Oello questioned Yu-hyun with a voice half-mixed with worry and anger.
“What on earth happened that made you suddenly disappear without a trace?”
“Well… a few things came up.”
“I’ve heard a little about it. But I’d like to hear a more accurate explanation directly from you.”
“You’re really lacking in consideration.”
“I don’t think I’m in a position where I need to worry about that.”
“I’ll give you that.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Yu-hyun told Oello everything about what he had experienced five years ago.
“I see. The Seer… he sacrificed himself…”
“He must have known I had a Fragment, and he likely placed great hopes in me.”Yu-hyun still hadn’t forgotten how Buddha had arranged everything for him until the very end.
If it hadn’t been for his help, if not for that small lotus bud he left behind, Yu-hyun wouldn’t have been able to save Kang Hye-rim and would have spent his life in grief.
He had received a kindness he could never repay in his lifetime. Yet, the one to whom he owed that kindness was no longer in this world.
So then, what should one do as someone who received such help?
Only one thing.
Since Buddha had sacrificed himself to save his life, the least he could do was to dedicate his life to fulfilling Buddha’s wishes. That was the minimum courtesy toward someone who had departed.
“And Oello, you look radiant after all this time. Sporting that dashing uniform and working as a problem-solver, no less.”
“Are you mocking me? You probably don’t know, but I’ve been doing this problem-solving job for a long time.”
Oello grumbled, adding under his breath, “Though, seriously started only recently.”
When Yu-hyun’s gaze still held a trace of doubt, Oello explained defensively.
“I told you, didn’t I? I’m the King of Wanderers. There’s nowhere in this world that I can’t go. I roam around, gather information, and sometimes sell it. And as I do that… I inevitably end up getting involved in all sorts of odd jobs.” ṜἁΝỌꞖƐS
“So, that’s how you ended up as a problem-solver.”
“Unlike my other siblings who each have a single solid identity, I carry multiple. I have to find Praytion, but I can’t exactly go around saying, ‘Hey, I’m Oello.’ So, I took on a few identities, including storyteller, information broker, problem-solver, and mercenary.”
“So why are you working as a problem-solver now? And what happened to the storytelling business you used to run?”
“It completely went bust. Bankrupt.”
“It went bankrupt?”
“It wasn’t just me. It’s not an exaggeration to say that all those in similar positions packed up and left. You probably have no idea what shape the Celestial Market is in right now, do you?”
Yu-hyun nodded uncomfortably. He’d come to the Celestial Market only to meet Oello, with no thought to anything else.
“The Celestial Market took a major hit. Not just any hit. With the circulation of stories cut in half, it wouldn’t be wrong to call it an economic depression.”
“Is it because…”
“Yes. The Celestial Corporation, Exodus, and The Comedy Troupe. Because all of them shut down simultaneously, the Celestial Market was completely exposed to a wave of what’s effectively a pandemic.”
The three major teller organizations in the Mixed Realm distributed an immense amount of text through the Storylines.
These texts flowed and flowed, forming the backbone of the Celestial Market. And it wasn’t just one, but three gigantic organizations that closed down.
It was as if three major corporations propping up a nation’s economy went bankrupt. It was impossible for the Celestial Market to escape unscathed.
“Every factory like mine that used text to build stories went under. It’s the same for those who profited from dimension shops. Normally, tellers engaging in Storylines would act as distributors linking lower-world beings, but that’s all gone now. At least, since I have multiple identities and businesses, I only suffered a minor loss…”
“Others didn’t fare as well, it seems.”
“Anyway, after that, I decided to focus on being a problem-solver. With all the teller organizations shutting down, the appearance of Bookworms in the Mixed Realm has spiked, as if on cue. That probably means Praytion is on the move.”
To concentrate on his work as a problem-solver, Oello had gathered talented individuals.
He harbored hopes that he might catch traces of Praytion if he showed his face above the surface.
Among them, there were tellers who, since their former companies had dissolved, naturally ended up as free agents.
“I gathered them all. Everyone with talent or a proven track record.”
“Yet, most of the tellers I saw are the ones I know.”
“There are plenty of others. It’s just that for this mission, it happened to be people you know. I guess that means a lot of skilled people you know ended up involved in this.”
“Didn’t you touch The Comedy Troupe or Exodus?”
“I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.”
Oello explained what had happened to the other two organizations besides the Celestial Corporation.
“The Comedy Troupe… they’re all too unruly and free-spirited. Even after losing their jobs, they gathered and formed their own teams. Since they never had a proper hierarchy or work system to begin with, they took a lighter hit. So I had no opportunity to jump in and snatch talent.”
