Chapter 89: The Three Sisters of the Snowy Mountain

For two days since then, the world had experienced day and night under an eclipse. Civilians were gripped by anxiety and apprehension.

Yet, the Gate that had appeared in the sky showed no particular signs of activity. Only the lingering image of a snowy mountain, resembling an inverted parallel world, remained.

“Dali, are you ready?”

*Peep!*

Dali, who had been meticulously packing something, immediately opened their mouth to reply. Han Dokyeom saw a cube puzzle, which he had bought for them, clutched in their tiny, fern-like hands.

He wondered if it was truly that precious, but then he understood their attachment. This cube puzzle was the very first thing Dali had ever truly owned.

Dali even slept with it in their hand. When they rose from their slumber for a midnight meal, they would carefully hide the cube puzzle in Dokyeom’s embrace, much like a puppy burying a bone in the grass, before leaving their spot.

“Let’s go. We need to leave now if we don’t want to be late.”

As Dokyeom stroked Dali’s head, who had scampered over to put on their shoes, a hand suddenly reached out from behind him, gripping his chin and lifting it. It was Agon.

“Hey, aren’t you going to put your shoes on quickly? How many times do I have to tell you that people won’t be there if we leave now?”

Agon’s expressionless face tilted, and a warm breath, light as down, brushed against Dokyeom’s seal before dissipating. It was a form of territorial marking that occurred occasionally, and by now, Dokyeom wondered if he should just accept it as a greeting.

Dokyeom sighed, grateful that Agon wasn’t biting him.

“…Dali, you shouldn’t learn things like that, alright?”

*Peep, peep…?*

“Yes, that’s a good child.”

After helping Dali, who had finished putting on their shoes, to stand, Dokyeom also found a pair of light sneakers to wear. As Agon also completed their preparations to leave, Beom Yeonhu’s gentle voice reached them from behind.

“Dokyeom, should I come with you, too?”

“No, it’s alright, Hyung. It’s not good to attract attention by having too many people. We’ll be back quickly, so please finish everything on the table, okay? If there’s anything left, I’ll really scold you.”

Beom Yeonhu simply smiled quietly. Dokyeom left the guest room, leaving Beom Yeonhu behind.

****

Exiting the hotel, they immediately boarded a pre-called taxi.

“To Seolleung Station, please.”

“That area is currently sealed off, so making a U-turn there would be difficult. Could I drop you off at a side street nearby instead?”

The driver, who seemed quite elderly but sprightly, asked with a tone full of suppressed exasperation. Dokyeom nodded in agreement, and the taxi quickly set off. The scenery outside the window was entirely shrouded in twilight.

At times, it transformed into a landscape of dusk permeated with the hues of sunset, while at others, it displayed a magnificent vista, like stars emerging in the pitch-black Arctic night.

This was a premonition.

The history of the ‘Three Sisters of the Snowy Mountain’ was currently preparing to awaken from a long slumber, a preparation period that would last precisely five days.

Immediately after this history concluded its genesis, a cold wave would strike Seoul, and a ‘door’ would open, allowing passage to conquer that place.

These were the premonitory afterimages Dokyeom had seen before the Red Gate appeared.

He wasn’t sure what connection his vision had to the accelerated timeline, but at present, he couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility of a link. The premonition had arrived precisely before the ‘Great Historical Reenactment’ was set to commence.

How should he interpret this circumstance?

Was it a simple foresight? Or a warning?

Whatever it was, he knew to his bones that such incidents could occur again at any time. However, if it always happened this way, a premonition would be of no help.

Unless it notified him at least a week, or even a month, in advance.

He wasn’t entirely clueless about why the future had changed. Originally, the Seolleung Station Chimera incident was supposed to result in numerous casualties in Korea, a process that would have forced the nation to bow its head in despair.

What better amusement could the Constellations ask for than that?

They must have been disappointed. Witnessing the Red Gate incident, which had averted the predicted catastrophe and been resolved, the Constellations must have expressed their displeasure. Why? Because it was cleared too easily, without a single casualty.

This was the detrimental outcome of that ease. It was also a ‘mockery’ sent by the Constellations who yearned to see Korea’s downfall.

And to some extent, this included Dokyeom’s fault. He had diluted their amusement, making it bland.

“I think this is where you should get off. Is this alright?”

After driving for a considerable time, they arrived at a side street a little distance from Seolleung Station. Dokyeom paid the fare and, taking Dali and Agon, disembarked. In the distance, he could faintly discern barricades sealed off with red tape.

“Both of you, follow quietly, okay?”

Dokyeom slipped into the side street, passing through deserted alleys, and quickly approached the Seolleung Station sinkhole. He could see hunters in combat gear, guarding the area, yawning and idling about.

