Chapter 313
Kang Yu-hyun, who had been paired with Lean, was silent.
Although I had many questions I wanted to ask him, when the situation arrived, I was at a loss for where to start. Lean felt the same way.
He, too, had not wanted this team arrangement. He had been avoiding Kang Yu-hyun on purpose.
‘I briefly left the team formation to another guy, and this is what happened.’
It was his mistake to instruct Ringug to distribute the personnel appropriately.
Who could have known Ringug would intentionally arrange the team like this? Even so, Lean couldn’t blame him. This was originally Lean’s job, so in a way, it was his responsibility for pushing it onto Ringug.
Nevertheless, the fact remained that they had to go to a new exploration area today, so Lean and Kang Yu-hyun didn’t exchange any unpleasant words.
Their awkward silence persisted as they wandered through the cold snowstorm for over three hours.
“Let’s rest here for a moment.”
Lean was the first to speak.
Feeling the snowstorm growing more severe than usual, Lean found a suitable place to rest.
It was a massive frozen rock, easily over a few hundred meters in size, with enough space underneath to accommodate the two of them comfortably.
They settled inside and placed a small stone piece brought from Gondulbor’s workshop on the ground.
As runes surfaced on the stone’s surface, it emitted a warm heat. It was a portable rune stone.
Though the bitter cold from outside clashed with the rune stone’s warmth, it was more than enough to warm their frozen bodies.
“…I heard we’re going quite far for this exploration,” Kang Yu-hyun said, breaking the suffocating silence.
According to my memory, we were supposed to traverse beyond the previously explored areas.
We were heading towards a new area that had only been thought of but never dared to venture into before, which was why I ended up going with Lean.
Given the distance, it wasn’t feasible to go out and return in a day like before.
Thus, the most skilled individuals were selected as a small advance team.
Though it had only been about a week, Kang Yu-hyun had adapted to the job faster than other explorers and demonstrated skills worthy of being called a veteran, which was why he was paired with Lean.
Kang Yu-hyun suddenly felt suspicious.
‘Did this guy intentionally do this to stay with me?’
Just as his gaze was about to turn sharper, Lean quickly spoke.
“Let me make it clear first, I had nothing to do with this selection.”
“Who said anything?”
“…Your look just seemed suspicious, so I said it.”
There was nothing Lean could say if asked why he knew so well. After all, he had known Kang Yu-hyun’s appearance as Kaira for a long time.
Lean closed his mouth again after that excuse.
However, Yu-hyun seemed to interpret Lean’s silence differently and pressed him further.
“Is that really all?”
“What else would there be?”
“Never mind if there’s nothing.”
“Anyway, you are not Kaira. I have no reason to see you as her.”
“That’s…”
Kang Yu-hyun sighed, interrupting himself.
“I know. I’m just borrowing her appearance, but to you, I must seem like a bad person who ruins past memories.”
“I don’t think that far.”
Lean, startled by Kang Yu-hyun’s words, made an excuse.
“I don’t think you’re bad. Unlike the others who came before, you worked hard as an explorer and fought against the Frost Giants.”
“So you don’t deny ruining memories.”
“…That can’t be helped.”
“Sorry for that. But it’s not like I chose to look like this.”
“They all said that. But in the end, they used their appearance. They begged or asked for help looking like Kaira.”
“Do you think I’ll do the same?”
“That… I don’t know.”
In the past, he would have been sure, but hearing about Kang Yu-hyun’s actions over the past week, Lean’s mind became muddled.
Even though he knew Kang Yu-hyun wouldn’t, the memories of what he experienced remained vivid and strong.
Reason told him not to believe, but his emotions urged him to trust.
Lean couldn’t choose between the two.
“Since we’re talking, why do you think I appeared here looking like this?”
“…Why ask me?”
“I think I know.”
Even the usually blunt Lean couldn’t help but show interest, his expression changing.
Despite Lean’s piercing gaze, Yu-hyun continued.
“Kaira was one of the Great Five Sisters, right? And though it’s awkward to say it in this form, you were quite close to her.”
“…That’s true.”
“And she said she and her sisters would stop the Curse of the Frozen Land.”
“But they failed.”
“Yes, they failed. And after that, tellers like me, who resemble Kaira, started appearing. But why Kaira’s appearance? Why not another sister?”
“…What are you getting at?”
“My point is, isn’t it that Kaira did something?”
The Curse of the Frozen Land occurred.
