“This world… is about to face a great danger.”
Kang Yedam sighed as he saw my frozen expression, then rubbed his forehead with a troubled look.
‘Is this for real? Can I trust him?’
My mind was filled with confusion.
Maybe it was nonsense to test me, but a great danger?
If a time retracer had appeared, wouldn’t that mean it was almost an extinction-level threat to the world?
Then why was it Kang Yedam—of all people—who had time retraced?
Did he have some special role to play in the future?
Or was it connected to his skills?
One question after another crowded my thoughts, making my head feel like it was about to burst.
“This is going to be a long story. You came here with Ban Eunhyeol, right?”
I nodded silently.
“Tell him to come in. It’d be better if he hears this too. By now, he should already know who you really are anyway.”
“How do you know that?”
“You told me. Ban Eunhyeol knew long ago when your identity was revealed.”
“Ah.”
It made sense that I had told him directly.
Since my identity was out, I might as well reveal everything.
Yedam was a friend, so he probably spoke freely.
I opened the warehouse door to call Ban Eunhyeol.
He was leaning against a tree near the incinerator, and when he saw me, he approached cautiously.
Judging by the way he peeked toward the warehouse, he seemed to be trying to figure out who I was talking to.
“Let’s go in. This is something you need to hear too.”
I didn’t bother explaining further.
It was impossible to casually say something like: the person who sent you that message was Kang Yedam, he’s a time retracer, he knows the future, and the world will be in grave danger later.
Ban Eunhyeol looked suspicious but allowed me to lead him inside the warehouse without resistance.
The moment he saw Kang Yedam, he gave me a bewildered look, silently demanding an explanation.
‘Should he believe this?’
As the host of the possession, I had no reason to doubt a single time retracer appearing.
But would Ban Eunhyeol find it all absurd?
It seemed Yedam thought it better to explain things himself, so he spoke first.
“All the world’s heroes are gathered.”
“What are you talking about?”
Hearing that suddenly after just coming inside, Ban Eunhyeol’s reaction was far from pleasant.
He already looked quite displeased just knowing Yedam had sent me that message, let alone this “heroes” nonsense.
“You better explain why you sent that kind of message to my wife. If you don’t speak straight, I won’t let this slide nicely.”
Hmm…
Alright, this is serious, so I’ll hold back twice.
Next time, I should make sure the word ‘wife’ never comes out of my mouth again.
Kang Yedam revealed to Ban Eunhyeol that he was a time retracer.
At first, Ban Eunhyeol stared at him as if he were mad, but the more he heard, the more he seemed to lean toward believing it.
“So you went back in time after stopping a major catastrophe in the future?”
“That’s right.”
“And that catastrophe was finally stopped by you, me, and Dana?”
“Yeah.”
“…Why you? Where were Yeon Hayeon and Do Ihyun?”
He wore a look of disbelief.
Of course, Kang Yedam was a highly ranked and powerful Awakened, but there were stronger Awakened above him—what were they doing at the time?
Noticing what we were thinking, Ban Eunhyeol lowered his head with a dark expression and spoke in a trembling voice.
“They… died before us. Yeon Hayeon, and the other Great Four Heavenly Kings—everyone except you.”
“They died…?”
“Remember the S-Rank gate that opened at Jangnam High last time?”
Startled by the shocking news, my attention immediately focused on the words “S-Rank gate.”
“That was the easy part. On our graduation day, another S-Rank gate opens—and that one’s the real deal. Not only can we not clear it, but it keeps devouring people and grows bigger until it covers the entire Seoul airspace. Countless casualties, including many high-ranking Awakened…”
“Ihyun… the black sheep… died trying to save you.”
One shocking piece of news after another left my mind reeling.
Faces of Yeon Hayeon, the Great Four Heavenly Kings, the top three VIPs of Iljin High, and Awakened ranked in the top ten flashed before my eyes—memories flooding back.
‘Everyone dies?’
I had expected S-Rank gates might open again someday since the gates would never fully disappear from this world.
