FLIA 90

Only after Ju Hoyoung had gone far to catch beef, and after boiling the bones to make rich broth and eating it for several days did Yohan finally recovered his strength.

‘But what was that…? Did I have some sort of dream while I was sick?’

Yohan was lost in thought as he slowly polished his own spear, which Lee Chanha had kept safe for him..

At that time, when the core of the Abyss collapsed, Lee Hyunmook had swallowed up all the team members, including Yohan. After that, it seemed he’d remained inside Hyunmook until he woke up again near the lake.

Or, at least, he thought so. Maybe it was because it was so dark and empty in there, he cried, crawled, then received Hyunmook’s memories through the Eternal Stone, and then, and…Yohan’s face turned pale, then flushed red. It felt like a dream, but also didn’t.

As the strange memory came back to him, Yohan glanced toward Hyunmook, and met a calm gaze fixed right on him. His face flushed even redder.

“Are you still not feeling well?”

“M-maybe a little….”

Hyunmook reached out to check his forehead for a fever, and Yohan replied in a tiny voice. He quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, what happened to the cave?”

“It totally collapsed. I couldn’t find any trace of the entrance.”

Seo Yakrin, who had been visiting the Eternal Stones in the Black Moutain almost daily trying to communicate with it, shrugged as she spoke. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was still disappointing. Now that Yohan had mostly recovered, the group began preparing to leave.

“We should start farming again soon,” Yoon Seungryong said anxiously, he had checked and their vegetable and fruit supplies were running low. Maybe it was the salty air near the lake, but even the toughened, corrupted seeds didn’t seem to grow well. Actually, with how things had been lately, farming itself had become difficult to maintain.

“Oh, so where should we go next? Want to go to the Reed Sea? I know that place like the back of my hand.”

“Are you crazy? You want to go back to that dark, desolate place? The city zone’s way better.”

Yoon Seungryong recoiled at the idea. Yohan felt the same. No offense to Seo Yakrin, but crumbling ruins were definitely more livable than the wild.

Yohan quickly stepped between the two as they started to bicker again.

“Then let’s just head out now?”

Seo Yakrin suddenly shouted, “Wait, just one more thing! I want to try talking to it one last time. I’m hoping it’ll suggest a good place to live.”

“You’ve built up that much of a relationship to ask for moving recommendations now?”

Ju Hoyoung said, amused. After several days of rest, the group’s mood had improved a lot. Maybe it was because the Abyss’s environment had stabilized, but their physical and mental recovery was clearly faster than before.

Before moving, Yoon Seungryong had gathered a bunch of shellfish. They roasted some and waited for Seo Yakrin. The process took longer than expected. Communicating with the Eternal Stones wasn’t like talking to a person, so everyone just shrugged it off and roasted giant shrimp in the meantime.

Seo Yakrin eventually returned.

“I got some new information.”

“What kind of information?”

Yoon Seungryong asked without much expectation and sprinkled salt on a shrimp bigger than his own face. Seo Yakrin grabbed a hot shrimp fresh off the fire, she didn’t even peel it and shoved it in her mouth, chewed a few times, then swallowed.

“They say a new zone will appear soon. Want to guess where?”

A new zone? Yohan, who had been quietly purifying the air around them while eyeing Seo Yakrin’s bizarre way of eating shrimp, looked up in surprise. Even Lee Hyunmook, who’d seemed indifferent, turned his head. Seo Yakrin proudly announced,

“Near the Korean zone.”

***

“A new zone already? Is that even possible?”

“Could it be a trap?”

“It didn’t feel like one.”

The group huddled together and whispered. Yohan tilted his head as he alternated eating peeled shrimp from Yoon Seungryong and Hyunmook.

“It’s not really already, is it? Doesn’t the Abyss swallow things up every few months or so?”

It had been ten years since the Abyss first appeared. Earth had become a rotting, hollowed-out shell. Some areas were overrun by rifts, while others, devoured by the Abyss, were beyond recovery. Many people had died, and huge portions of the planet had been lost, making the situation dire.

