DEB 112

After escaping the swamp, Huiyun fell far more gravely ill than he had expected.

Dozens of times a day, he woke screaming in seizures, only to pass out again from the unbearable pain. 

His fever raged to the top of his head, his breathing was labored, and some days, his whole body ached so badly he couldn’t sleep at all.

He would thrash, lose consciousness, wake up, then faint again. 

In that hazy confusion between life and death, someone was always by his side.

Every time he regained his senses, the face he saw changed, and the voice he heard was different. Some called him Yasha, some Huiyun, others Mr. Huiyun.

Just as he began to think he’d heard the voices of everyone close to him, Huiyun finally escaped the penalty of his power and opened his eyes, this time, without pain. 

Light filtering through gently fluttering curtains stung his eyes.

“Ugh… Yasha.”

“…Huiyun, please. Don’t go…”

“Huiyun…”

Familiar voices came from near his bedside.

“Don’t go… Yasha… Master Yasha…”

Vita flailed his hand across the bed, muttering in his sleep, seemingly stuck in a nightmare.

He could’ve slept more comfortably if he’d just laid down properly.

He looked around at his brother and disciples, who had fallen asleep awkwardly, slumped over the bed or in chairs, though one of them was missing.

Where did he go?

As he gently held Vita’s restless hand and scanned the room, he noticed he was back in a familiar hospital room. 

Oddly, his blue spirit beast was nowhere to be seen either.

Did he also go out for a stroll?

With the thought, he quietly got up, careful not to wake the others, climbed out of bed, and stretched for the first time in ages.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but thanks to the long and intense suffering, every trace of the penalty had disappeared. 

Still, the system administrator’s disciplinary period must not be over, because no matter how much he called for it, there was no response.

At least leave my quest rewards before you vanish.

If the admin had heard that, Huiyun was sure they’d have popped up a hundred chat windows to complain. 

He made his way to the door. 

As soon as he carefully opened it, a refreshing breeze swept in rather than the usual scent of disinfectant.

“Oh, Mr. Huiyun! You’re awake—”

“Shh.”

He met eyes with a nurse in the hallway. 

Huiyun quickly hushed him and gestured toward the sleeping patients in the room. 

The nurse peeked in, saw them sleeping, and nodded before gently closing the door.

“They finally fell asleep after staying awake for days on end.”

“How long was I out?”

“It’s been over two weeks—so quite a while.”

“Two weeks…”

A small price to pay, considering he had wielded power on par with his prime.

“It’s a relief you’ve woken up. Your physical recovery went well, and your internal mana levels stabilized some time ago. But you wouldn’t wake up, so we were really worried. You kept having seizures, so we figured your mind was just exhausted and decided to monitor you. If you hadn’t woken in two more days, we would’ve had to transfer you to a hospital overseas.”

“…Glad I woke up early.”

“Right?”

Seriously. Imagine waking up in a foreign hospital surrounded by total strangers.

Suppressing a shudder, Huiyun asked what he came for.

“By the way—V… I mean, Mr. Jiwook wasn’t in the room. Do you happen to know where he is?”

“He should be in the garden. Another doctor said they saw the Blue Flame Guild Master there about 30 minutes ago.”

“Thank you.”

“Ah, wait! It’s a bit chilly to be walking around just yet—”

“It’s fine. I’m stronger these days.”

“Hmm.”

“Now that I think about it, it’s kind of inappropriate for someone who just spent two weeks unconscious to be saying that.”

Seeing the nurse’s face show not even a hint of confidence in the patient, Huiyun took the initiative to lighten the mood. 

The nurse chuckled belatedly and patted Huiyun on the back.

“You’ve been lying down so long. You’re bound to feel stifled. Your last checkup showed everything was fine, so feel free to step out for a bit. Just don’t stay out too long, just in case.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Bowing slightly in gratitude, Huiyun left the hospital and headed for the garden. 

He wasn’t sure if Jiwook would still be there, since 30 minutes had passed, but luckily, he hadn’t missed him.

“Vina.”

“…Ah, Yasha.”

Vina, slower to notice him than usual, stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

Huiyun hadn’t bothered to suppress his presence, yet Vina hadn’t even noticed him approaching. 

Just what had he been thinking about so deeply?

Huiyun’s gaze shifted to the cigarette butt wrapped in a handkerchief. 

Realizing what Huiyun was staring at, Vina cleared his throat awkwardly.

“…I don’t normally smoke.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“……”

Vina’s guilty tone brought on a tense silence. 

Huiyun plopped down on the bench and took in the scenery of the garden.

A breeze swept through. 

Maybe it was because he’d been under blankets for so long, but the wind felt cool yet pierced to the bone. 

As Huiyun shivered and hunched over, Vina took off his suit jacket and draped it over him.

“You shouldn’t be out like that in this weather.”

“I woke up and didn’t see you.”

“…I stepped out for a bit to think.”

“About what?”

As he tried on the jacket, Huiyun was struck by how much smaller he felt in comparison to Vina it really drove home their size difference in this life. 

Enough time had passed for Vina to reply, but no answer came. 

When Huiyun looked up, their eyes met—Vina was frowning, staring down at him.

