Chapter 619: Through Rift
The tall man stepped forward from the group. His movement was steady but also he looked cautious as he lowered his weapon slightly while keeping his eyes locked on Clyde.
His presence carried a quiet authority. Enough to make it clear that he was the leader among them.
He stopped a few steps ahead of the others, then spoke in a calm but firm tone.
"We came here to help," he said. "To save whoever was still alive in this world."
His gaze shifted briefly toward the crater, then back to Clyde as a faint exhale left him.
"But it looks like... you didn’t need it."
Clyde did not react much to that. His expression remained the same as he answered without hesitation.
"We’re okay," he said simply. Then after a short pause, his eyes narrowed slightly. "But after this... we don’t know."
His voice remained calm, but the question followed naturally.
"What happens after I kill that last monster?"
The tall man’s expression hardened slightly as he answered without sugarcoating it.
"The world will be destroyed."
For a brief moment, Clyde’s jaw tightened. His expression shifted enough to resemble shock, as if the answer had caught him off guard.
But inside, there was no surprise.
He already knew.
After the final Scenario, this world had already served its purpose. It would not remain as it was. It would collapse, break apart, and scatter.
Not completely erased, but reduced into fragments. Floating debris. Broken land drifting in empty space, called Ruin.
That was what remained after the Selection Stage ended.
But none of that showed outwardly. Clyde let the silence linger for a moment before speaking again.
"Then what should we do?"
The question sounded genuine, even though he already knew the answer.
The tall man did not hesitate.
"We can take you with us," he said. "To a safe place. Somewhere hidden."
Clyde held his gaze for a second longer, then gave a small nod as if accepting that answer.
Without another word, he turned his back on them and looked toward the others.
He raised his hand slightly, gesturing.
"Come here," he said.
Mina, Sean, Connor, and Ray moved slowly toward him.
Their steps were heavy and unsteady, their bodies still worn down from the battle.
Clyde’s eyes briefly shifted toward one unfamiliar face among them. A kid he did not recognize-Ray.
He did not question him. It did not matter for now.
Once they gathered close, Clyde looked back at the tall man again.
"What next?" he asked.
The tall man glanced upward for a moment before responding.
"I’ve blocked the World Master’s access for now," he said. "He won’t be able to interfere immediately."
His tone grew more serious.
"But we don’t have much time."
Without wasting another second, he raised his hand and tore open another rift.
The space split apart once again, unstable energy flickering along its edges as the opening formed.
"Go," he said. "All of you."
Clyde turned his head slightly and looked at Mina.
Their eyes met. He gave a small nod.
Mina, still covered in dust and blood, her body trembling from pain, returned the nod without a word.
Then she moved first.
Sean, Connor, and Ray followed right behind her, stepping into the rift one after another without hesitation.
Clyde entered last among them.
Once they were through, the five figures remained behind for only a moment.
One of them let out a quiet breath, lowering his weapon fully now.
"Well... that was easier than expected," he muttered.
Another gave a small, tired chuckle.
"Yeah. There is no fighting or resistance. Something like this doesn’t happen often."
The tall man said nothing. His eyes remained on the closing rift for a second longer before he stepped forward.
Then all five of them entered as well.
The rift collapsed behind them.
—
The moment they stepped through the rift, the world twisted around them.
The space did not feel stable. It stretched and folded in ways that made no sense as the path forward became nothing more than a shifting tunnel of distorted light and darkness.
The ground beneath their feet was gone. There was no up or down. Only movement.
And pain.
Clyde felt it immediately. Even for him, it was painful.
He had been to this place before, had passed through this connection in his previous life, but this time it was different. Back then, it had been his physical body but now it was only his soul that crossed this boundary.
Now, every part of him was being dragged through it. This new body felt like it was being pulled apart.
It stretched, twisted, and torn at the edges of existence before being forced back together again. Over and over.
His jaw tightened as he endured it in silence.
"So this is the difference. I never think I will experience this again," he thought faintly.
Behind him, the others were not faring any better.
Mina’s breath broke unevenly as her body trembled violently. The pain in her already broken arm flared to an unbearable level as the distortion pulled at it. She clenched her teeth hard, trying to suppress any sound, but a strained gasp still escaped her.
Sean’s body jerked as if something was trying to rip him backward while forcing him forward at the same time.
Connor let out a low groan, his entire body shaking as he tried to stay upright.
Even Ray, who had laughed through the battle, was no longer smiling. His expression twisted as he gritted his teeth, a low growl escaping him.
Time lost its meaning inside the rift. It felt long.
There was no clear sense of progress or sign of an end. Just the continuous sensation of being stretched, broken, and forced back together again.
It felt endless.
Then suddenly it stopped. The distortion snapped away. Gravity returned all at once.
Their bodies dropped. They hit solid ground hard.
The impact echoed as each of them collapsed almost immediately, their bodies unable to hold themselves up any longer.
Mina fell to her knees first, one hand bracing against the ground as her body shook violently.
Then she vomited.
Sean and Connor followed right after, both coughing and retching as their bodies tried to recover from the strain.
"Shit...!" Sean choked out between breaths.
Connor wiped his mouth roughly, his hands still shaking. "That was... fucking hell..."
Ray dropped onto one knee while breathing heavily as he let out a weak laugh that quickly turned into a cough.
"That was worse than anything I ever feel..."
Even Clyde bent slightly forward, one hand resting against his thigh as his body trembled faintly. His breathing was somehow able to remain controlled, but the strain was there.
"This body... still isn’t used to it..." he thought.
A moment later, the air behind them distorted again.
The rift opened once more.
The five figures stepped out, landing far more steadily than the others.
Their movements showed strain, but far less than Clyde’s group. They had clearly done this many times before.
The tall man glanced at them briefly, his expression calm but observant.
"I knew it would be hard the first time passing through like that," he said.
None of them said anything immediately because they were still trying to breathe.
—
