Ranker Who Lives Twice

After Yeon-woo left… Something fell very quietly downward in the crumbling darkness. It was a goblin in a suit with a monocle, Yvlke.

"Ohyohyo. I thought it would be like this, so I had told him to be very careful. I guess he couldn't win over his own arrogance, no?" Yvlke lightly clicked his tongue as he looked at the place where Zeus had last been.

Zeus had been a relatively useful pawn for Yvlke. Although Zeus had always thought he was powerful due to his own achievements, the fact was that Zeus had been able to achieve so much because of Yvlke's full support. However, Zeus, drunk off his own strength, ran wild and ended up in that pathetic situation, so Yvlke could not help but feel annoyed.

Yvlke sighed as he wondered where he would find another useful pawn like Zeus. Not only would he have to recognize a potential pawn, but he would also have to support its development. Of course, that did not mean that all was lost for Yvlke.

Yvlke was still in possession of many pawns. There were others from the Central Bureau who had escaped the Tower with him, and there were also those in the Sea of Time, who were still seeking the end of days.

"There's Hou Yi as well." Yvlke smiled as he put on his monocle.

"First of all, I'll need to wait and see how things develop. Ohyohyo." Yvlke slightly opened his palm, which he had been clenching tightly in a fist. He held the two Soulstones, 'Caritas (charity)' and 'Industria (diligence)', which had been Zeus' jewel eyes just moments ago.

Yvlke threw the two Soulstones into his mouth, swallowed them, and disappeared with a grin. And in the place where he was, the darkness continued to crumble.

***

"Seriously, where is she…? I hope nothing bad has happened to her." Ananta wandered and paced nervously in the living room while biting her nails. After Sesha entered the unclosing gate and the subsequent explosion occurred, Ananta could not help but be impatient.

If it was solely up to her, Ananta would have equipped herself and jumped into the unclosing gate. However, she was not able to do that at the moment.

"…they don't seem to be thinking of leaving anytime soon." Ananta slightly opened the curtains and looked out the window before frowning. Many reporters were gathered at the entrance of her home. They were making quite a commotion.

The news of the disappearance of the international idol, Sesha, caused all these reporters to gather at the front of her house. They were like hyenas who wanted to prey on any news they could get their hands on.

'Should I just blow them away?' Ananta had that thought and urge for a brief moment. She had also gone through something similar in the Tower long ago. She recounted the days when she had to fight countless times to protect Sesha from the relentless pursuit of the witches.

Of course, it was true that life here on Earth was much more peaceful than it was back then, but Ananta could not help but get angry when she saw such hyenas and their reckless acts while using the 'law' as a shield. Still, Anatta suppressed her rising anger, closed the curtains, and sighed.

After the breaking news of the gate's surge was delivered, the world seemed to be moving at a rapid pace. After the gate break, the usual monster wave did not occur, only an explosion big enough to cover the entire sky.

And now, as the explosions and aftershocks subsided, rescue and exploration operations were being carried out. These operations uncovered a surprising result. Most of the initial attack and collecting team members had survived. However, Ananta did not know what was actually happening since an accurate progress report had not been made public yet.

It seemed that the surviving members, those in the attack and gathering teams, were themselves a bit perplexed as to how they were able to survive such an event. However, the word coming out from the current operations was that 'most' of the initial attack and gathering team members had survived. However, there were still two that had yet to be found. One was a low-ranking, no-name member of the gathering team. The other was Sesha, who was the host of the event.

Ananta, who awaited news about Sesha, felt like her stomach was constantly turning over. However, it wasn't really because of the reporters outside that Ananta wasn't making a move.

After all, Ananta was not the type of person who cared much about what the people around her thought. Moreover, if they disturbed her, she was willing to eliminate them without a second thought. Still, she refrained from doing anything because she trusted her daughter.

Sesha had needed a lot of guidance and support when she was young, but now that she was all grown up, she was smart enough to take care of herself. Although Sesha was still a young high school girl in need of care in the eyes of others, Ananta knew that Sesha was very different from her peers. But there were still times when Ananta regretted the fact that her tiny little girl had already grown up and no longer relied on her mother's helping hand.

Ananta knew that it was natural for Sesha to leave her parents and go out into the world as an individual, but…there was one person who she still brooded over. She muttered, "Cha Jeong-woo…you bastard. Just you wait. I dare you to show yourself. I'm going to crack your back."

Even though Ananta's daughter was in danger, Sesha's father, Jeong-woo, was nowhere to be found. Ananta was furious that Cha Jeong-woo had been gone for the past few years without any contact or news. Of course, Ananta was also earnestly hoping that nothing was wrong with Jeong-woo.

At that moment…

"Mom!" Ananta was awakened by a voice coming from outside the house. It was her daughter's voice.

The reporters who heard the voice also became excited.

"It's Cha So-yeong!"

"Huh, where?"

"Above!"

"Oh! She's coming down from the sky? Did she have skills like that?"

"What are you doing?! Turn the camera around!"

"By the way, who's that man holding Miss Cha So-yeong? That's a new face, no?"

"I think it's the collector that went missing with Cha So-yeong!"

"But he's said to be an F-class player…"

"Shut up and just turn on the camera!"

Ananta opened the window, which had been shut tightly to prevent the reporters outside from taking any pictures. "Sesh…!" Ananta, who was about to cry out to her daughter, froze abruptly. At first, she thought that her husband had returned.

However, Ananta soon realized that the man who had the same appearance as her husband possessed a completely different atmosphere and aura. Furthermore, when she saw the black and red wings on his back… Tears welled up in Ananta's eyes.

