The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Whir…

The shadow separated from Yurim's body.

The shadow, which had a human shape, approached Shin Yu and swept over his head.

"Cough… Seol, is that you?"

"Yes, I'm listening…"

"Amazing… I guess I was the worst among Master's disciples. And I thought I was really strong…"

"Don't say that…"

"You know… while clashing with you guys, I realized something."

"What…?"

"The way to leave this place… it wasn’t Yurim—it was me."

"What…?"

"It was me. Hihi… It seems the hallucination was real. It wasn't a side effect of the drugs…"

"What are you talking about?"

Shin Yu's hallucination was real.

"The hallucination wasn’t from the drugs… the Demonic Beast of Dream possessed me, whispering I had to kill Yurim… Yes… from the beginning, I had to kill myself, not Yurim—I realized that only now…"

The Demonic Beast of Dream—a malicious being that had taken root in the second gate had been preventing them from leaving the dream.

Swoosh…

"Yurim, Seol… It's the end. It's time to wake up from the dream."

"…"

"In the end… Seol, you were right."

Seol was right in the end. If it weren't for Yurim—who had overcome Yaksha—they wouldn't have been able to defeat Shin Yu.

"Yurim, I'm sorry…"

"I had fun, Shin Yu."

"Take your time… I'll be waiting…"

Thud…

[You have made an unprecedented achievement inside the twisted Gate of Dreams.]

[You have obtained additional rewards.]

[You will retain some of the abilities you acquired inside the dream upon waking up.]

…

The three had become two.

WHOOM…

[It's time to wake up from the dream.]

[The dream world is collapsing.]

…

Just like what happened inside the Library of All Knowledge, the world beyond the horizon was collapsing.

It started from the farthest place from Seol and Yurim.

The world was crumbling little by little, the continent slowly falling into the void.

Swoosh…

Yurim and Seol sat while holding hands.

"Haha…"

"Ha…"

The snowstorm had stopped.

It wasn't that the snow had stopped falling, but the weather itself had stopped.

The falling snow remained suspended in the air, frozen. The world's heartbeat had stopped.

The world would soon disappear.

Perhaps there would be a curtain call with some grand music playing.

"It was a long dream… Right?"

"Yes…"

The two talked.

They talked about the world that was reaching an end.

"A lot of unbelievable things happened."

Despite having stepped into a cruel hell, countless people—Gollun, Santos, the people from the Veil, and Yoo Hyun—led them to the light.

Each one was a soul Seol carried, memories of them swirling in his mind like figures on a passing carousel.

"Seol."

"Yes."

"If I had such people beside me… maybe Yaksha wouldn't have been born, right?"

"Probably…"

To think the girl who had been found among trash within a dockyard had infinite potential… To think someone like that would end up becoming a Demonic Spirit.

Even though he knew the future, it was still hard to believe.

In the end, it was something that had happened between people.

"I made a lot of choices… and had many regrets."

"But you made a choice until the end."

Dddd…

The rumble of the collapsing world reached them.

"Now, let's go back."

"…"

"Yurim?"

Yurim didn't answer.

"No…"

"Seol, there's one last choice left…"

"I'm going back with you. That's my choice."

"No. The remaining choice isn't yours, but mine."

"Wh-What are you talking about…?!"

There was no time.

The collapse of the world was accelerating.

"Do you know how Yaksha was born?"

"…"

"It was by denying the world. Yaksha always thought if the world was such a place, it should disappear."

"What does that have to do with this…?"

"But through this dream, its source had collapsed."

Thud…

Thud…

Yurim shed tears.

"I came to like the world. I stopped hating it…"

"Please… let's go back…"

Yurim shook her head.

"Yaksha cannot exist anymore. If it didn't deny the world… it wouldn't even have been born in the first place."

Although Seol wanted to deny it, he kept silent.

That wouldn't be Yurim anymore—it would be Yaksha.

"You understand my choice… Right?"

"Yes…"

Returning to being Yaksha was simple; they just had to erase Yurim's memories, and then everything they had gone through here would become nothing.

Then, she would deny the world again.

However…

"Sob… I can't make it as if it had never happened, Seol. Everything we went through… Everything that happened to me… I can't just let myself forget it."

Swoosh…

Seol silently embraced Yurim.

"Hehe… It feels strange to be embraced by a shadow."

"You don't like it?"

