The wind turned white. It brushed my cheek and swirled around gently. Before my eyes—once sparkling endlessly like water brimming with sunlight—the world slowly came into focus, yet it seemed veiled by a thin translucent layer.

I was sitting on a long bench. A huge glass door stood wide open, giving me an unobstructed view. Beyond it lay a summer garden, lush and green. Every leaf held shards of light and scattered shadows. In that space, time seemed to flow at a leisurely pace. Summer was present here, and yet it was already fading away. The season’s breath felt serene.

I could stare blankly until the green leaves turned riotously colorful, rustled, fell, and piled up without ever growing weary. Then snow would blanket the empty branches, the ground would crack and freeze… and through the flurry, early buds would timidly emerge. I longed suddenly for flowers as white as that snow.

Clink. A small bell-like sound tinkled from somewhere. My toes tingled, so I looked down to see my bare feet bathed in white sunlight. My slippers were worn and familiar. As I wiggled my toes, a hand suddenly thrust something toward me—a popsicle stick. I took the pale sky-blue bar. My younger sibling sat down beside me.

It’s a dream.

“Yeah. It’s a dream.”

My twenty-five-year-old sibling spoke. Yuhyun wore comfortable clothes like a college student on summer break. In Yuhyun’s hand was the same sky-blue ice bar as mine. I wanted to say so much, but no words came out.

I bit gently into the firm tip of the ice bar. Even in a dream, its cold sweetness spread across my tongue. I heard the crisp crack of Yuhyun biting theirs. It felt like a time I might have had.

Yuhyun looked peaceful. A faint smile on their lips, they gazed at me. Their arm, revealed under a short-sleeved shirt, and the hand holding the popsicle were spotless, without a single scar. I recalled words from someone who had lost a family member long ago—how the departed appeared in their dreams.

‘They didn’t say much. Just stayed there like in real life, then left. They looked at peace, without even saying they were okay.’

Watering the potted plants they once cared for, sitting on the sofa and watching the sky outside the window. They were simply at ease.

‘It felt like they were telling me to let go now.’

That’s what they said. I know everything has an end. I, too, must live my own life. It’s been a long time since I let Yuhyun go.

Since the gateway of summer, time has rolled back to late spring, and more than a year has passed. Summer, autumn, and now winter are all here, waiting for their turn to fall. It’s been about nine months—enough time to let a thin layer of fresh earth gather over this hollow in my chest.

“I know I’m being foolish.”

To everyone else, I’m just someone who’s dead, a body. The living must live. I should be living.

“But I just can’t let go. Isn’t it okay if someone’s like that?”

Maybe that’s just who I was born to be. I ate the rest of my ice bar and, holding the stick, looked back at Yuhyun. They smiled silently at me—an affectionate look, a tender face.

“Seeing you like this… I really can’t give up.”

Because I knew how things were before.

“At least come home at the end. Yuhyun, you said you wanted to stay with me.”

No matter what I faced, come what may, I should have clung on. I should have ranted and raved that I’d die if they abandoned me. Even if things got worse, it would have been better for us to embrace each other until the end.

So I had to bring them back. Yuhyun’s chosen place to stay was by my side—dead body or not, how could I live peacefully apart? If I didn’t want lifelong regret, I’d find them no matter what it took.

“Even if you say you’re fine, it won’t matter. This is for me, too. I have to… with my own hands—”

“Yeah.”

A voice felt infinitely distant yet close.

“I’ll wait, hyung.”

The eyes that looked only at me faded. They sank into water. Air bubbles scattered. I snapped open my eyes.

[Honey!]

A message window flashed urgently. I coughed and sat up. Darkness surrounded me; everything was hard to see. My vision felt blurry.

“How are… cough… the others—”

[We got separated! I can’t tell exactly where, but it’s pretty far. Park Yerim, Noah, Riet, and Hwangrim are in one area.]

I was glad Yerim wasn’t alone. I worried a bit about Hwangrim, but with Noah and Riet there, they’d be fine.

