The hospital room gradually fell quiet.
The evening news had moved on to other topics, but neither Yevhen nor Elena paid much attention anymore.
Their thoughts remained in Divine Nexus.
After chatting for another hour, Elena stood from her chair and stretched.
"I should get going."
"I have work early tomorrow."
Yevhen nodded.
"I know."
She walked over to his bed and gently brushed a few strands of hair away from his forehead.
"Don't stay up all night thinking about the game."
"I'll try."
"You'd better."
She smiled before lightly pinching his cheek.
"And don't forget."
"No matter how much money that game offers..."
"...don't overwork yourself."
Yevhen laughed.
"I won't."
Satisfied, Elena picked up her bag.
"I'll visit again tomorrow."
"I'll be waiting."
She waved one last time before quietly closing the hospital room door behind her.
Click.
Silence returned.
Only the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor remained.
Yevhen stared out the window.
The city lights shimmered beneath the dark sky.
His mind slowly replayed everything that had happened today.
Mistvale.
Cole.
The Primal Codex.
His grandfather.
The forgotten swordsman.
Skyrend Peak.
And now...
The possibility of earning real money.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"This time..."
"...I finally have something I can do."
For years, he had been the one receiving help.
Receiving medicine.
Receiving encouragement.
Receiving sacrifices made by his sister without complaint.
But now...
For the first time...
He had a chance to give something back.
Not just survive.
Not merely endure.
He wanted to stand beside Elena.
To shoulder the burden with her.
He quietly clenched his fist.
"I'll become stronger."
"I'll uncover the truth behind the Primal Codex."
"I'll find Grandfather."
"I'll complete the hidden quest."
"And..."
His eyes reflected unwavering resolve.
"I'll earn enough that Elena never has to worry about money again."
The promise settled firmly within his heart.
It was no longer simply about becoming the strongest player.
Nor was it only about solving the mysteries surrounding Divine Nexus.
He finally had a reason to keep moving forward.
A reason beyond himself.
His fingers instinctively reached beneath the collar of his hospital gown.
The familiar necklace rested against his chest.
A gentle smile crossed his face.
"...Thank you."
He lightly touched the ancient pendant.
"...Grandpa."
The moment his fingertips made contact—
His smile disappeared.
"...?"
Something felt...
Wrong.
Very wrong.
The necklace...
Was cold.
Completely cold.
His heartbeat quickened.
"No..."
He grabbed the pendant with trembling fingers.
Usually...
Whenever he touched it...
He could feel a faint pulse.
Almost like a second heartbeat.
A quiet rhythm that seemed to resonate with his own.
Tonight...
There was nothing.
Not a single vibration.
His breathing became uneven.
"...What's going on?"
He lifted the necklace into the room's light.
His pupils shrank.
The intricate runes carved across its surface...
Were gone.
Every single one.
The once ancient-looking pendant had become nothing more than an ordinary piece of polished silver.
Smooth.
Empty.
Lifeless.
"No..."
His hands began to tremble.
"Where did they go?"
He turned the necklace over repeatedly.
Nothing.
Not a single rune remained.
The strange warmth it always carried...
Had vanished.
His thoughts raced.
"Did it break?"
"Did someone replace it?"
"Was it all just my imagination?"
His breathing grew heavier.
"No..."
"It can't be."
The battlefield.
His grandfather.
The Primal Codex.
Those memories were too vivid.
Too real.
He had touched the necklace inside Divine Nexus.
He had watched it merge into his heart.
Slowly...
His eyes widened.
"...Inside the game."
The words escaped almost as a whisper.
"If it merged with Aster..."
"...then..."
He looked down at the silent necklace resting in his palm.
"What if..."
"...it isn't here anymore?"
His heart pounded loudly in his ears.
The pendant hadn't lost its power.
Its power had...
Moved.
To Divine Nexus.
Yevhen closed his fingers around the empty necklace.
Fear still lingered within him.
But alongside that fear...
Another emotion quietly emerged.
Determination.
"If the answers aren't here..."
His gaze drifted toward the dormant VR capsule standing beside his hospital bed.
"...Then they're waiting for me there."
In Divine Nexus.
The world that no longer seemed like a game.
The world where his grandfather had spoken to him.
The world where an impossible book called the Primal Codex had chosen him.
Somewhere inside that world...
The truth behind the necklace awaited.
And Yevhen intended to find it.
No matter how deep he had to venture.
No matter what secrets the ancient world chose to hide.
Tomorrow...
Aster would return.
Not only as an adventurer seeking strength.
But as a grandson searching for the answer left behind by the only man who had ever entrusted him with a mysterious necklace that no longer belonged to the real world.