Afterward, even the Great Five Sisters failed to solve the curse and disappeared.
We don’t know what happened to the original divine spirits of this world, and even the five sisters, who were considered their apostles, failed.
The fact that they, too, disappeared in this frozen world essentially meant that hope was lost.
“Kaira did something?”
“Something like that.”
“Impossible. When the apostles of the gods disappeared, all hope in this world vanished.”
“I don’t think so. The fact that I fell here looking like this means Kaira did something. What could she be hoping for?”
“What could it be…”
“Despite knowing she failed, the fact that she left traces means… she believed there was still hope in this world.”
“Hope?”
For the first time, Lean laughed.
What Kang Yu-hyun said was so preposterous that he couldn’t help but respond that way.
“Have you forgotten? In this world, even hope freezes.”
“Then why are you holding on? What are you protecting the Gard for?”
“Because I can’t just sit and die.”
Lean looked down at the burning rune stone with a sunken gaze.
“Even without hope, I can’t choose death. I can’t coldly reject the desperate gazes of people who want to live somehow. That’s why. I… lost hope, but I’m living because I can’t die.”
“If there really was no hope, wouldn’t it be better to let everyone die without suffering?”
“How could I do that?”
Lean turned to Kang Yu-hyun with eyes full of emotion, unlike usual.
“How could I abandon them like that…”
“That’s hope.”
“….”
“People who can’t do anything beg to be saved, those who suffer and struggle find ways to survive, warriors form exploration teams and desperately search this frozen world. That’s the hope you say you lost.”
“…That’s sophistry. I form exploration teams and roam around just to show something.”
“Lies.”
At those firm words, Lean clenched his fist tightly.
“You are lying right now.”
“I’m lying?”
“Be honest. There’s no way you don’t know. Especially as a candidate for the next divine spirit.”
“…!”
Lean suppressed the urge to ask how he knew.
But his actions already revealed that Yu-hyun’s words were true.
“There were five candidates. And you were probably Kaira’s designated candidate.”
“…So what?”
“There must have been four other candidates besides you. But no matter how hard I look, I can’t find them. And the other sisters too. Yet Kaira continues to leave her traces, sending fragments into this world.”
Why? Even though the five sisters and others all failed. Why?
And why was it Kaira’s appearance, not another sister’s?
As if calling someone.
“Lean. You were the hope she envisioned for this world.”
“I’m not hope!”
Unable to contain his rising anger, Lean stood up and shouted.
He couldn’t bear to listen to Kang Yu-hyun’s words any longer.
“Me! The weak, cowardly one who couldn’t do anything even as a candidate! How could I be her hope!”
Lean still remembered.
In the distant past, Lean was listed as a candidate who might become the next divine spirit.
He didn’t understand why he became such a candidate. Lean was weak, with no stamina, and above all, he couldn’t bear fighting.
Other great sisters also mocked him, and so did the other candidates.
‘That foolish half-wit.’
‘How could someone like him be a candidate?’
‘Well, it’s better if we have one less competitor.’
Lean shrank and lowered his head more under their gaze. He couldn’t even get angry because their words were true.
The young self he remembered was a crybaby and coward who never looked up at the sky. Even now, he couldn’t deny it.
But she was different.
Kaira, who chose him.
-Raise your head, Lean.
-Kaira?
-Why are you walking with your head down? It’s not enough to stand tall and look forward.
-But I’m a foolish half-wit and coward. Can I really be called a candidate?
The Gardians, who revered strength, would get furious if someone belittled themselves. It was the opposite of a warrior’s mindset.
The other sisters, who were the guardians of Gard, were the same.
But Kaira, instead of rebuking, gently smiled at Lean’s words.
Her warm hands touched his cheeks.
-Lean, you avoid fighting because you know how much pain it brings. And you, being thoughtful, worry about the suffering it causes others.
-But even so, my body is weak. I can’t even wield a sword properly.
-Lean, no great warrior was born great. They were also weak and lacking once and became warriors by enduring it. Lean, you haven’t bloomed yet, but if you do, you’ll be the most beautiful flower. I know.
She always told him he was great with a gentle smile.
Even when the other sisters questioned her choice, Kaira believed in Lean’s potential and defended him.
Lean didn’t just rely on her.
He also made a lot of effort. To live up to Kaira’s expectations, not to make her uncomfortable, and to show that he was worthy of being a candidate.
