Chapter 79: Outbreak

Levi folded his hands.

"That’s precisely why I’d rather have you working with the Association than letting someone else discover your potential first."

Lucy looked toward the window.

The city lights blurred slightly.

Working for the Association had always been a dream.

Back when she had first awakened.

Back when becoming strong enough to help people seemed impossibly far away.

The Association was everything she had imagined.

Resources.

Training.

Experienced Awakeneds.

Access to powerful Gates.

A chance to become someone capable of protecting others.

It was almost everything she wanted.

No. It used to be everything she ever wanted.

Her fingers tightened around her glass.

Because now, there was a huge problem.

She wanted something else—

Someone else.

Eden.

If she joined the Association, she wouldn’t be able to freely raid Gates with him anymore.

Their daily training.

His words of encouragement.

His kindness.

His touch.

Even the moments when they had barely escaped alive.

Lucy couldn’t simply walk away from all of that.

Not yet.

"I need some time to think."

Levi nodded.

"Take as long as you need."

Lucy looked at him.

"You really aren’t going to pressure me?"

"No."

He smiled.

"I already know what your future looks like."

Lucy frowned.

Levi’s expression became strangely confident.

"I’ll see you standing beside the strongest Awakeneds in the world one day."

Lucy looked away, feeling strangely flustered.

"I don’t know about that."

"You will."

She smiled faintly.

But she didn’t answer.

She couldn’t.

Whether she’d accept his offer remained unanswered.

For now.

That evening, Eden sat inside one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.

The kind of restaurant where the chairs probably cost more than his entire wardrobe.

Across from him sat Assistant Manager Choi.

Long, messy brown hair.

A slightly unshaven face.

Dark circles beneath tired black eyes.

And an expensive suit that looked like it had been chosen specifically to make him appear more awake than he actually was.

Choi looked at Eden.

Then at the menu.

Then back at Eden.

"So."

Eden took a sip of water.

"So?"

"You contacted me."

"Yes."

"And specifically asked to meet."

"Correct."

Choi’s eyes brightened.

"Does this mean you’ve reconsidered?"

Eden frowned.

"Reconsidered what?"

"The Association."

"...Oh."

Eden understood.

"Not yet."

Choi’s shoulders visibly dropped.

"Right."

He looked genuinely disappointed.

"I thought perhaps you’d changed your mind."

"For now, I haven’t."

"Maybe after your performance in the tryouts?"

"No."

"Not even a little?"

"Choi."

"Yes?"

"I didn’t ask to meet for that."

Choi sighed.

"You’re very difficult to recruit."

Eden shrugged.

"I wasn’t trying to be recruited."

"Clearly."

A waiter arrived.

They ordered dinner.

Once they were alone again, Eden’s expression became more serious.

"I didn’t ask you here about the Association."

Choi immediately noticed the change.

"What happened?"

Eden reached into his pocket.

He placed his phone on the table.

"I found something in a Gate."

Choi leaned forward.

Eden opened his gallery.

Several photographs appeared.

Purple plants.

Long twisted stems.

Veins of dark coloration running beneath their surfaces.

Some appeared almost crystalline.

Others had strange purple flowers with black centers.

Choi’s expression became serious.

"Where did you find these?"

"In a C-Rank Gate."

"Anything unusual about the Gate?"

"It wasn’t registered as a discovered gate, but Crimson-Crow was there."

Choi froze.

"The guild?"

Eden nodded.

"There were six of them. Five C-Ranks and one B-Rank."

Choi’s expression darkened.

"What were they doing?"

"Collecting those plants."

"How many?"

"A lot."

Eden scrolled through another photograph.

"They seemed to know exactly what they were looking for."

Choi stared at the images.

"I’ve never seen this species."

"Neither have I."

Choi frowned.

"Did you touch them?"

"No, they seemed pretty venomous."

"Good."

He looked relieved.

Then he zoomed in on one of the photographs.

"These..."

He paused.

"I’m not certain."

"That’s why I called you."

Choi continued studying the image.

"I’ll need to consult the Alchemists Guild."

Eden nodded.

"But?"

Choi looked up.

"But the structure reminds me of something."

He zoomed in further.

"The plant appears to interact with Essence."

Eden’s expression changed.

"How?"

"Possibly by interfering with the internal circulation of Essence."

Choi leaned back.

"I’m not qualified to make a definitive diagnosis from a photograph. But if I’m right..."

He hesitated.

"It could cause something called Essence Fever."

’...!’

Eden went completely still.

He knew very well what a Essence fever is.

"It’s rare."

Choi continued.

"For ordinary people pretty manageable."

Then his expression became serious.

"But for us Awakeneds?"

A pause.

"Potentially fatal."

Eden’s fingers tightened around his glass.

"There’s only one known medicine to actually help against Essence Fever."

Choi sighed.

"And it’s extremely rare. Expensive. Difficult to produce."

Eden stared at him.

Something cold settled in his stomach.

Because he knew those words.

He knew them far too well.

In his first life.

Years later from now, there was a massive outbreak.

At first, nobody understood what was happening.

Awakeneds began falling sick.

Then even ordinary people.

Hospitals filled.

Healing skills didn’t work.

Medicine didn’t work.

Even high-ranking healers struggled.

And then it spread worldwide.

Almost simultaneously.

Hundreds of millions died.

The world had called it the greatest catastrophe since the Gates appeared.

Eden had lost people during that period.

People he had never been able to protect.

He remembered the panic.

The empty streets.

The overflowing hospitals.

The desperate search for the few treatments that worked.

And the horrifying realization that nobody was immune to it.

Eden slowly lowered his glass.

’No.’

His eyes returned to the photographs.

’It can’t be.’

’But those purple plants...’

’Crimson-Crow...’

’Could they be connected?’

His mind raced.

’But why?’

’Even if they’re Rogues, Why would a guild intentionally cultivate something capable of causing such a catastrophe?’

’What would they gain?’

’Money?’

’Power?’

’Political leverage?’

’Revenge?’

’Or something much worse?’

Eden clenched his fist beneath the table.

He couldn’t tell Choi.

Not about the hundreds of millions who would eventually die.

If he told Choi that, there would be no reasonable explanation.

And even if Choi believed him, Eden had no proof.

So he settled for the only thing he could safely say.

"Can you investigate them?"

Choi nodded.

"I’ll contact the Alchemists Guild tonight."

"And the Association?"

"I’ll make sure the information reaches the right people."

"Good."

Eden leaned back.

"Keep Crimson-Crow in mind."

Choi nodded.

"I will."

For several moments, neither spoke.

Then Choi picked up his fork.

"You know..."

Eden looked at him.

"If these plants really are connected to Essence Fever, you may have stumbled onto something important."

Eden gave a humorless smile.

"That’s what I’m worried about."

Choi studied him.

"You seem unusually concerned."

Eden looked toward the restaurant window.

Millions of people continued their lives without knowing what might be waiting for them.

"I’ve got a bad feeling."

Choi sighed.

"Fair enough."

He took another bite.

"Then let’s hope you’re wrong."

Eden looked down at his phone.

At the photographs.

At the purple plants.

At the future that should have been years away.

’Please.’

His expression hardened.

’Let this be nothing.’

Maybe the future had already changed.

Maybe Crimson-Crow was unrelated.

Maybe the outbreak wouldn’t happen.

And maybe...

Maybe this single conversation would somehow be enough to change everything.