[Han Yuhyun and Peace. Those two are together in another area.]

It seemed people who fell at the same time had grouped up. Yuhyun and Peace would be able to find me first, but still.

[Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon are together in another area. All three teams are far apart, so a quick reunion will be tough.]

…My apologies to Director Song. Somehow it turned out that way. Please don’t give Seong Hyunjae a hard time.

“Can we still contact them?”

[No! It’s hard even to message you, Honey. Because you belong to the system administrators, you can barely receive messages, but it won’t last. This world is pre-system installation!]

Mari crafted this dream world. But…

“Ah, Crescent said this isn’t Mari’s dream.”

[Yes, Sloth Senior said so too! They think the dreamer changed at the end. The one dreaming switched, making the power to materialize the dream even stronger…]

“…It must be the Transcendent seed that Crescent planted.”

I didn’t know how a Transcendent’s seed came to replace Mari, but thinking back to Crescent’s words, it made sense. Then what happened to Mari and Samir… I hoped they’d returned safely to reality.

[If a Transcendent is used as the pillar, it fits. Anyway, Honey, mana is unstable here until the system applies.]

“…Gasp.”

Wait.

“Inventory!”

[Yes. Inventory can’t be used.]

“Status window can’t open either?!”

[Skills are hard to use too.]

“Items? Eunha!”

No answer. The jewel’s light was dim. It should be fine, right?

[Item effects barely work. Also, your stats are close to non-awakened state.]

I was still an F-rank. Though I’d leveled up since pre-awakening, my stats relied heavily on items. But the others were S-rank. Even near non-awakened, they’d be far stronger than me! Peace might be the strongest—lions are powerful even unawakened.

Could Director Song subdue Seong Hyunjae then? He’s taller, but Director Song seems stronger. Or maybe about even. At least easier than when they’re fully awakened. That was a relief.

[Once the system applies, inventory will work! Stabilizing mana takes longer, but you might adapt to the unstable flow.]

“Alright, rookie. But what about the Transcendents? Crescent? At least I’m out of the body connection.”

My shoulder still tingled where the potion had healed me. Guildmaster Sesung left no mercy. I felt strangely reassured.

[Be careful, Honey. Why your link to Crescent grew stronger, we don’t know. But it’s really dangerous beyond this point!]

“Yeah. I’ll be careful.”

I’d inadvertently learned Crescent’s past. No wonder Transcendents hide their names—knowing their true nature strengthens the link…

[In the dream world you fell into, Transcendents can intervene relatively easily. That world resists, but it’s just a copy of the original world’s dream. Once the system applies, they’ll relentlessly swarm you!]

“Any way out before that?”

[None. Movement itself relies on the system. Unless you’re a Transcendent, you can’t do it alone. So, Honey, find your party before the system applies.]

“Gather and exit as soon as it applies?”

[It won’t be easy. There’ll be obstacles, and mana must stabilize for safe travel…]

The message window shook violently.

[Be careful, Honey. The materialization power is so strong it’s virtually a normal world now. If you’re hurt or killed here, there’s nothing we can do.]

Since no Transcendent could interfere yet… could it really be safe? I scanned my surroundings. It looked like someone’s home.

“…Are there monsters here?”

[It’s the dreams of people in Honey’s world.]

If it’s a dream…

“Then if someone dreams of monsters—”

[They’ll appear…?]

Good grief. Parting the darkness, I headed for the kitchen. I grabbed a chef’s knife, a regular knife, a fork, and some food.

[But mana’s unstable, so only low-grade monsters should show up!]

“Even a normal tiger can tear people apart.”

Tinned tuna and gim… so this is Korea. I hoped others were here too. If they were spread across the globe, we’d never meet before the system applied.

[When it’s dream time, people can appear too.]

“People? What happens if they get hurt or die in the dream?”

I went to the bedroom to find a backpack. In the dressing room, I found a rucksack and changed out of my torn shirt.

