105
105 ― Lingering Connections
Night passed, and the morning sun rose.
Jin-woo had finished preparing to return.
Though the preparations were nothing more than packing a few belongings and saying goodbye to those remaining.
"You said you had business to attend to, but you're leaving already?"
Hearing that Jin-woo was leaving, Rona spoke with a hint of disappointment.
From his words about having business, she had thought he would stay for at least a few more days, but he was returning after just one night.
"It finished earlier than I thought."
It seemed like it would take some time to obtain Rondar's sword, but somehow it ended up being completed in just one night.
The actual time spent crossing swords with him was long. But all the events of that night, in that space, were like a brief dream of one night in reality.
"Tsk."
Rona clicked her tongue in disappointment and prepared to leave. Without Jin-woo, she had no reason to remain in the 3rd floor either.
"You'll come to our world again next time, won't you?"
"Yeah. If I have the time."
"When you come, please be sure to find me. This time I'll definitely guide you properly."
"Didn't you say you live in the royal palace? How would I find you there?"
"The spirit I attached to you is still there, right?"
When Jin-woo raised his finger, a white light appeared at its tip. It was the spirit that Rona had given to Jin-woo for communication purposes.
"If you contact me through that spirit, I'll come to get you. Inside the royal palace might be... Difficult, but I can guide you anywhere outside."
"Alright. I'll look forward to it."
There had been frequent incidents and accidents in that world. The only time he had been truly relaxed was when he hid in the mountains and spent his days with Mari.
It might be good to spend time relaxing like that once more.
This time, he hoped he could truly spend time healing without any incidents whatsoever.
After finishing his conversation with Rona, Kalesian remained.
"Oh, are you returning?"
When Jin-woo said he was going back, Kalesian also paused his research and made time for him.
"Are you staying longer, Kalesian?"
"For me, it's the same wherever I am. I can do research anywhere."
"You're staying because you don't want to give me the treasure, are you?"
"Haha."
When Jin-woo mentioned their previous promise jokingly, Kalesian laughed and trailed off.
Well, it was a joke, and in reality, it would be difficult to interrupt his ongoing research and return. Probably...
"Above all, to research the Spirit Realm, don't I need to be at the Gate?"
"That's true."
Kalesian hadn't yet grasped any clues about the Spirit Realm. For research driven purely by curiosity, his passion and desire for exploration were remarkable.
Seeing him work so diligently, Jin-woo almost wanted to tell him about his previous trip to the Spirit Realm. Perhaps it would be good to go to the Spirit Realm again together with him. While it would be dangerous alone, wouldn't it be better with a Dragon as a companion?
'The World Tree also asked me to find her, and Rondar is there too.'
He recalled last night when he had lost track of time crossing swords with him.
Compared to the one in his memories, his speech was somewhat rougher, but his swordsmanship was still refined. It wasn't different from the memory where he introduced himself as a plunderer, but instead of plundering, he even made various things.
If he found him, wouldn't he be able to hear stories about his past life? When he asked while crossing swords last night, he didn't answer, but if he went to find him directly, it might be different.
'What do you think? About leaving together with Kalesian.'
Jin-woo asked the God of Moonlit Forest. Since she was the one who opened the door, and she was also the one who originally asked him to find her, he wanted to ask her opinion.
[It seems like... A good idea. Going alone looks dangerous.]
The response was quite positive. While the current Jin-woo was strong, the Spirit Realm was still dangerous. Having even one strong companion versus not having one was a world of difference.
The God of Moonlit Forest still hoped for Jin-woo to come to the Spirit Realm and find her. But that didn't mean she wanted Jin-woo to be in danger.
No matter how much her blessing he had, there were limits to going alone. The difference between one and two people was much greater than the difference between two and three.
'Originally, the basic rule for dangerous Gates is to go with two or more people.'
While Jin-woo went in and out alone, in fact, from the dangerous Gates of the 3rd floor and above, the basic rule was to enter with companions using Feathers of Fate.
The difference between being alone and being with two or more was significant, as having even one companion greatly reduced the danger.
Since the Spirit Realm was ultimately a Gate too, it would be better to abandon the idea of entering alone.
"Kalesian. Do you have a moment?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Since there was no longer any reason to hide it, Jin-woo brought up the topic. Thinking about how he had previously stormed into the Temple of the Sky alone, if he mentioned the Spirit Realm, Kalesian might want to depart immediately.
While it would be burdensome for Jin-woo to leave right away, it was still okay. Unlike that time, now Kalesian couldn't act alone.
Jin-woo had all the divine artifacts, and the God of Moonlit Forest, who would open the door only listened to Jin-woo's words.
"About the Spirit Realm..."
"Hmm?"
To the puzzled Kalesian, Jin-woo told him about the past events.
About obtaining the sword scabbard of the God of Sky and departing for the Spirit Realm.
About how he was flustered because it was so sudden, but somehow managed to survive and return.
After finishing the story, Kalesian stared at Jin-woo with wide eyes, burning with intensity.
"Th-that means we can go there now too!?"
He could have asked why he was only telling him this story now, but Kalesian was already uninterested in past matters. He only asked whether they could go to the Spirit Realm now or not.
[If you wish, by all means.]