"I was surprised because it's warmer than I thought. I was always… Scared. I didn't like the darkness."

"…"

"But not anymore."

Yurim looked at Seol.

"You were a dark light for me."

"A dark light…?"

"While following the flowing light… I wasn't scared. Because we were together. What about you?"

"What…?"

"Didn't you dislike me because the me behind the mask was so weak…?"

Seol laughed with trembling lips.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the mask."

WHOOM…

The vibration grew more intense.

The collapse was getting closer.

"Seol, you must leave. A world that has stopped doesn't suit you."

"What will happen to you…?"

"I will disappear, just like this."

"…"

"But still, I will remain…"

She had already made up her mind.

"…inside you, as a story."

"A story…"

- My master said that it isn't necessary to have a purpose to become strong.

- Really…?

- Yes, but instead, he said. Ehem… That you need a story.

- A story…?

- Yes! He said that all strength follows a story. Hmm… So, for example…

Yurim completed what she hadn't been able to last time.

The feelings she hadn't been able to convey…

"Now, I'm your story."

"Yurim… I…"

A soft sensation enveloped him.

Yurim kissed Seol's eye.

"Now, the world you will see while you soar, I will be able to see it too."

"…"

WHOOM…

The house they had been staying in crashed below.

Soon, they, too, were going to disappear.

"I, who had always taken, am grateful that there is something I can give. Since I just always received from you…"

"Yurim, you're going to be with me, right?"

"Yes! Of course. Ah… also…"

She smiled.

"Happy birthday, Seol."

"…"

"I was really happy. This dream… I… was really happy."

"…"

Yurim’s emotions overflowed.

"I, ugh, really don't want to part… I'm sorry… because I'm Yaksha… I had a really happy dream…"

Thud…

Seol fell off the collapsing cliff.

Yurim, who was crying, forced a smile.

"What kind of dream was I to you?"

The world was getting distant.

This was his last moment with Yurim.

In a very small space, they were left alone again.

A wolf remained by her side.

The wolf said.

"It will be painful… To disappear."

"Right."

"You might be forgotten."

"…"

Yurim shook her head as she looked at the wolf.

"That's not true."

"You're right… He will probably live forever cherishing the moments."

The two leaned on each other.

"Thank you, Yaksha."

"Likewise. Thank you, Yurim."

"People were the ones who hurt us, and yet, it was also people who healed us."

"The whole world is like that."

"Haha! Why…"

Yurim said while looking at the disappearing world.

"The whole world has stopped, but why haven't my tears stopped? Ugh…"

"It's obvious. You must get used to it."

"Will we meet again?"

"Maybe… if he becomes a God?"

"Come on…"

"Why not believe in him? After all, he's someone who can accomplish anything."

"Should I believe in him…?"

She stopped crying.

"Yes. This time, I'll believe in Yaksha's words."

The sight of Yurim leaning on Yaksha looked like the human (人) character.

* * *

Everyone tried to wake up from the dream.

[You are waking up from the dream.]

[The Great Journey's middle settlement is being conducted.]

[Determining the rewards. Only some of the acquired abilities will be taken.]

That wasn't Yaksha's way.

The worlds defeated by Yaksha got everything taken away.

[Yaksha's final power manifests.]

[All abilities acquired during the gate breakthrough become usable.]

[Awakening! You awaken a new skill.]

[You awaken Passive: Pain Tolerance.]

[Awakening! You awaken a new skill.]

…

Countless messages appeared before Seol.

He could feel the changes in his body—his hair had grown longer, and his body was sturdier.

However, it wasn't just a physical change. Now, he was in the Yaksha state, resembling when he had entered the Night Crow form with Yurim.

He exuded a black energy, presumed to be a shadow, and a smiling mask covered his face.

Bzz…

Suddenly, everything except the mask’s lower part shattered and disappeared.

Swoosh…

Seol took off the mask and stared at it.

The mask was pure white.

Tears flowed from Seol's eyes, but his mouth was smiling.

- What kind of dream was I to you?

"For me too…"

After his twenty-eight birthday, the dream ended.

"It was a really happy dream… Yurim."

The second gate of the Pitch Black Labyrinth—the twisted Gate of Dream was over.

He had woken up from the dream.

Although there were no casualties, someone had been left behind.

He would never be able to encounter the same winter again.

[Prepare yourself, a great step is imminent.]

…

But once again, a new story was about to start.