* * *
Thud.
“Ugh!”
As Raon plummeted downward, something grabbed hold of his body.
His eyes flew open in shock.
Someone’s arm was wrapped tightly around his waist.
Could it be Rahyeon?
There was no way Rahyeon, who hated him, would help… but given the position, it was likely him.
Probably just as Rahyeon always said—he helped in a way no one would notice to avoid scandal.
Raon sighed, imagining how much Rahyeon would boast about this later.
He straightened his body, resigned.
“Thanks for the help…”
Even if he didn’t want to, he had to show some gratitude for not letting him fall.
But when he turned around, the person he saw was entirely unexpected.
Raon froze, blinking in disbelief.
“You… Why are you here…?”
He frowned, seeing Dojin’s arm still around his waist.
Why the hell was Dojin here?
Confused, Raon looked up at him.
“Guide me.”
“What?”
Raon doubted his ears.
Dojin had uttered the exact same words Raon had once heard, not missing a single syllable.
“You wanted to do it. So do it now.”
“What the hell…”
That chilling sensation from the Irregular Gate wrapped around Raon again.
He twisted his body, shouting:
“Ugh, get lost!”
“Han Raon.”
“I said get lost!”
Dojin’s face kept shifting.
Sometimes it was Myunghoon, then back to Dojin, then to his brothers’ faces.
Unable to bear it anymore, Raon shut his eyes tightly.
This had to be the climax of the mental attack.
It would almost be easier to go insane, like the Gate intended.
But Raon’s S-rank mental strength wouldn’t allow even that—making it worse.
“Damn it…”
Raon clenched his teeth, fighting the nausea rising in his throat.
He struggled to push the illusion away, but the more he resisted, the more the hallucination constricted him.
‘If I injure myself—cause physical pain…’
When he had first possessed Han Raon’s body, he remembered something from the mandatory Center classes.
They taught that guides, being basically ordinary humans, could only break free from mental attacks through physical shock in the illusion.
The suggestion was to jump from a height or cut yourself with something sharp.
Raon searched his surroundings for anything to hurt himself with.
“Ugh…”
But whatever was gripping him was too strong; he couldn’t move.
That left him only one option—to harm himself.
Raon tensed his jaw, preparing to bite his tongue.
“Hyung!”
“……!”
Suddenly, a voice pierced his ears.
Raon’s eyes shot open in shock.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
“Yoon Siwoo…?”
The person before him had transformed into Siwoo without him noticing.
But Raon, suspicious, narrowed his eyes.
“Are you… really Siwoo?”
“Yes. It’s me.”
“Ha…”
Unlike the others, Siwoo’s touch carried undeniable warmth.
Only then did Raon truly believe it was him, breathing a sigh of relief.
“That was close. If you had hurt yourself to escape the illusion, the injuries would’ve shown on your real body too—it would’ve been dangerous.”
“Injuries from an illusion show on my real body?”
“Yeah. Only your mind is trapped here. But if you believe you’ve been hurt, your real body reacts too.”
“What the…”
It contradicted everything he’d learned at the Center.
But given Siwoo’s experience entering countless Gates with mental attacks, he likely knew better.
And that meant this Gate’s mental assault wasn’t ordinary.
Without Taegeon—the S-rank esper specializing in mental abilities—it wouldn’t be easy to escape, just like before his regression.
“So… what do we do now? We’re still stuck in the illusion, right?”
“Yeah, seems like it.”
“Hmph.”
Raon glanced around.
Moments ago, he’d been in a lavish party hall, but now they were somewhere entirely different.
His brow furrowed at the barren, desolate wasteland stretching before them.
“Where… are we?”
“No idea.”
Raon tilted his head in confusion at the unfamiliar scene.
The illusion they’d seen just moments ago had been crafted from their own memories, so this place had to be built from either his or Siwoo’s memories as well.
But Raon didn’t recognize this place at all.
Judging by Siwoo’s expression, he didn’t seem to know where they were either.
“Let’s find a way out of here first.”
“Okay.”
With no other choice, they cautiously looked around as they walked forward.
Just like Siwoo had found him while wandering through the illusion, maybe they could find something here that would let them both escape.
“Hm?”
But as they moved a little farther, a building appeared in the distance.