[Getting hurt in a dream happens all the time. You wake up with a start. You might forget vaguely. If they come normally through the dream, there’s no problem.]

“That’s a relief. If someone meets me, they’ll just think they dreamed of me.”

[Yes. They’ll think of you as a dream.]

But it’s all real. I repaired my waist sash to hold the chef’s knife. I packed food in the backpack. No matter whose house this is, I’ll be living off them for a while. I drank some water from the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) fridge and bit into an apple. It tasted as fresh as in reality.

“Any car keys?”

A truck would be ideal—low-grade monsters could be mowed down with a big rig. Shouldering my pack, I walked toward the entrance.

“Transcendents are mainly interested in me, right?”

[They suspect something about you, Honey. They even say you broke the system yourself, but that’s impossible. Maybe a Transcendent helped you. How did you do it, Honey?]

Not exactly a secret, so I answered casually.

“Achievement calculation. At the end I became part of Seong Hyunjae’s faction.”

[Ah…! Your achievements… Right. We excluded it, but the system mechanically included everything. Automatic limits should apply though. But it seems you influence beyond a temporary admin.]

Because Wildflower slotted me in as an initial system creator. I felt uneasy explaining that much, so I let it pass. Silently I opened the door. The apartment corridor lay before me. Motion-sensor lights flickered on; I flinched and looked around. It was quiet. Was it daytime in Korea? Few people were awake. Maybe it was early night—people stay up late these days.

I nearly took the stairs but saw the number 27 and obediently headed for the elevator. I couldn’t use stamina potions, so I had to conserve energy. I pressed the down button. The elevator worked smoothly.

“Not much interest in Seong Hyunjae?”

[He’s a strongly linked Awakened, but not that much. Maybe a candidate to extract later?]

The rookie didn’t know much about him yet. Other Transcendents seemed oblivious too. So I’m the primary target. Ideally I’d use myself as bait and send the others back—but that won’t work. Yuhyun will stay, and Yerim will try to return no matter what.

Ding!

It wasn’t the first floor. The elevator stopped at the nineteenth. Pressing my hand against the knife at my waist, I leaned back into the corner. The door opened.

“…Huh?”

A slightly blurry student appeared—about high school age. They stared at me with wide eyes.

“Director Han Yujin!”

“…Ah, yes.”

“Is it really you? What are you doing here? Wow!”

“Just some business, that’s all.”

“Where’s Peace? Isn’t Peace with you? Why are you alone? You shouldn’t be wandering alone! What about Guildmaster Haeyeon? Don’t you need a bodyguard? Are you getting kidnapped again? My mom says F-rank is basically a civilian and worries so much… My little brother is F-rank—he’s so frail! And Director Han is F-rank too, but F-rank can rival S-rank, so she wanted to be a Hunter and got spanked by her dad—”

Oh dear. The student noticed the first-floor button lit and stood beside me. Their sparkling gaze made me a bit uneasy.

“Can I take a picture with you?”

“Of course.”

“My phone… oh? Wow, I didn’t bring my bag. I must be crazy.”

They sighed deeply, saying they’d have to go back upstairs. Dreams have their holes, I suppose.

“If you visit the Sanctuary, I’ll take a photo with you then. What’s your name?”

Even if they forget in the dream or think it’s a dream, I’d recognize them. The student seemed even more disappointed.

“I’d have to go all the way to Seoul.”

“…Uh, where is this?”

“Busan.”

…Oh. I thought their accent strong, but Busan it was. They fell near the sea. Plane travel felt unsafe; was KTX running? Did I have to drive to Seoul? The student regretfully went back up once we reached the first floor. Gathering my wits, I left the apartment. The sky was dark—around nine or ten o’clock. Most people were asleep or had just dozed off.

‘I need a vehicle first—better rob a phone shop.’

The elevator still worked, so internet should be up. I headed toward the shops, when suddenly—

—Growl—

Blue-furred wolves prowled across the road. Low-grade monsters from the initial Dungeon Break in Busan: someone’s nightmare come to life.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep