A warm breeze swept against Van’s black robe, while his golden hair had now grown down to his waist.
In front of him, the old man stood with his middle and index fingers pressed together against the center of Van’s chest.
The scene was witnessed from above by the endless sunset and the row of supermarkets on the cliff.
Van lowered his head. His gray eyes caught something that very few people could see.
The old man’s hand appeared motionless, yet it was actually moving so fast that it left no visible trace.
Van swallowed as he continued watching until the old man’s voice snapped him out of it.
"What are you looking at? I’ve told you over and over again, don’t study my power."
Van chuckled awkwardly.
"Good grief... who’s studying your power? I’m just looking."
One of the old man’s eyebrows rose as he let out a breath.
This time, cold vapor escaped him despite the warmth of the endless sunset.
The old man turned toward the sunset and the roaring waves before speaking quickly.
"Look! A humpback whale!!"
Van immediately turned without hesitation, but all he saw was the endless sunset and the lonely crashing waves.
Just as he was about to turn back toward the old man, his body vibrated like a cellphone.
A ringing filled his ears while his vision turned completely white.
His legs no longer felt strong enough to support him, yet he remained standing.
The moment lasted only a fraction of a second before Van finally regained his senses, cold sweat pouring down his body as though he had a fever.
Van tried to catch his breath as he gripped the old man’s shoulder, while the old man merely chuckled.
"You crazy old man, you should’ve told me to get ready. That hurt, you bastard."
The old man brushed Van’s arm away.
"Your body mustn’t stiffen during the age-locking process... if I’d warned you beforehand, you would’ve gotten nervous, you idiot."
Van wiped away his sweat while the old man took out a cellphone and handed it to him.
Van accepted it with a confused expression.
"What’s this now? Are you asking for my number? I don’t remember my number."
The old man clicked his tongue.
"You idiot. It’s for navigating the locations of the scattered meteors."
Van opened and closed his mouth several times before immediately turning on the cellphone the old man had given him.
There was only a single application installed.
Van looked back at the old man while pointing at the phone.
"You know this is weird, right? I thought it’d be something cooler... you know? A magical map that talks with a sarcastic voice... or something like that."
Van scratched his forehead.
"Don’t tell me there was internet two million years ago too? That’s impossible, right?"
The old man let out a sigh and pointed at the phone.
"It doesn’t require the internet... it only contains the locations of the meteors and the Hell Gate. Whether it’s completely accurate or not, I don’t know. My friend made it."
Van was about to speak, but the old man touched the back of his hand first.
A sunset-shaped tattoo appeared there, causing Van to let out a shout.
"This is the access to this space... you’ve already memorized every corner of it, and you already know everything that’s here."
The old man looked around the peaceful beach, where only his voice and the crashing waves could be heard.
"You don’t need to come here physically anymore... just pinch the air and imagine whatever you want to take."
Van shouted in amazement. He raised the hand that now bore the sunset tattoo.
"Woah... finally! I have a supermarket!!!"
Van looked at the old man with sparkling gray eyes.
"Is there anything else?! Is there something else you want to leave me?! I mean, something like a mansion? Hundreds of hectares of land? Or anything like that..."
The old man was almost at his limit after spending three years with Van.
He no longer had the energy to punch Van on the head like he did yesterday.
This time, he simply spoke in a flat tone.
"Two million years ago will be different from what you imagine..."
Van stopped looking at his sunset tattoo and listened seriously.
"I don’t know for sure whether you’ll come into conflict with them immediately or not... the important thing is to follow your instincts."
Van’s expression became strange. His eyes narrowed.
"You tell me every day that my instincts are terrible..."
The old man ran a hand through his golden hair.
"That’s true. And that’s because you’re still here... two million years ago, you’ll be alone. You’ll be the one who bears every decision you make."
Van nodded several times.
"Ah... I see."
The old man fell silent for a while.
The two of them simply stood facing each other, enjoying the warm breeze beneath the endless orange sunset.
"What else...? Have I told you everything?"
Van chuckled.
"How could you forget? Hurry up and tell me if there’s still something else... damn, this is the first time you’ve actually looked like an old man."
The old man looked up at the orange sky.
He closed his eyes.
This time, he simply breathed calmly.
Van didn’t disturb him and silently waited until the old man finally nodded several times.
"Remember. The Sea Gate. The Hell Gate. The Great Event."
Van repeated the old man’s words.
"The Sea Gate, the Hell Gate, the Great Event... I’ll remember."
The old man fell silent once more.
His shoulders trembled slightly.
It was as if he was hesitating to do something, until he finally took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
This time, he moved with certainty.
He spread both of his arms wide.
The space responded with an increasingly powerful wind.
Van could only look around in every direction while the old man continued moving his hands.
This time, his right hand pointed toward the sky while his left pointed toward the earth.
The space trembled.
The sea became restless as the waves surged wildly.
The old man then bent his arms.
Both of his palms faced one another in front of his chest.
The space calmed once again along with the old man’s exhale.
However, the endless sunset finally began to set.
Van turned toward the sun as it slowly descended.
He blinked several times before shifting his gaze back to the old man.
His heart seemed to stop beating the moment he saw the old man’s body begin to glow orange, slowly breaking apart into countless tiny particles that were carried away by the wind.
The old man extended his right hand. A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I think this is the right time for us to introduce ourselves."
Van’s gray eyes trembled.
He stared at the old man’s outstretched hand for quite a while.
Then he reached out and shook it beneath the gaze of the setting sun.
Van returned the old man’s smile with a quiet chuckle.
"Good grief... it’s been three years, and only now do you want to introduce yourself?"
The old man chuckled before looking at Van seriously.
His voice was now deep and clear, a voice Van had never heard throughout the three years of constant scolding.
"I am Kalael... the Guardian of Space and Time."
Van was slightly startled by the grandeur of the title.
He had witnessed the old man’s power.
But he had never once heard the old man boast about it.
He tried to remain calm behind his smile.
"I’m Van. Just Van."
The two of them released their handshake.
Van frowned.
"Where will you go after this, old man? I mean... Kalael?"
The old man’s body became increasingly transparent.
His orange glow dimmed together with the setting sun.
The old man simply shrugged.
"I’m finished. My duty is over."
The old man raised his hand and began counting on fingers that were gradually fading away.
"I recruited you... I forcibly awakened your potential at the cost of one quarter of myself, I trained you, I locked your age, and finally, I’ll send you to the past with another half of myself."
Van remained silent for a while, not even noticing that the old man’s body was disappearing, until he finally spoke with trembling lips.
"Then... where’s the other quarter?"
The old man clicked his tongue.
"Of course it’s resting... I’m tired."
The old man let out a sigh.
’I hope everything goes smoothly without needing to use that last quarter of myself... don’t do anything foolish.’
Van nodded several times before lowering his head slightly.
"Thank you. Have a good rest. Thank you for giving someone ordinary like me this chance."
The old man nodded once.
He lowered his head toward Van as well.
When he raised it again, everything had turned white.
All he could see was Van smiling, with ten figures standing shoulder to shoulder beside him.
Two of them were white, while the remaining eight were black.
The old man’s body trembled violently.
His lips parted, not to speak.
No voice came out to scold.
Instead, tears flowed from his blue eyes, soaking his face.
The old man’s sobs echoed before he completely lost himself.
"I’ve done my part. How was it? Did I do well?"
The sound of the old man’s crying left Van frozen.
He didn’t have the chance to answer because the old man had already vanished.
At the same time, the sun had completely set.
The space was now engulfed in complete darkness.