Chapter 84

As I followed Nae-ki and stuck my head out, there was a woman with unusually pale skin walking towards us.

Dressed in a white blouse and jeans, she looked even thinner than Ggotbi, and her platinum blonde hair made her delicate appearance stand out even more.

Capturing everyone’s attention in the bar, she turned her tired blue eyes towards us and gave a slight smile.

“Domi and Nae-ki, right?”

She was none other than Ediknorjeva, or Eva.

“Whoa, Eva, you’re a foreigner?”

As Nae-ki asked in surprise, I also looked at her in shock.

Her exotic appearance clearly leaned towards Western features.

Under our gazes, Eva brushed her hair to the side and smiled.

“My father is British. My mother is Korean, and since my father loved Korea so much, I have Korean nationality, so I’m not a foreigner. I guess I never mentioned it to you two.”

“Then is Eva’s brother also blonde?”

For some reason, I suddenly imagined a blonde, tanned man.

“No. Eva’s brother has black hair. We’re fraternal twins, so we don’t look alike at all.”

Even though she said they didn’t look alike, I thought Eva’s brother must be quite handsome too.

Thinking about it, there were quite a few good-looking people around me, like Seo-ho.

Meanwhile, when I glanced at Baeksan, he had a nonchalant expression.

Judging by his reaction, it seemed Eva didn’t know Baeksan either.

“Sis, sit down first!”

“Thank you.”

She sat down next to Nae-ki, her every movement exuding grace.

She looked at us alternately and then covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a small laugh.

She really gave off the vibe of a well-bred noble lady.

Like someone who would laugh behind a fan, “Hohoho.”

“So, what were you talking about? I feel like I interrupted your conversation.”

“Ah, right! Domi’s love story!”

“It’s not about me.”

Well, it is about me.

“Domi’s love story? That’s unexpected.”

For some reason, the word “unexpected” hurt me.

Seeing me down, Eva quickly waved her hands and added, “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that Domi seems a bit oblivious to romantic interest. That’s all.”

“I can’t deny that. Is it that obvious?”

“Very obvious. I’ve seen it myself.”

You’ve only seen it in the game, right?

How could you tell I’m oblivious from that?

“Well, there are two people, after all.”

As if reading my thoughts, she smiled and hinted.

Two people?

‘Could she mean Ayu and Seolhyang?’

Eva’s perception might be sharper than I thought.

She probably figured out Ayu was a girl long ago.

Still, it would’ve been nice if she’d given me a heads-up.

…Well, it would’ve been rude to talk about it without Ayu’s consent.

“What? What is it? Am I the only one who doesn’t know?”

Fortunately, only Eva seemed to have sharp intuition; Nae-ki was clueless.

I felt a sense of relief.

I hope Nae-ki stays like this forever.

“Enough about me. Tell us about you, sis. What’s up with Eva’s brother?”

“Ah, well, I came here today to vent a bit.”

She let out a long sigh.

“Sorry for sighing.”

It seemed she was quite upset about her brother.

“…Actually, I don’t think this is the right place to talk about it. It’s not proper to ruin a good atmosphere like this.”

“Sis, what’s going on?”

As she started to get serious, both of us looked puzzled.

We’ve known Eva for about three years.

It was rare for her to show this much emotion, so it was concerning.

“Tell us. Even if we’re not close, it might be easier to talk to us since we’re not directly involved.”

Most worries ease when shared with others.

If what she’s about to say is hard to share with those close to her, it might be easier to tell us, who only know her through the game.

We might not meet much in real life anyway.

So, as we quietly waited for her to speak, Eva hesitated for a long time before finally opening her mouth.

“…Both of you, don’t take this too seriously, okay? It’s already decided for me, and it’s not a big deal anymore.”

“Got it.”

As Nae-ki and I nodded, she finally spoke, filled with regret.

“I’ve been given a terminal diagnosis.”

And those words were more shocking than we expected.

Her skin was pale to the point of being bloodless.

Though covered by clothes, her body looked thinner than average.

And the dark circles under her eyes, hidden by makeup, clearly showed she was in pain.

In the frozen atmosphere, Eva brushed her hair aside as if she had expected this.

Then, as if it were nothing, she spoke to us.

“Actually, this was bound to happen. I thought about hiding it, but our bond isn’t that short, right? I thought it’d be proper to tell you before I go.”

She looked truly sorry.

“Sorry for ruining the mood. I didn’t want to say it, but…”

“…That’s why you could tell us here.”

I looked at Eva with a serious expression.

“Thank you for telling me. I would’ve been hurt if you left without saying anything. So, don’t apologize.”

Hearing my words, she smiled softly.

“Domi, you’re such a warm person, both in the game and in real life.”

If this small comfort could bring her warmth, it was worth it.

There was nothing else I could do in the face of her terminal diagnosis.

“Right. I would’ve resented you if you hadn’t told me.”

Nae-ki held Eva’s hand with a serious expression.

