Chapter 208
Yadon smeared the white fruit juice all over his wounds, chewed and swallowed the green fruit just like before, then lay down by the campfire and fell asleep.
What was the deal with that green fruit? No way to know. But it didn't seem harmful, so Han Yaseong decided to try one later.
That evening, he whipped up a special meal of kimchi ramen loaded with canned tuna and mackerel. Yadon devoured it. His wounds had completely healed, and his stamina seemed fully restored—he chomped away with gusto.
Han Yaseong had no appetite, so he just wolfed down some snacks and bread before heading outside. The snow was coming down harder now, blanketing everything in pristine white.
There wasn't much to do. He'd come here to dig, but winter had put a stop to that. Might as well head home, he thought. Without anything special to occupy him, the place felt boring and dull. He'd even forgotten to print out booby-trap schematics and bind them—nothing to read, either.
Bored out of his mind staring at the falling snow, Han Yaseong turned in early with Yadon that night.
The next morning brought more idleness. Finally, he grabbed the rope.
"Let's go, damn it. Gotta see what's there."
He planned to follow the path those three had taken. He prepared thoroughly, but Yadon lingered by the campfire, fiddling around, clearly reluctant.
"Come on, we have to. You're the one who knows the way."
Yadon let out a ga-rung, his face twisted in pure laziness.
With no choice, Han Yaseong handed over a precious cream bun.
"Let's move."
Yadon trudged ahead, munching on it. Figures—all he cares about is food.
Back at the spot with Yadon, they cleared the snow and burrowed into the cave. Familiar from yesterday's trip, Yadon pushed the bag ahead and slipped in smoothly.
They reached the underground space again, traversed the long passage, and emerged into the wide area. No sign of the three sentries.
Yadon led the way down the steep cliff path without a hint of fear, navigating the narrow trail effortlessly.
"Hey, slow down a bit."
Han Yaseong tied the rope securely around a massive boulder, gripped it with both hands, and descended carefully.
The cliff base was deep and pitch-black—nothing visible. He relied on the flashlight at his waist, picking his way down with caution.
Following Yadon, it took over thirty minutes. Finally, solid ground appeared. Seemed like the end.
Not as deep as he'd feared. Planting his feet, he looked up. Roughly eighty or ninety meters, by his estimate. Still, it had been exhausting.
"Whew, my arms are killing me."
Gripping the rope down that steep drop had left his hands throbbing. Han Yaseong shook them out, then unclipped the flashlight from his belt and shone it around.
Everything was dark and murky, but something loomed ahead—a massive wall, maybe.
Yadon stood right in front of it. Han Yaseong swept the beam over it and realized it wasn't just a wall.
"It's a door."
A colossal door etched with bizarre patterns. Shining upward, he couldn't see the top. At least fifty meters high, easy.
Who the hell built this? Giants? But even giants topped out at three or four meters, ten at most. Temple ruins and pillar roots proved it—if they'd been that size, the structures would dwarf what he'd seen.
Maybe a different giant race? Earth had legends of them too. Some said Atlantis was a giant city.
"What kind of huge door is this?"
Flashing the sides revealed its width—thirty meters at least, end to end, a long walk. Not a pedestrian gate; more like an entrance for spaceships or behemoths. That was his guess—something enormous passed through here.
Lost in wild speculation, he heard Yadon ga-rung from the door. Nothing special there—just the giant slab. But since Yadon had gone inside before, Han Yaseong waited to see what it'd do.
"Can we get in?"
Yadon stood silently, then pressed a paw to the door and rubbed it along the patterns—right angles, twists, like unlocking a smartphone.
A flash of light, and a rectangular opening materialized. Five meters high, two wide. Yadon's entryway.
"Whoa, that's wild."
The builders were advanced, no doubt—straight out of a sci-fi flick. Humanity couldn't touch tech like that. Touching it felt like ice-cold metal. With a low mini-grrr, the door slid open effortlessly.
Yadon darted in. Han Yaseong followed, tense.
Then came the light show. The space blazed with radiance, cosmic and vast. Stars twinkled everywhere, galaxies swirled. Awe-inspiring.
"What is this place?"
A portal to another world? Stargate vibes? Dread crept in—if it whisked him away, no coming back.
Hesitating, he watched Yadon stride ahead fearlessly, treating the starfield like his backyard.
No choice—Han Yaseong followed. After a long walk, the lights vanished. Architecture appeared. Looking back, the sealed entrance confirmed it: hologram illusion.
"No clue what's real."
Security to deter intruders? Stray from the path, and peril awaited. Yadon knew the route, slipping through easily. Maybe he was a giant's pet...
Such thoughts swirled as Yadon stopped at a structure. Flashlight revealed a towering triangular pyramid, skyscraper-high.
Another pyramid. Baffling.
"Why are there pyramids everywhere?"
Earth had plenty. Maybe giants influenced those too. Humans couldn't replicate such builds across the globe in ancient times. Felt like unraveling ancient mysteries.
Yadon entered the pyramid mouth. Up close, it was weathered—metal rusted, dust thick. Abandoned centuries, at least. Giants gone, unused since.
Tailing Yadon warily, Han Yaseong ventured in. A long passage led to another vast chamber.
There sat the three wild beasts from before—their lair. They screeched kak-kak, demanding why he was back.
Yadon ga-runged and bristled for a fight. Han Yaseong, dreading hassle, tossed them a chocolate bar.
"Just sightseeing. No fighting."
Sweet-toothed, they eyed him warily but kak-kaked less, ripping into the bar.
Shining around, Han Yaseong scanned. Walls crawled with eerie patterns—no spaceship vibe, just a building.
Nothing stood out, except one indentation—gold-bar sized. Fitting his bar perfectly. Yadon must've nabbed it from here.
The trio spotted it and kak-kaked furiously, gesturing to put it back.
Curious, Han Yaseong held it up.
"This from here? But what's it for?"
Just kak-kak! No clue what they meant. He could sorta communicate with Yadon and others—these ones? Gibberish.
Abandoning talk, he slotted the bar. It clicked in snug. Nothing happened.
A minute passed. Zilch. Han Yaseong tsked, disappointed.
"Nothing."
Hoped it was a key to activate the place. Nope. Pulling it out, the beasts went berserk kak-kaking. Another chocolate bar calmed them—they munched.
Food fiends like Yadon.
"Yadon, anywhere else to check?"
Ga-rung—nope. Ruins, dead. The pyramid felt like a tomb.