If this kept up, the Earth would soon become uninhabitable for any life, not just humans.

Yohan had already been stuck here for over a year. By his logic, it was more than enough time for a new zone to appear. Ju Hoyoung formed an O with his lips after hearing Yohan’s words.

“Oh.”

Then Yoon Seungryong, still not finished with his shrimp, peeled another and handed it to Yohan.

“I meant it’s too soon for a Korean zone to appear again.”

“Ah. Yeah, you’re right.”

Yohan nodded. The Abyss didn’t devour just one spot but chewed at different places evenly. Since it had been a little over a year since the Korean zone showed up, it should take several more years for another area to vanish.

The group began murmuring again.

“Maybe it took a huge hit this time and needs new nutrients right away.”

“Sounds plausible. That might mean Earth is going to get even more dangerous.”

“Who cares about Earth? Let’s just go already!”

Ju Hoyoung, who’d been nervously biting his nails, suddenly shot to his feet.

“If we’re lucky… we might even make it out!”

At that, Yohan remembered Ju Hoyoung’s theory about the Abyss camouflaging itself. He had said that sometimes, land swallowed by the Abyss was spat out again like a body rejecting something it couldn’t digest.

Lee Chanha smiled at Ju Hoyoung bitterly.

“That could be the case… but don’t get your hopes up. It probably won’t happen.”

“Well, that’s true, but still….”

Ju Hoyoung’s shoulders slumped.

Never get your hopes up. Always assume you’ll fail. Those were phrases the team repeated like mantras. And each time Yohan heard them, he felt sad. They’d only learned to speak that way after enduring too many hopeless situations.

“There’ll probably be a lot of resources in a new zone,” said Yoon Seungryong, already bouncing with excitement.

Yohan also felt excited as he recalled all the useful things they’d salvaged in the Korean zone. He especially wanted another chocolate bar. Maybe they’d even find cola or other carbonated drinks….

“So, Team Leader, what should we do?”

Lee Chanha calmly asked after gathering everyone’s opinions. Lee Hyunmook, who’d been listening quietly, nodded.

“There’s no reason not to go. And no reason to stay here. Let’s move.”

“But if it’s a ruined city, it’s going to take forever to get there,” Yohan said with concern.

They had traveled from the Ruined City through the Jungle Zone, then the Japan zone, the Reed Sea, and the high mountains to get here to the Salt Lake Zone. It was a long way back.

If they needed drinking water, they’d have to pass through the high mountains again, and the thought of mountain goats and climbing made him dizzy already.

Then Seo Yakrin perked up and said,

“Let’s go through the Black Mountain. That way we don’t have to go all the way around. And how about flying the whole way?”

Yohan remembered how they had flown across the Reed Sea using Seo Yakrin’s telekinesis. He looked over at the Eternal Stones Mountain , once called the Black Mountain, now glowing with gentle, rainbow-pastel light.

To be honest, not having to trudge around on foot sounded appealing.

“But if you use that much power, your corruption level will go up,” Yohan said, worried.

“Even better! Then I can just use my wings to fly. I think I’ve figured out the trick after the last time I went a little wild.”

Really? If they flew, they wouldn’t be attacked by monsters either. It would be like flying in an airplane. Aside from Yoon Seungryong looking queasy at the thought, the rest of the team seemed fine with the idea. Even Lee Hyunmook nodded and said,

“It might be a good training opportunity for Yakrin-ah.”

After the meal, the group packed up. It didn’t take long, Yoon Seungryong picked everything up and stuffed it into his ‘pocket.’

They found a massive tree and carved it into a makeshift boat large enough for everyone. Seo Yakrin lifted it into the air with telekinesis and soared quickly across the Black Mountains.

From above, the Eternal Stones sparkled even more beautifully. As they flew, Yohan thought back to the time they had crossed the Reed Sea like this, and he felt emotional.