Mari and Samir’s figures vanished beyond the fog. A swirl of emotions washed over me, but there was no time to dwell on them.

[Honey! We must prepare immediately!]

The Rookie hurriedly explained.

[We’ve received a message from Senior Namoo, and it seems neither side will return their people willingly! So much has happened already!]

The collapse of the wager was troublesome, but the larger crisis was the system connection being severed. On top of that, both the Filial Brat and Obedience Addict’s proxies had fallen asleep and disappeared. Even for a Transcendent dispute, this was a major incident—and S-Rank and below Awakened were at its center.

“No doubt many will find this suspicious.”

[Because more than one Transcendent tied to you vanished. I was truly shocked! Even if they cut the system administrator’s link, no one has ever damaged the system this much! How did they—? No, first of all—!]

“Calm yourself.”

The Sloth chided the flustered Rookie, who immediately froze in place.

[Honey and your party are still here, so the Transcendents won’t move first. But the moment you try to return to Honey’s world, they’ll strike! They can’t let you go.]

“If it weren’t so, we’d have returned long ago.”

There’d be no reason to linger in the Transcendents’ domain. If not for me and Seong Hyunjae, they wouldn’t invade our world. Hyunjae because of the Crescent Moon, and I… I’d become far too deeply entangled.

[The last traces of Honey’s world’s connection will fade in about a month. That’s why they haven’t rushed in yet. We still have time.]

“But no longer, once Mari creates the dream barrier safely.”

[With only a fading link, they won’t be able to meddle in Honey’s world. So return as soon as the dream world is completed! There will be no time after that.]

“It won’t take long.”

The Sloth added. We must slip away while the Transcendents remain complacent. Yet no answer came easily.

‘…If we return now,’

our ties with the Transcendents would be severed. We’d resume peaceful lives in a secure haven. That was everyone’s wish. A happy ending—except one.

‘Yuhyun…’

If I returned now, I’d probably never see my brother again. Alone, he cannot leave the world’s confines. Perhaps someday Yuhyun or Yerim might gain the power to bring an F-Rank back home, but would I even be alive? Would my brother under the tree remain safe?

I wanted to stay. But I could not. I had to send everyone back.

[Honey, please use your own ability to transport them. Though administrators find it hard to interfere in Honey’s world, you are the exception. Just prepare and return the moment the dream world completes!]

The Rookie assured me the system was fixed and I opened the system window as instructed. A prompt asked each person to consent to transport; confirmation messages appeared in turn. I would send everyone home, and I myself would be the last to go.

I must return. Many awaited me—my brother among them.

I refused to give up. I could not give up. I had to choose, though neither side could be abandoned.

“I will remain.”

“…What?”

I snapped my head around. It was Myeong-woo. The Rookie looked startled too.

[You’ll stay? Really?]

“It doesn’t seem too dangerous to me. What do you think?”

[Well, the Blacksmith is half-managerial, and you were the host who stayed with me, so you’re not tied to the wager. You’re different from the team members.]

“You can return anytime.”

[Yes. The Blacksmith belongs to Honey’s world, so no problem! But why…]

“Leaving this place will become difficult. Even if we could escape by our own strength, it would be decades before we manage it. I intend to learn here first.”

Myeong-woo turned to me with a light smile.

“If I grow more adept, we could at least keep in touch with the outside. Only the admin link is severed; the system itself remains. Shouldn’t we be able to call the A/S center? Then we could manage any issues.”

[Yes! The Blacksmith won’t take long! A year? Maybe faster! The system exists, and there’s the pocket dimension connected to the forge—so we can set up another pocket dimension linked to the forge…]

“Once the Transcendents’ interference ends, I should be safe to leave for a while. What do you think?”

His sudden words surprised me, but I spoke slowly.

“Thanks to Chatterbox, our gear has improved and everyone’s stronger… It won’t be a big problem. A year, yes.”

“I ought to send some side dishes, but no time for that. Stay healthy and don’t overdo it.”

“Okay.”

I replied numbly. Myeong-woo turned to Noah.

“Tell him I’m going to seclude myself at the forge for about a year—like monastic training. Please.”

“Y-yes, hyung. Don’t worry. I’ll keep the Dodam Building safe.”

[Honey! I’ll try to return as soon as possible! Then we can contact each other again!]

I nodded. I felt oddly uplifted. Myeong-woo, unaware of my true reasons, had come to help me. If I could stay in touch with the Rookie, solutions might arise. It remained difficult—but my heart felt lighter.

“Rookie, is Myeong-woo really okay? He could be taken as leverage or a link to meddle in our world.”

“I’ll stay for about a year.”

Young Chaos said. Though his tone was irritable, it was more reassuring than anything.

“I can handle anyone who comes first.”

[I’ll defend it completely! I can’t fight, but I can protect. I’m an administrator. I can still use system aid! As a creator-level admin candidate, there will be more who want to protect him than the Filial Brat or Needy ones.]

His words comforted me. I stepped forward and hugged Myeong-woo.

“You, too—eat well and take care of yourself. You get lost in work and barely sleep. I’m no one to lecture you.”

“Right. I’ll be careful. I should be able to send a message within a month, so don’t worry.”

[Then, Blacksmith-nim, please relocate to the forge first. Once Honey’s group leaves, Transcendents will flock in—dangerous!]

Myeong-woo entered the golden forge. I glanced at the empty spot, then at Chaos, bowing deeply to him.

“I promise I’ll return to see you, Elder.”

“I’m fine. It’d just be more dangerous for me out here anyway.”

“Now I won’t see Grandpa anymore?”

“In a hundred or two hundred years, Third, you might come out again. But don’t try to find me.”

