FLIA 25

After a deep, dreamless sleep, Yohan shot upright the moment he opened his eyes. Rubbing his swollen lids, he scrambled out of the sleeping bag.

“Ah, um, I was supposed to take a shift… I’m sorry, did I sleep too long? Please, you should get some rest now.”

There was no sense of day or night in the Abyss, and since Lee Hyunmook hadn’t woken him, Yohan had ended up sleeping much longer than intended. But instead of sleeping, Lee Hyunmook calmly rolled up Yohan’s half-asleep body in the sleeping bag. Before Yohan could protest, a pre-prepared ration pack was set down in front of him.

Yohan blinked, confused. “You’re not going to sleep?”

“I wasn’t planning to. I can go without sleep for about a week.”

“What? But you must be tired, please, at least rest a little.”

Guilt gnawed at Yohan for sleeping so soundly on his own. But Lee Hyunmook simply shrugged, ignoring the concern. He leisurely finished his meal and then scorched his now-filthy spear clean with a burst of electricity.

“Let’s go.”

Suppressing an inward scream, Yohan quickly followed behind. He tried to purify something in return, out of guilt, but Lee Hyunmook told him to save his strength. It seemed he’d never intended to sleep at all, planning to let Yohan rest the entire time. Gripping the straps of his backpack with renewed determination, Yohan resolved silently:

‘Even if I can’t pull my full weight… I want to do at least half.’

After about three hours of trekking, they reached a forest filled with twisted trees. In the middle of a swamp, a dark cave entrance loomed before them. Having already experienced the subway tunnel illusion, Yohan stiffened with anxiety. But Lee Hyunmook simply stared at the cave entrance in silence.

With a growing sense of dread, Yohan asked, voice trembling, “…Don’t tell me this is it?”

“Looks like it. Last time that bastard, Yoon Seungryong, was right here.”

“…Ah.”

Yohan let out a sigh, staring at the ominous, pitch-black cave. It was so quiet, so dark, so unsettling that every instinct screamed at him not to enter. Lee Hyunmook glanced his way, and the look in his eyes clearly said, I really don’t want to bring you in here. That look lit a fire in Yohan, who gathered his courage.

“We came all this way. We should at least check it out. If it seems too risky, we can come right back out.”

After a moment’s thought, Lee Hyunmook poked the cave wall with his spear. What had looked like solid rock crumbled with a brittle crack.

Seemingly reassured, he nodded. “Alright. Let’s go in.”

Though he had spoken up himself, Yohan looked miserable as he followed Lee Hyunmook into the cave. The passage sloped gradually downward, winding deeper like the trail of some massive creature burrowing through the swamp. Stagnant water trickled slowly down the incline, making it feel more like a drainage path.

Nervous, Yohan kept glancing back. Lee Hyunmook said calmly, “There probably won’t be any other monsters inside. Or coming in from behind.”

“Why not?”

“Because they don’t want to get eaten.”

Yohan swallowed dryly. Sweat slicked his palms from sheer tension. It felt like something could lunge out of the darkness at any moment.

But contrary to his fears, they walked for thirty minutes with nothing in sight. Just endless cave.

As they sloshed forward through the waterlogged tunnel, Yohan asked uneasily, “Is it just me, or is the cave getting narrower?”

At first, it had been wide enough to walk side by side. Now they had to proceed in single file. The walls, once solid and rocky, now felt unpleasantly soft, almost fleshy. Like they were inside a living body.

“It is narrowing,” Lee Hyunmook said nonchalantly, poking the wall with his spear.

It oozed a revolting fluid from where the blade tore through.

“Ugh…”

Shuddering, Yohan instinctively pressed close behind Lee Hyunmook. The urge to turn back crawled up his throat, but he bit it down. It felt like he’d developed claustrophobia on the spot.

The deeper they went, the more twisted the cave became, narrowing, curving, the walls growing grotesque and bumpy. Yohan avoided touching anything as best he could, especially with the walls now looking like they were pulsing or twitching. Then—

“M-Mr. Hyunmook! The wall, it’s moving!”

“Hmm. Yeah, it’s moving.”

While Yohan shrieked, Lee Hyunmook remained utterly unfazed.

It wasn’t an illusion. The clammy, spongy walls were visibly swelling and squeezing inward. The ground writhed beneath them, and Yohan lost his footing.

“Ahhh!”

Panicked, Yohan tried to crawl forward. Lee Hyunmook reached out, pulled him into his arms, and began weaving through the narrowing passage. But it was no use, they were quickly boxed in. Lee Hyunmook’s arms bulged with strain as he pushed back against the tightening walls.

