The night wind cut through the bones, even though the dry season wasn't over yet.
Hana sat on a bench in the city park where dim yellow lights hung like lazy stars.
The Great Ancestor stood a few steps away, staring at the black sky that looked… heavier than usual.
As if the sky was hiding something behind itself.
Something impatient.
Hana wrapped her thin jacket tighter.
"Big Bro… the darkness feels different."
"That's because it's not darkness," the Great Ancestor replied flatly.
Hana blinked. "…then what is it?"
"A shadow from another world."
A chill shot through Hana's body.
A New Fracture
In the middle of the sky, a thin purple line appeared only for a moment.
Too fast for ordinary humans to see, but clear enough for the Great Ancestor.
Hana saw it too.
"Big Bro! It's showing up again! Just like the crack in the warehouse!"
The Great Ancestor raised his hand as if he wanted to close it, but he stopped midway.
Hana frowned.
"Why didn't you close it?"
"Because that's not a crack I can close," he said.
"It's… an invitation."
"An invitation from who?!"
The Great Ancestor stared straight into the sky.
"From something we're meant to visit."
Hana swallowed. "That sounds extremely unsafe, Big Bro."
"It is."
"Big Bro"
"And we're still going."
Hana was ready to argue, but before she could speak, another voice came from the side.
An Unexpected Guest
"I suggest you move quickly before the invitation is withdrawn."
Hana turned.
A man appeared out of nowhere, sitting on the edge of the bench.
No footsteps.
No aura.
No warning.
As if he had been there since the world's first breath.
Shoulder-length silver hair.
Eyes too dark to chart.
A neutral face… filled with irony.
Hana jumped to her feet.
"Who are you?!"
The man gave a faint smile.
"Ah. You look so much like"
The Great Ancestor cut him off sharply, his voice cold like a freshly honed blade.
"Don't say the name."
Hana froze.
"…Big Bro, you know him?"
The Great Ancestor didn't answer.
But the tension said enough.
The man lifted his hand casually.
"I'm only a messenger. Or… a thread-puller. Either fits."
"What message?" the Great Ancestor asked, his voice hardening.
"The message that the Middle Time has opened."
Hana blinked. "The what time??"
The man pointed at the purple crack in the sky.
"That's not a door, Hana. It's a window. And beyond that window lies a place even the Great Ancestor cannot touch without risk."
Hana swallowed hard.
The Great Ancestor stepped forward.
"What waits there?"
The man smiled far too calmly for something so dangerous.
"His footprints."
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Even the wind paused.
Hana whispered, pale:
"Big Bro… what does that mean?"
The Great Ancestor didn't answer.
Only his jaw tightened.
The man stood slowly, adjusting his collar.
"If you want to know what He wants… if you want to know why the light inside Hana echoes through every dimension… you must enter before the window closes."
Hana stepped back.
"Go into… another world? Right now?! At night?!"
The Great Ancestor glared at the man.
"Will you come with us?"
The man chuckled.
"No. My job is only to make sure you don't run."
Hana muttered, "Big Bro… I dislike him more and more."
"That's natural," the Great Ancestor replied coldly.
The man nodded.
"Hurry. The window is unstable. And if you're late… this world will be dragged there instead."
He walked away and vanished like smoke ripped by the wind.
Hana looked up.
The purple crack widened slightly.
"Big Bro…" she whispered.
"If we go in… we'll come back, right?"
The Great Ancestor stepped closer and placed his hand on her head.
"We always return."
Hana swallowed her fear and nodded.
"…Okay. Let's go."
The Great Ancestor raised his hand and this time, he didn't restrain his power.
Space trembled.
The purple crack split open.
Another world peeked through the gap, painted in colors no human had ever known.
Hana's first step wavered.
The Great Ancestor steadied her shoulder.
"You ready?"
Hana exhaled.
"…No."
"Good," he replied.
And they entered.
Into the nameless purple light toward something that didn't want to be found, yet had been waiting since the dawn of existence.