Chapter 15: The Man Before the Gate

Two years and several months have passed since the Cataclysm.

Suddenly, gates appeared, and monsters poured out from them.

The world was thrown into chaos, but the damage wasn’t as great as expected.

At first, the monsters could be suppressed by military forces alone.

However, the monsters grew stronger by the day, and the damage inevitably accumulated.

When it seemed that continued losses would threaten the very order of society, that’s when the Awakened appeared.

The Awakened could see their own level and stats as if in a game, wield mysterious powers called skills, and grow stronger by hunting monsters.

And when it was revealed that only the Awakened could enter the gates, they headed inside—and the world didn’t become as stable as one might hope.

The situation was not so simple.

Monsters rapidly became stronger, and many Awakened, frightened, refused to enter the gates.

The less the Awakened entered, the greater the harm to the cities and ordinary citizens, and the problem only grew more severe—until the ‘First Awakened’ appeared.

Hero, savior, hope—they had many titles, but above all, they were most often called the First Awakened.

After all, nothing else could explain their abnormal strength.

It was as if they were used to such situations; they cleared gates without hesitation, spread their fame, and showed the world their overwhelming power.

Yoon Seulah did not miss her chance in such circumstances.

She moved swiftly, made contact with the First Awakened, supported them, built relationships, and helped them band together as a single group.

Thus was born the guild ‘Taeryong’.

Among Korea’s First Awakened, the one considered most outstanding—Nam Tae-min—is the Guild Master of Taeryong, the very guild to which Yoon Seulah currently belongs.

“Hoo…….”

The First Awakened, hero, savior—Nam Tae-min.

A figure admired by all, and the most influential person in South Korea today.

But to Yoon Seulah, he’s just an annoying Guild Master.

Still, what can she do?

It was her own choice to join Taeryong Guild not as businesswoman Yoon Seulah, but as Awakened Yoon Seulah after her awakening.

“Time to work.”

If you bury yourself in work, life becomes a little more bearable.

There’s no time for your chest to tighten to the point you can’t breathe, or to clutch your head at terrible memories.

But even work has its limits.

A fleeting gap in her thoughts.

A bit of stretching to loosen her stiff neck.

Then, if her gaze happens to fall on the photograph in the corner of her desk—

Her breath catches.

A brother and sister, arms around each other, smiling warmly.

Her mind sinks endlessly, because she’ll never see her younger sibling smile like that again.

The bright smile in the photo overlaps with the image of the sibling hanging themselves before her eyes.

Her sibling, swept into a gate as an ordinary person.

Though they barely made it back alive, whatever they saw inside, it wasn’t long before they lost their mind—a pitiful sibling.

What saved Yoon Seulah, who was sinking endlessly in those distant memories, was a knock—knock—at the door.

“…Come in.”

A man entered, took stock of Yoon Seulah’s state, and composed his expression.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just tell me what you came for.”

“It’s an order from the Guild Master. A new gate has appeared, and you’re to deploy immediately.”

As if she’d been waiting for those words, Yoon Seulah jumped to her feet.

“What’s the expected rank? Who else is entering from the guild?”

“The Guild Master will be entering personally.”

At that answer, Yoon Seulah’s movements paused for a moment.

“The order for you, Team Leader Yoon Seulah, is…to manage the area around the gate.”

“…Ha.”

With a cold smile, she started moving again.

“…I understand how you feel, but the Guild Master must have his reasons……”

“Sure.”

Through the roughly closed door, Yoon Seulah’s barbed words slipped out.

“Isn’t he the great hero who saved Korea?”

***

The place Yoon Seulah arrived at was where the new gate had appeared.

Nearby, military forces had already been deployed to control civilian access, while hungry reporters camped outside the perimeter.

A soldier recognized Yoon Seulah, saluted, and stepped aside.

Reporters, also recognizing her, rushed over, camera shutters clicking.

“It’s Yoon Seulah!”

“Yoon Seulah-nim! Since joining Taeryong Guild, we haven’t heard much about your activities…”

“What about the rumor that you forced your way in using Chairman Yoon Hyunsoo’s connections…?”

“There are suspicions that you’re actually not Awakened—could you comment on that…?”

She passed them by, accustomed to such things, and entered the restricted zone.

A massive gate, about as tall as a five-story apartment building.

Yoon Seulah’s gaze as she looked up at it was cold as ice.

“You’re here.”

Taeryong guild members recognized her and bowed their heads.

They, too, were Awakened left outside the gate, just like her, so Yoon Seulah swallowed a sigh and nodded.

“Nam Tae-min, that ba… I mean, how long has the Guild Master been inside?”

“It’s been about an hour.”

“So it’ll be a while before he comes out.”

Judging so, she plopped down on a chair nearby.

“No need to stand around—come over here and rest.”

“But shouldn’t we be ready in case something happens…?”

“In case, my foot.”

Yoon Seulah beamed brightly and gestured again.

“He’s the great hero, after all. Do you really think he’d fail at a gate like this? Come on over.”

