Fallen Lightbringers' Return

Do Jiwoon watched his older soul dissipate. Even though he could not communicate with it, he felt the deep emotional struggle it went through as he saw Lee Dojin. He, in this lifetime, never had someone whom he could place his trust in, thus the glimmer within the soul's eyes was an unknown one for him.

Still, he wished to know, what had these two people gone through to leave behind such complex expressions? He had seen snippets of the parallel him, but nothing noteworthy enough to understand.

At last, there was only a wisp left, until completely burning out, like an old candle in the wind. Where he disappeared to, no one truly knew.

"Who are you?" Jiwoon asked Lee Dojin. He wanted to know the answer so much, it hurt his very being.

"I.. . I'm Lee Dojin," he answered. "I used to be a lot of things. But now, I suppose now, I'm just a nobody."

"Tsk. Never mind then." He stood up, holding his arm, and stumbled away. With every step he took, he fell down, not used to the change in his weight. "I don't know," he gasped heavily, blood seeping out his nose, "I don't know what your relationship with the former me was, but I'm different. He stretched his hand out, reaching for a door. "The me from the other universe was a loser! He accomplished nothing! I cannot allow myself to end like this."

"So you do have some drive after all." Lee Dojin leisurely followed him. The two of them stepped into another room, one that led them up.

Ah Yeurong watched them leave. She looked at Oh sanbaek and said, "Let's follow them."

Oh Sanbaeks eyes widened. "Are you crazy? Why would I do that?" He looked at the door these monsters just walked through. To him, that place looked like the gates to hell.

"Fine, suit yourself, do you want to stay here on your own then?"

"Wait, wait, don't be like that," he quickly interjected. "Fine, I'll follow you. Let's, uh, let's walk slowly though."

Do Jiwoon climbed up the stairs, supporting himself on the railings, he continued rambling on. "This will not be my end. My goal stands before me." Sweat dripped down his chin. "I will make this world bow down to me. They will realize their mistake." The stairs continued on, high up in the air. "The hope of this world will be shattered in my own hands!"

He opened another door. A breeze blew into his face, almost shoving him down. His eyes were met with the vast sky. The moon shone upon him, with a few stars sprinkled in the distance, glimmering like pearls. Huge clouds parted and formed, constantly in motion, painting a new scenery every second. His irises shook. Now that he thought about it, whenever he was up the roof, he only looked at the humans below. The night looked so enchanting from here.

"Pathetic," Lee Dojin said. He sat on a bench and had been waiting for Jiwoon to arrive. "You are a mockery of everything the old Do Jiwoon stood for." He stood up, brushing off the dust on his pants. "Now, the old Jiwoon was a piece of shit too, but at least he found something worth living for. You..." He paused. "Well, just look at you."

Do Jiwoon observed his body. Not even a dry laugh escaped him. He bit his lips then threw out a single soul.

Lee Dojin crushed the smoke in his hands. "You exist just to destroy the wishes of others. Instead of guiding them to hope, you only show despair." He punched Do Jiwoons face. "What point is there in your existence?"

"Spare me the pep talk. And don't talk like you know me," Do Jiwoon said. veins appeared on his neck. "I have been alone all this life. For what purpose do I live? To end? I have nothing. No one to bring me love or hope—only an empty heart." He laughed. "I do not regret my choices."

Lee Dojin kicked his face. "Say, do you really think I won't kill you?" He squatted down. "I did it once, I have no qualms in doing so again."

"Then do it."

Dojin paused."No, not yet." A bird landed next to him. "Why, you ask? Because, unlike you, I am a dreamer." His thoughts swirled. He imagined Baek Ji-ah. "I like to imagine that there's still a way to a better future." He, too, faced the sky. "The world has yet to begin. I wish to see where my decisions lead me. I want to see if you can change."

Do Jiwoon had an S-Rank ability. One that only he could possess. Thus—just like the Light Affinity went to Ji-ah—upon his death, it may jump to someone else, just as twisted as him. But this time, Lee Dojin may not be able to control that person.

"Hahahaha, you are a bigger fool than I imagined. I'm gonna puke." Do Jiwoon laughed hysterically. His cries echoed through the warehouse. "How naiive. Be more realistic, will you? You are going to spare me? Are you nuts?"