“This is a cushy job. Just staying up all night like this, and money just flows in like pocket change.”

“I agree. Ah, when the Guild Master crashed, I thought we were screwed, but this is a welcome change.”

The hunters chuckled as they gazed at the eight-lane road, devoid of any vehicles. Dokyeom swiftly hid behind a parked road maintenance vehicle and approached the sinkhole. Then, as the hunters turned to face each other, he embraced Dali and clung to Agon’s neck.

*Thump!*

Agon’s muscles, visible beneath his clothes, tensed firmly. Then, his agile body pushed off the ground, leaping down into the sinkhole.

A sensation of falling, accompanied by the rush of wind, brushed past Dokyeom’s ears. Through it, the rapidly fading voices of the hunters overlapped.

“Did you hear something?”

“Must be an Agor popping out. Just leave it. It’ll just poke around the entrance and go back in anyway.”

“Ah, I wish I could just take it home and raise it. It seemed docile.”

Only when the receding voices became utterly inaudible did Agon firmly embrace Dokyeom’s back, securing him, and landed without causing any injury.

A damp, earthy smell permeated the air, mingling with a cold chill. Dokyeom blinked, looking around the pitch-black surroundings. As he clicked on the flashlight he had tucked away, visibility soon improved enough to discern nearby shapes.

“Dali, come down.”

When he gently placed Dali, who had been clinging to him, on the ground, Dali’s white eyes scanned the surroundings with a familiar air. It seemed as though they remembered this place. Their bright, wide eyes suddenly fixed on something located far in the distance.

*Peep!*

A peculiar gleam appeared in Dali’s shining eyes. At the end of their gaze, a colossal Gate glowed with a fiery red light.

A whitish figure was discernible in front of the Gate, which emitted light from a distance equivalent to an eight-lane road. Dokyeom took a step toward it. Dali followed, step by step.

After a moment, with the Gate directly before him, Dokyeom halted.

*…Peep, peep!*

Dali’s voice was deeply laden with emotion. Their tiny hand, gripping Dokyeom’s clothes, trembled uncontrollably. Their wide, tear-filled eyes were fixed on the front of the Gate, unable to pull away.

This was because of a single monster sitting quietly before it.

It was an Agor, with its tail severed and one ear singed. Sitting meekly and watching them, the Agor looked weary. Its emaciated appearance gave it a gaunt, hollow look. It brought to mind a mother who had stopped eating and drinking after losing her child.

Dokyeom knew who this Agor was. It was Dali’s mother Agor, the one who had nursed Dali in their memories.

*Quee!*

After watching them silently for a long time, the Agor parted its dry lips and let out a weak cry. Hearing that voice, Dali flinched as if startled, quickly hiding behind Dokyeom’s body.

It seemed to think it wouldn’t be welcomed, its spirit utterly crushed. Perhaps it was afraid of hearing resentment, knowing it had devoured countless of their own kind.

*Peep, peep!*

“Dali.”

Dokyeom gently pushed Dali forward, then stroked their head, whispering, “Go and hug her.”

‘She’s your mother.’

This Agor had cared for and cherished Dali more than anyone, never giving up on them even when devouring its own kind. Waiting there with such a gaunt appearance, she must have yearned for Dali’s return. Her desire to confirm their survival must have worn thin over time.

Dali trembled, shoulders shaking, as they took one step after another. The Agor did not flee. It simply blinked its large eyes, gazing intently at Dali as if imprinting them into its memory.

One step, two steps.

After taking a total of five steps, Dali finally stopped before the Agor. Blinking their tearful eyes, they still did not cry. An eternity of silent staring passed between them, and at last, Dali carefully pulled something from their embrace.

It was the cube puzzle they always carried. Dali, clutching the cube puzzle with its colors neatly aligned on each face, slowly extended it toward the Agor.

Dali must have been painfully accepting that they could no longer be together. Offering a memento bearing their scent, as if asking to be remembered in its stead, might have been because they sensed they would never see each other again.

The child accepted that this moment was their last.

*Peep!*

As if pleading for it to be accepted, Dali let out a sorrowful cry. After a long silence, the Agor opened its mouth and took the cube puzzle. Only when their hands were empty did Dali hesitantly reach out their arms.

And then, they wrapped both arms around the Agor’s neck, which now seemed larger than themselves, and was infinitely gentle and beautiful.

*Peeeee!*

Longing and regret, sadness and gratitude—Dali, with glistening tears, clung to the Agor and chattered as if calling out to their mother.

The Agor, too, buried its face in Dali’s shoulder, closed its eyes, inhaled deeply to remember their scent, and prepared for the end.

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