“Losing someone without knowing is too painful.”

As she spoke, Nae-ki sounded like she had experienced it before.

According to Baeksan, Nae-ki was a Returner.

Had she also lost something in another dimension?

Hearing the emotion in her voice, Eva let out a small laugh.

“I’m glad I came out today. I feel a bit lighter.”

What kind of illness could it be?

In modern society, most illnesses can be treated by healing Hunters or Returners.

So, terminal illnesses are rare these days.

‘Come to think of it, Seolhyang called a Saint for me back then.’

Could a Saint heal Eva’s illness too?

I knew it would be a bother to Seolhyang, but I couldn’t just stand by when a friend was terminally ill.

“You both look curious about what illness it is.”

Just as I was about to ask Seolhyang about it, Eva spoke.

Indeed, in modern society, most illnesses are treatable, so I was curious about what her terminal illness was.

“Nae-ki and Ha-chan, you’re both Returners or deeply connected to them, right?”

At that moment, her words froze both of us.

I wasn’t a Returner, but thanks to Baeksan, I had a body similar to one.

And if she noticed that, it meant…

“I have a natural talent for sensing. I’m also a Returner. A Spiritual Mage from the Classification·Returner branch.”

As she spoke, her eyes naturally turned towards Baeksan.

It was as if she could see someone there.

A Spiritual Mage.

Literally, someone who deals with spirits.

Baeksan is a Spirit Entity.

If her eyes could see Baeksan, that meant…

“Damn, things just got complicated.”

Baeksan’s expression twisted, and a menacing aura seeped out.

He was clearly wary of Eva.

Sensing this, Eva frowned slightly and turned her eyes away.

“The thing attached to Domi is hard for even me to see. Whether it’s an evil spirit or not, if I weren’t terminally ill, I would’ve run away immediately. Honestly, when I first came in, the thing next to Domi made it hard to see anything.”

So that’s why she called Nae-ki when she came in.

It seemed she couldn’t see Baeksan clearly.

“Three guild members, and all Returners. What a strange coincidence.”

As she chuckled, Nae-ki, who had been dazed, slowly rubbed her arm.

“…I’m getting goosebumps. What’s going on? Are Returners this common? I just returned recently, so I don’t know much.”

“I’m not sure either. I’ve gotten used to most things, but I was quite surprised when I first saw you two.”

I could only scratch my cheek.

According to Baeksan, this was all someone’s doing.

For the two of them, this must seem like an unbelievable coincidence.

“Well, I’m kind of like a Returner, so maybe we were drawn to each other?”

Since I couldn’t explain the truth, I brushed it off.

If these two met Ayu or Ahin, or even Ggotbi, they’d never think it was a coincidence, but with just the three of us, it could happen.

“Anyway, since you’re both Returners, you might understand my illness.”

Eva returned to the main topic.

“It’s not exactly an illness. I’m here, but I’m not really here.”

“Huh?”

As Nae-ki and I expressed our confusion, she calmly continued.

“My body is still caught in a Dimensional Movement. To be precise, my physical body has been swallowed by a Dimensional Rift.”

At that moment, her hand became semi-transparent.

Her hand passed right through the table, something I had seen many times through Baeksan.

A Spirit Entity.

A state without a physical body.

“I’m a Spirit Entity. I’ve been using my brother’s power to materialize my body, but it’s reached its limit. The connection between my spirit and body is almost severed, so I’m practically on borrowed time.”

“Can’t that be fixed by retrieving your body?”

Nae-ki asked the first question that came to mind, but Eva slowly shook her head.

“I was supposed to die trapped in the Dimensional Rift with my body. I barely escaped using my Spiritual Mage powers. To retrieve my body, we’d have to forcibly open the Dimensional Rift and pull it out. But finding where my body is trapped is practically impossible.”

Hearing this, I thought about Dimensional Movement.

Dimensional Movements occur like disasters, but artificially causing one is incredibly difficult.

Because the prerequisite for Dimensional Movement is knowing the exact coordinates of both dimensions, which is nearly impossible.

Even between Earth and the Moon, there’s a vast expanse of darkness.

And if you consider the entire universe beyond the solar system, it’s even more daunting.

No matter what coordinates you pick, most of what you’ll find is endless space between distant stars.

Similarly, between dimensions, there are countless rifts, and no matter how many coordinates you try, reaching a specific dimension is nearly impossible.

However, when Returners return, this changes.

Returners, from the moment they’re caught in a Dimensional Movement, can sense the coordinates of Earth and the dimension they’re in.

Of course, it’s up to them to clearly recognize those coordinates.

But the point is, you need coordinates to make a round trip.

Even though most Returners die without returning, some manage to come back through this process.

‘But if Eva’s body is trapped in a Dimensional Rift…’

It means her body is endlessly floating in the vast expanse of space.

Could such a body be found?

Maybe someday.

If you ignore the astronomically low probability.