“Why? Can’t I?”

“Transcendents beat up and drive out intruders.”

Yerim declared it sounded fun and vowed to visit him.

“Thank you for everything.”

Yuhyun bowed to Young Chaos. The Sloth said the dream world was nearing completion. Our departure time was close. I looked up at the distant sky.

Thanks to Myeong-woo, possibilities had opened—but regrets remained. I’d climbed and climbed, reached a point where I could meddle in the system. Could I ever stand here again? To bring Yuhyun, I needed at least Transcendent-level power. I’d held even that, if only briefly.

Could I leave this accumulated time behind, only to escape again when our home was safe?

‘…Yuhyun.’

I tried to tell myself I was merely stepping back, but I kept feeling I was giving up. I was.

“It’s time.”

[Honey, prepare!]

The system recognized me and forged a path to my world. A slender, unstable bridge formed, which the Rookie reinforced. Far ahead, I sensed the sea. The dream neared completion. Mari’s dream.

—No.

A phantom voice whispered. In the blink of an eye:

—It is not that child’s dream.

My vision shook. In the gray-drenched landscape, a tumble of pink hair drifted. Eyes of night holding a silver moon looked at me. Indifferently, and yet with affection.

—You know me, do you not?

The Crescent Moon spoke. Not the silver-haired, gold-flecked-eyed present form, but her visage from memories past—the one I once met in my dreams.

—You know me.

Five paces ahead, the moon’s eye held me, unblinking. The world had lost its light. In the gray night, the only color trembled long.

—I am the Crescent Moon.

A white arm wrapped around me. Pink hair spilled over me like blossoms. Silver, chill moonlight buried me. My lips moved of their own accord.

“Lowest moon who opens ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the night.”

“…Hyung?”

I knew her. I remembered the time she stayed as a dream-glow in the forest, bearing eyes that held her essence.

The Crescent Moon’s eyes had been silver flecked with gold—but hidden by the moonlight.

[Honey!]

“I made a promise.”

I said. Mari-sa had asked the Crescent Moon to protect Mun Hyunah. Not Mari, but the one the world needed to live on.

“Wait—!”

Mun Hyunah’s form vanished. She was sent back to our original world. But those who remained—

“Hyung, now!”

“Do not touch me, Yuhyun.”

I stepped back one pace. I saw my brother freeze in place. Everyone wore looks of panic. The Rookie was lost for what to do.

[You were linked to the Crescent Moon, but you couldn’t be forcibly possessed like this! Something’s wrong!]

—Dreams are my realm. And the seed, specially sown by me, became the pillar.

…If the seed had become the pillar of the dream world, could it be Mari’s seed? Young Chaos rose from his chair. Riette asked if we should fight. I lightly touched my nape.

“Not entirely stolen—do not worry.”

The problem was that I knew the Crescent Moon’s source. The body I’d willingly given as offering had grown more tightly bound, and the dream world she controlled had been completed. In that instant, conditions had been ripe for her to possess me—knowledge transmitted from the Crescent Moon herself.

“…The firstborn was correct.”

[Yes, Honey’s body was unprotected! Only Honey will be harmed—Crescent Moon! Why?!]

“I cannot return now.”

I said. It was the Crescent Moon’s will, and mine as well. Yes, her desire and mine overlapped. We must not be sent back. We cannot return.

But I must return.

“So for now, let us go to the sea.”

I moved the system. Just a moment!

“Ah!”

Yerim vanished. All had consented to the transport. Then Noah, Riette, and Hwangrim too were carried into the newly formed dream, not our world.

[No! That place hasn’t even fully established the system—!]

The Rookie cried out, but could not stop it.

“Hyung!”

Yuhyun reached out to me. Peace rushed over in alarm, then both disappeared. And—

Crack!

[Honey!]

A golden chain pierced my shoulder. A surge of electricity struck me. White washed across my vision; my body slumped as if its strings had broken. Potent mana disrupted my own power. Damn. I had used Sensei’s skill on Seong Hyunjae. I saw myself collapsed on the grass. Silver-flecked eyes struggled to blink.

[Chains! What have you done? The Crescent Moon’s power might harm Honey—!]

“I know.”

Seong Hyunjae said. At the same moment, Song Taewon sprang forward as if struck by lightning.

“We must stop this!”

Clack—the chain seemed about to tear my shoulder. Just before Seong Hyunjae reached me, Young Chaos kicked his chair. Splintered wood shards flew like arrows toward Seong Hyunjae. Instead of dodging, he raised an arm to block them. Crackle—fragments embedded like quills in his forearm.

“Seong Hyunjae Hunter!”

Song Taewon seized him. The chain slid free of my shoulder, and I drew a potion to heal my wound. His emotionless silver eyes regarded me.

“If Director Song assists me, I could damage what lies within him as well. Elder, you must agree.”

Young Chaos hesitated in that moment—he could have easily intervened. He clicked his tongue low.

“The firstborn won’t be safe either. Even so…”

“I wish Han Yujin to remain Han Yujin.”

Seong Hyunjae’s gaze softened slightly.

“The second or third cannot resist, but you will. Correct, Crescent Moon?”

Though she might attempt to seize my body again, if I risked my own safety I would drive her out. Even in an F-Rank Awakened body, the weak power of an eclipse could threaten me. If I slept again, I might never awaken—and lose the small moon forever.

The Crescent Moon closed her eyes. As the last of our group fell into the dream world, she drifted from my body.

[Honey! I’m right—]

I manipulated the system without hearing the Rookie out, and sank into the Sleeping Sea. I heard water splash, then everything went black.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep