Episode 52: The Night Before (5)
I opened my eyes. I couldn’t breathe.
—Thump, thump.
My lungs shrank, and the sound of my heart pounding rang in my ears.
My fingertips trembled violently. It felt as if I had been holding my breath underwater for too long and had barely managed to break the surface.
“Ah….”
The sound that escaped my throat was rough and cracked.
I was alive.
Fragmented scenes still lingered in my mind.
Was it a dream, or was it reality?
I couldn’t tell.
But one thing was certain—I had either failed or was bound to fail.
I looked around. As I exhaled, the air sank heavily. A damp and clammy sensation seeped into my skin.
Even the air that filled my lungs felt dense.
The walls were made of roughly hewn stone. It wasn’t just a naturally formed cave—it had been carved by something.
Jagged scratches and fractured rocks were scattered irregularly.
Slowly, I lifted my head.
There was no sky.
Only a towering ceiling.
A dome of rock arched overhead, enclosing the space like a colossal cavern.
And as I lowered my gaze again—
A massive figure stood before me.
I felt like my breath would stop.
A body towering like a mountain of stone.
A silhouette so immense it seemed to swallow the cave itself.
Even in stillness, its overwhelming presence was undeniable.
I knew what it was.
I just hadn’t expected to face it so soon.
Enormous scales shimmered in a deep, crimson glow.
It exuded an almost transcendent aura.
Slowly.
It opened its eyes.
A red light ignited in the darkness.
The Beast of Civilization’s End.
Aldebaran.
The primordial ancient dragon was looking down at me.
I scanned my surroundings again.
There were no weapons.
Not that it would have made any difference if there were.
Its crimson eyes examined me.
And I—
I simply sat still and waited.
—Was it bearable?
A deep, resounding voice echoed through the cavern.
Before I lost consciousness, it had been nothing but an intrusive voice reverberating inside my head.
But now, there was no doubt.
The being before me, the one who ruled this space, was speaking to me directly.
“I’m dying here.”
I hadn’t expected to face it this soon.
The original plan was only to draw out Catastrophe’s true form.
The confrontation was supposed to happen afterward—after I was fully prepared.
But it seemed that the mana of the fragment had provoked a stronger reaction than anticipated.
Aldebaran bestows trials upon those who awaken it.
And I had taken the full brunt of it.
I opened my mouth.
“What the hell is this?”
I meant it.
I was genuinely curious.
Aldebaran was a being that had transcended the flow of time itself.
Its trials manifested in various ways—
Forcing one to relive their most painful moments, their deepest sorrows.
It created scenarios where emotions reached their absolute peak and made its challengers endure them firsthand.
Past or future—it didn’t matter.
Only those who survived the ordeal could pass the trial.
And the fact that I had arrived in this space meant…
[『Unwavering Clarity』 resists the Ancient Dragon’s trial! ]
…I had passed, at least to some extent.
For the record, I had nearly died.
Well, technically, I had died a lot.
It was an agony I never wanted to experience again.
But that wasn’t what I was curious about.
I couldn’t recall every detail of the trial,
But one thing was certain—I had failed.
However, the version of me in the trial had been different from my current self in many ways.
I hadn’t taken Iano’s Elixir.
I didn’t have the Bracelet of Vitality.
And most importantly, I lacked the Fragment.
On top of that, my technical skills had been far more lacking.
But the most shocking thing I had seen—
At the mission site of the Vanquisher.
There had been three Apostles.
I didn’t know if it was a vision of the future or if Aldebaran had simply woven my memories into a fabricated illusion.
But one thing was clear—if there truly were three Apostles, then the entire plan would have to be revised from the ground up.
The power of the Vanquisher and myself alone would be far from enough.
“…Was that foresight?”
The colossal being gazed down at me without any response.
“Or is this just a joke?”
It was an important question.
But then, Aldebaran slowly laughed.
— I do not know. Even I cannot predict it.
I furrowed my brows.
— But does that matter?
— In the end, what you truly want is to avoid that despair, isn’t it?
I swallowed hard. He was right.
Even if it was just a possibility, I had to stop it.
I let out a bitter laugh.
“So, will you lend me some power, then?”
The Primordial Dragon slowly rose to its feet. The sound of sharp scales clashing, the rough grinding of bones shifting.
As its massive frame stretched out completely, the cave seemed to darken even further.