It stood alone in the middle of a vast, empty field.
A house… in a place like this?
Raon narrowed his eyes, his suspicion rising.
Still, they had no choice but to check it out.
As Raon was about to take another step, he noticed that Siwoo wasn’t following him.
“Siwoo?”
“Ah…”
“You’re not coming? Let’s take a look inside.”
“Well…”
“…?”
Siwoo was clearly hesitating.
Raon looked at him curiously.
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Siwoo, who had been pressing his lips tightly together, finally spoke as if making up his mind and walked ahead.
Raon, still puzzled, followed behind him.
“A building in the middle of nowhere…”
“…”
“Strange, right?”
Raon casually threw out words to break the awkward silence, but Siwoo didn’t respond.
The atmosphere felt heavier, and Raon awkwardly followed Siwoo inside the building — and immediately clamped his mouth shut, just like Siwoo.
The place had looked eerie from afar, but inside, it was even worse.
The structure looked like it could collapse at any moment from age and decay, but what disturbed Raon more was how barren it was, even though people seemed to live here.
There wasn’t a single proper piece of furniture, only worn, grimy dishes scattered across the floor, which made Raon frown.
“Siwoo, over here…”
“…”
“Siwoo?”
Suddenly, Siwoo, who had been standing still, began walking toward something.
Startled, Raon quickly followed him.
Clack.
When the door opened, a cramped room filled with children came into view.
The space was too small for so many kids to be crammed in together.
But what startled Raon most was the fact that there were children here at all.
“Kids?”
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the environment wasn’t good for their mental health, yet most of the children seemed to wear bright expressions.
Raon’s eyes softened with concern as he looked over each child.
“This is an orphanage.”
“An orphanage?”
“Yes.”
Raon was even more shocked by Siwoo’s explanation.
They were raising kids in a place like this?
Were they out of their minds?
“Wait, but…”
How did Siwoo know this?
Raon’s gaze quivered as he looked at Siwoo.
The calm, almost cold expression on Siwoo’s face made it finally click — this was his past.
‘This is the orphanage Siwoo lived in…’
All Raon knew about Siwoo’s childhood came from a few documents.
The real Han Raon had never cared enough to ask, and Raon himself had never brought up those difficult days at the orphanage either.
He only knew the bare minimum — what everyone else knew.
Siwoo had been abandoned at an orphanage as soon as he was born and lived there until he was eight.
Back then, a gate had opened nearby.
Siwoo had nearly died in the incident but survived by awakening as an Esper.
That was all Raon really knew.
“Hyung, hyung, teach me this.”
“…!”
A dark-skinned little boy sitting nearby suddenly spoke to the child beside him.
Raon, who had casually looked down, froze in shock.
“I don’t really know either.”
“Don’t lie, hyung. You learned it at school.”
The boy with a missing front tooth mumbled with a lisp, and the other boy responded coldly.
His face struck Raon as oddly familiar.
‘No way… Siwoo?’
Pale, almost ghostly skin, neat brows, a sharp nose, and thin lips.
His tidy features and jet-black hair looked so much like the Siwoo Raon knew now.
Raon unconsciously glanced back and forth between the boy and the present-day Siwoo.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I… I see. But it looks like the kids can’t see us.”
“Yeah.”
Siwoo’s usual emotionless expression made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Raon stole glances at him while keeping an eye on the children.
“They didn’t teach me that at school.”
“Come on, tell me. Please?”
The younger boy clung to little Siwoo’s arm, whining.
Though they weren’t too different in size, the younger one’s behavior made him seem much smaller.
If Siwoo had just started school, he’d be about eight years old here.
And if Siwoo was eight back then…
“…!”
Raon’s eyes widened in realization.
When Siwoo was eight, a gate had opened nearby.
Twelve years ago, during that chaotic time, gates were popping up everywhere, and monitoring stations hadn’t been properly established yet, making management a mess.
If a gate opened nearby now, the Espers wouldn’t be able to respond quickly, and the damage would be catastrophic.
This fragile, old building would be reduced to ashes in seconds.
“Don’t tell me… it’s today?”
“Yeah.”
“Today, this place…”
Before Raon could finish his sentence, Siwoo silently nodded.
And even before Raon could process it fully, the distant sound of an explosion echoed through the air.
* * *
