In the Name of God - vanish into fiction

I didn’t fully understand the emotions Seong Do-yoon must have harbored all this time.

But at the very least, I knew exactly what words I should pour out to Seong Do-wan on his behalf.

“You’re still the same, Hyung.”

A sneer that anyone could recognize was mixed into my cold voice.

“In the end, you’re saying you’ll lock me up again. Under the pretext of protecting me safely.”

Never getting hurt, staying safe.

On the surface, it sounds like a kind consideration, but it’s nothing more than a fine-sounding facade.

In reality, it was no different from keeping me by your side to monitor my every move under the guise of protection.

The only things that had changed were a warm attitude characteristic of the older brother from my childhood and a more comfortable environment.

If it were the exhausted Seong Do-yoon of the past, he might have been grateful even for this, but as someone who knows Seong Do-wan’s selfish protective instinct all too well, I could never welcome it.

“I know I’m not exactly a lucky guy, and that I get hurt easily to a foolish degree. I know, but…”

Reflecting once again on how Seong Do-yoon had lived, I tilted my head crookedly toward Seong Do-wan.

“That’s not a reason for you to oppress me.”

“No. I’m not trying to oppress you, it’s to protect you…!”

“I never once asked you to protect me until now.”

That’s right.

Seong Do-yoon never once desired his brother’s protection.

“Even if I tripped and rolled, I needed the strength to stand up on my own.”

Though he was a person who faced absurd strings of bad luck and felt frustrated by them, Seong Do-yoon still never wished for his brother to reach out a hand. Even if his temperament was fragile, he was someone who possessed a strong enough will to always devise a way to break through on his own.

But the one who broke that will was none other than his only blood relative, Seong Do-wan.

“It’s better for you to just do nothing and stay stuck in the corner of your room. That’s for your sake, and for mine.”

Seong Do-wan, who spat out those words, trampled on his brother’s heart before he could even try to do anything for himself and mindlessly pushed him into a dark corner. In that process, all that remained for Seong Do-yoon was a sense of self-loathing that made it hard to endure each day and a loneliness from being nothing but a burden to his brother.

Scrolling through Seong Do-yoon’s memories, I unconsciously wore a bitter smile.

“Before protecting me in your own way, you should have tried having a sincere conversation with me just once.”

These were words that Seong Do-yoon would never have been able to say; words possible only because I was a third party.

That’s likely why they flowed out so indifferently. I was saying that if it were Seong Do-yoon, he would have been able to understand everything just by having a sincere conversation with you.

I ignored Seong Do-wan’s trembling pupils and didn’t add any more words.

Until the taxi reached its destination after that, Seong Do-wan couldn’t bring himself to utter a single word.

***

“It’s certainly strange. It’s the first time such a large crack has appeared in a Holy Land.”

A person from the Horizon side murmured while looking up at the northern boundary of the Daejeon Holy Land.

“I suppose you’ve had frequent occasions to investigate the Holy Lands?”

I asked him tentatively while also looking up at the boundary beside him.

It was about 5 meters in height.

The bluish crack that had appeared gigantically on the invisible, transparent wall was so vivid and threatening that it was impossible to just pass by.

The man, who gave me a sidelong glance, nodded his head.

“When an abnormality occurs in a Holy Land, the government and the Association send urgent cooperation official documents to large clans like they did now to request an investigation. After all, the only ones who can detect the mana forming the Holy Land are certain Awakeners capable of handling mana.”

The look in the man’s eyes as he watched me became profound. It seemed as if the words “A mere Rank 7 can actually handle mana?” had risen to his throat before barely being suppressed. It was likely because he was conscious of Seong Do-wan, who was watching this way from a bit further back.

Perhaps because of that, he added a kind explanation without showing his true feelings.

“I came here last year too, but it wasn’t to this extent back then. Even if the wavelength was distorted in places, it was mostly resolved if the investigators smoothed out the mana together.”

“There was a problem last year too?”

“Distortions in the Holy Land’s wavelength aren’t rare. Based on Holy Lands worldwide, it usually occurs about once every two or three years. Simply put, you can think of that as the cycle where maintenance work is needed.”

The man, speaking like that, narrowed his eyes and spoke as if it were mysterious.

“But strangely, a problem occurred this time after only one year. Furthermore, it’s not just a level of distorted wavelength, but for such a large crack to form… Honestly, I don’t know what to do right now.”

According to the man’s words, that huge crack was certainly not a normal phenomenon.

Somehow, it feels ominous.

‘The crack is so vivid it looks like it could break at any moment.’

Is there a saying about words becoming reality?

Crack—