"Mom! Guess who I brought home?" Sesha jumped out of Yeon-woo's arms and placed herself by the window. The shadow that had appeared behind Sesha's bright smile after coming to Earth was gone.

Yeon-woo cautiously followed Sesha and entered the house. He hesitated for a moment, as he was entering an unfamiliar house. He was also wondering if it was okay to enter through the window instead of the front door. He immediately greeted Ananta with a small smile. "Long time no see."

"Welcome, brother-in-law. We've been waiting for you."

***

'So, this is the house where Sesha and Jeong-woo live, huh?' Yeon-woo glanced around the living room and front yard with a surprised expression.

The house was located in the middle of Seocho-Gu, Seoul. It was a four-story detached house with a large front yard. Considering that his family and living environment were not good when he lived in Korea, Yeon-woo was slightly taken aback by the large, centrally located house.

But in a way, this was to be expected. No matter how urgently they escaped the Tower, the wealth they accumulated while in the Tower was considerable. It was clear that many of the things they brought back would have considerable value on Earth. This was even more so after the establishment of the Tower-like system on Earth.

'I never thought Earth would have changed like this.'

Soon, Ananta and Sesha filled Yeon-woo in on what had happened during the past ten years after escaping from the crumbling Tower.

Settling on Earth would not have been easy, but it was accomplished relatively easily due to the period of chaos that came after the occurrence of various catastrophes due to the day of the beginning.

Yeon-woo also heard of Sesha's unrelenting efforts to find Yeon-woo through her constant charity work.

"Hehehe." When Yeon-woo was told about Sesha's efforts, Sesha chuckled awkwardly. She felt somewhat embarrassed listening to her past actions.

Ananta patted Sesha's hair as if she found Sesha's reaction cute, then smiled softly. Ananta then asked, "How does it feel to smell the air of your hometown for the first time in a while?"

"My hometown…" Yeon-woo muttered a little while lowering his cup of coffee. A bitter smile formed on his face. It was something Yeon-woo had never really put much thought into.

Thanks to Ananta's question, Yeon-woo fell into thought. His hometown was not a concept Yeon-woo derived any fondness from. No, it was a place that brought him many bad memories. It was where his father went missing, his mother was lost, and where his brother disappeared.

Yeon-woo had lived in a state of constant frustration and despair, and the last time he came back to Korea, when he returned briefly from Africa, he had to take care of his brother's unexpected death. Therefore, Yeon-woo had no intention of returning to his hometown again.

Since his hometown had only given him pain, Yeon-woo wanted to bury that pain forever in the deepest corner of his heart. But now, somehow and for whatever reason, he has returned.

Yeon-woo answered the question posed by Ananta, "…I don't know."

Yeon-woo just gave a vague answer, since it simply did not matter for him. Was it that his pain had gone away? Or had his senses been dulled? Or was it that the mental weight that his hometown gave him was no longer so heavy? Maybe it was right to say that being home just did not mean much to him anymore.

Yeon-woo had survived and lived in the darkness for so long. And the numerous 'dreams' that he experienced had made him live many lives other than his own. This was why Yeon-woo could not really identify with the 'Yeon-woo' of old anymore.

In terms of time, the lives that Yeon-woo had experienced would be comparable to those existences that represented the Day. Eons. Perhaps that was the aptest word. Therefore, it could be said that Yeon-woo became as dull-witted as the Black King.

In other words, the world called Earth was just one part of a countless number of 'dreams'. It was simply the place where he originated. His hometown meant nothing else.

But despite this, there was one reason why he stuck to the name Yeon-woo. 'Because I still have some relationships that remain here.'

At the very least, Yeon-woo felt determined to sort out all his ties that remained on Earth, especially all the bad ties from the past. The law of causality remaining in various parts of the world still bound Yeon-woo tightly, which eventually led him back to this place. Furthermore…

'There are things that must be done.'

Dreams were bound to come to an end someday. Although this current 'dream' was postponed, Yeon-woo knew how much longer it would last. In other words, he already knew the last chapter of the revelations. Yeon-woo knew that he was in the middle of that last chapter of the revelations.

However, Yeon-woo wanted to write his own story on the blank pages in the process of running towards the end of the last chapter.

Ananta did not understand Yeon-woo's true intentions, so she just smiled quietly thinking that Yeon-woo must be feeling bewildered, having returned to his hometown after a long absence.

Yeon-woo understood what Ananta was thinking at first glance, but he pretended not to know and asked about the other developments. "About the 'ark'…"

"Yes?"

"May I ask what it was?"

"Um… Actually, we don't know much about it either. When Agares was guiding us, he only mentioned that it was an arrangement left by the elder gods. What we saw was just a simple 'ship'."

'Ship?' Yeon-woo felt like something was ringing in his ears. He felt something familiar about Ananta's description of the ark. "Were there any other singularities?"

"It was a little unusual that the leader of By the Table and Anastasia were present…"

Yeon-woo's eyes widened for a moment.

"We were surprised at first. Once we left the territories outside the Tower, I never thought that I would come to your hometown. But Anastasia said that it was a very normal and obvious arrangement."

In an instant, Yeon-woo's head spun busily. "Did she say that the ark is the legacy of Quirinale?"

This time, Ananta looked at Yeon-woo with surprised eyes. "How did you know that? Yes, she did say…"

Yeon-woo did not hear Ananta's continued explanation. One thought continued to run through his mind. Ark… It was his mother's legacy.