Two Months Later – Reunion Day
Yoo was eight months old chronologically.
Physically, he appeared three years old.
Bronze Rank 9—one step from Iron.
And today, his father was coming home.
He stood at the academy's main gate with Ji-hye, watching the transport vehicles arrive. His heart—now slightly denser than normal human hearts, courtesy of dragon physiology—hammered against his ribs.
Thump-thump-thump.
"Host vital signs: elevated. Heart rate 140 BPM. Emotional response: anxiety, anticipation, fear. Diagnosis: normal for reunion scenario."
Not helping, Akasha.
The third transport stopped.
The door opened.
Jae-sung stepped out.
Yoo barely recognized him.
His father had left Gold-high—strong, but mortal. He returned Platinum 41, moving with a predator's grace that made the air around him heavy. Scars covered visible skin—new ones, deep ones. His left arm was wrapped in medical bandages.
But he was alive.
Their eyes met.
Jae-sung's expression cycled through shock, confusion… then understanding.
Right. I'm twice the size he left.
"Seung-yoon?" Jae-sung approached carefully, like Yoo might be a mirage.
"Hi, Dad." Yoo's voice was clearer now. Three-year-old vocal cords could manage complex sentences. "You look terrible."
Jae-sung laughed—a rough, exhausted sound. "You look like you aged two years in six months."
"I did. Sort of." Yoo held out his arms. "Are you going to hug me or just stare?"
Jae-sung knelt. Pulled Yoo into an embrace so tight it almost hurt.
"I missed you," he whispered. "Every day. Every mission. I thought about coming back to you."
"I know. I could feel it." Not literally—but Yoo had spent six months imagining his father's struggles, matching them with his own. "You're Platinum now."
"Yeah. Barely. Cost eight good people to get here." Jae-sung's voice broke slightly. "They died because I was too slow, too weak, too—"
"You survived. That's what matters. You came back." Yoo pulled away, met his father's eyes. "Now we're both stronger. Like we planned."
Jae-sung looked at him—really looked. Saw the faint gold-silver glow in Yoo's eyes. Felt the energy radiating from his three-year-old body.
"You're Bronze 9. How?"
"Long story. Involving a mysterious trader, a dragon core, and a deal I probably shouldn't have made."
"Of course you did." Jae-sung stood, keeping his hand on Yoo's shoulder. "We need to talk. Privately."
"Agreed. But first—" Yoo gestured to Ji-hye, who was crying silently nearby. "She took care of me. Say thank you."
Jae-sung turned. Bowed deeply to Ji-hye.
"Thank you. For protecting him. For everything."
"He didn't need much protecting," Ji-hye said, wiping her eyes. "He's… special. But you know that."
"I do."
Private Quarters – That Evening
Jae-sung's new room was larger. Platinum-rank privilege. Actual bed instead of floor mattress. Small attached bathroom. Luxury by apocalypse standards.
He sat on the bed, Yoo beside him. Door sealed. Privacy wards active—academy standard, kept conversations from being monitored.
Probably.
"Tell me everything," Jae-sung said.
Yoo did. The training. The mysterious trader Han. The dragon core absorption. The six months of growth, learning, preparing.
Jae-sung listened without interrupting. When Yoo finished, silence stretched.
Finally:
"You absorbed an Awakened-tier core. At six months old. Chronologically."
"Physically two years old at the time. And yes."
"You could've died."
"I know."
"And you did it anyway."
"You were risking your life on missions. Seemed fair." Yoo met his father's gaze. "We're in this together. Equal partners. Not parent protecting helpless child anymore."
Jae-sung wanted to argue—Yoo could see it. But he also saw his father processing the reality: Yoo wasn't normal. Wasn't a child, not really. Was something else entirely.
"Partners," Jae-sung agreed finally. "But I'm still your father. I get veto power on the stupidest ideas."
"Deal."
They shook hands—adult to adult, despite Yoo's three-year-old appearance.
"Now your turn," Yoo said. "What happened on the missions?"
Jae-sung's expression darkened. "We cleared seven Overlord-tier dungeons. Lost nineteen people total. I made Platinum by absorbing an Emperor-tier core I had no right surviving."
Emperor-tier?
"Confirmation: Emperor-tier cores are designed for Diamond-rank minimum. Host father absorbing one at Gold-high was 94% mortality risk. His survival indicates: exceptional willpower, adaptive physiology, or both."
"That should've killed you," Yoo said quietly.
"It tried. For six hours." Jae-sung pulled off his shirt. His torso was covered in burn-like scars—patterns that looked almost like... circuitry. "The core energy rewired my Gi pathways. Tore them apart and rebuilt them stronger. I don't remember most of it. Just pain."