"She says if we want to, it's possible even right now."
"Then let's go right now!"
"Wait, wait a moment."
As expected, it was an enthusiastic reaction as he had predicted. Jin-woo had to put in considerable effort to calm him down.
He said it was curiosity about wanting to see a new world, but could simple curiosity be this intense? Of course, it wasn't impossible, but Kalesian's reaction seemed closer to obsession than curiosity.
It might be natural for a researcher to show an obsession toward their research subject, but...
'Could this be related to what the God of Light said about being a Dragon who couldn't molt?'
When they first met, he said he was a Dragon who came to Earth without molting. But the God of Light asserted that this was false. Stopping one's own molting by one's own will was only possible for Ancient Dragons who were around 8,000 years old.
It was impossible for a newly born hatchling to go against the mighty destiny of the Dragon species. His obsession with the Spirit Realm might also stem from that.
"As I mentioned, it's a dangerous place. Right now is a bit..."
"What's wrong with that? I'm here and you're here too."
"Think about the red cliff. It's a place full of things like that."
"..."
When he mentioned the red cliff, Kalesian calmed down a little. That cliff was a monster-like cliff that remained intact even when Kalesian breathed fire at it.
The cliff that was in the barrier was deployed by Rondar, the God of War.
The Spirit Realm was full of such spirits, so even for Kalesian, it was a place where he couldn't guarantee his life.
"It's certainly dangerous. A lot of preparation will be needed."
Kalesian lowered his enthusiasm and became docile. His will to depart for the Spirit Realm as soon as possible hadn't disappeared. He simply agreed that preparation was necessary for exploration.
"Good. I should return, too."
"To New Delhi?"
"All the necessary items are at home, so I have to go back."
With the new information Jin-woo had given him, Kalesian also no longer had any reason to remain in the 3rd floor. He swept up all the research materials he had been studying and put them in his subspace.
"You come to New Delhi too. As promised, I'll let you into the treasure vault. After that, let's plan the exploration together."
"Sounds good."
It was something Jin-woo had been hoping for, too. The two promised to meet in New Delhi and decided to leave the 3rd floor together.
***
The area in front of the blue portal was now quiet. All those many people seemed to have returned. The entire city had few people, giving off the atmosphere of a dead city. There were still some, like Jin-woo's group, who remained, but they were very few compared to the size of the city.
'Kurenai Masato is...'
Thinking of him, Jin-woo briefly headed to the Temple of Light. That castle, where only a single ray of light existed, was still quietly embedded in a corner of the city.
However, the light from that time was now gone, and there were no monsters either. Even when monsters were swarming, it was eerie, but now with nothing there, the atmosphere wasn't very good either.
Above all, even though the morning sun was blazing, only this castle was dark like night as if shrouded in a veil. It had an atmosphere where ghosts might pop out even in broad daylight.
'Is no one here?'
He went inside the castle and looked around, but Kurenai Masato was nowhere to be seen. Not only that, but the God of Light who had approached and spoken to him on his own was also absent.
Not only was he not visible, but his presence itself couldn't be felt. There was no sign of anyone, and the aura of Erosion had also disappeared.
'...Don't tell me?'
With a nagging thought, Jin-woo searched the interior of the castle a bit. The God of Light was one of the few gods who didn't have their divine artifacts taken by Rondar.
So there should have been divine artifacts and Guardians protecting them left in this castle. But there were none.
He couldn't find them.
Whether they were hidden so thoroughly that even Jin-woo couldn't find them, or whether they had truly disappeared.
[The God of Moonlit Forest points to the top of the bell tower.]
'Is it there?'
Jin-woo climbed to the top of the castle and headed to the bell tower. Originally, it was the bell tower where a single ray of light came down in this castle, but now it was quiet. And the bell that should have been hanging at the top was now nowhere to be seen.
However.
"...Are these corpses?"
There were what appeared to be corpses of something that looked dead. Not just one or two, but quite several.
At first glance, they looked like people, but their skin color was murky. It was an ashen color close to gray, and they were all dead with expressions that showed they didn't understand what had happened.
Could these have been the Guardians who were protecting the divine artifacts? If he had seen them alive, he would have known, but since they were corpses, he couldn't confirm it.
The flames of souls no longer existed in their bodies. What stood out most was the bewildered expressions on their faces, as if they hadn't realized their death until the moment they died.
All five or six corpses had died without knowing anything.
'Kurenai...'
He thought it was probably him. Right when Rondar's barrier broke and things were chaotic, he infiltrated the castle and took the divine artifacts.
Assassinating all those who were guarding them. He had said he wanted the power of the God of Light because he wanted to reveal himself to the world.
It wouldn't be strange if the end of that was the divine artifacts.
However, even after going that far, he couldn't show his appearance.
If he had revealed himself with the power of the divine artifacts, the dead here wouldn't have been assassinated without understanding what happened.
While he seemed to have taken the divine artifacts, it didn't seem like he had achieved his wish.
Well, this was all assuming the culprit at this scene was indeed Kurenai Masato.
'I'll have to ask him when I meet him later.'
It was a relationship with lingering connections in many ways. There would be days when they would meet again in the future.
Having finished all his business, Jin-woo returned to Seoul through the blue portal.