FLIA 94

Soon after, they were each placed in separate military trucks. As a fellow high-tier awakener, Jeong Siyoung rode with Lee Hyunmook. Yohan kept glancing nervously in that direction, and Hyunmook waved his hand as if to tell him not to worry.

“See you later, Yohan-ah.”

“Yes…! See you all later!”

If he said “later,” then maybe it really would be later. Yohan forced himself to suppress his anxiety, he quietly boarded the military truck. Two soldiers, likely mid-level, rode with him. Though they still kept a hand on their weapons, their demeanor was surprisingly kind.

“Would you like some water?”

“Th-thank you.”

His hands trembled as he took the bottle and downed it in one go. Only then did it finally start to feel real, he had escaped the Abyss. Even though he had cried earlier, tears welled up again and streamed down. Every terrifying, painful memory from the Abyss flickered through his mind. One of the soldiers quietly turned away, pretending not to notice. Sniffling, Yohan asked in a hoarse voice,

“What day is it today?”

“November 22, 2035.”

As he was setting down the now-empty bottle, Yohan’s mind went blank. It felt like a hammer had struck the back of his skull. He stared and asked again, doubting his own ears.

“Huh? Isn’t it November 2036?”

“No, it’s definitely November 2035.”

The soldier’s voice was gentle, sympathetic to someone who had just escaped the Abyss. But Yohan couldn’t believe it. It didn’t make sense. The day he had fallen into the Abyss was November 7, 2035. And yet the date the soldier gave was not even a full month later.

He had spent a year in the Abyss. But not even a month had passed here? That couldn’t be right. Muttering to himself in disbelief, Yohan asked urgently,

“Could you please show me the date? Event a calendar would be fine?”

The soldier sighed softly and held out the wristwatch he was wearing. The date was clearly displayed: November 22, 2035.

How was this possible? He had spent an entire year in the Abyss, and only two weeks had passed here? Was this a dream? Was any of this real? He suddenly remembered back when Yohan first met Hyunmook, the older man had asked him for the date.

“What’s the date outside?”

“The day I fell in here was November 7, 2035.”

And after hearing that, Hyunmook had laughed like a madman and said something strange.

“Three years. It is just three years…”

Thinking back, there were other odd things too. Even though Ju Hoyoung was there, the group had blatantly treated Yohan as the youngest. They often spoke as if they had lived there for decades. Yohan’s hands began to tremble as he realized the truth. Two weeks here equaled a full year in the Abyss. One day here was almost an entire month there. Time flowed differently.

Then how long had Hyunmook and the others survived in that place? Even without factoring in time dilation, a single year in that hell had felt like decades. So what was it really? Just doing the math, it came to over thirty thousand days. That was nearly ninety years.

But Yohan had a gut feeling that they had spent even longer. The regret, the despair, the resignation and fury that surfaced on their faces, those couldn’t have come from just ninety or even a hundred years. It must have been far, far longer. They had endured something so long and so terrible it was nearly unimaginable.

A choked sob escaped his lips.

“Ugh… hhic…”

The emotion hit him like a wave, and Yohan began to cry. Thinking about Lee Hyunmook, Lee Chanha, Seo Yakrin, Yoon Seungryong, and Ju Hoyoung, those warm, kind people living in endless pain with no hope of escape, it broke his heart. It felt so unfair, so cruel. Their suffering felt like his own. One of the soldiers awkwardly offered him a handkerchief, which quickly soaked through with tears as Yohan cried all the way to the transfer site.

When he arrived at the Rift Management Bureau’s medical room, the examiner looked alarmed to see his swollen, puffy face.

“Excessive emotional outbursts can be a symptom of corruption,” they said cautiously.

Corruption? Not a trace of it existed in his body. Yohan was a purifier. Fearing he might be thrown into containment, he quickly shook his head and replied with a nasal voice,

“No, it’s just… it just hit me that I finally made it out of the Abyss… and I, hic, really miss my friends and family too…”

“Ah…”

The examiner’s expression softened a little. That did make sense. With several eyes on him, Yohan removed his clothes. He was embarrassed to be naked, but no one reacted. Everyone seemed used to this kind of thing.

