Fallen Lightbringers' Return

"Excuse me, we are closing soon," the waitress said with an apologetic smile. She glanced out the window, seeing it was already night.

Hassan looked at his watch. "I see, time really passes fast when having fun." He nodded. "We should continue talking somewhere else."

Ji-ah and Dojin nodded. They took their respective jackets and put them on. Lee Dojin had already paid, and Ji-ah didn't order anything, seeing as she was here only for a short time. The three of them left, with the bodyguards following right behind them. It was a queer sight, but the people in question were not bothered by it.

"So, what exactly do you mean by ending the world," Hassan asked him.

Dojin placed his hands behind his head. "Oh, you are still on to that? You didn't ask so I thought you understood."

"Of course not! I just didn't ask more since there were too many people around." He turned around, looking at his guards. "You know, just because they protect me doesn't mean they are on my side." He paused. "They may not understand me now, but if they record the stuff, we are toast."

"I see, I see." Dojin nodded with understanding.

Ji-ahs twirled her thumbs. Her eyes glimmered, though she hadn't said anything. Hassan felt weirded out by that lady's staring, but he too stayed silent. Who was that lady in the first place? She didn't seem like the warrior type. Then again, the Inheritor of the Universe was a lot younger than he imagined too.

"It is fine," Hassan said. "I have a plan."

"Will you share?"

He glanced back. The guards nodded at him. "Well, those guys are still listening, are they?" He arrived at his car. Hassan watched them enter one by one, until the last guard remained, holding the door open for them.

Lee Dojin rubbed his neck. "If you have a plan, it better start now."

"What a coincidence. It does." He smiled. And, out of the blue, shoved the guard down, who stumbled due to the unexpected attack. "Run!" He shouted, bolting.

Lee Dojin and Baek Ji-ah watched it unfold, baffled. "Is this guy serious," he muttered.

Hassan yelled loudly. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!"

"Hassan!" The guard pushed himself up, yelling something in a foreign language Lee Dojin did not understand. His face was furious. The car doors opened, and one person after another walked out, looking like a clown show.

Ji-ah stepped back, slowly, then a lot faster. "I think we should bolt first."

"Agreed." Lee Dojin retreated, running backward until he was far enough where he could turn his back on them. He saw Hassan was only a small dot now. How was a guy this large so fast? Clearly, he had done some practicing. To the left was Ji-ah, grabbing her dress and running like a sprinter. Not very ladylike. Then again, what was ladylike in the first place?

He shook his head, scattering the useless thoughts. When he was fast enough and obscured by a corner, Lee Dojin used his ability to phase away.

A few minutes later, with the pesky guards gone, the three found themselves in an empty park, though only two of them were breathing heavily.

"You know," Ji-ah said, while gasping, "Your skill is really unfair. I can't believe you left me like that." She breathed out, looking into the sky, her chest rising rapidly.

Hassan had his hands on his knees. "What skill," he asked. "Oh, you mean the Affinity." He didn't harp on.

Lee Dojin let those two rest. "It's still hard you know? Using it the right way. You have to be very precise with it."

"You don't seem like a precise person."

"Enough," Hassan interrupted. "Tell me, what do you mean by ending the world? I thought you liked humanity? Why would you destroy it? Will you be the one to start the apocalypse?" He gave him a glare, that was somewhat malicious but more timid.

"Rest assured, I hold no such intentions." Lee Dojin lifted his hand, clearing the misunderstanding. "The one to end the world is what humanity will soon refer to as the shadows. In fact, it's gonna happen in less than 24 hours. We have no control over that."

"I see." Hassan nodded gravely. "It's good to know you aren't a villain, though I still don't understand."

"Well, instead of waiting for the First Advent to descend, we will confront it head-on, ringing in the worlds' end, but in our own terms." He shrugged his shoulders. "See, instead of being surprised by an unexpected end, it's much better to make our own."

Hassan held his chin. "I get it, but I somewhat don't."

Ji-ah watched him by the side. At last, she couldn't hold her tongue anymore and had to ask, "Sorry, Sir, no, Your Highness, may I get an autograph?"

Hassan tilted his head. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." She bowed. "I'm Baek Ji-ah. A teacher at an unimportant school. Currently, that guy is my student, and he was the one to awaken my Affinity." Her eyes glimmered. "But no need to introduce yourself. I know all about you. Hassan, 23 years old, favorite fruit oranges and blood type O- right? Though I didn't know you would have an affinity too."

".. ." Hassan was at a loss for words. He glanced at Lee Dojin, asking for help, but the latter only shook his head. Ji-ah was a history buff, alright. Meeting someone from a royal linage was bound to work her up. "Please do not call me Highness. It feels very cold."

"Let's go, we have a place to be," Dojin said, pulling them along.

Hassan followed right behind. He still had questions left. "But what are we doing? Like, how are we going to end the world? You are being very abstruse."

Ji-ah patted him on his shoulder. "You'll get used to it." She nodded in understanding.

"Uh, yes, right," he replied awkwardly. That lady was weird. He noted it was best to ignore her.

"Alright guys, no goofing around." Lee Dojin entered the subway station. "I will warn you guys beforehand, this will be incredibly dangerous," he said in a serious tone. "If you are not up for it, I understand."