Vina had lost weight over the past two weeks, his lips chapped and peeling. 

Huiyun instinctively reached out and grabbed his face, pulling him down to eye level.

“Your lips are cracked. You’re a Blue Dragon, your skin should never dry out like this if you even tried to take care of yourself a little. Same as always, I see.”

At the scolding, Vina blinked, then sighed and grabbed Huiyun’s hand.

“Because of someone, I couldn’t sleep for two weeks. And I’m no longer a Blue Dragon, I can’t regulate my body’s moisture anymore.”

“…Ah.”

“…You’re unbelievable.”

Cutting himself off with a groan, Vina let go of Huiyun’s hand and sat beside him. 

Huiyun shifted over to give him more room, then quietly studied his disciple’s tired face. 

The dark circles under his eyes were clear proof of what he’d said.

“You couldn’t have woken me just by hanging on. Why be so stubborn?”

“If our roles were reversed, you would’ve done the same. Don’t scold me.”

“…Hmm.”

“Fair enough. But I am your master.”

Huiyun replied, earning a dry laugh from Vina. 

The conversation lulled, and a subtle tension hung in the silence.

Huiyun, watching his disciple’s troubled face, turned his gaze forward. 

He knew that if he asked anything now, he wouldn’t receive a proper answer. 

Rather than scrape the surface with shallow talk and leave behind a sense of discomfort, he wanted to wait—let Vina organize his thoughts and speak when ready.

As he passed the time watching flowers, Vina, who had been habitually glancing at his master while softly humming lyrics under his breath, suddenly reached out and took Huiyun’s hand resting on the bench.

“…Yasha.”

“I’m listening. Speak freely.”

“I met your avatar in the swamp.”

“I see.”

“…He chose to perish alongside the swamp, its sinners, and its children. He didn’t seem to have a shred of regret about giving up his life.”

Ah. 

Now Huiyun could guess what had been weighing on him.

“He even seemed… relieved, almost. So I wondered. What was it like when you died during the War? And now… do you have any regrets in this life?”

“…”

“Yasha. We lost you once that day, and again in the swamp. We’ve lost you twice, I don’t want there to be a third.”

Vina’s expression twisted with anguish. 

He leaned in slightly, locking eyes with Huiyun. 

Huiyun could feel the pulse through the disciple’s hand overlapping his own. 

It was faster than usual as urgency radiated through it.

“Please tell me. What must I do to never lose you again?”

“Vina.”

“Words alone aren’t enough. Ten thousand years is too long a time to trust in promises. So…”

As if weighing the words carefully, as if unsure whether to let them rise past his throat, Vina closed the distance and rested his forehead gently against Huiyun’s. 

His warmth spread between them as he spoke.

“So please… give me a way to hold on to you.”

“…”

“I need a guarantee that you won’t leave me… or that you can’t leave me.”

His whisper brushed Huiyun’s ears. 

Faced with such desperate honesty, Huiyun felt his heart soften. 

His disciple, having experienced the loss of his master twice, had likely grown fragile in ways even he didn’t realize.

Huiyun understood that pain, and he recognized the fear behind Vina’s questions. 

That was why he mirrored the gesture, pressing his own forehead to Vina’s.

“Vina… Are you afraid I’ll leave?”

At the calm question, Vina’s fingers curled slightly.

“…Yes.”

“Then even if I say that my regret lies with you all… you’ll still be anxious, won’t you?”

“I can’t help it. My fear outweighs my trust in you. To put it differently… it’s my selfish desire to stay by your side.”

“I understand. My avatar’s death must’ve hit harder than I thought. Seems like you asked him to come with you… and he refused?”

Flinch.

Vina’s shoulder twitched. 

Huiyun, who always suspected Vina wasn’t cut out to lie anyway, stifled a laugh and began to hum a familiar tune—a lullaby he used to sing as Yasha to the younger disciples.

What should I do?

It wasn’t a fear that could be resolved overnight. 

As Huiyun thought through a solution, he recalled Ash saying something similar not long ago and rubbed his chin. 

A few moments later, a small “ah” slipped from his lips.

Yes, that could work.

“In that case, let’s do this. I’ll be ready to accept. And you, try. Try to make it so I can’t take even a single step away from you all. Let your loyalty pull me so strongly that my fear of leaving is laid bare for all to see.”

Huiyun twisted his wrist, interlacing his fingers with Vina’s, and smiled.

“If you can show me that I’m being drawn toward you, then maybe neither of us will feel so uneasy anymore.”

If words wouldn’t do, then he’d show it through actions. 

But it wasn’t something he could accomplish alone, both hands must come together to make a bond.

He was still full of fear, and overthinking. 

His disciples were the same. 

Only by covering each other’s flaws could they live without anxiety. 

Seeing Huiyun propose this, Vina stared at him as if it were the first time he’d truly seen him, then murmured the words loyalty and devotion under his breath several times.

“…Understood. Then I’ll do my best. Please wait for me.”

“I will.”

“I’ll become strong enough to not be ashamed of being your lover.”

“…What? … Huh?”

Huiyun’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

What kind of nonsense was that?