“I see.”
“On the other hand, Exodus… is just bizarre.”
“I can imagine.”
Yu-hyun thought of Exodus.
Even just thinking of them brought nothing but bad memories. Those who had forced despair upon him still made his skin crawl.
“It was as if they knew this would happen, staying still. They didn’t leave to seek other businesses like the Celestial Corporation, nor did they move for the thrill of the moment like The Comedy Troupe. They just accepted the situation calmly, like frozen in time.”
“Don’t you know why?”
“Me?”
“I heard that the decision to shut down all three teller organizations was made by the Kings of Stories. If they made that choice, they must have had a reason… Oello, aren’t you siblings with them? They would have told you if you’d asked them directly.”
“As if. I even went to see Lotfiout.”
“The President… well, I suppose the former President now. What did he say?”
“He said he couldn’t tell me.”
“What? But you’re siblings! Why would he keep it from you?”
“How would I know? Frankly, even though we’re siblings, we’re not exactly close.”
On second thought, that made sense.
Even just looking at the relationships between the three major teller organizations, they’d always been on the verge of tearing each other apart.
When the leaders of organizations are siblings, yet their members have bad relationships, there are always reasons for that.
“Even so, it would’ve been impossible for all of them to stop operations simultaneously without some kind of agreement.”
“There’s only one condition under which they’d join forces like that.”
“…Logos.”
“Yeah. Our father.”
Oello nodded heavily.
“The Shrine has moved. It erased the Salio Empire of the Allied Empire just recently, and now it erased Camelot of the Great Army of Mabinogi. The Shrine rarely intervenes. The last time it did was back in the Mythic War, during the universe’s beginning.”
“So, it hasn’t happened since then.”
“Not even when Bookworms appeared and caused chaos. Even if the Bookworms weren’t mythical monsters, the number of them that showed up should have warranted a response.”
The real trigger for the Shrine’s movement, however, was something else.
The Shrine had directly erased a power from the Mixed Realm. This fact became even clearer to everyone in the Mixed Realm through the recent incident with Camelot.
“I don’t know what Father’s thinking, nor do I know what the rest of my so-called siblings are thinking.”
“Maybe you’re being left out?”
“What did you say, you punk?”
“Just a joke. Anyway, it sounds like there’s been a lot going on.”
“And you… you’ve had your fair share of hardship, haven’t you?”
“We’re in the same boat, aren’t we?”
Yu-hyun suddenly thought of the white and black entities he had seen in his recent dream and wondered if he should ask Oello if he knew about them.
Though he had the thought that Oello might know something, he shook his head.
Not only was the dream too far-fetched, but something in his heart held him back from directly asking Oello.
“Take care of yourself.”
Oello spoke up abruptly. Yu-hyun responded calmly.
“Take care from what?”
“The Bookworms moving like this means Praytion doesn’t intend to hide anymore. He’s watching you. You know that, right?”
“That’s why I ended up in that mess.”
Yu-hyun suddenly recalled that pure white presence.
Could that figure actually be Praytion? He certainly felt the same strange wave from that white figure as he did whenever he encountered the Bookworms.
If that was the case, then what in the world was that black figure?
His time pondering was brief. *Ting!* A coin came flying toward him with a sharp sound.
Yu-hyun caught it mid-air.
“Kang Yu-hyun. If Praytion ever tries to make contact with you, use this.”
“This isn’t an ordinary coin, is it?”
“It’s something that summons me. It’s different from when I faced Lotfiout. Since I don’t know where or how Praytion is hiding, I need a certain medium to move.”
“I’ll accept it gratefully.”
Yu-hyun put the coin into his pocket. There was no reason to refuse something that might come in handy.
“Well, that’s the end of the conversation. What will you do now?”
“Me?”
Yu-hyun thought briefly before answering.
“I have a lot of people to meet and talk to first.”
* * *
The Camelot Incident.
The Mixed Realm called the destruction of Camelot and the death of Arthur by this name.
It was on a different level from when the Shrine erased the Salio Empire. Salio was merely the core of an alliance composed of ordinary beings, but Camelot was a powerful force belonging to the Great Army of Mabinogi.
“Did you hear the news? Camelot’s gone.”
In the heart of a grand temple lined with countless dragon statues.
Sharuriel, the White Dragon King, approached someone while taking on a human form.
“I heard about it too.”
The one who responded in a blunt voice to her words was a Dragonoid man named Galitz, who was silently reading the report before him.
