Eden stood in the middle of the destruction, breathing heavily.
His twin daggers hung loosely in his hands.
His body ached from head to toe, and his Essence reserves were practically empty. Lucy wasn’t doing much better. She was sitting against the remains of a broken car, breathing heavily, while Kael was on one knee several meters away.
The healer assigned to the emergency response team hurried between them.
"Hold still."
A gentle stream of Essence flowed from the healer’s hands.
Warmth spread through Eden’s body.
The pain in his muscles gradually disappeared. Bruises faded. Cuts closed. Even the lingering soreness from the battle became little more than an unpleasant memory.
Lucy received treatment next.
Kael was the worst of the three.
The Rogue’s earlier stab had done considerable damage, and even after the healer restored most of the wound, Kael remained pale.
"You need to get to a proper hospital," the healer told him.
Kael nodded.
"I’ll keep that in mind."
The sound of distant sirens reached them.
More vehicles.
More Awakeneds.
The Association had finally arrived.
Eden glanced toward the approaching lights.
That was their cue to leave.
He looked at Lucy.
"We’re going."
She blinked.
"Now?"
"Unless you want to explain why two unlicensed Awakeneds were fighting inside a Dungeon Break."
Lucy immediately understood.
Her expression became slightly nervous.
"I suppose that would be... bad."
"Very."
Under the law, an Awakened without a license wasn’t allowed to participate in official Dungeon operations.
Helping during an emergency might sound like something the Association would appreciate.
But technically?
They had entered the battlefield without authorization.
If they were discovered, they’d be classified as rogues.
And Eden had absolutely no interest in explaining himself to the Association.
He turned toward Kael.
"One thing."
Kael looked up.
"What?"
"Don’t mention us."
Kael frowned.
"You mean your involvement?"
"Mine and hers."
He gestured toward Lucy.
Kael looked between them.
"But you two helped kill that thing."
"I know."
"Why hide it?"
"We don’t want any unnecessary attention."
Kael’s frown deepened.
"That’s it?"
"That’s enough."
Kael seemed genuinely confused.
"You risked your lives to help people."
"And I’d rather not get acknowledged for it."
"Seriously?"
"Just promise me you won’t mention us."
Kael stared at him for a few seconds.
Then he sighed.
"I don’t understand you."
"You’re not the first."
Eden started walking away.
Kael suddenly called after him.
"Wait."
Eden turned.
Kael hesitated.
"...You fought well."
Eden stared at him.
It wasn’t exactly what he expected.
"So did you."
Eden gave him a small nod.
Then he turned away.
Neither of them knew it yet, but that brief exchange would be the beginning of a rather strange relationship.
For now, though, Eden had more important things to worry about.
Food.
A little later, Eden and Lucy sat across from each other in a small restaurant several streets away from the destroyed area.
For a little while, neither of them talked about Gates, monsters, ranks, skills, or death.
They simply ate.
Lucy kept stealing glances at him between bites.
When they eventually left the restaurant, the city had gone dark.
The two walked together for a while before reaching an intersection.
"This is my way," Lucy said.
Eden nodded.
"Get home safely."
"You too."
Lucy hesitated.
Then smiled.
"Thank you, Eden."
He waved dismissively.
"Don’t make it weird."
Then the two went their separate ways.
Eden shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking home.
It wasn’t until he pulled out his phone that he realized something.
His screen was completely flooded.
Missed calls.
Messages.
More missed calls.
Even more messages.
All from one person.
Mihui.
Eden stopped walking.
His expression changed.
"...Oh."
He had forgotten.
Completely.
’I’m dead.’
When Eden was young, his parents had died in a car accident.
It had been sudden.
One day they were there.
The next, they weren’t.
Mihui’s parents had been close friends with Eden’s.
So when the accident happened, they took him in.
For a while, things were almost normal.
Then, a few years later, Mihui’s parents died as well.
Their deaths had never been properly explained.
There had been no clear cause.
No satisfying answer.
Just another pair of empty spaces at the dinner table.
And suddenly, it was just Eden and Mihui.
Mihui was a few years older.
She should have been worrying about school.
Friends.
Her own future.
Instead, she dropped out of high school.
She worked.
She struggled.
She somehow kept food on the table and a roof over their heads.
For years, she carried responsibilities that never should have belonged to her.
And Eden remembered all of it.
It made him feel all the more guilty.
Because in his first life...
He had eventually pushed her away.
Mihui had begged him to stop.
Every time Eden left for a Gate, she worried.
Every time he returned injured, she panicked.
Every time he talked about becoming stronger, she tried to convince him that he didn’t need to risk his life.
And Eden had hated hearing it.
Because she was right.
He had simply been too stubborn to admit it.
So he distanced himself.
Little by little.
Until one day, he barely came home anymore.
Until the calls stopped being answered.
Until Mihui became nothing more than a painful memory buried somewhere in the back of his mind.
It was probably his greatest regret, though hr never gathered the courage to come back and reconcile.
But things were different now.
He had another chance.
Eden stared at the messages on his phone.
’...I really am an idiot.’
He started walking faster.
The moment Eden opened the apartment door, something small and pink launched itself at him.
"Eden!"
THUMP.
He barely had time to react before Mihui wrapped both arms around him.
She buried her face against his chest.
"Where were you?!"
Eden froze.
"...uh... I was out?"
"Don’t you dare!"
Her voice was muffled against him.
"I called you!"
"I noticed."
"Twenty-three times!"
Eden blinked.
"Twenty-three?"
"Twenty-four!"
"That’s... impressive."
"Eden!"
"Right. Sorry."
Her pink hair was slightly messy.
Her light blue eyes were filled with anger, worry, and relief all at once.
"You disappeared without telling me anything!"
"I was busy."
"Busy doing what?"
"...Walking."
"You don’t disappear for hours while I’m calling you because you’re walking!"
Eden scratched the back of his head.
"I walked intensely."
Mihui narrowed her eyes.
"You’d better have a good explanation."
Eden opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
He had already lied to her enough for one lifetime.
But he wasn’t exactly going to tell her the truth.
’I entered a Dungeon Break, fought a D+ Rank monster, nearly died, and helped kill it.’
’No.’
’Absolutely not.’
’I’d rather fight another boss.’
"I’m fine," he said instead.
Mihui stared at him.
"You better be."
She pulled back from the hug.
And froze.
Her eyes dropped.
Eden’s clothes were torn.
There were dark stains across his shirt.
Blood.
Her expression immediately changed.
"Eden..."
He looked down.
"...Oh."
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"That’s blood."
"Tomato juice."
Mihui slowly looked up.
"Tomato juice."
"Yeah."
"On your shirt."
"Yeah."
"After you disappeared for hours."
"...When you say it like that, it sounds suspicious."
"It is suspicious!"
Eden gave her his best completely emotionless expression.
"I fell down some stairs."
Mihui’s eyes widened.
"You fell down stairs?!"
"Yeah."
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Then why are you covered in blood?"
"I spilled the tomato juice after falling."
Mihui stared at him.
Eden stared back.
Silence.
"...You are terrible at lying."
"That’s why I’m not lying."
She looked like she wanted to interrogate him further.
But then Eden added quietly,
"I got healed. I’m fine."
Mihui’s anger softened.
Only slightly.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
She continued staring at him for several seconds.
Finally, she sighed.
"You’re impossible."
Eden smiled faintly.
"I missed you too."
She hugged him again.
This time, Eden returned it.
His arms wrapped around her.
For a brief moment, he closed his eyes.
’This time...’
’I’m not pushing you away.’