The Awakened, momentarily dazed by her smile, soon regained their senses and hesitantly approached.

To them, Yoon Seulah had always seemed to shine from a distance, out of reach.

The third-generation heir to a leading conglomerate.

Beautiful appearance and a cool personality.

Known for supporting the First Awakened and founding Taeryong Guild amid a changing world.

But after a certain incident, she awakened herself and joined Taeryong Guild directly.

Even at awakening, she was measured at a high level and became the focus of public attention…but her current position, as you can see, is like this.

That’s why one of the Awakened, thinking this was his chance, tried to strike up a conversation with Yoon Seulah.

“…Who is that? Who let him in?”

Yoon Seulah’s gaze was fixed in front of the gate.

Only then did the other Awakened tear their eyes from her and look over.

“What’s that?”

“He’s not one of our guild members.”

“Who let him in?”

“And what’s with those clothes?”

A man stood in front of the blue gate, staring up at it blankly—he was obviously out of place.

Wearing ragged clothes that looked like something from long ago.

How did he get into this area, which should be under military control?

Ordinary people can’t enter gates anyway, so it was probably fine. But if he was an unregistered Awakened, it could be serious, so Yoon Seulah hurried over to him.

“Excuse me! How did you get in here?”

Startled by her voice, the man whipped his head around to look at Yoon Seulah.

He was tall, with a well-trained body, as if he’d worked out, but his ragged clothes didn’t match.

And his expression and actions, as if the whole situation was bewildering, gave her a sense of discomfort.

Slowing her steps, Yoon Seulah smiled as if to reassure him.

“I’m Yoon Seulah. Could you tell me how you got here?”

The man’s response to her kind, gentle voice was very unusual.

“Korean, huh… I really… must have come back.”

He muttered so quietly that Yoon Seulah could barely catch it, but she stiffened at his words.

The muttering.

The way he looked around at the gate and the area.

A man who suddenly appeared in a place he shouldn’t be able to enter.

All of it pointed to one thing.

“No way… a gate returnee?”

One of the Awakened trailing behind Yoon Seulah spoke up, as if he’d realized something, and the words spread quickly.

“A gate returnee?”

“No way… is that really possible?”

“Excuse me! Do you remember where you just were?”

Yoon Seulah, glancing back at the Awakened, spoke coldly.

“Quiet, please. If you don’t know anything, just be quiet.”

Judging by the circumstances, it was certain the man was a gate returnee.

An ordinary person, not an Awakened, accidentally caught at the site of a gate’s appearance and swept inside.

Of those people, only a tiny handful barely made it back alive—those were called gate returnees.

Without exception, they came back nearly insane, barely clinging to life.

At first, they might seem fine, but they would gradually lose their minds, and in the end, take their own lives.

Just like her younger sibling.

Suppressing the memory of that cherished face, Yoon Seulah forced a bigger smile.

“Hello. Could you tell me your name?”

The one thing you must never do is ask a gate returnee what happened inside the gate.

Just recalling it would rapidly worsen their mental state.

“Ah, I’m Hyunseung Lee. By the way, what do you call this thing?”

But this man, introducing himself as Hyunseung Lee, unusually enough, asked what the gate was.

“This is called a gate. They appear all over, so don’t worry too much.”

“A gate… By any chance, is there something called an Abyss Gate—one that looks just like this, but with swirling black darkness?”

“Something like that… doesn’t exist.”

‘A black gate?’

Yoon Seulah had never heard of such a thing, so she could only look at him with more pity.

Just what did he see in there to drive people so mad?

“Anyway, can I ask you something else?”

She quickly changed the subject, wanting to avoid talking about gates.

“Where’s your home? Is it in Seoul?”

“Ah, home. Could I see a calendar, by any chance?”

At his request, Yoon Seulah showed him the screen of her phone, and after checking the date, the man nodded.

“My home’s probably gone by now.”

That was obviously not good, so she hurried to the next question.

“Then… what about your family…?”

“I have none.”

“…Ah. Then… any relatives?”

“I was an orphan—I never knew my parents.”

“Then, maybe a friend or close acquaintance I could contact for you…?”

“They’re all dead.”

The man replied calmly, and the room fell into a heavy silence.

One of the Awakened behind her tried to break the awkward mood.

“For now, our guild will help you—”

But Yoon Seulah cut him off.

She knew better than anyone about returnees.

It was only a matter of time before they lost their minds.

They would hurt themselves, self-harm, and in the end, take their own lives.

Even if this man was a returnee…

You never know.

Maybe, if she could maintain as normal a daily life as possible, he could return to normal.

Her only sibling lost their mind immediately after returning, unable to handle the barrage of questions and memories, but maybe she could save this man.

If she handed a man with no background over to the guild, he’d be bombarded with relentless questions—she could see it coming.

“Just come home with me.”

Yoon Seulah gently took his hand as she spoke.

“Yes!”

The man nodded with astonishing speed, as if he couldn’t believe it.