[✺ ω ✺]
‘Excited, aren’t we?’
The system was practically bouncing with enthusiasm. As if it had been waiting for me to ask that question.
The Deviation Interference rate is currently about 15 percent. Because of that, the response I got was that I wouldn’t be able to interfere for too long.
‘I was told I wouldn’t be able to spy completely.’
That means it must work similarly to when Nox interfered with the system, causing the text to become garbled. Still, even picking up a few words would be better than hearing nothing at all.
[It should be fine for a few minutes. And if you practice, it’ll get even better!]
Do I really have to practice this? That’s a bit much.
[I’ll help you, so don’t worry! (＾∀＾*)ﾉｼ]
So eager. Well, as long as you’re happy.
Meanwhile, Kyle had realized I was talking to someone and was quietly waiting. He was obviously curious and suspicious about the “absolute being” I often made excuses about, but it seemed like he was holding back from questioning me until I decided to explain on my own.
“Your Highness.”
Feeling a little guilty, I called out to him. When I told him to come up onto the bed, he climbed up, unarmed, leaned against the headboard, and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
“They said it should be possible.”
“Impressive.”
“Sometimes, yeah. Well, if you see me zoning out or talking to myself, just ignore it.”
“If you think about it…”
Kyle smirked and joked, “Nothing could be weirder than you being my beast companion.”
Fair point. With me shifting between human and hamster form, this was hardly the time to be nitpicking over other things. He had a point. I let out a small laugh, relaxed, and leaned against him.
“Alright, just a moment.”
With my eyes closed, I asked the system, ‘Is there anything I need to be careful about?’
After a brief pause, the system responded.
[The ‘protecting force’ will be changed to a ‘penetrating force,’ and the ‘blocking force’ will be changed to a ‘connecting force.’]
[You may experience unconfirmed recoil.]
What’s that supposed to mean?
Tilting my head, I asked again, ‘It won’t be life-threatening, right?’
[Of course! There will be minimal protection in place, so don’t worry!]
Still suspicious. But at the very least, the system had always been on my side. It had never lied to me, so I could trust that much.
As long as I wouldn’t die. That was enough.
[Attempting connection.]
The system window disappeared, and my vision was instantly swallowed by darkness. Caught off guard, I blinked. But whether I opened or closed my eyes, all I could see was pitch-black void.
Even so, I could still feel something there. I could faintly sense Kyle’s arm wrapped around my shoulder, which reassured me.
Clenching my eyes shut, I focused all my attention on whatever changes were about to happen. Maybe they were discussing the “system” as well. Or perhaps they were exchanging messages like a messenger app.
“……”
But what greeted me was nothing but cold silence. Like being trapped in a tight, suffocating space, as if I were inside a coffin.
‘Aren’t they talking right now?’
Just as I didn’t talk to the system all day, there was no rule saying they had to be talking all the time either.
Then, I heard a sound. A human voice—but it was closer to the scream of a young boy.
“Be careful!”
“……Hyung! Behind you!”
“Argh!”
Something felt off. It sounded like someone was talking to me, but rather than overhearing a distant voice, it felt as if it was echoing from within me.
‘Ah.’
In that instant, I understood.
This wasn’t the conversation of the Mage Tower bastards. It wasn’t something I was hearing because of some connection—I was remembering something trapped inside me, something that had never crossed a certain barrier.
‘Damn it. A side effect, huh.’
I hadn’t even fully experienced the effects yet, and I was already getting hit with the backlash? How unfair.
I was about to protest to the system about this nonsense when my entire body suddenly froze.
Flashes of images streaked through my mind, too fast to grasp yet leaving behind a deep chill, as if all the blood in my body had drained away. A tremor ran through me.
‘No way… this is….’
A pair of pale lights enveloping my body, a horn-like wail, an aching pain spreading through my entire being, a floating sensation, my senses growing distant…
I couldn’t breathe.
Something I had long forgotten poured into me, slipping through a crumbling wall. It was like being thrown onto searing-hot ground, then suddenly sinking into an ocean of ice.
“Stop.”
Someone whispered urgently. But I couldn’t answer.
Was that really meant for me? The voice sounded impossibly far away, as if I were hearing a passage read aloud from a book—unreal, detached.
I forced my eyes open. But the scene before me remained unchanged.
A darkened street, an eight-lane highway stretching into the distance, a truck hurtling toward me, someone’s desperate scream, people shouting, the screech of tires skidding against asphalt, and the disorienting sensation of something lifting into the air before crashing back down.
“Shu! That’s enough!”
The flood of sensations I had locked away was overwhelming, almost violent. I might have been trembling without realizing it.
Someone pulled me into an embrace as I struggled. I might have thrown a punch, but I had no idea if I actually hit them. Whoever was holding me tightened their grip as if to contain my thrashing and called my name.