After long training and effort, when he was about to see the light.
Snow fell.
Endless snow.
The Curse of the Frozen Land. When it broke out, the Great Five Sisters and the candidates gathered in one place.
They claimed they had to solve the curse as soon as possible. If they didn’t, the whole world would freeze. Kaira agreed and prepared to solve the curse.
Except for Lean.
Lean instinctively felt that the Curse of the Frozen Land wasn’t just a natural disaster. He didn’t know why. He just thought it was dangerous to fly north right away.
-Kaira. This is dangerous. We need to watch and take our time.
-Lean. But you know we can’t. A huge snowstorm is swallowing the world quickly. If we leave it, the world will freeze.
And the Frost Giants emerging from the snowstorm were also a threat.
Lean wanted to watch calmly before deciding, but Kaira and the others couldn’t leave it alone.
They had responsibilities and couldn’t watch innocent lives perish.
The other sisters and candidates mocked Lean.
They called him a coward and said he could hide if he was scared to fight.
So, the four candidates and the five sisters headed to the source of the Curse of the Frozen Land.
And they never returned.
Lean despaired. Most of all, realizing that his mentor and loved one, Kaira, had died felt like the world was collapsing.
But he couldn’t just sit and give up.
Lean stood up. People were dying even at that moment. Kaira died to save them.
So, he had to save them, even if he was a weak and cowardly fool.
Because she wanted them saved.
Lean gathered the scattered people. He decided to create a city of survivors. In case Kaira solved all this and returned, he wanted to welcome her.
Fortunately, he had a way.
The sacred altar.
Among the candidates, the altar guided the next divine spirit to become this world’s god. The altar was made of ley lines flowing with great power, and since the world hadn’t completely frozen, that power remained.
Lean used the sacred altar’s power. Before the ley lines froze completely, he gathered as much power as possible to create a magic circle. He borrowed Gondulbor’s power, Kaira’s disciple, whom he met by chance.
Thus, inside the magic circle, he created the last Gardian city, Gard. He gathered people who heard of Gard.
And he waited.
Waited and waited, continuing to wait.
In case she might return.
Even knowing she had failed, he didn’t think she had died. He thought she would return alive and find a way to solve this curse, Lean believed.
One day, shortly after the Curse of the Frozen Land began, Kaira really did return.
Lean rejoiced to see her. He asked if everything was finally solved, if the disaster was over.
But she wasn’t the real Kaira.
She was just another being disguised as Kaira.
The time limit of two weeks was her end, as she met a miserable fate.
And the next. And the one after that.
For 32 years.
Lean had faced Kaira’s lookalikes dozens of times. And in every instance, he saw the same end.
Seeing those he loved die hideously in her form.
Even knowing it wasn’t her, Lean felt his heart tearing apart as he watched her die.
Thus, Lean gave up all hope.
The hope she would return, the belief that the world could return to normal.
He gave it all up.
“…Lean.”
“Don’t call my name with that face!”
Lean shouted with fierce eyes.
Kang Yu-hyun couldn’t offer any words of comfort.
As long as he took on this appearance, anything he said would only add to Lean’s pain.
Only the sound of the snowstorm outside endlessly echoed until the rune stone completely turned to ashes.
The two didn’t speak again after that.
After packing up, they emerged from under the rock and walked through the slightly weakened snowstorm.
If they kept walking steadily, they would reach the checkpoint before nightfall.
Thinking so, Kang Yu-hyun walked silently and unknowingly stopped in his tracks.
‘What is it?’
Kang Yu-hyun turned his head and looked at the distant direction of the snowstorm at 9 o’clock.
He saw an endlessly stretched ice wall in the distance. He had seen it on the map before. It used to be a mountain range crossing the northern continent, but after the Curse of the Frozen Land spread, it became a huge ice cliff.
He was drawn to the ice cliff as if mesmerized.
Late, Lean, realizing Kang Yu-hyun’s presence had distanced, frowned and followed him.
“Where are you going? That’s not the direction we’re supposed to go.”
“Over there, beyond the ice cliff.”
“…The place where the mountain range was. Why? It’s a place already explored. They concluded it was blocked and impassable.”
“No.”
Kang Yu-hyun shook his head. Lean wondered what was going on.
“There, there’s an entrance.”
“What?”
Lean couldn’t see it, but Kang Yu-hyun could.
A faint golden light flowed from the gap in the huge ice cliff.