CHAPTER 57: HIS OWN WAY

The group moved forward in silence, their footsteps muffled by the damp earth, though now and then the snap of a dead branch rang out too loud. They all carried weapons: rifles, knives, even a makeshift spear. The tension was palpable, as if the air itself knew something was wrong.

Caelan and Jae walked close to Jess, who led the way with a hardened expression. The rifle hung across her chest, ready to be used.

"Are you going to tell us what’s going on?" Caelan insisted, not bothering to lower his voice. "We don’t understand anything. Why were there two versions of you? What does Nolan have to do with Rong Ye?"

"We already told you he’s not dangerous," Jae added, clenching his fists at his sides. "He’s just a scared kid. If you told us what’s going on, we could help you find him faster."

Jess didn’t stop. She kept walking with determination, her eyes scanning the surroundings through the trees.

"Don’t push it," she said. "The only thing that matters now is finding Nolan before it’s too late."

"Late for what?" Caelan insisted, moving even closer to her without slowing down. "So I can kill him? So he can disappear too? If you really care, then be honest. You can’t drag us through this damn forest without telling us anything. We’ll know how to help if you stop treating us like we don’t matter."

Jess stopped dead in her tracks. The rest of the group stopped, noticing the tension in the air. She didn’t look at Caelan immediately. She closed her eyes for a moment, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose, as if the truth weighed more heavily than the rifle slung across her chest.

"It’s not that simple," she murmured, then took a deep breath. "Rong Ye’s father was one of those responsible for Nolan’s parents’ disappearance."

Caelan felt something sink in his stomach. He stood still, lips parted, processing the sentence word by word. Jae, beside him, looked down.

Jess looked up at the sky between the trees, as if struggling to sustain her own words.

"Nolan doesn’t know for sure, but he senses it. He’s spent years searching for answers, tying up loose ends, collecting rumors. When he saw Rong Ye, he recognized him. He knows who he is. Or thinks he knows. And if he finds him before we do..."

She didn’t finish the sentence.

Jae felt a chill run down his spine.

"And how do you know all that?" he asked.

Jess looked down at him. For a moment, she looked more tired than annoyed. Her voice lowered.

"Because I was the one who gave him the information. I thought he was ready. That he could handle it... I was wrong."

Caelan exchanged a tense look with Jae.

"And that thing... the other you...?"

"That’s a more complicated question to answer," Jess said immediately, harshly. "All you need to know is that this thing is an interdimensional creature capable of imitating people."

She turned to the group, regaining control.

"We’re not alone in this forest. That thing could also be looking for Rong Ye. So if you find him, if you hear anything, if you see him, don’t do anything on your own. Call me. Understand?"

Everyone nodded. They walked in silence for several minutes. The forest grew denser as they walked, and the sky barely filtered through the treetops. The only sounds were the crunch of leaves under their boots, the rustling of branches, and the occasional labored breath.

Caelan was alert, his eyes focused on his surroundings, but his mind was still processing Jess’s words. Beside him, Jae seemed equally affected. Although they both tried to concentrate, the thought that Nolan could hurt Rong Ye was eating at them inside.

Suddenly, one of the men who was ahead started running toward them. His face was pale.

"Jess!" he shouted. "We found something. A cave, to the west, not far from here."

Jess stopped in her tracks. The others halted as well.

"A cave?" she repeated, narrowing her eyes.

The man nodded vehemently.

"We didn’t see anyone, but the air in there is... strange."

Jess was silent. She glanced in the direction the man had pointed, then back at the group. She weighed her options: Was it a trap? Did it have something to do with Nolan? Or was it just a coincidence?

She couldn’t risk wasting any more time, but she also couldn’t risk dragging the entire group into a potential ambush.

And then the earth shook.

A shudder ran through the ground. Branches trembled. Birds scattered with sharp cries.

Jae staggered a little. Caelan reflexively reached out, protecting him. Everyone froze.

No visible Rift opened. No light. No harrowing sound from another plane. But the energy was there.

Caelan felt it in his chest, like an electric current surging through his bones. The same kind of energy he’d felt the day that thing attacked them. Cold and abnormal.