"Make no mistake," he cut him off, putting a finger against his lips. "Usually, in situations like that, the protagonist has some binding contract, either through magic, an artifact, or the system, and as a consequence, will dole out punishments upon a breach. I read it in these webnovels." He shrugged his shoulders. "But I have nothing like that. At least not now. No, you get one chance. if you ever become a liability for humanity, I will come for you. You won't be able to hide or run. So you better straighten up—"

A long shadow cast over Dojin's face, leaving only his eyes visible. As he grinned, his sharp canines surfaced on his mouth. Appearance-wise, he looked like the devil that had crawled out of hell. Lee Dojin's voice turned low.

"—or I will be your consequence."

A shudder ran down Do Jiwoon's spine. He understood. A lump lodged itself in his throat. So that was what true fear looked like.

"Speaking of liabilities." He looked at Oh Sanbaek. "You. I've given you a lot of chances already, don't you think?"

Sanbaeks face immediately turned pale. With a shaking voice, "Dojin, Dojin, brother, are you serious?" Sweat dripped off his forehead. "You can't be, right? We've known each other for so long. How can you do this to me?" He slowly stepped back. "We can work this out, right? Right?"

Lee Dojin chuckled, while approaching him. Oh Sanbaek kept backing off, until his butt hit the railing. "I wonder, back then, did the old Lee Dojin feel just like you now?"

Oh Sanbaek felt the strong wind hugging him. As he looked down the railing, he saw how far away the ground was. He stretched his arms out. "You have to understand, it's because of my family, you know? All the pressure, living up to my father, and my mother, trying to please him, always abusing me. I had it hard too, you kn—"

Lee Dojin grabbed his neck. He tilted his head. "Well, we all have our stories, don't we?"

Oh Sanbaek looked into Dojin's eyes. And through his instincts, honed throughout the years, a feeling welled up inside him. Unease. He knew that feeling too well. It was as if all of his being told him to run. Only, this time, there was no escape.

He screamed loudly, scratching at Lee Dojin's hand, kicking out until free.

He watched Dojin, then the railing. "Fine," he laughed, though tears fell down his eyes. "You win. I give up." He closed his eyes. His lips were pale white. "I wanted to deny it, to go against it. I prided myself in my information gathering, yet, no intel could suppress my limiting beliefs." He turned to Lee Dojin, stepping on the railing. "We were the same. So I couldn't believe it." He let himself fall. He saw the sky. Indeed, it was a beautiful night. "I couldn't believe, that maybe, I too, could change like you did."

Lee Dojin watched him plummet down the ground. Stifled laughter wanted to escape. "What irony," he muttered. And such was the end of Oh Sanbaek, the coward.

...

"Kim Jyejin looked so pressed when she walked away," Ji-ah said into her phone. "So, are you all out of the warehouse?"

She currently stood atop the terrace of a high building. It looked like a shopping mall. Though she wasn't sure, as she rushed to the top as fast as she could, not caring the slightest about who she may offend. Arriving there, she had to do quite a lot of sneaking. But it was worth the view.

Lee Dojin replied, "Yes, we are." From his side, one could hear Kim Heeson talking about something. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Her white dress fluttered in the wind. Through the handmade tear, her leg shone through. It was a bit cold today. "Well, Jyejin had that dark face around her. She said she needed to talk with her uncle and went away. Something about the warehouse must have made her real upset. I don't know, but she didn't seem like a person to make an expression like that." She lifted her hands, forming a hammer. "I already consider you two my students. And I can't have my students be unhappy right?"

...

The various gangs arrived only later. The men dressed in black, Kim Taewon and his group, and other people, all rough-looking, eyed that warehouse with different motives. They held various weapons, ready to charge out.

"Alright, we can't let the Hana gang get all the loot, okay?"

"It's gonna get bloody, so buckle up guys."

"Let me get a piece of Do Jiwoon!"

"This will mark the end of the Sivilla group."

Various voices resounded around the area, though they'd be silenced soon.

As they were all chattering, a bright cloud appeared above the warehouse, catching their attention. And what came next, they could not have even dreamed of. Beams of light shot down, showering the warehouse with a destructive heat, until, in the end, all that was left was a charred ground.

The men stood there agape, unsure of what to do. But one thing remained certain. The warehouse was gone.

...

Meanwhile, as the various groups wondered if they were hallucinating, Lee Dojin arrived at his house.

"I'm home," he said. "Just as I promised."

His mother greeted him, sitting at the table. "Welcome back." She had a warm smile, much unlike her usual self.