It was a blindingly white space. A very small, square-shaped space. I stood still, staring at the man before me.
Apollo, gazing down at me, shone brighter than anyone I had ever seen. His flowing golden hair cascading to his shoulders, eyes the color of sunlight, and features so sculpted he could be mistaken for a statue—anyone would naturally assume he was a god. The sheer, ethereal cloth draped over his body only added to the illusion. If he hadn’t been glaring with that menacing expression, I might’ve mistaken him for a meticulously crafted wax figure.
The moment I saw him, laughter bubbled out.
Apollo spoke with disbelief.
“Is this funny to you?”
“Well, isn’t it? First thing I see when I open my eyes is Apollo.”
I asked calmly.
“Did I die?”
This time, Apollo let out a scoffing laugh.
“Do I look like you’re dead?”
“So I’m not dead?”
“Not yet. This place is inside your soul—as a ‘human.’”
Apollo crossed his arms and sighed. Then he spoke slowly.
“I told you. You’d be consumed by yourself.”
“But Apollo, I had to protect them.”
I looked up at Apollo and said.
“No matter the outcome, even if it meant my death, I had to protect the world.”
“Why?”
“Because there are things I love.”
Apollo stared at me in silence. His gaze had softened.
“Because there are things I love… that’s the only thing I could do.”
“…I see.”
“What happens to me now? How are you here, Apollo? Didn’t you… vanish?”
Apollo smiled.
“Because I left the last of my power inside you. I’m merely the remnants of that strength—my true self has long since disappeared.”
“……”
“But it’s not your fault. It’s just… because I loved you.”
His words made my lips part involuntarily.
“You… loved me?”
Apollo slowly closed his eyes and nodded.
“As family. As a friend. As your protector. As a Constellation who worried for you.”
Just like Hermes said—I always end up in hopeless love. Apollo chuckled self-deprecatingly, then reached out to gently stroke my hair.
It was the tenderest touch imaginable.
“With my last strength, I protected your soul to keep it whole. You’ll no longer be a Constellation, but… you’ll remain human.”
“Apollo, I…”
“It’s alright.”
Apollo whispered.
“You don’t have to say anything.”
“……”
“Now, go.”
Apollo gripped my shoulders and turned me around. My eyes widened. The space where a white wall once stood now revealed the place where I had just been fighting, bleeding through the veil.
“My blessing will always be with you, my little human.”
“…What if I start to miss you, Apollo?”
“Then look to those beside you.”
Apollo leaned in and murmured softly.
“Because all of them… are made of love.”
I felt a hand gently push me forward. Without turning back, I stepped ahead.
“…Hyun… Ga-hyeon… Hyung! Hyung!”
I slowly opened my eyes to the feeling of a hand patting my cheek. Baek Tae-beom’s face came into view, drenched in tears. No—he was already crying. The sight was so pitiful that I reached out and stroked his cheek. Leaning into my touch, the man bit his lower lip.
“I thought you weren’t going to wake up, you weren’t… breathing, and the contract… it broke… You kept appearing in front of me, and I…”
Baek Tae-beom choked out the words, tears falling like rain. He kept rubbing his cheek against my hand over and over again, as if to confirm the warmth was real. The way he did it was so much like a small, adorable animal that I smiled. Baek Tae-beom scolded me for smiling at a time like this, asking how I could even laugh—but that only made me laugh harder.
What could I do? My heart was overflowing like this.
“Choi Ga-hyeon!”
“Mr. Choi Ga-hyeon!”
“Ga-hyeon!”
Everyone came running toward me. There were no enemies in sight. I smiled at them—until I suddenly realized someone was missing.
“What about the other Baek Tae-beom…?”
The Baek Tae-beom standing before me twisted his face further. Like he was holding something in, he exhaled shakily.
He stepped aside to show me.
Lying there was Baek Tae-beom from the other world. A gaping hole pierced through his chest.
I knew instinctively—he had thrown himself in front of our world’s Baek Tae-beom. He had taken the attack in his place.
“You…”
“At first, I thought… what if I got rid of the Baek Tae-beom in this world and took his place?”
He said it quietly, staring at the ceiling.
“If I did that, maybe it would feel like everything had returned to where it was supposed to be. Maybe it would’ve been okay.”
He blinked slowly, as if drowsiness was settling over him.
“But then… I heard you call out ‘Baek Tae-beom’ at the end. And I changed my mind.”
He turned his head to look at me. His golden eyes shimmered faintly. The man smiled, the corners of his mouth trembling.