"A Rift opened," he murmured. "But it was underground. It must be connected to that cave. We have to get in."

Jess didn’t move. Her eyes remained fixed on the trees, but her face hardened even further.

"No," she said firmly. "I’ll go alone. The rest of the group will continue combing the forest. If the Rift has nothing to do with Nolan, someone needs to be outside in case he shows up."

"Are you going alone?" Caelan repeated. "Are you crazy? You don’t know what you’ll find there. There might be creatures. It’s suicide!"

"It would be worse if you came with me," Jess replied, not raising her voice, but with a confidence that silenced the entire group. "You have no training. You can’t handle what’s on the other side. I can."

Caelan gritted his teeth in frustration.

"You can’t face that alone."

"I can’t take care of you in there either," she said. "If something goes wrong, someone has to keep looking for Nolan. We can’t waste time or divide our forces any further."

She turned to the man who had spoken.

"Show me the cave."

And without waiting for a reply, she started walking in that direction. Caelan watched her walk away, fists clenched at his sides. Jae placed a hand on his shoulder, as if trying to calm him, but his own eyes also reflected concern.

"What if he doesn’t come back?" he asked quietly.

Caelan swallowed, his eyes never leaving the forest.

"Then we’re going in."

***

Eun-woo’s life was built on lies. Some were small, like the ones you repeat to yourself to survive. Others, however, were so enormous they shaped every corner of his existence.

He’d always sensed it, even before everything fell apart. What he didn’t know was how far those lies went.

The faces he had called "parents" for years were nothing more than well-placed masks. The man and woman who had once guided him with sternness and empty words had never loved him.

That alone was a betrayal, but what really hurt was the possibility that his real parents hadn’t loved him either. Maybe they, too, had seen him as a burden.

Perhaps there was no place for him in any home; after all, he had been raised locked away in silences that pretended to be affection.

Eun-woo understood now: his entire life was a collection of lies. And yet, the creature offered him a way to discover the truth behind them.

All he had to do was stop fighting. He just had to look away and allow the creature to do what it wanted.

For a split second, that idea tempted him. It would be so easy. He just had to take a step back.

But then he thought of Rong Ye.

He thought about the way he’d first seen him, with that sharp gaze that seemed to hide something much deeper. How he used sarcasm like a shield, as if mocking everything was the only way to stay afloat. How he spoke as if he didn’t expect anyone to stay by his side, as if he already knew everyone would eventually drift away.

Rong Ye seemed to be in a constant battle with himself, as if trapped in a silent war no one else could see.

Eun-woo couldn’t give Rong Ye up. Not him, not anyone else. Because even if he didn’t know everything about Rong Ye, even if he didn’t know how much he could trust, he still cared.

Besides, he was tired of everyone making decisions for him. Of being pushed around, protected, or used as if he didn’t have a voice of his own. He had always been the weapon, the threat, the anomaly that had to be kept under control.

But now he was beginning to understand that he was also someone capable of choice. And that choice, however chaotic, belonged to him.

Yes, he chose to pursue the truth. But he would do it his way. He wasn’t going to do it at the price of losing someone. Not if he could help it. Not if the cost was as high as handing Rong Ye over.

If he had learned anything, it was that sacrifices imposed by others only left scars. He didn’t want any more scars. He didn’t want to continue being the result of other people’s decisions.

So, even if it took him longer, even if he had to grope his way through the confusion, he preferred to move slowly. As long as it meant keeping the few people who had become important to him safe.

Because at the end of the day, what he feared most wasn’t the truth, it was being left alone with it.

Emotions boiled beneath Eun-woo’s skin like magma about to explode. Anger, sadness, fear. They all struggled to escape. But this time, he didn’t lose control. He didn’t scream. He didn’t run away. He held them in, pressed tightly to his chest like a secret that no longer consumed him. And although he was shattered inside, he remained calm on the outside.

His red eyes shone brightly, and seeing him there, so serene, so silent, so aware of what he could do, Eun-woo stopped looking like a lost child.

He looked like someone who could destroy the world.