Forgotten Ones' Tomb (3)
Yeong-sik groaned, his head spinning as he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a massive door. Etched into it in stark, monotonous letters were the words: "Only 2/33 who have inherited the angel's blood may pass through here."
"Where...?"
Yeong-sik lifted his head and scanned his surroundings. Gone were the beige walls that had given off a serene vibe; now they were enclosed in a dreary, suffocating gray corridor that seemed to choke the air from his lungs.
Why the hell am I in a place like this...?
He frowned, staring down the dimly lit passage shrouded in a murky haze. There was light, but it was as faint and oppressive as if they'd emerged into some forgotten cavern.
"Mm?"
Then, a woman's soft moan drifted into Yeong-sik's ears—a voice he had grown completely familiar with.
"Tiriya?"
"Yeong-sik...?"
Her voice trembled. "Where are we?"
"Beats me. No idea why we suddenly ended up here..."
Yeong-sik recalled the moment: Tiriya touching the pattern carved into the wall, a brilliant light bursting forth and enveloping her body.
What the hell was that?
He couldn't fathom why a pattern utterly devoid of mana had erupted in such radiant light the instant she touched it—or why that light had whisked them to this unknown place.
"Where... do you think this is, Yeong-sik?"
Tiriya rose unsteadily, glancing around with anxious eyes. Yeong-sik shook his head, his gaze dark and heavy.
"No clue. No idea why we're here or what this place even is."
"Ah, that door..."
Tiriya trailed off as she read the inscription on the massive door. A hypothesis flickered through her mind.
"Could this be... the entrance to the dungeon's deepest layer?"
"Hm."
Yeong-sik let out a short hum. It made sense.
Come to think of it, Park Sia mentioned a massive door blocking the way to the deepest layer.
He placed his hand on the enormous door, a chill seeping through his palm.
Is it really so sturdy that even Leviathan Guild couldn't break through?
Tilting his head, Yeong-sik drew his Blade and swung it at the door.
Clang!
A clear metallic ring echoed as the blade bounced back. Even with the Slash effect activated, the door remained utterly unscratched.
"Now I get why they said we needed your power."
Yeong-sik stared at the impossibly sturdy door with a hollow expression.
"Yeong-sik...?"
Tiriya called out to him, puzzled by his sudden attack on the door.
"This must be the door sealing off the deepest layer."
"So... we got teleported straight from the dungeon entrance to right in front of the bottom floor?"
She looked around in disbelief. Yeong-sik nodded gravely.
There was no other explanation for their situation.
Woooong.
At that moment, a faint light emanated from Tiriya's pocket. She pulled a communication orb from the bag strapped tightly to her body.
"—S-Sis?! You okay?!"
Yuna's frantic voice burst from the orb. Tiriya replied as calmly as she could.
"I'm fine. Where are you?"
"—That's what I want to ask you! We're still at the spot where you vanished."
"We..." Tiriya turned to glance at the massive door before continuing. "Not entirely sure, but it seems like we've been moved to the dungeon's deepest layer."
"—The deepest layer? What does that even mean?!"
"Could you put Leviathan's guild master on?"
Tiriya called for Park Sia, who had the highest chance of knowing about this. Moments later—as if she'd been right beside Yuna—Park Sia's voice came through.
"—This is Park Sia. Are you injured anywhere?"
"No. Neither Yeong-sik nor I are hurt. But do you know why we were suddenly teleported here?"
"—That..."
Park Sia hesitated, then let out a deep sigh.
"—It's probably because Tiriya, you—or rather, the Erman family—have a deep connection to this dungeon."
"I have a deep connection to this dungeon?"
"—More precisely, descendants of the angel's bloodline seem to have a mechanism that teleports them directly to the deepest layer."
"Really?"
Tiriya couldn't comprehend how her family tied into a dungeon she'd never even heard of before.
"How long does it take to get from there to here?"
Yeong-sik interjected, having listened to the exchange.
Park Sia answered in a low voice.
"—Even at top speed, it'd take about three days."
"Three days..."
Yeong-sik's brow furrowed at her response. Park Sia continued worriedly.
"—Please don't enter the deepest layer in the meantime. We have no idea what might happen."
"I had no intention of doing something that insane to begin with."
Just the two of them charging into the unknown depths? With no intel on the dangers lurking there, it would be suicide.
"We'll wait at this entrance. Hurry over as fast as you can."
"—Understood. But..."
"What is it?"
"—The guardians spawning there haven't been fully cleared. You'll need to hide and avoid them."
Park Sia's tone was firm. Yuna's shout echoed from the orb: "What?! That's super dangerous, then?!"
"Are the guardians here strong?"
"—The two of you could handle them, but... there are an abnormal number of deepest-layer guardians. A prolonged fight would be risky."
"...Got it. We'll stay hidden as best we can, so please get here quick."
"—Understood."
The connection cut off. Yeong-sik clutched his forehead as if his head ached.
"Damn it."
He hadn't anticipated getting separated like this, out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry, Yeong-sik. Because I touched that pattern so carelessly..."
"No. We had no idea what it was. More importantly, we need to find a spot to hide, fast."
Who could've predicted a single touch would teleport them to the bottom? Even Yeong-sik would've touched a familiar pattern in a new dungeon.
