Fallen Lightbringers' Return

"Huh?" Hassan looked around. He felt around his body. "We've.. . stopped falling."

"What?" Baek Ji-ah opened her eyes again. She took in the scenery. "No way, you're right!"

The two of them realized they were now afloat. Even though there was no floor to rest their feet on, they remained in the air. It was as if they were swimming. No, to be more exact, it was as if they stood in space.

Hassan's eyes shot wide open. He swung his arms around, feeling the weightlessness. "This is the strangest feeling."

Baek Ji-ah agreed, giving him a simple nod. She walked around, moving up and down, without feeling an ounce of resistance. If she had to describe it, she felt like the wind was carrying around This was better than any attraction in a theme park. "Wow, this is fun."

"Not to put a damper on the mood, but we are currently in an apocalypse here. Please focus."

Hassan kept his eyes on the city below him. He felt like a ruler overlooking his subject. "Even if you say that, there doesn't seem to be a lot of change." The man couldn't tell anything from this far away. At most, there was no light there, but that wasn't anything unusual at night. He certainly imagined a world catastrophe to look a lot more gigantic.

Lee Dojin dismissed him. "Moving on, I'm sending you guys something."

Out of the blue, a message popped up in front of Hassan and Ji-ah. The two of them stepped back in surprise. They both were used to The System already, though this was the first time it popped out without warning.

[The Inheritor of the Universe invites you to his party.

Special Quest: 1001 Nights (1/3)

Accept/Decline]

Hassan's brows furrowed. "What is this?"

"A party request. You know, just like in RPG games," Lee Dojin said, "A group of characters adventuring together, solving missions given by an NPC. You never played these before?"

"Of course I did," Ji-ah interjected, "I'm just unsure what this is all about."

Hassan agreed. "In the first place, I did not even know a function like that existed. No, there really was no indicator of such thing at all." He rubbed his chin, amazed. "I knew that there were many things The Mirage was hiding, but I couldn't have guessed this at all. How intriguing." He eyed Lee Dojin with suspicion. "Which really makes me wonder how you knew."

"Well, let's not sweat the small stuff, okay?" Lee Dojin walked forward, stretching his arms out. "It's simple really. Why do you think I tried so hard coming in 1st place? It wasn't because of some vanity thing, or that useless title. No, it's because rank 1 gets one special privilege. That is, to challenge the Hidden Quest at night." He grinned. Looking into the deep universe. This was what he had been working so hard for since the day he transmigrated. "Buckle up. I'm about to show you guys a whole new world."

"If this is a reference to the Alladin Movie, I'll have you know, the story is most likely based in Syri-" Hassan could not finish his sentence, as a cough interrupted him from speaking.

At the same time, Ji-ah started to have the same symptoms. She had coughed a lot in her life, but this one was different. Not like any illness she had before. She did not feel breathless. It was more as if her lungs were wishing to expand, breaking out her body.

"Oh, you two should really accept the party invite," he advised them. "To explain, you guys know, when it comes to the trailer, The Mirage doesn't really like outsiders. Any Player not associated with the activation of the Hidden Quest cannot come in contact with the shadows. They just slip right off, as if from different dimensions." He pointed at both of them. "Just like right now."

"Puhah, you should've told me earlier!" Hassan promptly accepted the invite. Soon enough, the aches inside him lessened. The same went for Ji-ah. "Wait, does that mean.. ."

"Your guess is correct." Lee Dojin nodded with a smile. He stared at his party status. 3/3. It was full. He closed the message and faced them again. "Through me activating the Hidden Quest so high up and with my line of sight unobscured, we have created the greatest shadow entity The Mirage has ever seen. As of where it is," He vaguely gestured at everything, "Well, we are currently inside of it."

...

The Phone fell out of Charlie White's hands. An angry voice screamed from the other side, but he had no mind to answer. He wanted to, yet, he found no way to explain what he was seeing.

"Well Sir," he gulped, looking at the monitor. "It would seem there is a gigantic light beam illuminating half of Seoul."

His superior shouted at him, "Charlie, what the hell are you talking about! Have you been drinking on the job again!" Their anger was evident. "I swear, this time, I will make sure to write you up for it!"

"I swear upon my life. I hadn't had a mind-altering substance since 3 months." Charlie picked up the phone and squinted his eyes. "No, if I had to explain, it was like all the shadows in the world had disappeared from that city, making it now as bright as daytime there."