But since we cleared the last one, I assumed we could handle the next.
I was wrong.
Everyone dies, and only the three of us close the gate.
‘Because of me, the gates don’t disappear… and everyone dies.’
And Do Ihyun died saving me.
When I came back to this world following Ban Eunhyeol, I thought I’d just have to work harder.
So far, I hadn’t failed to clear any gate that opened.
But to fail?
To have someone die because of me?
Really?
If anything, it should be the opposite.
No one should die in my place.
Sensing my thoughts, Ban Eunhyeol wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave me a comforting pat.
Even though the future hadn’t happened yet, the news was so shocking it was hard to calm down.
I lifted my head sharply and grabbed Kang Yedam’s shoulder.
“If you went back in time, that means there’s a way to stop that future, right? That’s why you came back, isn’t it?”
I must have gripped too hard because Kang Yedam winced in pain, so I let go.
“I’m not exactly sure, but since I went back several months, I think that’s the reason. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. If I tell you what happened then, maybe we can find a way to prevent the disaster in advance.”
“What happened? Tell me everything in detail, don’t leave anything out.”
A future where so many people died and were injured must never come to pass.
Since Kang Yedam appeared before me as a time retracer, I had to use him to somehow prevent that misfortune.
“This is going to be a long story. Let’s go to my place first.”
We headed to Ban Eunhyeol’s house to talk in detail.
***
As soon as we arrived at Ban Eunhyeol’s house, we went upstairs to his room.
This room had already become the place where I shared secret stories with the Great Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Hayeon, but since it was Kang Yedam’s first time here, he looked curious.
Why did we have to come all the way here to talk?
“Why do we have to talk about this at Ban Eunhyeol’s house of all places?”
“Because the security here is tight. There’s no one who can overhear us.”
Ban Eunhyeol closed the door carefully after warning people outside not to come near, then walked to the center table.
I answered for him, and Kang Yedam nodded as if understanding but still looked puzzled.
“It’s just more comfortable to talk here.”
“Ah, it is comfortable.”
“So, continue with the story. Start from how the S-Rank gate opens in the future. No, tell me everything from the beginning.”
Determined to prevent the catastrophe in the future, I asked Kang Yedam to explain step by step what happened before the S-Rank gate opened.
He began a long, detailed story.
On the day of our graduation, an S-Rank gate opened and spread across Seoul, swallowing people whole.
Many Awakened rushed to fight the monsters and protect civilians, but they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Among the increasing casualties, Awakened ranked in the top ten also began to die one by one.
Fortunately, Kang Yedam survived and, along with us, managed to defeat the boss monster.
“After the monster died, Dana disappeared. Then, a status window popped up saying the gate was closed because the outsider had returned to their original dimension.”
“…Disappeared?”
Ban Eunhyeol’s voice grew harsh.
It sounded like my future self chose to return to the original dimension.
“After Dana disappeared… something truly unbelievable happened.”
Kang Yedam continued, still seeming unable to fully believe it himself.
“Everything went back to the state before the S-Rank gate appeared. The dead were revived, the injured healed, and ruined Seoul restored to normal.”
Kang Yedam, who had been looking down at the floor the whole time, finally raised his head and looked at us.
“I think Dana returned to the original dimension under those conditions.”
We had nothing to say.
Ban Eunhyeol looked shocked by the idea that I had returned to the original dimension under such terms, and I felt the same.
“Wait a minute. Since I’m possessing this body, wouldn’t that mean the original owner of this body came back?”
“Original owner? I don’t know about that… Dana just completely disappeared.”
Ban Eunhyeol, who had been sitting stiffly, suddenly stood up and grabbed Kang Yedam’s shoulder, shaking him.
“So what’s the way to stop Dana from disappearing? You have to know, right?!”
“…Calm down first.”
I held Ban Eunhyeol’s excited hands to calm him down.
He kept running his hands through his hair, unable to settle easily.
Kang Yedam, looking troubled, squeezed his eyes shut before uttering words like a thunderclap.