After the meal was finished and everything tidied up, Joo Hoyoung cheerfully stretched out his hand.
“Yohan-hyung, hand!”
Obediently, Yohan placed his hand atop Hoyoung’s. It had become a habit by now, after doing it every day for months. Soon, Hoyoung’s energy flowed into Yohan’s body. Taking in as much as he could, Yohan felt his own energy swell inside him. A sensation he had once struggled with was now familiar.
As Sunrise’s support, Hoyoung’s main ability was strengthening buffs. In battle, when he cast them, the team’s powers grew far beyond normal. Now that same buff was being placed on Yohan—for the sake of developing and amplifying his purification ability.
Hoyoung released him, and Yohan slowly discharged the multiplied energy. Bright motes of light scattered everywhere, spreading far. Many were absorbed by the other three, while the rest spilled outside the quarters. A moment later, Hoyoung darted out to check the expanded radius and returned with a broad smile.
“Your range has grown again today, hyung. You’re doing amazing! Keep this up and one day you’ll be purifying an entire city!”
His eyes shone with pride, leaving Yohan awkward. Though Hoyoung called him “hyung,” he often treated him like a much younger sibling. The title was there, but the attitude was patronizing, like dealing with a baby brother.
‘Is it because he has so much combat experience?’
That was all Yohan could guess. Still, since Hoyoung worked in a similar role, his advice was invaluable—different from the two damage-dealers’ perspectives.
“Uuugh, that feels so good.”
Like an old man basking his back on a hot floor, Yoon Seungryong melted in bliss. This was his reaction every time Yohan spread his power wide with full strength. Hyunmook and Hoyoung too always looked deeply satisfied at those moments. Watching them, Yohan felt proud.
He opened the window and looked outside. The view was strikingly peaceful. Bathed in Yohan’s purification field, everything within range was clean and restored, aside from broken ruins. Occasionally, animals—suddenly restored to their original form—wandered about in confusion. It almost felt like being back on Earth. In stark contrast, areas beyond his reach remained dark, sticky, and decayed.
Stretching, Yohan shut the window. Another ordinary, tranquil day was passing in the Japanese sector.
* * *
Waking after a ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) deep sleep, Yohan rubbed his eyes. Why did his bedding feel so restless? Was it from nightmares?
All through the night, he had been plagued with them. His family and friends all falling into the Abyss while he failed to notice, watching them die corrupted. Killing a monster only for a familiar face to appear. Losing his purification power, leaving everyone to revert into madness while he cried helplessly.
Uneasy, Yohan immediately checked his ability. His body brimmed with purification, full to bursting after sleep. Even the smallest release sparkled brightly. Instantly, Hoyoung, who had been awake for days gaming, darted in faster than sight, snatching motes of light from him.
“Yohan-hyung, you didn’t sleep well, huh?”
“Yeah... nightmares.”
Nightmares weren’t surprising. Whether from the Abyss itself or contamination, they were common here. But today something was off. He felt sluggish, sticky, unsettled, heavy.
“Maybe you’re just hungry? Here, eat this.”
Seungryong shoved a chunk of salted roasted potato into his mouth. With food in his stomach, he did feel better—so it really might have been hunger. Yet even after finishing corn and fruit until full, the gloom clung on. Hyunmook studied him quietly before suggesting:
“Want to take a walk? Clear your head.”
“Yes!”
Yohan jumped up immediately. Seungryong looked too lazy after the meal to join, and Hoyoung was lost in his game. The thought of walking alone with Hyunmook already lifted Yohan’s spirits.
They left their quarters, following a neat path. Early after settling here, they had smashed concrete and worked the soil and gravel, planting trees and flowers along the sides. It had taken effort and time, but in the Abyss there was nothing but time, so they had beautified their home.
“Do you dream badly often?”
Pretending to study a flower bud, Yohan shook his head at Hyunmook’s question.
“Not that often. I think it’s just from being here.”
“If they come too often, tell me.”
His voice was so gentle, so kind, that Yohan blinked in surprise. Glancing at the ground, then the crimson sky, he asked:
“And if I do, what would you do?”
“Anything.”
“Oh? Then I really will ask for anything. No regrets?”
Joking, Yohan grinned. Hyunmook leaned closer, closing the distance, smiling with his handsome lips.
“Yes. Anything.”
Flustered, Yohan averted his eyes.
“Then... like, sing me to sleep.”
“That’s easy.”
“Mm... or carry me around all day. Or tend the garden for me too.”
“As much as you want.”
At this rate, he really seemed like he’d do it. Yohan was about to admit he was only joking, but Hyunmook added more.
“You could hit me when you’re bored.”
“Why would I hit you?!”
“Or ask to use my body as a pillow.”
“No, no—”
“Or demand massages until satisfied. Or maybe...”
His words trailed off. He lowered his head, shadows falling across his face, whispering by Yohan’s ear.
“I told you, I could even kiss your feet.”
At the sudden mention of feet again, Yohan jumped.
“You really have a foot fetish, don’t you?!”
Hyunmook only laughed richly, without denying it. It seemed like a joke, but part of it felt like truth—enough to redden Yohan’s face. The memory of their earlier close contact resurfaced, and he gulped, eyes flicking to Hyunmook’s lips before quickly turning away, changing the subject in a hurry.
“Anyway, I’ve been curious... Why does Hoyoung have three abilities?”
It had bothered him for a while, but he’d hesitated to ask in front of Hoyoung himself. Now he let the question out—not just to change the topic, but out of real curiosity.
“I know his main ability is strengthening buffs, and his secondary is ice arts... But how is he that fast?”
Hoyoung had always been known for speed, but now it was beyond belief—even Hyunmook struggled to keep up. Any other Awakener would call that their main ability. At Yohan’s question, Hyunmook paused, frowning slightly.
“...Because of contamination.”
“His ability came from contamination?”
“Yeah. Just like ordinary animals—once corrupted, they grow stronger, develop toxins, illusions, things like that. It’s the same for Hoyoung.”
Instantly, Yohan thought back to when he had seen Seungryong in the cave, and to Hyunmook’s own power blowing that giant, perfect hole. Could that also be from contamination?
“Then the more I purify him, the weaker his abilities become?”
“Probably not. Yohan, I’ve told you before...”
Hyunmook’s tone slowed, picking his words.
“He’s been here too long to return to normal. To the point where you can’t even tell what normal was anymore. Think of it as irreversible transformation.”
“Irreversible transformation...”
“Right. Like this—purification can remove contamination, but it can’t shrink an overgrown body. The pig that became our delicious pork, the vegetables and fruits you’ve seen—remember?”
Images of their breakfast flashed in Yohan’s mind: twisted potatoes, corn cobs laced with poison kernels, fruits bristling with spikes that needed cutting away. Purification erased the toxins and aggression, but their warped forms and mass never truly returned to original.
“But you, Seungryong-hyung, and Hoyoung—you all look perfectly normal.”
To him, they were nothing but sound, healthy humans. Confusion clouded him. Hyunmook only smiled silently, offering no answer. What irreversible changes had they truly undergone?
Still pondering, Yohan voiced another curiosity.
“There’s one more thing... What’s your negative reinforcement, Hyunmook-ssi?”
Seungryong’s was gluttony and laziness. Hoyoung’s was obsession with games and toys. But after all this time together, Yohan hadn’t seen any hint of Hyunmook’s.
“My negative reinforcement is...”
Yohan leaned in eagerly, but Hyunmook closed his mouth. Was he teasing again? No—the man’s expression had hardened. He looked up at the sky, frowning.
“...Strange.”
“What, what is it?”
“Something feels wrong. ...We need to get back to the quarters, now.”
