Yong stared into the dark surface of his coffee, the swirling liquid reflecting the blue sky of Fainyx's dimension. He took a slow, deliberate sip before setting the cup down on the grass.
"The world I came from was peaceful at first" Yong began, his voice quiet, stripped of all its usual bravado.
"It was just a typical Earth. People went to work, cars filled the streets, and magic was nothing but a myth in comic books. I was just a normal young guy. One afternoon, I was out in the city center helping my grandmother carry groceries. And then... the air shifted."
Yong's eyes darkened, staring at a memory a hundred years old.
"I felt this terrible, suffocating pressure. Suddenly, people started screaming. Right in the middle of the street, the space tore open. It was a massive portal with a sickly red hue. Before anyone could even run, monsters poured out... a real, nightmarish monsters."
Fainyx sat silently against the apple tree, his head tilted toward his master, listening intently.
"It was absolute chaos," Yong continued, his voice tightening. "I tried to run with my grandmother, to get her away from the slaughter. I felt this primal, terrible instinct telling me to run faster, but we weren't fast enough. A beast cornered us. It... it killed her right in front of me."
Ruth closed his eyes, offering a silent moment of respect, while Lumi whimpered softly from Fainyx's shoulder.
"Something inside me just snapped," Yong said, looking down at his hands.
"I completely lost control. In that moment of pure grief and rage, my abilities awakened. I tore that beast apart with my bare hands. But the damage was done to the world. By the time we knew it, Earth was in a global state of emergency. Cities were in flames. Millions were dead."
Yong sighed, leaning back against the roots. "But humanity adapts. More people with abilities began to appear, fighting back the monsters. We cleared the portals, rebuilt the cities, and brought a temporary peace back to the world. They started calling us 'Hunters'."
"I climbed the ranks. I became an S-Rank Hunter in Korea, famous, wealthy, and powerful. But the peace didn't last. A few years later, an anomaly appeared. A portal that completely exceeded the S-Rank classification. I was put in charge of leading an elite team of S-Rankers to clear it."
Yong paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "But before we even stepped inside, I felt it. My instincts were screaming at me that this wasn't a normal dungeon. And I was right. The moment we approached, the portal destabilized. It created a massive vacuum, trying to swallow my entire team. I didn't have a choice. I used my skills to blast my comrades backward to safety, but the recoil pushed me right into the event horizon. I was sucked in."
"And when you woke up, you were here," Fainyx deduced.
"Yep," Yong nodded. "I woke up in a forest in this fantasy world. I couldn't find a way back, so I just survived. I was stuck wandering this continent for over a hundred years until I met this old, scaled fossil sitting next to me. And eventually, I ended up teaching you."
Ruth scoffed loudly, crossing his thick arms. "He makes it sound so heroic. Let me tell you the truth, Fainyx. When I first met him in the wilderness, he was acting like a rabid wild dog, killing absolutely everything in his sight! It was a goof thing that he was not near to any human settlement."
"Hey!" Yong pointed an accusatory finger at the dragon, grinning. "I was confused and lost! I calmed down eventually, didn't I?"
"Only after I kept beating you up," Ruth muttered proudly.
" You only beaten me one time, I was tired that time."
Yong laughed, the heavy atmosphere lifting slightly. He took another sip of his coffee. "Honestly? I don't hate this world too much. Being an S-Rank Hunter back on Earth was a massive pain in the ass. The politics, the press, the constant stress. Do I want to go back? Well... I miss the food, the houses, and the internet. But it's fine. That place was getting way more dangerous than here anyway."
Fainyx, who had been completely still behind his blindfold, suddenly spoke up. His voice was tense.
"Master Yong... that anomaly portal that sucked you in. What color was it?"
Yong blinked, surprised by the specific question. He thought back to that chaotic day.
"It wasn't red like the usual ones. It was... violet, I guess? A deep, swirling violet."
Fainyx's breath hitched. Underneath the blindfold, his violet eyes widened in absolute shock.
'Violet.'
Fainyx's mind raced back to his past life on Earth. He clearly remembered scrolling through a news article right before he started his obsessive gaming streak. He doesn't know his face since it was hidden. But now that he realized it this was the same S ranker back then.
'South Korean S-Rank Hunter Sacrifices Self to Save Team in Violet Anomaly Portal.'
