Thud.“Ugh!”As Raon plummeted downward, something caught him by the waist. Startled, his eyes flew open—someone’s arms were locked tightly around him.Rahyeon?Impossible. Rahyeon hated him too much to bother saving him, yet by position alone, it made the most sense. Maybe he’d done it just to keep Raon from making a public scene, like he always preached about.Great. Another favor I’ll never hear the end of.Raon swallowed a sigh and began to push himself upright.“Thanks for—”He didn’t want to say it, but not falling on his face was technically worth a thank-you. He turned—and froze.It wasn’t the person he’d expected.Raon blinked in disbelief.“You... what are you doing here?”It was Dojin, his arm still wrapped around Raon’s waist.Why the hell was Dojin here? Raon stared up at him, confusion flooding in.“Guide me.”“What?”Raon couldn’t believe his ears. Dojin’s voice, word for word, repeated something he’d once said before—down to the syllable.“You said you wanted to do it. Do it now.”“What the hell are you—”That same chill he’d felt inside the irregular Gate crawled up his spine again. Raon twisted, trying to wrench free.“Ugh—get off me!”“Han Raon.”“I said get off!”Dojin’s face warped. One moment it was Myeonghun’s, the next Dojin’s again, then his brothers’, shifting rapidly between all of them. Raon squeezed his eyes shut, unable to take it any longer. The psychic assault had reached its peak.If only he could just snap and go mad like the Gate wanted him to—it would’ve been easier. But his S-rank mental strength refused to break. Which only made the suffering worse.“Damn it.”He clenched his teeth, fighting down nausea. The harder he pushed the hallucination away, the tighter it wound itself around him.If I hurt myself… maybe I can break it.He remembered something—back when he’d first possessed Han Raon’s body, during a required course at the Center. Guides, being essentially ordinary humans, could only escape a mental attack by receiving physical shock within the illusion—jumping off somewhere high, or cutting themselves.He darted his eyes around for anything sharp.“Ugh—”But something was gripping him too tightly to move.That left only one option. He’d have to hurt himself. Raon set his jaw, ready to bite down hard enough to draw blood.“Raon-hyung!”“…!”A voice pierced through the chaos. Raon’s eyes flew open.“Hyung, are you okay?”“Yoon Siwoo?”And just like that, the figure before him had changed—Siwoo was standing there. Raon squinted, still unsure.“Is it really you?”“It’s me. I promise.”“Ha…”The warmth in Siwoo’s hand was unmistakably real—different from any of the illusions. Relief flooded Raon’s chest, and he finally exhaled.“You «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» almost made a huge mistake. If you’d actually hurt yourself inside the illusion, the wound would’ve appeared on your real body too. It could’ve killed you.”“But… this is an illusion. How would that even work?”“Because only your mind’s trapped here. Your body follows your thoughts exactly.”“…What.”That was nothing like what he’d learned at the Center. But judging from Siwoo’s calm certainty, he’d seen this kind of mental Gate more than once.Which meant the psychic attack here was far beyond anything normal. Without Taegun—the S-rank mental Esper from before his rewind—escaping might be impossible.“So what now? We haven’t actually woken up, have we?”“No. I don’t think so.”“Hmm.”Raon looked around. A moment ago, he’d been inside a glittering ballroom—but now they stood in a barren wasteland. The sudden desolation made him frown.“Where are we?”“No idea.”Raon tilted his head, scanning the unfamiliar landscape. If every illusion drew from their memories, then this one had to come from either his or Siwoo’s mind—but it didn’t seem to belong to either of them.“Well, let’s look for a way out.”“Yeah.”They started walking, combing the empty plain. Maybe, like before, finding each other inside the illusion was the key to breaking free.“Hm?”After a short while, a building came into view—just a lone, weathered house in the middle of the field.A house? Here?Raon narrowed his eyes, suspicion rising. Still, there was no choice but to check. He stepped forward—then realized Siwoo wasn’t following.“Siwoo?”“Ah.”“Aren’t you coming? Let’s take a look.”“It’s just…”“…?”Siwoo hesitated, clear reluctance flickering across his face. Raon frowned.“What’s wrong?”“…Nothing. Let’s go.”After a pause, Siwoo clenched his jaw and moved ahead. Raon followed, unsettled.“There really is a house out here.”“…”“Pretty strange, huh?”Trying to lighten the mood, Raon tossed out the words casually. But Siwoo didn’t answer.Feeling awkward, Raon fell silent too as they stepped inside—and instantly froze.The building looked even worse from within. It was so old it seemed ready to collapse. Calling it a home was generous—there wasn’t even proper furniture, just corroded dishes scattered across a dirty floor.“Siwoo, look at this.”“…”“Siwoo?”Without warning, Siwoo started walking toward a door. Startled, Raon hurried after him.Clack.When he opened it, the small room beyond was crowded with children. The space was cramped, too tight for so many, yet their faces were mostly bright, untroubled.“Kids?”Despite the poor conditions, they looked… happy. Raon watched them with uneasy eyes.“This is an orphanage.”“An orphanage?”“Yes.”The word hit him harder than expected. An orphanage—here? Raising children in a place like this? It was insane.“But… how do you even know that?”Raon’s gaze trembled as it landed on Siwoo. His expression was calm, but there was something cold beneath it. And then Raon understood.This is where Siwoo grew up.All Raon had ever known came from a few sheets of Center records. The original Han Raon hadn’t cared about Siwoo at all, and even after taking over, Raon had never asked about his childhood.Siwoo had been abandoned at birth, left at an orphanage where he lived until the age of eight—when a nearby Gate opened. He’d nearly died, but awakened as an Esper and survived. That was all Raon knew.“Hey, hey, teach me this!”“…!”One of the boys nearby—dark-skinned, about six or seven—tugged at another child’s sleeve. Raon glanced down and froze.“I don’t know it either.”“Liar! You learned it in school!”The smaller boy’s front tooth was missing, his words slightly slurred. And the one who answered him with mild irritation—his face looked achingly familiar.Wait… is that—Siwoo?Pale skin, neat brows, sharp nose, thin lips. The neat features, the dark hair—it was Siwoo, just younger. Raon’s eyes flicked between the child and the man beside him.“Yes. That’s me,” Siwoo said quietly.“I—I thought so. But... they can’t see us, can they?”“Looks that way.”Siwoo’s face remained unreadable as always. Raon stole glances at him, then back at the children.“They didn’t teach this at school.”“C’mon, don’t be mean! Show me, please?”The little one clung to the younger Siwoo’s arm, whining. Though they were close in size, the difference in demeanor made one seem much younger.If that Siwoo had just started school, he must’ve been eight. Which meant—“...!”Raon’s heart lurched. When Siwoo was eight, that was the day a Gate opened nearby. Back then, safety outposts were barely functioning—management was a mess. If a Gate erupted this close, no Esper would respond in time.This tiny, frail building would be obliterated in seconds.“Don’t tell me… it’s today?”“Yes.”“This place—”Before Raon could finish, Siwoo nodded. And in the next heartbeat—BOOM.Something exploded in the distance.

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