"That makes no sense at all!" The man slammed his fist on something hard. "There's no such thing as shadows disappearing! The shadows are only the absence of light. It can't disappear if it hadn't existed in the first place. The light has to come from somewhere, so get to the bottom of it!" The noise of porcelain breaking echoed in Charlie's ears. "Unless the fundamental laws of the universe are switched, whatever you are saying is beyond logic."

"Sir, with all due respect, you have not fought in the Hidden Quest like I did." He straightened his back. His voice grew serious. "If there is one thing able to destroy common sense, it is The Mirage." That statement shut his superior up. Even if they wanted to say something, Charlie was undeniably right. "Wait, I see something!" He suddenly leaned into his monitor. "Attention! There's some sort of dark cloud floating in the sky!"

...

"This is bogus. Complete bogus." The old man's whole body shook, taking in the information his servant has given him. "You are sure this is correct?"

"Your Holiness, I would never dare lie to you." She bowed her head down. Though ever so slightly, she snuck a quick glance, then blushed.

The old man bit the nail of his thumb. "Who could it be? He's ruining everything." His mind rumbled, thinking about the rank list. Then, a name popped up in his head. "Inheritor of the Universe. It has to be him!"

So that person resided in Korea. He grit his teeth. He knew it, he had to get rid of him. In this world, no one was allowed to stand holier than him.

...

The former rank 1, the Bodhisattva looked up the sky and whistled. "Would you look at that? Crazy. So the Inheritor of the Universe is currently residing in Asia? Lucky me." Though he did not get any news, he could still see the light beam from afar and was able to piece the information together.

In the first place, Lee Dojin had learned about The 1001 Nights Quest through him. In the past life, that man was the only one who had completed it, and all through sheer coincidence.

After reaching rank 1, the man had been bored out his mind, and just to kill some time, he decided to fight the shadows at night.. . because why not? It was in this world too where he had done the same, though looking at the gigantic shadow hovering in the sky, his achievements seemed benign.

"Maybe I should pay them a visit?" He cupped his hand over his eyes. That size was incredible. "Well, that is if they are alive after this."

A shiver ran down his spine. "Incredible," was all he could say. To think there was a greater lunatic than him. The world really was vast. How fun.

...

In Saudi Arabia, a middle-aged man was rubbing his temple. He was tan, just like Hassan, and had short curly hair. His wrinkles gave away his years and the glimmer in his eyes his experience. Only from his looks alone, he appeared to be a wise and learned man. Yet, nothing could have prepared him for this news.

"Your Majesty," the attendant said coyly, "Based on the analysis of the timing and place, it is very likely that your son, Hassan, has something to do with this."

The man sighed. "What am I going to do with that troublemaker."

Being the ruler of a country was hard work.

...

Currently, the whole of Seoul, no South Korea, was in bedazzled confusion.

Kim Heeson laid in his bed, looking at his phone when suddenly a bright light shone through his window. He squinted his eyes and instinctively cursed at his sister for coming home late, until he realized the light came from the outside.

"Who the fuck is playing with a flashlight?" He opened the door and prepared to scream, though he was soon shocked mute.

Not just him, but almost everyone else still awake came out their doors, faces full of confusion. Couples, hugging each other, kids gingerly walking out, men who came home from work, and women without make-up, ready for bed, all looking outside to see what the commotion was about; Some still had their pajamas on. Though they weren't prepared for what they saw.

Kim Heesons phone fell out of his hands. He looked at the clock just to be sure. It was midnight. No doubt about it. Yet.. . why was the outside as bright as day?

"You've got to be kidding me." As his words left his mouth, something paranormal happened to the room. Suddenly, the darkness within started wriggling, as if alive, and it slid out his house, leaving the place bright even without any lamps on.

Kim Heeson fell to the ground and watched the surreal black cloud fly out of his window, up into the sky, where a giant shadowy fog obscured the whole city, as if someone had dropped fresh ink. Glancing through the streets, he saw innumerable more black clouds escape through opened doors and windows, rising up into the void, like bubbles to the surface.

His hand shook, utterly afraid. "What the hell is going on here?"

...

"When it comes to the end of the world, it has to be this grand." Lee Dojin overlooked everything happening from within the shadows. A grin, almost fiendish formed on his face, as he watched the shadow grow larger and larger. He waited until Seoul had no more shadows left and was now clad in enhaloing light as if a city from heaven.

Ji-ah and Hassan readied themselves. Now, one final time, they had come to complete the Hidden Quest.