“W-what do we do?!”

“Get in real close, yeah?”

Yohan, pressed flat against Lee Hyunmook’s chest, flinched, and then, unable to ignore it any longer, started trembling as he spoke.

“Um, excuse me, but your…”

“My?”

He hadn’t wanted to bring it up in a situation like this, but it was impossible to ignore.

“It’s touching me!”

Lee Hyunmook’s thing… had such a strong presence. Yohan was in awe of it and respected it, but recently he had begun to have dark intentions towards it… He didn’t want to know its size like this.

“…Ah.”

“Y-your thing, it’s touching me!”

“Haha.”

Lee Hyunmook chuckled without offering a reply, then somehow started crawling with Yohan still in his arms, almost in a prone position. Yohan had no idea how it was even physically possible.

After a few minutes, Lee Hyunmook suddenly flipped onto his back with Yohan on top and said calmly,

“This won’t do, Yohan. We need to get out.”

“Right?! It’s way too tight!” Yohan shouted, doing his best not to press against Lee Hyunmook’s lower half.

“Acid is starting to come out.”

“Yes?!”

Then Yohan finally noticed the faint sizzling sound, and the burning smell. It was seeping up from the ground. Lee Hyunmook had laid himself down like a cushion to keep it from touching Yohan.

“You’re burning!”

Panicking, Yohan instinctively activated his ability. The strange acidic fluid turned clear, flowing like water. But it kept coming, pouring in from all directions. It felt like they were trapped in a giant creature’s stomach.

Looking up, Yohan saw acid also dripping from the walls and ceiling, only to be purified instantly.

“It’s regenerating, isn’t it? Right?!”

Yohan stammered as he confirmed Lee Hyunmook’s back and hair were intact. Breathing steadily, chest rising and falling, Lee Hyunmook spoke gently.

“Yohan. Close your eyes and cover your ears. Just a few seconds.”

Though already pressed tightly together, the deep, relaxed tone in his ear made goosebumps crawl down Yohan’s spine. He quickly obeyed, closing his eyes and plugging his ears.

And then, darkness.

‘Huh?’

They were already in a cave. His eyes were closed. He was surrounded by glowing particles of light.

But even so, Yohan felt an utter absence of light. He knew Lee Hyunmook was right beneath him, yet it felt as if an endless void had opened up in his place. A primal fear gripped him. Then, a chilling wind swept through, and the world tilted violently.

Yohan was sure they were plummeting. He let out a muffled scream, arms flailing as if to catch himself. But suddenly, his feet found solid ground. He opened tear-filled eyes at the sound of Lee Hyunmook’s voice.

“…Yang-ah.”

“M-Mr. Hyunmook?”

Yohan blinked and looked around. Somehow, they were back near the cave entrance. Just moments ago, they’d been deep underground. How…? Before he could process it, something soft and wet brushed against his cheek.

“Ahh! Mr. Hyunmook, no!”

Whatever had happened in that cave, Lee Hyunmook had gone mad again in an instant and was licking Yohan’s cheek. Even as Yohan struggled to escape, Lee Hyunmook held him tightly in his arms and licked up his tears like he was savoring something delicious. His tongue flicked all the way to the corners of Yohan’s eyes, making him scream as he frantically summoned his ability. A cluster of light seeped into Lee Hyunmook’s body, and the red gleam in his eyes seemed to fade slightly.

“YangYang…”

But it had little effect. Still lost to madness, Lee Hyunmook continued sucking on Yohan’s cheek. It wasn’t until both cheeks were swollen red from his efforts that Yohan was finally able to break free from the madman’s grasp, though in truth, it felt more like he’d simply been let go. Only then was Yohan able to see for himself how they had gotten out. A gasp escaped his lips.

“…What is this…”

A massive hole gaped in the ground, cleanly cut as if by a precision blade. Dozens of meters down, the winding layers of the cave’s interior were visible, and the swamp’s water poured into it like a waterfall.

There wasn’t a single scorch mark, hard to believe this had been done with lightning. Trembling, Yohan whispered, “H-how… how did you do this?”

But of course, there was no answer. Instead, Lee Hyunmook silently clung to him from behind and sucked on his sweaty nape, making Yohan jolt in alarm. His face flushed bright red.

“You are prohibited from doing that!”

Though the madman wasn’t as scary as before, Yohan still flailed and smacked his back, then winced. No matter the difference in class, dealer or healer, he was just too solid…! Grabbing his aching hand with a sigh, Yohan glanced over and asked Lee Hyunmook, who was now watching him with quiet, almost sulky eyes,

“…Do you remember the way back to the shelter?”

As expected, no reply came.