Chapter 91
When I closed my eyes, I felt a strange illusion that someone was pulling me from behind.
A warm and gentle touch of death softly caressed my back.
‘Mom?’
As I surrendered myself to it, surprisingly, I felt at peace, as if I were floating in midair.
Was I going to sink just like this?
Would I sink somewhere and become a handful of sand?
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to give up everything like this.
To fall into a sleep that felt like death.
‘…….’
Honestly, I was tired.
It was hard, and I wanted to stop.
The only reason I had kept running was because I wanted to live.
To live, and to see my companions.
To see everyone smiling.
To eat delicious food, chat about nothing, and joke around.
To laugh like a fool, without any worries or concerns.
I simply wanted to protect a peaceful daily life where everyone could be happy.
That was all.
Wendy Porcelain was a foolish woman who risked her life for such a simple and one-dimensional goal.
Had I really wanted that much?
Thinking about it like that made me feel a little resentful.
I had worked so damn hard to get this far.
I had tried so desperately to change my fate.
I saved those who should’ve died, and saved those who should’ve lived.
I managed to accomplish what others said was crazy.
I even came back alive from a fire pit made for me to die in.
Not just me—everyone else too.
So if I died so meaninglessly now—
All that time I spent crawling through hell would feel way too unfair.
If I was going to die like this, I might as well have just dropped dead the moment I got hit by that arrow in the beginning.
In the first place, I don’t even consider this kind of death a real death.
So I won’t give up.
‘No—I can’t.’
As that thought hit me, I felt my fading consciousness begin to return.
First, it was the feeling in my hands and feet.
Then, my blurry vision began to clear.
Finally, as my hearing returned, I started to hear a familiar sound near my ears.
Woo, woo—.
A low, steady hum guided my head upward.
‘A golden thread?’
Amazingly, a golden thread that hadn’t been there earlier was swaying right in front of me.
The golden thread squirmed and pushed its way through the red tentacles.
Then it gently fluttered, as if telling me to grab hold of it.
Woo, woooo—.
Drawn by something, I reached out toward it.
It was a familiar sound I had heard somewhere before.
‘Calamitous Despairflower?’
It felt just like that flower that had asked me to take it with me.
‘No way, seriously.’
I lightly shook my head.
It had to be my imagination.
That flower was inside my inventory right now, after all.
Besides, I’d never heard of a flower that could fight like that on its own.
Sure enough, the two threads slowly tangled together as if they were fighting.
Pushing and pulling.
Grappling, then shoving away.
After a short struggle, the golden thread succeeded in unraveling the red one.
The red tentacles flinched in resistance, then thrashed wildly before sinking into the pitch-black depths of the lake.
Woo, woo.
The golden thread that had freed me from the red thread’s binds let out a low hum and supported my back.
As if urging me to grab the rope I had almost let go of.
But then—
‘It’s weak.’
Had it used up all its strength driving away the red thread?
It still wasn’t enough.
The golden thread trying to pull me up didn’t seem to have the power.
Woooo… woo….
As if frustrated that things weren’t going its way, a sorrowful cry reached my ears.
Hearing that, I too tried to muster up what little strength I had left.
But—
‘I… can’t move.’
It was no use.
Had I swallowed too much water?
My body, numb and heavy, kept sinking despite my will.
The rope was right there.
I had to grab it.
My breath was running out.
Water was rushing into my nose and mouth.
My vision began to blur again.
‘No—’
The moment the water entered my windpipe and filled my lungs, that was the end.
‘No more…….’
Clinging desperately to my fading consciousness,
Just as I was desperately holding my breath to keep the water from entering my airway—
Thump.
A large hand yanked at my collar.
***
A fair amount of time had passed since Wendy went down.
The average person can hold their breath underwater for about three minutes.
Now that the world had become like this,
And people had developed mana and special abilities, they could probably last longer than normal.
But even considering that, it was becoming an anxious amount of time.
“Sis is taking too long to come back up……”
Naturally, Lyria’s worried voice was justified.
“Shouldn’t we pull the rope now?”
“But we didn’t get the signal. What if we pull it too soon and something bad happens?”
Yeriel, pacing anxiously, spoke up.
Darwin, gripping the rope tightly as if he was about to pull it any second, added.
They both had a point.
As Wendy remained missing, unease piled up in everyone’s hearts.
Bad thoughts started chaining together.
Everyone stood frozen, unable to make a decision—
‘Can I do it?’
Xenon stared down into the lake of unknown depth.
The only time he had ever gone into water was when he bathed in a stream that barely reached his waist.
That was it.
‘Can I really go down there and rescue her?’
Not being familiar with water didn’t mean he didn’t know its dangers.
During storm seasons, he had seen countless wild animals swept away by the current.
He understood the threat of water better than anyone.
But in the end, there was only one conclusion.
“I’m going down.”
It wasn’t a question of whether he could or couldn’t.
He had to.
Because Wendy was down there.
“Xenon?”
After briefly looking back at the group,
Xenon stood up and, without a moment’s hesitation, threw himself into the lake.
***
A dark figure followed the rope down to me.
‘Xenon?’
Xenon’s gritted expression as he stared at me looked partly angry—
And partly relieved.
No, that wasn’t the point right now…
‘Why are you here?’
Didn’t he say he couldn’t swim?
But before I could process it—
Xenon wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and tugged the rope three times.
In that instant, both our bodies were yanked upward.
The surface, once distant, drew close in a flash.
And the moment my head broke through the water—
“Pwah!”
Fresh air rushed into my lungs.
As I gasped for breath, I felt hands urgently pulling me up.
“Haa… You’re a mess.”
Though he grimaced deeply, Darwin’s hands that lifted me were gentle.
I was hauled onto the raft in Darwin’s arms.
“Huff, guh, kuh, cough, cough!”
I vomited out the water still stuck in my windpipe, as if I might stop breathing any second.
‘Damn… One more minute down there and I’d be high-fiving King Yeomra.’
Shivering, I glanced around.
The more shocking part—Xenon was pale and vomiting an insane amount of water.
‘Wait… Did he drink all the water in the lake?’
He looked like he had swallowed more than me, even though I was down there longer…
“Sister! Are you okay?!”
I stared blankly at Xenon’s struggling figure.
“Lyria……”
I hugged Lyria tightly as she rushed into my arms, ready to cry.
Honestly, I really thought I’d never see her again.
“It’s okay. I survived somehow.”
It was true.
If I had given up and lost the will to live…
If I hadn’t coincidentally been helped by the golden thread…
If Xenon hadn’t come down to rescue me…
I would’ve died for sure.
But I survived.
Though it was desperate, painful, and filled with sorrow—
I had endured it.
Now, being able to touch Lyria’s soft cheeks like this, that was enough.
‘Still, how did Xenon dive into the water?’
Now that I could breathe again, that curiosity began to surface.
He definitely said he couldn’t swim…
“Xenon, you know how to swim?”
Unable to hold it in, I asked.
The answer came quickly.
“…I don’t.”
Coughing softly, Xenon gasped for air and replied.
I stared at him wide-eyed.
He probably wasn’t lying about not knowing how to swim.
Given how much water he swallowed, it was clear he didn’t even know how to hold his breath properly.
“But how did you…”
How did someone who couldn’t swim jump into a lake?
He wasn’t the type to do something reckless.
Maybe someone pushed him… I briefly indulged in silly thoughts.
“You didn’t come back up.”
Xenon brushed his wet hair back and looked straight at me.
“I had to pull you out. That’s all I thought about.”
He spoke as if it was no big deal, water still dripping from him, and let out a sigh.
“I’m glad… that you’re safe.”
—
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