He scanned the surroundings. But the oppressive corridor offered no hiding spots.
"...No good places to hide. Should we move?"
"No. Moving now would just make it more dangerous."
Yeong-sik's eyes sharpened as he stood before the gray wall. No hiding spot? Then make one.
Ziiiiing.
His eyes glowed red, firing two beams of Laser at the wall. The door might be unbreakable, but the corridor walls wouldn't be as tough.
Sizzle.
Smoke rose along the laser's path as the dungeon wall began to melt away, carving out a narrow nook just big enough for two people.
"Let's hide in here for now."
"H-Here?"
Tiriya blushed at the tight space, which required full body contact to enter.
"Should I make it bigger?"
"N-No! Widening it risks collapsing the wall—or alerting a guardian! This size is perfect!"
Tiriya frantically stopped Yeong-sik, her voice urgent. He nodded—her point was valid—and slipped into the crevice first.
"Ahem. Uh, excuse me, then."
Tiriya coughed awkwardly and squeezed in after him. Their bodies pressed fully against each other.
"Eek!"
"Too tight?"
"N-No! It's unavoidable, so no complaints!"
Tiriya shouted at Yeong-sik, her face beet red. He chuckled softly, then resealed the entrance with another laser slice from the severed outer wall.
"Ah..."
With the entrance blocked, pitch-black darkness settled between them. Tiriya extended her hand, a soft white light blooming from her fingertips—gentle and subdued, not too bright.
"Guess we'll have to hole up like this."
They'd divided up water and food in their inventories beforehand, so three days' sustenance wasn't an issue.
Not that I need to eat for three days anyway.
Perhaps because his body was mechanical, Yeong-sik could survive on far less food and water than a normal person, for much longer.
"...It's so quiet."
Tiriya broke the awkward silence in the cramped space with a tentative voice.
"You said you have no memories of your past, right, Yeong-sik?"
"?"
Unable to bear the tension, she posed a question. Her expression turned sympathetic as she gazed at him.
"Doesn't that scare you?"
"...Well, yeah, it did at first. Not so much anymore."
"Why not?"
"Even without memories, I've got precious people by my side now."
Tiriya let out a small gasp, her cheeks flushing at his words.
"But I still want my memories back."
"Because of your body?"
"That's part of it, but..."
Yeong-sik glanced at the back of his left hand, where "Yeong-sik" was etched in script only he could read.
"I want to know what kind of person I was—or if I even was a person at all."
It felt like drifting alone on an endless ocean. Like trudging forever down a fog-shrouded path. A sensation that hadn't left him since he first awoke in this world.
He had no desire to live his life wrapped in that fog.
"Can I ask you something too?"
"Of course."
Tiriya nodded with a gentle smile.
"Why did you become Salvatore Guild's master? Native-born guild leaders are rare."
"Ah..."
Tiriya trailed off, her expression darkening at Yeong-sik's question.
"Back when the summoners first appeared here... about ten years ago, I became friends with some of them."
Her story continued.
"They were all kind, warm people. But..."
She trembled faintly.
"When the first summoners arrived, they were treated horribly. Most ended up as slaves or died in the streets. No nation provided them any sanctuary."
Yeong-sik nodded. He'd heard this before.
"The summoners I befriended all met tragic ends. Back then, I couldn't control my angelic powers at all—I couldn't do a thing for them."
She hugged her knees, a bitter look on her face.
"So I created the guild to give summoners a place of their own."
"I see."
Yeong-sik nodded heavily, sensing the profound sorrow in her voice.
"And there was another reason."
"What?"
"Revenge against the being that summoned them to this world."
"Revenge...?"
Yeong-sik tilted his head at the word, so out of character for her. He couldn't quite understand Tiriya.
Sure, from the summoners' perspective—dragged from Earth without warning, forced into life-or-death battles—it was natural to harbor such thoughts.
But she was a native, not a summoner. There was no reason for her to burn with vengeance toward the entity that brought them here. If anything, gratitude made more sense—without summoners, the continent would've fallen to monsters.
Seeming to read his doubt, Tiriya continued with a faint smile.
"Did you know, Yeong-sik?"
She took his hand in her trembling one.
"Yuna's older sister was summoned here too. She died before finishing the Tutorial. Yu-jin had a little sister—she died before he joined the guild. And countless other summoners have been dragged here and suffered horrors."
"Heh. Hearing those stories over and over... I started wanting revenge against the one who brought them here. Weird, right?"
Yeong-sik shook his head at her words, laced with deep sadness. Given her kind heart, such feelings weren't strange at all.
"I'll join your revenge."
"Hee. Thank you, Yeong-sik."
"As a mere guild member, following our sky-high guild master's will is only natural."
Yeong-sik grinned playfully, resting a hand on her head. She ducked shyly.
And...
Yeong-sik recalled the orb of light after the Tutorial.
I need to chase down why I was brought here too.
People yanked here without reason. Thrust toward goals like "kill the Creator" that meant nothing to them, flailing just to survive.
Memory or no, Yeong-sik was one of them. How could he not seethe at the entity responsible?
"For now, we should rest a bi—"
Thud.
Before Yeong-sik could finish, a earth-shaking footstep echoed from beyond the wall.
'Guardian.'
His face hardened.