That incident had happened exactly one year before Fainyx beat the game.
"It was you..." Fainyx whispered.
"What was me?" Yong asked, tilting his head.
"Master Yong," Fainyx said, his voice trembling slightly with realization. "Before you were sucked into that portal... did you ever hear of a specific video game? It became incredibly famous on Earth for being the most hardcore, impossible game to beat."
Yong frowned, tapping his chin. "Hm... actually, yeah. I do remember that. Some insanely hard fantasy game was trending right before the incident. I even played it once on my day off. I beat the first two rounds, but it was ridiculously hard, so I dropped it. Why? What does a video game have to do with this?"
Fainyx took a deep breath. "Because this world, Master... the geography, the magic system, the Duke's family... it is exactly like that game. Or rather, that game is a perfect reflection of this world."
"What?!" Yong bolted upright, his coffee splashing over the rim of his cup.
"Exactly as I said before," Fainyx continued, gripping his own teacup. "I didn't die in a portal or anything like that... I was playing that exact same hardcore game. I beat it, the impossible difficulty that no one else could clear. I didn't think much of it at the time. I bought some cheap alcohol to celebrate, and I got drunk.
But right before I passed out, a developer notification popped up on my screen. When I woke up... I was trapped in a crib in this body."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Yong held up both hands, his mind scrambling to process the revelation. "So you're telling me that this entire reality is the game we played on Earth? But how does that explain the violet portal that brought me here?"
Ruth, who had been listening intently to the bizarre conversation, stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps," the ancient dragon rumbled, his golden eyes sharp, "this 'game' you both speak of is not a simple amusement. What if the game itself is a magical trigger? An anchor between your dimension and ours? Yong interacting with it may have caused the violet portal to target him.
And Fainyx conquering it entirely is what pulled his soul across the boundary."
Yong stared at Ruth, completely stunned. "I... I actually played it right before the raid. I got the call from the Guild while I was still logged in. I didn't get to play it again because I was transported here. But to think that stupid game is what triggered my transmigration? That theory... actually makes terrifying sense."
Yong let out a long, heavy sigh, the weight of a hundred years pressing down on his shoulders. He looked up at the sky.
"Actually," Yong murmured, his voice softening with melancholy. "I really miss my comrades back there. My old team. It's been so many years... I don't even remember their faces clearly anymore."
A heavy, mournful silence fell over the picnic.
*SMACK!*
Ruth heavily slapped Yong on the back, nearly sending the former S-Rank Hunter face-first into the grass.
"Stop whining, human," Ruth snorted, crossing his arms with arrogant pride. "You may have lost them, but at least you have the great and ancient dragon that is me by your side now."
Yong groaned, rubbing his stinging shoulder, but a grin broke across his face. He looked around the empty grass mockingly.
"Huh? What was that? I heard a voice, but I don't see anyone great around here."
"Why you—!" Ruth raised his fist, a vein popping on his forehead as he prepared to blast his friend with a fireball.
Listening to their familiar, ridiculous bickering, the tight, anxious knot in Fainyx's chest completely dissolved.
A profound sense of peace and warmth washed over him. He had never had this in his past life. He had never had people who could share his pain, talk about his home, and still joke around like a family.
Yong chuckled, turning his attention back to the blindfolded boy.
"Alright, kiddo, you gave yourself away," Yong teased, a fond glint in his black eyes. "You said you were drinking alcohol to celebrate winning the game. That means you weren't a six-year-old child back on Earth. You were an adult, weren't you?"
Fainyx froze slightly, his small hands tightening around his cup.
"So," Yong said gently, leaning forward. "What was your life like before you reincarnated?"
Fainyx let out a long, shaky sigh. The warmth of the moment gave him the courage he needed, but the words were still like ash in his mouth.
"It is... a bit of a terrible story," Fainyx warned softly, keeping his face turned toward his two masters.
"Will you guys still hear it?"
"Every word," Yong promised without hesitation.
Ruth nodded solemnly. "We are not going anywhere, Fainyx."
Fainyx lowered his head. He reached up and gently stroked Lumi, who was still safely curled on his shoulder.
"I guess it is my turn, huh..." Fainyx whispered, his voice trembling as he finally unsealed the darkest part of his soul.
"Well... let's just say I was... an orphan..."