He suddenly realized that he was standing in the middle of a deep, dark forest. The trees were extremely tall and thick. Subedei looked like a tiny ant standing beside just one of those trees. Suddenly, a fierce wind blew as if it were tearing branches apart, and in the terrifying silence, a sound like the ground shaking echoed through the forest.
Subedei quickly looked around and walked toward the direction the sound came from. As he continued forward, he soon saw something in front of him. A creature, seemingly more than ten meters tall with a massive body, was smashing and destroying the forest. Subedei stared in shock, and as he looked more closely at that enormous figure, its back felt strangely familiar, as if he had seen it before.
An overwhelming rage was pouring out from the giant body, so intense that it could be felt even from far away. Every one of its attacks destroyed the forest and brought immense devastation. Each strike shattered huge trees, sending smoke rising everywhere.
While Subedei was still frozen in shock, the giant figure turned around and struck toward him at tremendous speed. Seeing the blow coming, Subedei panicked in fear. Even as he tried desperately to at least see its face, the fist reached him.
In the end, Subedei jolted awake, drenched in sweat, and sprang up from his bed in terror. Looking around, he saw that it was already morning and the sun had risen. Realizing that he was at home, he let out a deep breath and finally calmed down.
"It was all just a dream. But this time, the person I dreamed of had the exact same back as the one from before."
"Other than looking a bit weaker, it was like two drops of water—identical."
"Well, there's no point in thinking too much. It must have just been a nightmare."
Murmuring to himself, Subedei slowly got up and went straight to take a shower. When he carefully looked at his body in the mirror, he saw many scars, both small and large. Most of them had healed and remained on his body as scars forever.
When his gaze fell on the largest scar on his abdomen, Zev immediately came to mind.
"This scar will never disappear," he whispered, placing his hand over it and touching it gently. Even though he blamed himself, his heart found no peace.
In the end, unable to endure it any longer, he decided to go to Zev's home, hoping his heart might feel a little lighter. He went outside, got on a vehicle, and headed straight toward the province where he used to live.
Along the way, he stared out the car window at the vast, beautiful, open land, lost in thought. Six hours passed as quickly as an arrow in flight. Before he realized it, Subedei had arrived in his hometown.
Familiar buildings began to appear before his eyes. He quickly got off the vehicle, raised his hand by the road, and stopped a taxi. The taxi driver was a middle-aged man.
"So, kid, where are you headed?"
Subedei quickly told him Zev's home address.
On the way there, the driver wouldn't stop talking.
"That tower is a terrifying place. People go there by accident, and only one out of ten comes back alive."
"And that's considered a high survival rate, you know. There's also that black hole."
"Monsters come out of it, and ordinary weapons can't even hurt them."
"But there's no need to worry about the monsters from the black hole. In our country, there's one incredibly powerful person."
Even though Subedei didn't really pay attention, the driver kept talking.
"I'll tell you the rumors about him. He's an extremely powerful archer. They say he can easily and accurately hit monsters from a great distance."
"Every arrow of his pierces straight through monsters and kills them. The strangest part is that his arrows are blue, and after sticking into the ground, they disappear shortly after."
Subedei had started to feel sleepy after hearing the first few words, but when he heard about the archer, he suddenly woke up. Thinking, 'This must be the man that middle-aged guy on the first floor mentioned,' he asked the driver,
"If he's that strong, why does no one know about him?"
The driver seemed surprised by the question and stayed silent for a moment before replying,
"Maybe he doesn't want to show off his power. Maybe he just wants to quietly help people…"
After falling silent again for a while, the driver continued,
"Maybe he wants to help without asking for anything in return."
"If no one had ever seen him, then no one would know about him."
Subedei also fell silent. By then, they had already arrived in front of Zev's apartment building. The driver spoke again,
"Alright, we're here."
Subedei paid the fare, got out of the car, and walked forward until he stood in front of a familiar building. He looked around and sank into deep thought. Children were still playing, swinging long sticks like swords and laughing as they fought. Other children were walking home from school, chatting happily.
Memories of playing here with Zev since childhood filled his mind. Finally, he shook his head and quickly walked into the building. Entering, he slowly climbed to the second floor and stopped in front of a door.
He raised his hand to knock, but slowly lowered it again. He had no strength to knock on the door, and no courage to say that her son had died.
In the end, Subedei took a deep breath, slowly raised his hand, and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock…
After knocking a few times, he stopped and waited.
As he stood there quietly, he heard slow footsteps approaching from behind the door. Soon, a middle-aged woman with slight wrinkles on her face opened it. The moment she saw Subedei, it seemed she recognized him instantly.
"Oh, Subedei, when did you arrive?"
"Come in quickly, have some tea before you go."
As she spoke, she opened the door wider. Subedei couldn't say anything. He stood there silently, motionless, looking down.
Seeing his silence, the woman said,
"You must have heard about your friend."
"Don't worry. They say people who disappear like this often come back after going to that place called the tower."
As she said this, her voice trembled, as if her heart was uneasy. Hearing this, Subedei quickly lifted his head, wanting to say something, but it was as if his mouth was sealed shut—no words would come out.
"He'll come back alive, right?"
In the end, she could no longer hold back her tears and began to cry.
Seeing her like this, Subedei thought about how long she might keep waiting if he didn't say anything, and he finally spoke.
"Sister, about Zev… I met him in the tower…"
Before he could finish, the woman's eyes lit up, her crying stopped, and she quickly asked,
"Then is my son doing well now?"
"If you came back, why isn't he with you?"
She looked Subedei up and down, then glanced around him. In her eyes, hope and fear were struggling against each other. Subedei heard her words, but said nothing and continued speaking.