If the first trial tested my mental fortitude,
Then the second trial was to prove my worth.
— That is an entirely different matter.
The ancient dragon stood tall.
Its colossal form filled the cave entirely.
Those crimson eyes locked onto me.
I slowly stood up.
— Clang!
A spear flew from somewhere and embedded itself in the ground.
Its blade was black as obsidian, razor-sharp.
Catastrophe.
Without hesitation, I picked up the spear and surveyed my surroundings.
I had a feeling I would be coming here quite often.
“Go easy on me.”
Then, I charged forward with all my strength.
***
A top-tier medical facility operated by Glory.
The highest floor, the most exclusive VIP patient room.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy with tension.
A man lay on the bed. His eyes were closed, deep in sleep.
Three women stood over him.
Their expressions varied, but in the end, they all shared the same concern for the unconscious man.
— Bang!
The door burst open.
Black hair, red eyes.
Dressed in a neatly tailored suit, someone rushed into the hospital room.
Kang Arin.
She hurried inside and looked at the other women before asking,
“Is that it?”
She pointed at the obsidian spear placed in the corner of the hospital room.
Yu Hana silently nodded.
And then—
— Boom!
— Boom!
Kang Arin threw her fists at the spear without hesitation.
But despite the tremendous force, the weapon didn’t budge an inch.
Cheon Yeoul calmly pulled down the blackout curtains in the room, preventing any sound from escaping.
As a bonus, it also served to shield Jung Haein from the reckless barrage.
Kang Arin took a step back and bit her lip.
“It won’t come out, huh?”
She spoke to the spear.
To an outsider, it would have seemed like madness, but surprisingly, the spear responded.
— Impatient, aren’t you?
Black smoke began to rise from the spear.
It didn’t take on a solid form, but a voice emerged from within.
Kang Arin stared intently at the smoke and asked,
“What the hell is going on?”
It had already been five hours since he passed out.
The other women remained silent, but their thoughts were the same.
— A trial.
“Ah…”
A sigh escaped the room.
That was exactly what they were worried about.
To simply call it a “trial” was far too lighthearted—his life had never been kind.
No matter which part of his past one picked at random, it would always be cruel enough to be called a nightmare.
And no one understood that better than them.
“When does it end?”
— Hard to say. He just died for the 4,500th time.
For a moment, the air in the hospital room froze.
The women’s eyes widened in unison, all turning toward the spear and the black shadow.
Their gazes burned with unmistakable killing intent.
4,500 times.
That number represented the most brutal future they had ever seen.
“No… way…”
Ha Sion covered her mouth in horror.
Cheon Yeoul shot to her feet,
A surge of blue energy exploding around her.
“Get him out. Now.”
Her voice was low, but the fury within it flickered like flames.
— That won’t do.
— If he’s going to use my power, I have no choice but to respond accordingly.
The voice was deep and resonant, like an echo in a cave.
“You want to die?”
Cheon Yeoul’s eyes turned ice-cold. She was running out of patience.
They needed to wake him up immediately.
Everyone in the room had the same thought.
This was far beyond what any human could endure.
— It’s almost over.
— And do you still not understand why he has to endure this insane trial?
The black smoke from the spear twisted violently, sending ripples through the air.
— It’s the World’s Suppression Force.
— The backlash and consequences of the distortions you created, of the fate you twisted to your own liking—he is the one carrying that burden.
At that moment, the expressions of all four women hardened simultaneously.
— Of course, enduring this is a hundred times better than facing the consequences directly… So just wait—oh?
Suddenly, the black smoke contorted strangely.
And then—crack!
A sharp rupture rang out in the air.
The smoke rapidly retreated into the spear.
“…!”
She reached out instinctively, but it was already too late.
At that moment, from the hospital bed—
A faint movement.
Jung Haein’s fingers twitched.
It was just a slight flinch, but all four women’s gazes snapped toward him at once.
Then, without warning, the man on the bed abruptly sat up.
“Holy shit, that bastard was way too strong.”
A muttered remark, spoken with absolute sincerity.
Still catching his breath, Jung Haein slowly turned his head.
His gaze swept across the room—until it landed on the four women staring at him.
“Oh, fuck—!”
His face lit up with pure shock.
“…What are you guys doing?”
His casual question sent a storm through their emotions.