colors of summer, blue flowers gently settled onto the ground. I placed another piece of cotton candy in my mouth. It was still meltingly sweet.

◇

Days passed quickly, just as Park Yul had said.

‘We’ll be heading back tomorrow.’

That was what I had heard during breakfast.If we were leaving tomorrow, that meant today was the last day I’d see this scenery.

I sat on a bench beside the building. The morning sunlight was bright. A soft breeze blew past me. As I quietly gazed ahead, a bunch of flower suddenly changed direction mid-air and came rushing toward me.

“Ugh…!”

It was moving faster than I expected. I instinctively raised my hand to block it, but of course, nothing happened. It was just a flower.

The flower brushed against the back of my hand before settling gently in my palm. It was a transparent, watery blue. It seemed slightly lighter in color than the other flowers here.

…Wait a minute.

Something about this scene overlapped in my memory. I felt like I had experienced something similar before.

‘The day the system first appeared.’

That was it. That dream.

I shot up from my seat. My steps automatically carried me toward where the flower had come from. I didn’t know where I was going. I simply walked straight ahead, pushing through the blue petals brushing against my ankles.

And when I arrived, I found a single flower standing firm, rooted deeply in the ground.

“But I was told nothing here could take root.”

I swallowed hard and crouched in front of the lone flower, swaying gently as if it were isolated from everything else.

My hands trembled. My heart pounded. As if drawn in, I reached toward it. The moment my fingertips brushed against its petals—

Srrk

A soft breeze swept past. My eyes closed for a brief moment.

And when I opened them again…

Something was wrong.

‘I’m in trouble.’

I had fallen into a place I had never seen before.

The sky was just as blue. And the same blue flowers were slowly falling. But there was a wall to the side, thickly entwined with green vines.

‘It’s too high.’

The wall, tightly wrapped in vines, towered over me. I couldn’t even see what was on the other side. There was a narrow path leading forward.

‘There has to be a way out.’

I forced my shaky legs to move forward.

The road gradually branched off. There were places where the front was blocked, and there were paths where it was divided again. The walls all looked the same, making it impossible to tell whether I had passed through before.

I felt like I was walking in circles. That’s when I realized.

“…Did I get lost?”

The bright blue morning sun had sunk low, casting golden light over everything. It seemed like a long time had passed, but I didn’t know how to get out.

Just as I paused in frustration

There is no way you could be lost.

A voice rang inside my head.

It was light, like the chime of a small bell, yet it made my head throb. It pressed down on me, exuding a weighty authority that was impossible to ignore.

From the beginning, there was only one way.

I looked around. There was no one. Only me. That meant the voice was resonating from within my own mind. The air around me felt heavier.

Even though it wasn’t cold, I was trembling. I steadied my breath and managed to speak.

“I… I passed through multiple crossroads…”

The claim that there was only one path was wrong. I had walked for a long time after entering this place. I had passed countless paths in the road. Even now, there were four paths before me.

A long silence followed before the voice returned.

Child, in the end, the path you have walked…

It spoke calmly, but there was something eerily lifeless about it.

…is still a single path, is it not?

A single path. The words echoed in my head.

It felt like it was being hammered into my head. Like they were being forcibly embedded in my mind. My legs gave out. As I leaned against the vine-covered wall, a damp scent of greenery filled my nose.

The voice grew louder, like a reverberating echo. The moment I shut my eyes tightly—

Whoosh.

A vision unfolded before me as if it had come rushing in.

A temple. A vast room. Darkness had settled over everything. A child with jet-black hair stood alone in the center. The same voice I had just heard loomed over the empty darkness.

【Child, there is no need to fear the word ‘sacrifice.’ It will not be you who will make the sacrifice.

The child’s dark eyes gleamed in the darkness. Water-colored flowers slowly poured down on the child.

Do as you wish. The destination has already been decided.

A blue light enveloped the child. It coiled tightly around their slender neck.he child seemed to struggle in fear. The sobs that escaped echoed through the space.

It is fine if you do not understand yet.

The blue light seemed to be absorbed into the child. The child’s eyes began to be tinted with that blue light. It turned a clear sky blue, like the transparent tears flowing from the child’s eyes.

When the time comes, you will understand.

In an instant, the blue light vanished entirely, as if it had been absorbed into the child.

I am sorry.

When the child’s eyes opened again, they were completely black.

Hwaak.

The scene faded away in an instant.

I opened my eyes. I was still standing in the same spot as before.

It had only been a moment, yet time had passed in an instant. The sky had turned to night. It was a violet darkness studded with stars.

‘What was that just now?’

My breath caught in my throat. I was panting.

That was definitely… me. A younger version of myself. But I had no memory of any of it. I knew nothing.

No, I needed to stay calm. I had to think slowly. As I struggled to steady my trembling body,

‘The destination has already been decided.’

That voice resurfaced in my mind.

“…Ugh, huu…”

A wave of nausea hit me. I lowered my head, but nothing came up. A suffocating pressure pressed against my chest.

I slumped down onto the ground. My vision blurred, and tiny droplets gathered on the surface beneath me before sinking in.

No. This wasn’t the time to be like this. I needed to pull myself together.

I had to get up. That’s right, I needed to stand up.