Eun Byol and Ha Joon pressed against the tree.
Looking at the tent.", "At the space where Chi-Long had been.",
---
"You're telling me she just disappeared.", Ha Joon said.",
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"Yes.", "I don't know how.", "I don't know why.", "But something doesn't feel right.",
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He looked back at the tent.", "At the cold smoke still rising from the burnt wood.", "At the small rocks arranged around it.", "At the silence where a person had just been.",
---
"I know what you mean.", he said.",
---
He didn't finish the thought.
---
Something moved.", "Fast.", "Between them.", "The sound of it brief.", "The displacement of air.", "Then a sound as it found the mud.", "Standing upright.", "Sideways in the earth.",
---
A knife.
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Rugged.", "A broad clip-point blade.", "Serrated spine.", "Hollow handle.", "The kind of thing built to do many things and do all of them well.", "The kind of thing that had been used and knew what it was.",
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They both jumped forward.", "Toward it.", "At the same time.",
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Eun Byol's hand found it first.", "Pulled it from the mud.", "Turned.",
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Chi-Long.", "Behind them.", "Already there.", "The way she was always already there.",
Her voice low.", "Commanding.", "Moving toward them the way sound moves.", "Without asking.",
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"Made from Mana Orou.", "So you know what that means.",
Her ponytail moving behind her.", "The wind finding it.", "Making it dance.", "Alive in it.",
"Come at me.",
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Eun Byol's hands closed around the handle.
She was already reaching inward.", "Finding whatever was left in the core.", "The last reserves of it.", "Whatever the dual cultivation had managed to preserve.",
She felt it.", "The knife.", "The energy inside it.", "Small.", "Not a lot.", "But real.", "A core of its own sitting in the hollow handle.",
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"Retreat.", she shouted.", "Now.",
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She turned.", "Ha Joon reading it instantly.", "Both of them moving.", "The opposite trail.", "Fast.",
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She ran and thought at the same time.
The mana in this knife.", "I felt its core.", "Not much.", "But it will do.",
---
Chi-Long watched them go.
Then turned.", "Walked back to the tent.", "Sat down.", "Looked at the smoke rising from the cold charcoal.",
---
---
Black windows.", "A limousine moving through city streets.",
A round face reflected in the glass.", "Watching itself.", "Old.", "Tired around the eyes.", "The face of a man who had been in too many rooms making too many decisions for too many years.",
Kim Tae-soo.", "Leader of the Endless Storm Guild.",
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The driver's voice.", "Arriving through the partition.",
"We've arrived.", "Sir.",
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His face.", "Flat.", "Slightly annoyed in the way certain people are slightly annoyed by everything as a default.",
He opened the door.", "Got out.", "Looked up.",
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The Red Phoenix.", "Stretching across the building's face.", "Wings spread.", "The same as always.",
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Glass doors opening.", "Two men in suits materializing from somewhere inside.",
"We've been expecting you.", "The others will arrive shortly.",
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Kim Tae-soo looked at them.", "One then the other.",
"How many are here now.",
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"Three.", "Sir.",
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He was already walking.", "The man still talking.",
"Take me to the others."
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"Yes sir.", "Please follow us.",
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They walked.", "Through corridors.", "Into a large room.", "A large table at its center.", "Names at each position.", "Small flags carrying guild insignia arranged precisely.", "Everything considered.", "Everything placed.",
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He saw her immediately.
Ji-eun.", "Already seated.", "Her posture the same as always.", "Her expression carrying that particular pleasantness that never fully disclosed what was underneath it.",
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"You got here fast.", he muttered.",
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She looked at him.", "That smile.", "Unhurried.",
"Of course I did.",
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He sat down next to her.", "Looked at the seating arrangement.", "Looked at where his name was placed.",
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"Let me guess.", "You organized this.",
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"No.", she said.", "Nobody likes you.", "That's it.",
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He closed his eyes.", "Thought about it.", "Opened them.",
"I wouldn't say that.", "There are plenty of people who like me.",
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A pause.
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"Let me guess.", he said.", "This is about the ants.",
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She looked at him.", "Her eyes finding his directly.",
"I'm not going to tell you everything.", "I also know everything.", "So.", "Behave yourself this time.", "Do I make myself clear.",
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"Fine.", "Fine.", "I'll be a good boy.", "We can pretend the world isn't ending.",
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Shadows began filling the room.", "One by one.", "Each guild taking its position.", "The flags at the table finding their owners.",
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The last one through the door.", "Gun-woo.",
His voice arriving with him.", "Before he had fully entered the room.",
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"I'll go straight to the point."
He looked at all of them.
"Two days from now.", "We start the raid.",
---
The room went quiet.
---
Every face at the table.", "Still.", "Processing.", "Holding the weight of it.",
---
Except one.
---
Kim Tae-soo.", "Laughing.",