Just like Lee Hyunmook had done in the Abyss, they examined Yohan thoroughly. They parted his hair, checked his ears, eyes, and inside his mouth, and even inspected the more private areas with lights to check for rashes. Since no external symptoms showed, it seemed his corruption level was low, and the mood in the room eased slightly.

Then came what could only be called a deep cleansing process. Afterward, he was given a loose set of clothes and underwent X-rays and even a CT scan. Once it was confirmed he had no abnormal organs or foreign growths inside, he was finally declared safe. But when he suddenly got a nosebleed, the examiner stiffened again.

“Are you alright? Any other symptoms?”

“No… I just used my ability a lot… I’m just tired…”

That part was true. Yohan had given everything he had to escape the Abyss. Even with Ju Hoyoung’s buffs and help from the Black Mountain, purifying an entire city was no easy task. The moment the tension left him, his legs gave out. A soldier nearby quickly caught him before he collapsed. Yohan mumbled his thanks.

“Thank you…”

“He’s probably overexerted himself. He should eat and rest properly.”

The soldier, used to seeing awakeners push themselves to the limit fighting monsters, immediately recognized the signs. Yohan’s face had been extremely pale, so the examiner agreed. As he stumbled forward, Yohan asked,

“Um, what about the others?”

“They’re undergoing their own exams.”

“When will I be able to see them?”

“Once everyone finishes testing and is confirmed safe, you’ll be allowed to meet.”

That made him a bit anxious, but Yohan trusted Hyunmook and the others completely. This was just protocol. They had probably sent him ahead because everything would be fine. Still, he couldn’t help worrying about what the results might be for the others, whose bodies had changed slightly from time in the Abyss. He dragged his feet along, exhaustion catching up to him.

The room he was brought to was an isolation unit behind double transparent doors. It was probably meant for mild contamination cases. It had everything needed for daily life, even a TV and a bed. Yohan barely touched the food and collapsed onto the mattress.

Someone seemed to check on him now and then, maybe even examine him, but he was too out of it to respond. When he woke again, an IV was in his arm. Sunlight was streaming through the window. He stared at it in a daze. That dazzling blue sky felt like something he could look at forever. A short time later, the examiner returned.

“Mr. Yang Yohan, how are you feeling?”

“Much better after a good sleep.”

The examiner nodded and observed him carefully through the glass, tapping something on the tablet in their hands. Probably a checklist for corruption symptoms.

“Any physical symptoms like rashes, itching, or numbness? Mental symptoms like hallucinations, ominous visions, depression, or fatigue?”

Yohan answered no to everything, and the glass doors finally opened. With soldiers watching from both sides, he followed the examiner through the facility. After a few more checks, they reached a room where Jeong Siyoung was waiting. Yohan’s eyes widened, and he instinctively pulled his energy inward.

“Mr. Yang Yohan? Please, have a seat.”

Unlike before, Jeong Siyoung wasn’t wearing any protective gear. Her hair had been messily tied back in a single knot, and her sleeves were rolled up in a hurry. It was clear how busy she had been. Only her left arm was wrapped tight in something like latex, sealed completely. Yohan sat down, suppressing his strong urge to purify her.

“You must be hungry from fasting for the exams. Please, eat something first.”

His hunger was intense, so he didn’t refuse. He accepted the bread and milk he offered. As he tasted the sweet jam inside the bread and drank the milk, tears welled up again. Milk… something he had never once tasted in the Abyss.

“It’s… good… Thank you.”

Seeing him sniffling again, Jeong Siyoung clicked her tongue and gave him more snacks. Before meeting Yohan, she had already interviewed Lee Hyunmook and the other Sunrise Team members. And despite being a high-level awakener herself, she had felt a deep sense of unease talking to them. Not just with Lee Hyunmook. Even the mid-level team members had made her feel it.

Compared to them, Yohan felt more like a small woodland creature. There was no discomfort, just an odd warmth and ease. His face looked like a high school graduate’s, quietly sipping milk with teary eyes. Jeong Siyoung glanced down at the file again.

Yang Yohan, 23 years old. Second son of Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yejoo, executives of Samyeong Pharmaceuticals. Witnesses reported that he joined an awakening party and went missing after a monster attack.

The man in front of her looked exactly as the documents described, a sheltered young heir who had suffered terribly and returned home. Her tone softened considerably as she asked,

“Let’s start with how you ended up in the Abyss.”