Fragments of dungeons flashed around us.
Portals. Monsters. Hunters... Entire cities swallowed by dimensional cracks.
"The third version no longer functions like the previous Systems," they explained. "The other two required direct energy exchange in order to operate. Every alteration to reality consumed the natural energy contained within stars, planets, and living civilizations."
The projections shifted into dying celestial bodies.
"Each use gradually drained the universe itself. That was the greatest flaw. The more extensively the System was used, the faster reality approached collapse."
I stared silently at the scenes unfolding around us.
"But the third version altered the exchange entirely. Rather than directly consuming universal energy, the System within you displaces the cost."
"Displaces?"
"When the System interferes with reality, the excess instability, foreign matter, and corrupted energy are expelled outward instead of being absorbed by the universe itself."
Their gaze settled on me.
"And those expelled distortions manifest as dungeons."
For a moment, my thoughts completely stopped.
"The portals appearing across your world are not random phenomena," they continued calmly. "They are the byproduct of the System attempting to maintain balance."
The monsters flickering around us suddenly made far more sense than I wanted them to.
"Mana, monsters, dimensional fractures... all of them are condensed forms of displaced energy."
"So the dungeons exist because of the System?"
"Correct. You, child, brought the system to the galaxy."
"C-can I stop it? What if we get rid of the system for good? What if we don't use the system at all? Will the dungeons stop appearing?"
Their skin rippled with darker colors, the shifting hues moving like disturbed water.
"Perhaps," they replied quietly. "But do you realize how long I have spent researching ways to remove the System?"
Their expression dimmed slightly.
"And even after all that time, I still have not found an answer."
"The closest conclusion I reached..." they continued slowly, "is that once the System is used, its effects cannot truly be undone."
There was a heavy pause.
"If you stop now, then yes, perhaps the number of dungeons appearing will continue to decrease." Their gaze lowered briefly. "But the System has already integrated itself into you and your galaxy. Awakening will not disappear anymore."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Hunters may become weaker without relying on the System's influence," they explained, "but what happens when a dungeon opens a gate connected to a far stronger world?"
The question alone was enough to make the atmosphere feel heavier.
They let out a quiet sigh.
"In my opinion, what you are doing now is already the best possible outcome."
"You are using the System less than before, and compared to the beginning... the number of dungeons appearing has already noticeably decreased."
My heart pounded so violently that, for a moment, I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack.
No... It felt worse than that.
As if the truth I was about to uncover was far more horrifying than I had ever imagined. Then suddenly, memories urged through my mind.
They were memories I had forgotten long ago, buried so deeply within me that I hadn't even realized they existed anymore.
Fragments of voices, places, conversations, screams, and blood.
The information flooded into my head all at once.
My vision blurred violently as unbearable pain exploded behind my eyes. It felt like needles were being driven directly into my brain while freezing water poured through my veins at the same time.
I could barely breathe.
Every second felt like torture.
The creature's voices became distant and distorted, drowned beneath the overwhelming flood of memories forcing themselves back into my consciousness.
I staggered slightly, clutching my head. But, even through the pain, only one thought remained clear in my mind.
I lifted my head toward the glowing figure before me.
"I just have one question," I muttered weakly, struggling to endure the agony tearing through my skull.
My voice trembled.
"The regression ability... of Han Jinhyuk."
I clenched my teeth harder.
"How do I get rid of it?"
"If you continue increasing your memory synchronization, you will naturally come to understand your abilities faster," they explained calmly.
"You carry a System within you, child. Even I do not fully understand how a fragment of my soul entered your consciousness... but it did."
"So use it well."
I wanted to ask more questions.
Too many questions.
At this point, I didn't even know where to begin anymore. My original goal had only been to learn more about the Outsiders, yet somehow I had ended up uncovering truths about the world itself. No... existence would be the appropriate word.
Everything I had heard so far was beyond my comprehension, but somehow, this creature seemed capable of reading me perfectly.
"We do not have much time," they said quietly.
The glowing symbols surrounding the chamber began flickering unstablely.
"If this connection continues any longer, it will bring harm to your world."
A strange sense of urgency filled the air.
Then he slowly raised a hand toward me.
"For now, I will grant you the truth of our kind. It is my reward to you, after all."
The moment his fingertips moved, an overwhelming force suddenly pulled at my consciousness.
The place distorted violently around me.
The glowing symbols shattered apart like fragments of light while countless unfamiliar memories surged toward me all at once.
And then.... I opened my eyes.
A familiar ceiling greeted me overhead while translucent blue screens filled my vision.
『 MEMORY SYNCHRONIZATION RATE HAS INCREASED. 』
『 NEW INFORMATION HAS BEEN INTEGRATED. 』
It seemed I had returned to reality.
But my mind remained elsewhere.
My thoughts felt unbearably heavy as the memories continued lingering inside my head like fragments that didn't belong to me.
No... they did belong to me.
That was the problem.
Apart from learning the truth of the world, I had also recovered pieces of my forgotten memories.
Perhaps I would have been better off never remembering them at all.