Yoo traced one scar gently. "Dad…"
"I did it to protect you. Would do it again." Jae-sung pulled his shirt back on. "But I learned something during those missions. Something important."
"What?"
"The dungeons are changing. Not just getting stronger—changing. Layouts shift mid-exploration. Monster classifications are wrong. We'd enter Iron-tier, face Overlord-class beasts. Reality inside dungeons is becoming… unstable."
The cosmic game. Aethon and Chaos are making more moves. Warping reality further.
"How long until it's completely unstable?"
"Reaper's estimate: two years. Maybe less. At current rate, dungeons will become death traps. Normal hunting will be impossible." Jae-sung's voice was grim. "The academy knows. That's why they're training you anomaly kids so young. They need combat-ready hunters before the world falls apart completely."
Two years. Same timeline Min-ji mentioned for endgame.
"Then we have two years to get strong enough to matter."
"You're Bronze 9. I'm Platinum 41. That's strong."
"Not strong enough. Not for what's coming." Yoo stood, paced the small room. "The entities playing this game—Aethon and Chaos—they're beyond Primordial-tier. Maybe beyond that too. To influence their game, we'd need to be Primordial minimum. That's—"
"Impossible," Jae-sung finished. "Normal hunters take decades to reach Platinum. Lifetimes to reach beyond."
"We're not normal." Yoo turned to his father. "I'm reincarnated with impossible abilities. You survived Emperor-tier absorption. We accelerate faster than anyone. If we push hard enough—"
A knock at the door interrupted.
"Mr. Lee? It's Instructor Kang. We need to speak. Urgently."
Jae-sung and Yoo exchanged glances. This can't be good.
Jae-sung opened the door.
Min-ji entered, expression serious. Behind her: two other Platinum-ranks Yoo hadn't seen before.
"What's wrong?" Jae-sung asked.
"Everything. Sit down. Both of you."
The Briefing
Min-ji activated a holographic display.
Showed a map of Korea. Red markers dotted the landscape—hundreds of them.
"Core Surge was four months ago. We're still tracking effects. But something new emerged last week."
She zoomed in on Seoul's ruins. "New rift type. Not monster spawns. Something else."
The display showed footage: reality tearing open—but the energy signature was different. Wrong. Like the universe was rejecting the wound instead of healing it.
"We're calling them Void Rifts. They don't spawn monsters. They erase. Anything that enters ceases to exist. Not killed—erased. No corpse. No energy. Just gone."
Yoo's blood chilled. That's what happened to my soul originally. I was erased into the void.
"How many?" Jae-sung asked.
"Forty-seven confirmed. Growing daily. And they're expanding. Started as pinpricks. Now some are ten meters in diameter. If they continue growing—"
"They'll consume everything," Yoo finished.
"Correct. Current projection: six months until critical mass. At that point, void rifts will merge. Create cascading collapse. Dimensional stability fails. Earth becomes uninhabitable."
The room went silent.
"Six months?" Jae-sung's voice was hollow. "You said we had two years."
"We did. Until this new factor." Min-ji looked at them both. "The entities' game is accelerating. Endgame timeline has moved up. We're no longer preparing for distant threat. We're in crisis now."
Yoo processed this. Six months. Not two years. Six months until dimensional collapse.
That's not enough time to get strong enough.
"Agreed. Current progression rate: Bronze 9 to Primordial-tier requires minimum 15–20 years standard cultivation. Accelerated: 8–10 years. Six months: insufficient."
Then we find another way.
"What's the academy's plan?" Yoo asked.
Min-ji looked surprised he spoke so clearly. But answered:
"Evacuation protocols. Identify stable zones. Move population. Defensive operations to slow rift expansion. And—" she hesitated "—Project Ascension."
"What's that?"
"Classified. But since you're both involved—" She gestured to the other Platinum-ranks. "We're attempting forced advancement protocols. Accelerating hunter growth through extreme methods. High mortality rate. But survivors gain multiple ranks rapidly."
"How high mortality?" Jae-sung demanded.
"Seventy percent."
"You're killing hunters to make a few stronger?"
"We're offering volunteers the chance to become strong enough to matter. Three successful Ascension subjects have reached Emperor-rank from Platinum in two months. That's years of normal cultivation compressed."
Forced advancement. Like what Dad did with Emperor-tier core—but systematized.
"And the children?" Yoo asked. "What happens to us?"
"You're too young for Ascension protocols. Your bodies would collapse." Min-ji's expression softened slightly. "But we have an alternative plan. Operation: Sanctuary."
The display changed. Showed massive underground facilities. Bunkers. Life support. Dimensional shields.
"If Earth becomes uninhabitable, we save who we can. Strongest hunters. Most talented children. Essential personnel. Five thousand people maximum."
Five thousand out of seven billion.
"Everyone else dies," Yoo stated.