Hassan straightened up. It was strange how someone so young held such a large commandeering aura. "But I don't understand. Though I am thankful for you helping me, I don't get why you'd choose me. There are many people stronger and more trustworthy than me."

The three of them waited for the train. There weren't many people around during this time. "Well, I needed exactly three people. Or alone. But it doesn't work with two, and it would be sad to leave Ji-ah out, after everything we went through, so, why not?" A soothing mechanical voice announced the arrival of their ride. "But do not worry. I will not let you die. I lay my life on it." He smiled. "You can trust me. I'll try my best."

"Is that so." Hassan gulped. "Then, where are we going?"

"To the Lotte World Tower," Lee Dojin answered. "Or in other words, the highest point of South Korea."

...

"What abilities do you guys have," Lee Dojin asked them.

Currently, heavy winds were barraging them, as they stood on the rooftop of the fifth tallest building in the world. It was heavy work getting up there, evading guards, sneaking through floors, and breaking locks, but the night-view alone made it worth it. At this height, they couldn't even see the people anymore. Only innumerable lights of civilization glistened fiercely as if to compensate for the starless night.

Ji-ah felt her knees weak, looking down. "What did you ask? I can't hear you here."

"I asked you what skill you have. I know, but Hassan doesn't so let's get this sorted out first," he said, this time louder. "My skill is called Cosmic Steps, Rank B. It creates innumerable nodes in the area around me, allowing me to phase through them at will. No, it's not teleporting. Do not ask."

Hassan squinted his eyes. The wind hurt his eyes. "Are you sure you should tell me this? Putting aside my intentions, what if my brothers planted a bug on me?"

"We really don't have time for this, it's almost midnight," he yelled back. It really was loud here. "Tell your siblings to come fight me themselves if they really want to."

Hassan sighed. "My skill allows me to see the future. It's called String Retina. Whenever I want to find something, a line—almost like a string—appears for me to see, leading me to it, even if it is something abstract. The further it is, the greater strain on my eyesight." He paused. "Also, my Affinity is Sight."

Lee Dojin's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't ask for your Affinity."

"Take it as a gift of friendship. So what about the lady?"

"I can create light pillars of destruction." She brushed the hair out of her face. "Pretty simple, right?"

"Glad we had the talk," Dojin said. "So you all have done the Hidden Quest, right? There are quite a lot of hidden rules there, just as expected, and I think you found quite a lot too."

"Oh, I know these well," Hassan interjected, excited. "Quantity over quality. Never use it in the night. Do not invite other Players." He took a moment to think. "Ah, yes, and the shadows only rise as afar as your sight goes."

"Correct." Lee Dojin nodded. "Well, tonight, we are breaking all of these."

"Huh?"

Lee Dojin did not explain. He only grabbed the two of them by their hands. Then, activating his ability, he looked for the highest node. Was it about a kilometer? This must have been his reach. It shall do.

Using his one-time chance, he teleported all three of them up high into the sky.

"Holy shit, what the fuck!" Hassan's mouth slacked, and he turned pale. He suddenly felt himself free-floating, and looking down, his feet turned numb. "I'm falling! I'm falling!"

Ji-ah waved her hands like a bird, and she too screamed. "Dojin! What's wrong with you!" She saw herself among clouds. And it was incredibly cold. The feeling of exasperation was an understatement.

"This far out, I think we can see everything."

The three of them were high in the air, though it wouldn't be long until gravity pulled them back. Lee Dojin laughed loudly. His clothes fluttered in the wind, letting the breeze in. He looked at the sky. Up there, he only saw one lone star. he felt it. That was the important one—The Mirage. It was coming.

"You're crazy," Ji-ah shouted.

Hassan's eyes rolled back. "Mom, is that you," he muttered.

Lee Dojin paid heed to neither. "I wonder, how far does the darkness reach here? He took out the three vials he had gotten from one of his achievements: Flask of the Spaceworm. "Drink these, it allows you to survive without the need for breathing."

Hassan thought he was close to fainting, still, he took the flask and downed it. His eyes remained glued down. "That's good and all, but how are you planning on landing?"

He stared into the deep universe. The rest was full of darkness.. . or shadows. "I'm not." His laughter resounded throughout Seoul. He felt goosebumps running upon him. The excitement was riveting. "Guys, what do you say? Shall we kickstart the end?"

The Trailer wasn't a particularly complicated one. Putting the tricks and unwritten rules aside, the Quest was only about fighting the literal darkness. If one wished to interpret it, many ideas may pop up. But Lee Dojin didn't care for philosophy.

He only remembered the blood of his comrades on his hands. Even now, waking up, he saw his palms red. In his ear rang uncountable last words, scratching at his skull, wishing to break out. He remembered all of them. And he carried them on, silently, the heavy burden, without complaints.

"Though one sentence is currently drumming in my brain. A friend who also joined the trailer told me, [Never fight against the shadows at night..." Lee Dojin formed his hand into a gun, aiming high. His eyes had full sight of the world. "...unless you are Rank 1.]"

'Mirage, show me the world.'

That was the hidden chant to join the trailer. However, the chant for the Hidden Quest was another one. A stupid one, one that made Ji-ah laugh in derision. Still, every time, without fail, all Players recited it like clockwork to fight against the shadows in hopes of fortune. Now, Lee Dojin too would utter them again, though now, it was for disaster:

He opened his mouth. "Let there be light."

And thus began The First Advent.