Every time I passed through the gate, there was a brief moment when my vision was obscured by darkness. It felt like I was being sucked into a deep swamp, as if a hand that was full of ominous, sticky darkness was pulling at my ankle. I could no longer feel my heartbeat. I just wanted to confirm whether Yeon-Hee was dead or alive.

When I arrived at Lee Tae-Han’s office, an Awakened was waiting for me.

“Where is noona? Mary noona!”

When Seong-Il lunged at him and shouted, I couldn’t take my eyes off the floor. Blood was scattered everywhere, and there were clear footprints that belonged to Yeon-Hee, marked with blood. There was a larger amount of pooled blood at the entrance of the door, where Yeon-Hee had collapsed.

Despite escaping using the returning stone, Yeon-Hee couldn’t hold on for long. The traces on the floor that her arm had swept indicated the pain she had dealt with at the time.

“I am asking you! Is Mary noona alive?!”

As Seong-Il’s howling echoed in the back, my eyes widened as if I had woken up from a dream. Yeon-Hee was still breathing not far away from here.

I didn’t remember how I managed to rush to the spot where I heard her shallow breath....