“Thanks for giving me the chance.”
And with that, his body dissolved into light.
Where he had been, only the shattered fragments of a Mana Stone remained. I stood there blankly, watching the vanishing glow. In the heavy silence, Lee Myung-won urgently called out.
“This isn’t the time for this!”
He was right. We had to get out of here—fast. The lab was about to collapse from the impact caused by Naglfar and Jörmungandr’s appearance. The tremors continued, chunks of stone falling from the fractured ceiling.
But I couldn’t move. Whether it was from the backlash of the <Manifestation of the Otherworldly Self> skill or because I’d lost my original soul—I wasn’t sure.
Baek Tae-beom carefully lifted me into his arms.
I looked at him.
“Tae-beom.”
“Yes?”
“I always thought… I wasn’t someone who deserved to stand by your side.”
His gaze lowered quietly. I kept speaking.
“I couldn’t stop thinking, how could someone like me be with you? I’m someone who has nothing—really, absolutely nothing.”
I saw others in the background, busily picking up unconscious children. Oh Kwon-hyuk was impressively carrying four at once. Watching him, I smiled.
“I’m not even a Constellation anymore.”
Blue Star scolded me for that, while Lee Myung-won urged caution. Park Gil-seon laughed like she was enjoying the show, and awkwardly lingering nearby, Kang Si-hoo looked totally lost. Aquila let out a sigh as she supported the injured Yoo Ji-won.
“There’s nothing that binds me to you now.”
When I looked up at Baek Tae-beom’s face, he wasn’t crying, nor was he smiling. He simply looked down at me with a calm, quiet expression.
“You’re free now.”
“Free?”
Baek Tae-beom leaned in toward me.
“You never once oppressed me, hyung.”
“……”
“This was all my choice—my will. And why do you say you have nothing?”
He laughed softly, like he was letting go of a breath.
“You have me.”
My heart lurched. It felt like something inside had broken down. My emotions surged wildly, completely out of control. My breath caught in uneven bursts. I let out a helpless, breathless laugh—and Baek Tae-beom laughed with me, pressing his forehead to mine.
“Every time you think you’re nobody, say it to me. I’ll remind you all over again.”
He whispered like he was sharing a secret.
“That you’re my everything—and the reason I keep living.”
Goddamn it. Those words hit too hard.
“Hey! You two, how long are you planning to flirt?!”
“Leave them alone—they’re clearly enjoying themselves.”
“I’d love to, but if we don’t move, they’re going to be buried in rubble.”
“We’re going, don’t leave us behind!”
I shouted, and Baek Tae-beom burst into laughter. I couldn’t help but laugh with him.
We had taken quite some time to escape—because we didn’t leave a single Hunter from Gongmyeong behind, even the unconscious and injured ones. Honestly, it was a miracle the facility hadn’t collapsed before we made it out.
Once we exited the building, we saw a crowd waiting a bit farther off. Perhaps they had cleared the dungeons across Seoul, or maybe they’d seen Yoo Ji-won’s stream—but people had gathered in front of the Gongmyeong headquarters, waiting for us. And the moment they saw us, they erupted in cheers.
But the celebration didn’t last.
From underground, the headquarters of Gongmyeong began to collapse—slowly sinking as if being swallowed by a sinkhole. All we could do was stand and watch.
Kang Si-hoo murmured,
“Gongmyeong…”
“Man, that’s a relief. It’s all coming down.”
“You think so?”
Kang Si-hoo gave a little laugh.
“Yeah. It really is a relief.”
The sun was rising.
In a world that had once prophesied that Fenrir would devour everything—now, the sun was rising. It was so bright it hurt to look.
Hunters lay sprawled on the roadside, sleeping like the exhausted. Some were taking pictures of the dawn sky.
Yoo Ji-won, unable to help himself, had already pulled out another phone, connected it to a portable charger, and resumed his stream. Judging by how animated he was, it seemed like his injuries had already healed.
The ice had all melted. Spring was coming.
The season where everything begins to bloom again—the time when what had crouched deep underground starts to rise.
“Hyung.”
I leaned against Baek Tae-beom. He held me a little tighter.
“You remember our promise, right?”
Now that the system was gone, each word Baek Tae-beom spoke hit me with overwhelming weight. The wind brushed past my ear. Something caught in my throat, refusing to come out.
But finally, I let it spill.
The warmth still lingering in my body made the words feel all the more vivid.
“Yeah, Tae-beom.”
Now, only the seasons we will share remain.
