<5>
Chirping
After sleeping straight through the entire day, Yohan finally regained his strength. Perhaps because of the nosebleed, the team members treated ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) him with even greater care—most of all Seo Yakrin. At every chance she got, she gazed at Yohan with a satisfied expression.
“Our Yohan, want to eat this too? While you were sleeping, noona went hunting. Do you like venison? Turtle? But why are you so skinny, nothing but bones? A person should be sturdy and healthy. You must eat well and rest well. Don’t just nibble—eat a lot. I’ll have Yoon Seungryong boil the bones down until they melt, and you’ll drink that too. Oh no, even if you’re full, keep eating. Everything I say is only for your good!”
Sorry as he was to think it, Yohan began to understand why Yoon Seungryong always called Seo Yakrin an old fogey. Still, to Yohan it sounded like the good kind of nagging, so he gratefully accepted her kindness and ate whatever she gave him. Lee Hyunmook, watching Seo Yakrin overflowing with happiness, asked quietly:
“Yakrin, did you rest well too?”
“Of course! Since falling into the Abyss, I’ve never felt better.”
“Then will you look at our weapons?”
Yohan wasn’t the only one who had been resting. Seo Yakrin and Yoon Seungryong had both spent themselves to the bottom of their power, fighting fiercely and suffering deep wounds. Seo Yakrin nodded readily, and everyone gathered their weapons together. The first thing she picked up was Yohan’s crude stone-blade weapon. Stroking the glittering Eternal Stone, Seo Yakrin chuckled.
“You actually just stuck the Eternal Stone in raw?”
And yet her eyes as she examined it were cautious and serious. She stared into it so long it was like she was having a staring contest, then tapped it lightly with her fingertip. Yohan, who had never seen Eternal Stone reforging before, watched with careful curiosity so as not to get in the way. For nearly an hour Seo Yakrin caressed it, then suddenly, as if realizing something, she exclaimed:
“This might be the finest quality I’ve ever seen....”
Tilting her head, she glanced briefly at Hyunmook, then focused back on Yohan’s Eternal Stone.
It wasn’t at all the reforging process Yohan had imagined. He had expected fire to temper it and hammer strikes—but no physical force was used. Seo Yakrin only gazed at it, stroked it, sometimes moved her lips as if whispering. And yet, the impossibly hard Eternal Stone gradually grew softer.
‘Wait... it’s actually softening?’
Yohan’s eyes widened. The obsidian-like, crudely chipped stone was being smoothed into a rounded shape. When Seo Yakrin at last pressed with a bit of force, the Eternal Stone yielded like clay, revealing its inner layer. Yohan gasped.
“It’s not black inside?”
Beneath the glossy black shell was pure white ore. Without touching the white, Seo Yakrin stroked only the black portion and asked Yohan:
“Our Yohan, what do you want?”
“What do I... want?”
“Would you like to handle your power with precision? Or would you rather its output increase? How about sustaining it longer?”
Yohan hesitated. When reforged into Jeolgang-steel, the Eternal Stone could be drawn toward whatever direction was chosen. Hyunmook had chosen precision, Seungryong had chosen endurance, and Joo Hoyoung had chosen power. All tempting—but Yohan’s choice was clear.
“I want to be stronger.”
After receiving Joo Hoyoung’s buff, he understood even more clearly. His purification power had to become stronger above all else.
‘If I could fight the Bumram without running away, that would be best.’
Now that he knew the Bumram could fall from the sky like radioactive fallout, the determination was even stronger. He never wanted to see everyone torn apart and suffering like that again.
Hearing Yohan’s thoughts, Hyunmook and the others were certain: Yohan was growing stronger, and he would continue to grow.
‘The more you use an ability, the stronger it becomes. And you, Yohan, are a purifier. In the Abyss, where everything is saturated with contamination, it’s as if you’re using your power all day long. That’s why your growth is so steep. There’s no need to rush.’
So Hyunmook told him, but Yohan still wanted to grow faster. He wanted to place everyone in a safe, clean, comfortable place. That resolve made him recall the cozy shelter in the Japan sector.
“Yes, stronger is the better choice.”
Smiling, Seo Yakrin stroked the Eternal Stone. Golden energy flowed from her fingertips, enveloping it. The black surface flipped to white, then back to black, over and over, until the two colors intertwined into a strange pattern—like tails chasing each other—reshaping into a single spearhead.