"...lena!" Jinhyuk's voice snapped be back to reality.
I realized then that he had been shaking me the entire time.
He was calling my name over and over again, panic written all over his face in a way I had never seen before.
"...What?" My voice came out weak. "What happened?"
"Are you okay?" he asked immediately.
His warm hands cupped my cheeks, his thumbs brushing against my skin as he searched my face frantically, as if trying to confirm I was really awake.
"Why did it take you so long to wake up?"
Still disoriented, I frowned slightly.
"...How long was I asleep?"
"Eight days."
I fell silent for a moment.
"You were unconscious for eight days, Yena."
The trembling in his voice caught me off guard more than the words themselves.
"If I had known this would hurt you, I never would've agreed to it in the first place." He clenched his jaw tightly before continuing. "What if you never woke up?"
His grip against my face loosened slightly.
"Yena... what if you never woke up?"
The last sentence almost broke apart halfway through, like he had forced the words out despite his throat tightening.
He looked so terrified of losing me that, for the first time, I actually felt sorry for him.
Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly, hoping it would ease even a little of the fear weighing down on him.
He froze for a moment.
Then I felt his arms tighten around my waist almost desperately, pulling me closer against him. One of his hands slid to the back of my head, holding me there as though he was afraid I would disappear the second he let go.
"I don't care about the truth anymore," he murmured quietly against my hair. "Whoever you are... just don't leave me, hm?"
Something in his voice made my chest ache.
"Hyuk-ah."
I gently pushed him back just enough to look at him properly before placing both hands against his cheeks.
"Look at me."
His eyes immediately met mine.
"I'm fine," I said softly. "See? I'm really okay."
He continued staring at me silently for several long seconds.
Only after confirming I was truly awake did the tension in his expression slowly loosen.
His grip relaxed.
The panic faded little by little.
And gradually, the familiar indifferent expression I was used to seeing returned to his face once more, though traces of exhaustion still lingered in his eyes.
He let out a quiet breath before standing up.
"You must be hungry," he said, his voice calmer now. "I made food for you."
He carefully helped me off the bed, still keeping a hand near me like he didn't fully trust my condition yet.
Only then did I notice the dining table outside the room.
Several dishes had already been prepared ahead of time.
Most of them had gone cold by now, likely from sitting there for hours untouched.
"...Did you make all of this?" I asked quietly.
Han Jinhyuk avoided my gaze for a brief moment.
"You were unconscious for a long time," he answered simply. "I thought you might be hungry when you woke up."
The rice porridge he made tasted good.
It was warm, simple, and light enough that it didn't upset my stomach.
For a while, the only sounds filling the apartment were the quiet clinking of spoons against bowls.
The silence between us wasn't particularly awkward. If anything, it felt strangely calm.
Han Jinhyuk sat across from me, occasionally glancing in my direction as if checking whether I was still really there.
Then, after setting my spoon down, I finally spoke.
"Hyuk-ah... about the Outsiders."
His expression immediately hardened slightly.
"You don't have to explain everything right now," he said quietly. "Just rest."
"No."
I lifted my gaze toward him firmly.
"I need to tell you."
The seriousness in my voice made him pause.
Morning light poured softly through the windows, illuminating the quiet apartment while the lingering exhaustion in my body slowly faded away.
I had already rested enough.
And after everything I had seen...
After learning the truth behind this world...
I couldn't keep avoiding it anymore.
So, slowly, I began explaining everything to him.
I told him everything.
That the Outsiders were highly intelligent beings who wandered across space because of their curiosity, which led them to discover a foreign element and created the System from it, only for that same power to eventually destroy their species.
Most of them died, and so they scattered across the universe, endlessly searching for the perfect galaxy to settle in.
Han Jinhyuk remained silent throughout the entire explanation, listening without interrupting me even once.
But even after telling him all of that, there were still truths I couldn't bring myself to reveal.
I never told him that the reason dungeons appeared in this world was because of me.
That a third version of the System had somehow integrated itself within me.
Or that I was the one who unknowingly opened the gateway connecting their world to ours and others in the first place.
The moment I realized that truth, it felt like my chest was being crushed.
Because if it was true... Then countless deaths had started because of me. And that wasn't the only thing I kept hidden.
I also never told him about myself.
About Ophelia.
How the memories slowly returning to me and how they seemed connected to my abilities.
There was still too much I didn't understand yet, and I didn't want to confuse both of us further with uncertainties I couldn't even explain properly myself.
So I kept that part hidden.
By the time I finished explaining everything, the sky outside had already darkened into evening.
The apartment remained quiet for a long moment afterward.
"Also..." I hesitated slightly before continuing. "About your regression..."
My fingers unconsciously tightened around the warm mug in my hands.
"I'll find a way to get rid of it."
His gaze shifted toward me quietly.
"That creature told me I'd understand eventually, so..." I lowered my eyes briefly. "Please wait for me a little longer."
For a moment, Han Jinhyuk simply stared at me.
Then he slowly shook his head.
"I can wait forever," he said softly. "As long as you're alive and well."