Stepping through the spatial rift was like walking into the heart of a sun.
For a brief second, Yong and Ruth were completely blinded by a flash of pure, unadulterated white light. When their vision finally cleared, the breath was completely knocked out of both their lungs.
They were no longer in a dark, cramped bedroom. They were standing beneath a brilliant, endless blue sky. A gentle, warm breeze brushed against their faces, carrying the incredibly rich, vibrant scent of nature.
In front of them stretched a massive expanse of glowing, vibrant green grass. To their right, a crystal-clear river roared gently, fed by a towering, majestic waterfall, flowing endlessly toward the east.
Beside the river stood a beautiful, two-story wooden villa.
"By the heavens..."
Ruth breathed, his golden eyes blown wide. As an ancient dragon, he was deeply attuned to the flow of the world, but the concentration of mana in the air here was completely suffocating.
It was purer and denser than any ancient forest he had ever seen. "Where in the world is this place? The flora... it is completely saturated with magic."
Yong was equally bewildered, turning in a slow circle. "This isn't just a hidden domain. The spatial coordinates... this is a completely separate dimension."
Suddenly, a soft chirp broke their shock. They looked down to see Lumi, the tiny white spirit Fainyx had been so desperately protecting. The weasel looked at them with its beady black eyes, tilted its head curiously, and then darted off toward a lush, sprawling forest in the distance.
Realizing Fainyx was nowhere to be seen near the villa, the two masters exchanged a silent glance and immediately followed the strange spirit.
As they walked through the trees, the sheer, impossible scale of the dimension became apparent.
But as they ventured deeper, Yong's footsteps began to slow. He stared at the leaves, the bark, and the small bushes dotting the path.
'This is strange,' Yong thought, his black eyes narrowing. 'This place is overflowing with magic, but the shapes of these plants... they are strangely familiar.'
They entered a clearing, and Yong stopped dead in his tracks.
Standing in the center of the clearing was an absolutely massive, towering tree. But it wasn't the size that shocked Yong. It was the fruit hanging from the thick branches.
Round, vibrant red, and perfectly crisp.
It was an apple.
'That is impossible!'Yong's mind raced.
'Apples do not exist in this fantasy world. The climate, the soil, the evolution... none of it aligns to create this specific fruit.'
He spun around, looking closer at the surrounding bushes. He spotted the distinct shape of green, unripe strawberries.
Before Yong could fully process this impossibility, Ruth gently placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed toward the base of the massive apple tree.
Sitting comfortably on the thick roots, leaning back against the bark, was a familiar small silhouette. It was Fainyx. But something was completely different. Tied securely around the six-year-old boy's head, completely covering his eyes, was a thick strip of black cloth.
Lumi scrambled up the boy's arm and settled comfortably onto his shoulder, letting out a happy "Kyuu!"
Fainyx tilted his head slightly toward the sound of their footsteps.
"Hm? Lumi, you back already?"
The voice was soft, but perfectly clear.
""!?""
Ruth and Yong froze completely. They stared at the boy in absolute, paralyzing shock. Fainyx had just spoken. With his own mouth. Out loud.
"Good job guiding them," Fainyx continued smoothly, reaching up to gently pet the weasel's head. He then turned his blindfolded face directly toward where his two masters were standing.
Yong's sharp mind instantly connected the dots. Fainyx wasn't physically mute. His vocal cords were perfectly fine. The boy simply could not speak while looking at people.
The intense psychological trauma of his past life made eye contact a paralyzing trigger. But here, entirely isolated in his own dimension, with his eyes covered by a blindfold, the barrier was bypassed. Fainyx was using his heightened mana senses to "see" them without ever actually looking at them.
"I am sorry it has to be this way when I talk," Fainyx said, his voice holding a trace of genuine guilt. A small, self-deprecating smile touched his lips. "It is just... complicated."
Ruth opened his mouth to speak, still reeling from the shock, but Yong stepped forward.
Yong looked at the apple tree, then down at the blindfolded boy. The pieces of the puzzle slammed together in his head.
The impossible mana control, the mature intelligence, the earth-specific flora growing in a fantasy dimension.
"My student... Fainyx. Be honest with me," Yong said, his voice dropping all of its usual playful arrogance, replaced by a deadly serious, heavy tone.
"Who really are you? Or rather... Are you an transmigrator?"
Ruth's head snapped toward Yong. The ancient dragon was shocked by the question, but he didn't intervene. Ruth had known for a long time that Yong was a foreigner to this world, a soul from another universe.
Under the shade of the apple tree, Fainyx let out a soft, genuine laugh. It was the first time they had ever heard him truly laugh out loud.
"I am... a reincarnator, maybe?" Fainyx said softly, scratching Lumi under the chin. He patted the soft grass beside the roots.