“Shu.”
“…….”
“Shu, it’s okay. You’re okay now, so just… stop.”
My scattered consciousness barely surfaced.
Kyle was holding me. He pressed close, his arms around my back and waist, his face buried against the nape of my neck. He kept calling my name in a voice thick with urgency.
“……Hah.”
My sweat-drenched hand grasped the fabric of his clothes. His hand settled gently over mine, warm yet firm. He wrapped his fingers around mine and whispered,
“It’s okay. You’re here. You’re alive.”
“Kh… Haa… Hh… Hngh….”
“…I shouldn’t have said that. This isn’t good. You need to stop. Alright?”
He cupped my face with his other hand, forcing our eyes to meet. My blurry vision gradually cleared, and his face came into focus.
It hurt.
I almost nodded without thinking, about to agree with him. Maybe, without realizing it, I already had.
But then—
[……Wraith, there…….]
A voice suddenly pierced through my mind.
I stiffened. Kyle must have thought I was in pain again because he gritted his teeth and held me even tighter.
But this time, there was no pain. Only a voice, barely audible through the thick interference.
[……Who are you?]
[Idiot…… noise, here…… not… who…….]
The Northern Mage Corps.
Shit.
I grabbed Kyle’s hand quickly. I parted my lips to speak but hesitated. I wasn’t sure if I could form the words properly, and worse—what if they heard my voice?
So instead, I pressed my lips together and hastily traced letters onto the back of his hand.
Kyle, quick on the uptake, snatched a scrap of parchment and a quill from the side table and shoved them into my hands.
[Wraith. Why is the plan… turning out like this? Time is….]
I silently mouthed the words: “Plan,” “Time.”
I tried to write them down, but my concentration was too scattered, and my handwriting was a mess. After several failed attempts, Kyle took the quill from me and started transcribing himself.
His large, warm hand reached out and brushed against the corner of my lips—he was trying to read my mouth movements. With my lips pressed against his palm, I waited for the next words.
[The Emperor will… soon go to….]
I should have worked harder to increase my Deviation Interference.
I mouthed the word “Emperor.” Kyle hesitated slightly, rubbing my lips as if confirming what he’d just read. Only after I repeated it a few times did he hurriedly jot it down.
Where was the Emperor going? His domain? Or somewhere else? Was he gathering the sacrifices to complete the “Heart of Winter”? It had to be referring to Lorenz.
Nausea churned in my stomach. Just maintaining this connection was causing severe side effects. It felt like an unbearable force was clawing at my insides, and I dry-heaved without realizing it.
If Kyle hadn’t been holding me tightly, I probably would’ve collapsed in an undignified heap.
Then, as the nausea subsided slightly, the voices became clearer.
[‘White Wraith.’ How is the research progressing?]
[Not yet. It’s only been a few days since we brought it in.]
[Why not just melt it all down and consume it? Isn’t that your specialty?]
I had been mouthing words as quickly and accurately as possible, but my lips suddenly froze. A chill ran down my spine.
So that look Nox used to give me—the one that made it seem like he was ready to devour me whole—wasn’t just an expression. He had actually considered doing it.
[There’s a lot to extract. They have a solid contact on that side. Unlike us, who rely on Lukit, they were speaking directly to something with a clear consciousness.]
[But if its consciousness is restored, it won’t be able to function as a passageway. There will be no echoes. Have you forgotten why the ‘Undertaker’ created the ‘Hollow Wraith’ in the first place?]
[There might be a way!]
A voice brimming with excitement cut off the sharp-toned woman’s words.
[Keep up the research. I’ll provide anything you need. As always, I’ll handle the affairs outside. You said the subject is from the Northern territory? The Emperor can be persuaded easily enough!]
[……So it’s my job in the end.]
[Don’t you like things like this, Drowned One? If it doesn’t go smoothly, just kill the Emperor and take his place!]
The conversation was moving too fast. Before I could even process what was being said, Nox abruptly interrupted the two women’s frantic exchange.
[Calm down. I don’t intend to be tied to this forever. I’ll settle it within a week and inform you of the results—whether it means pulling it in, consuming it, or destroying it.]
[Understood. I’ll wait. What about the Emperor?]
[If his patience starts wearing thin, just dangle a carrot in front of him. That should be enough.]
[Fine. Then I’m going to get some rest. I’ve been running all over the place lately, and it’s exhausting. The new Emperor, though—he’s annoyingly meticulous and diligent. Tsk.]
The conversation ended as abruptly as if they had all been in a conference call together.
Still leaning against Kyle’s hand, I pressed my lips lightly to his palm.
‘For some reason, I could hear the last part clearly. That’s a relief. I should cut the connection soon.’
At that moment, a system window popped up in front of me, its text trembling as if terrified.
[《Has the little one’s curiosity been satisfied?》]