Sharuriel pursed her lips in frustration at his indifferent reaction and sat down opposite him, resting her chin on her hands.
“You don’t seem very surprised?”
“I thought it would happen someday.”
“You mentioned you heard something from President Lotfiout when you retired?”
“That’s right.”
“And you still can’t say exactly what it was?”
“Still can’t.”
“Oh, geez.”
In matters like this, the man was truly unyielding, to the point of being inflexible, so Sharuriel had no choice but to raise her hands in surrender.
“But did you hear about this?”
“What else now?”
“Teller Kang Yu-hyun. He’s back.”
“What?”
For the first time, Galitz’s gaze turned toward Sharuriel.
“Finally, you’re looking at me properly.”
“He… returned?”
“Yes. He looked healthy. Actually, he seemed even stronger than before.”
Sharuriel smiled playfully.
“Want to know the details? Though, I have to admit, I suddenly feel like keeping quiet.”
“…Ugh.”
Galitz, sensing from her attitude that she wasn’t merely sulking, let out a small groan.
It looked like it would take a little time to soothe her mood.
* * *
“…I see. Understood. Go ahead and take care of things.”
Baek Seo-ryeon, having finished the call coming from below, put down the receiver and let out a brief sigh.
“Are you okay?”
Kwon Jia, who was assisting her in the office, asked.
She still had her hood pulled over her head, but Baek Seo-ryeon, knowing the reason, left her to be comfortable in her own way.
“It would be a lie to say I am.”
“It’s because of the Camelot Incident, isn’t it?”
“They said the Shrine was involved in that case as well.”
The nightmare of the Shrine ran deep even within the Alliance.
After all, they were the ones who erased the Salio Empire. Even though Salio had been an enemy, it was still part of the Alliance. And the overwhelming power the Shrine showed in erasing them… that was unforgettable.
Kwon Jia knew that this was a sign of the approaching war, but she chose not to say it out loud.
“The Great Army is on the move. They’re feeling the urgency now. With the Shrine’s sudden, aggressive actions, they’re unsure how to respond. We’re in the same position. The Alliance has become much weaker than before, so naturally, we have no choice but to stick to the stronger side.”
“You’re working hard.”
“What choice do we have? We can’t just sit back and be afraid forever. We have to prepare ourselves as best as we can.”
“That’s a good attitude.”
Kwon Jia stood up from her seat.
“I’ll be out for a while.”
“You’re going to see Hye-rim, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I need to check on her regularly to make sure she’s okay.”
“…I’m sorry for making you do this all the time, Jia, since I’m so busy.”
“Just stay seated. Everyone has their own roles to play.”
With that, Kwon Jia left the office after giving Baek Seo-ryeon a light comfort. She headed straight to where Kang Hye-rim was staying. A guard was stationed at the entrance to her private room.
Whether to protect her from intruders or to prevent her from leaving, Kwon Jia didn’t try to determine.
The guards recognized Kwon Jia and immediately stepped aside. She knocked on the door.
“I’m coming in.”
There was no response from inside. She hadn’t expected one anyway, so Kwon Jia opened the door and entered.
The room was a bit dim as sunlight didn’t reach inside, and on the single bed, someone was sitting with a blanket wrapped around themselves.
“Are you eating well?”
“…”
She asked out of courtesy, but Kang Hye-rim didn’t answer. Kwon Jia sat down on a chair she pulled over, as if she hadn’t expected an answer anyway.
“I’m not saying this hoping for a response, but just listen. I know you can hear.”
“…”
“The Shrine came out and erased Camelot. And Yu-hyun… he was there too.”
At the mention of Yu-hyun’s name, Kang Hye-rim flinched.
So, you’re listening.
Kwon Jia continued speaking.
“According to the report, a woman with white hair was with him, so that must mean he joined up with Sumin. It’s only a matter of time before Sumin returns. With that, we can improve your condition even further.”
“…”
“But, since it’s just the two of us here…”
Kwon Jia leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs.
Her provocative gaze was fixed on Kang Hye-rim.
“You remember everything, don’t you?”
“…”
“You’ve already recalled it all. You’re just pretending not to remember.”
For the first time, Kang Hye-rim responded to Kwon Jia’s words.
She turned her head, and through the gap in the blanket over her, her eyes met Kwon Jia’s.
“As I thought.”
The moment she saw her gaze, Kwon Jia’s suspicions solidified into certainty.
Kang Hye-rim’s eyes, which had previously seemed empty, were now as sharp as a blade, filled with cold intensity.
Just like when she was once called the Black Thunder Lord.
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