"Please, sit down. Let's have a deep conversation."
Still entirely bewildered, the two overpowered masters walked over and sat down cross-legged on the grass on either side of the boy.
Fainyx reached his hand out, relying entirely on his spatial awareness and mana control.
A woven picnic basket materialized from his hands this was taken from this place. He opened it and carefully pulled out three delicate porcelain teacups, a small jar of sugar, a jug of milk, and a steaming wooden flask.
"Master Yong," Fainyx asked casually, unscrewing the flask. "Would you like some coffee?"
Yong nearly choked on his own saliva. His eyes bulged out of his head. "You... you have coffee!?"
Fainyx nodded, an amused smile playing on his lips. "I found out that inside this space, if I focus my mana, the plants I knew about in my past life can manifest here. Like this apple tree.
I grew coffee beans near the villa, and there are some strawberries over there, though they aren't quite ripe yet."
Ruth frowned, looking deeply offended by his own confusion. "What in the world is 'coffee'? And what is a 'strawberry'?"
Yong burst into sudden, breathless laughter, reaching over to clap the ancient dragon on the back.
"Oh, you overgrown lizard! You have lived for a thousand years and you're about to taste the greatest beverage ever created by human hands! Just trust us."
Ruth grumbled, annoyed by the joke, but he let out a heavy sigh and crossed his arms.
Fainyx laughed again, a bright, happy sound.
"I really like the way you guys interact,"
he said affectionately. Using precise threads of mana, he perfectly poured the dark, steaming liquid from the flask into the three cups without spilling a single drop, despite being completely blindfolded.
"You can add milk or sugar. It's in the basket."
Fainyx picked up his own cup, having already mixed his with milk, and took a slow sip.
Yong grabbed his cup with trembling hands. He brought it to his face and inhaled deeply. The rich, earthy, roasted aroma flooded his senses.
It was exactly the same smell from his past life, the smell of late nights in Seoul before he transmigrated. He took a sip. It was perfect. A wave of profound nostalgia washed over him, completely calming his racing heart.
"I know you are a transmigrator, Master Yong," Fainyx said quietly into the silence.
"Or rather, a Korean."
Yong lowered the cup, smiling softly. "Is it really that obvious?"
"Your full name, and your physical features and also the restaurant you did."
Fainyx chuckled.
"It is exactly what I would expect from someone from Korea."
Beside them, Ruth carefully picked up his cup and took a tentative sip of the black liquid. His golden eyes instantly widened. The flavor was intensely rich, bitter, and incredibly complex. It flooded his senses with warmth.
"This so-called... Coffee?" Ruth murmured, looking at the dark liquid in awe.
"It is rich in aroma and delicious. So this is the legendary drink you have been babbling about for years, Yong."
Fainyx nodded, taking another sip of his sweet coffee.
Ruth slowly set his cup down, his expression shifting back to that of a serious, ancient master.
"Fainyx. You must be honest with me now. How did you create this portal? No other being in the history of this world, not even the most prideful, ancient dragons can bend space to create a permanent, living dimension."
"I... really don't know the exact mechanics," Fainyx admitted, tilting his blindfolded head thoughtfully.
"At first, I just made a basic spell to store small items. But then I had an idea. I tried to expand the spatial pocket without using any traditional magic circles. I just fed raw mana into the concept of 'space.' It worked.
At first, this place was only as big as my bedroom. But as my mana grew deeper, the space just kept getting bigger and bigger, until the river and the sky formed."
Ruth stared at the boy, completely speechless. He had essentially brute-forced the creation of a universe using raw talent and an infinite mana pool.
Yong set his empty cup down on the grass. The nostalgic taste of the coffee had grounded him, bringing forth memories he hadn't thought about in decades.
"Kiddo," Yong said, his voice quiet. "What were you like in your past life? And how did you end up coming to this world?"
Fainyx's grip on his teacup tightened slightly. Underneath the blindfold, he closed his eyes. The memories of his past were still a fresh, bleeding wound. He turned his head toward Yong.
"I will tell you," Fainyx said softly. "But... I want to know about your past first, Master Yong. Before mine."
Yong looked at the blindfolded boy for a long moment. He understood exactly what Fainyx was doing. The boy needed reassurance. He needed to know that his masters were just as flawed, broken, and human as he was before he exposed his own deepest scars.
Yong let out a low, rumbling laugh, running a hand through his black hair.
"Alright," Yong said, a small, dangerous smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. "But I have to warn you, kiddo. It won't be a good story. So be prepared."
Yong leaned back against the massive roots of the apple tree, looking up at the glowing blue sky of his disciple's private world.
"I was indeed Korean," Yong began, his voice taking on a distant, heavy edge. "And in my past world, I was also a... "
"Hunter."