“Ugh. The finish is awful.”
Clicking her tongue, Seo Yakrin removed the rough metal rod Hyunmook had stuck on before. With telekinesis she smoothed it and fitted it seamlessly to the newly reforged Jeolgang-steel.
‘So that’s it... Seo Yakrin doesn’t need tools....’
With telekinesis, she needed neither hands nor hammer. Handing the polished weapon to Yohan, she said:
“I’ll reinforce the shaft with proper material when we get some.”
“Thank you!”
Yohan received it with excitement. The moment he gripped it, warmth surged into his hands. It was incomparable to the crude stone-blade days. When he poured a little power into it, the result was astonishing.
“Ah!”
Yohan’s eyes flew wide. With just a trickle of light, the Jeolgang-steel flared with brilliant radiance. It was clearly a spear, yet it felt like holding a magician’s staff. Just imagining how powerful the purification would be with Joo Hoyoung’s buff on top of this made him giddy.
“With this, I can defeat small-scale Bumram anytime!”
Cheeks flushed red, eyes shining, Yohan shouted. The others drifted closer, as if bewitched, to bask in the light.
“Of all the weapons I’ve reforged, this feels the most rewarding.”
Pleased, Seo Yakrin held out her hand to catch the scattering light. The sharp corners of her eyes softened. Yoon Seungryong came close, glanced sideways at her, but said nothing.
“This is amazing. Seo Yakrin, you...”
“Noona.”
Seo Yakrin pinched Yohan’s cheek lightly, gazing at him with the tender eyes of someone looking at a much younger sibling—or a nephew. Though the youngest was clearly Hoyoung. Blushing, Yohan answered obediently:
“Yakrin noona...”
“Good boy.”
“Can you... talk with the Eternal Stone?”
Watching the reforging had reminded Yohan of the hallucinations he had seen in the jungle. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed those hadn’t been illusions. Maybe Hyunmook’s or Seungryong’s weapons really did have wills of their own. After all, Jeolgang-steel was made of Eternal Stone, and Eternal Stone once came from living beings.
“In the past, I would’ve said no. But now... maybe yes.”
“What? Really?”
Joo Hoyoung exclaimed. The others looked equally surprised—they hadn’t known either. Seo Yakrin kept tilting her head, chin propped in thought.
“Not speaking exactly. It’s more like I sense a will, and I interpret it. Like shaping a lump of clay to communicate. Hard to put into words. It’s something you only understand when reforging.”
Yohan gazed at his weapon in wonder. The mysterious Eternal Stone Hyunmook had once fetched for him seemed even more precious now. Hyunmook brushed the back of his finger across Yohan’s flushed cheek and said:
“Now that Yohan’s weapon is reforged, let’s head back to our shelter.”
“Yes! Let’s go back quickly!”
Yohan jumped up eagerly. Nearly a month had passed wandering this gloomy, damp, chilling sea of reeds to bring Seo Yakrin back. He longed to leave it behind and return to the great tree they had made their temporary home.
“It’ll take a few days to get back, right?”
“No, not days.”
Seo Yakrin smiled triumphantly, dragging over a bundle of reeds. She beat it with telekinesis until it shaped into a boat, then hopped on. Puzzled, Yohan climbed aboard with the others. From her fingertips, golden mist-like power flowed, lifting the reed-boat into the air.
“Wow!”
Yohan couldn’t help but exclaim. He had never imagined telekinesis used this way. The boat rose swiftly until the crimson-black sky was visible, then skimmed across the rippling reed-sea.
“...Ah!”
A surprised breath slipped from his lips. Yohan instinctively moved to the edge of the boat. It was like flying over a golden, shimmering ocean at sunset. One of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen in the Abyss. As they skimmed the reed-sea, birds burst forth in response.
Bone-birds shrieked with hag-like cries, chasing the boat. Yohan raised his weapon, pouring purification into it. Radiant light scattered around the boat, transforming the ghastly screeches into birdsong. White, blue, red, and yellow birds followed the stream of light. The luminous trail Yohan left was like a wave parting the sea.
For the first time since falling into the Abyss, Yohan laughed out loud. And suddenly, he realized:
No matter how dreadful the place, if he was with these people, it might just be all right.
