I'm scared.
"Acknowledged. Fear is rational response to probable death."
Will I see Mom again if I erase? Dad? My original family?
"Unknown. Reincarnation mechanics remain mysterious. However, recommend: focus on survival rather than death. Outcome is not predetermined."
Yoo nodded. Set the plush aside. Stood.
Okay. Let's review the technique one more time.
He practiced. Spatial perception expanded—feeling the boundaries of Extras World, learning to seal rather than tear, to contain rather than destroy.
Master Yoon's voice echoed in memory:
"Void rifts are wounds. You're not healing them—you're cauterizing. Burning the edges closed with concentrated spatial energy. It will hurt. The rift will fight back. And if you lose focus for even one second, it erases you."
No pressure.
He practiced until exhaustion forced him to stop, then returned to his body.
External world: midnight. Academy quiet. Tomorrow at dawn, he'd face his first real test.
I can do this. I survived death once. Survived 823 years in the void. Survived rebirth into apocalypse.
I can survive one more impossible thing.
I have to.
Dawn – Mission Briefing
Yoo stood in briefing room with mission team:
Master Yoon (Diamond 53) – Supervisor
Mira (Gold 33) – Backup / Retrieval
Jae-sung (Platinum 44) – Security / Father
Two other Platinum-ranks for perimeter defense
And watching via hologram: Min-ji and academy leadership.
Master Yoon activated the display.
"Target: Void Rift Delta-7. Smallest rift currently tracked. Eight meters diameter. Expansion rate: two centimeters daily. Located in abandoned district, minimal civilian risk if closure attempt fails catastrophically."
If I explode the rift and kill everyone, at least it's in a dead zone. Comforting.
"Procedure: Yoo approaches within five meters. Activates spatial sealing technique. Process estimated duration: forty-seven minutes. During this time, he must maintain unbroken concentration. Any distraction results in technique failure and probable erasure."
"What about monster attacks?" Jae-sung asked.
"Perimeter team eliminates all threats. Yoo is not to be disturbed under any circumstances."
"And if the rift fights back?"
"Then Yoo either overpowers it—" Master Yoon's expression was grim "—or it overpowers him. There is no retreat option. Once sealing begins, must complete or die."
Silence.
"Any questions?"
Yoo raised his hand. "If I succeed, how many rifts can I close before six-month deadline?"
"At forty-seven minutes per rift, accounting for travel time and rest: approximately sixty rifts. We've identified sixty-three total. Meaning—"
"Meaning I need to get faster. Or three rifts remain unsealed."
"Correct. But priority is: survive the first one. Master the technique. Then accelerate."
Master Yoon looked at each team member.
"This mission is voluntary. If anyone wants to withdraw, now is the time."
No one moved.
"Then we deploy in thirty minutes. Prepare."
The Rift – Delta-7
They arrived via transport. Abandoned district—pre-apocalypse buildings crumbling, nature reclaiming concrete.
And in the center of a former plaza: the rift.
Eight meters of nothing. Edges rippling with anti-light. The wrongness of it made Yoo's spatial senses scream.
"Warning: void rift detected. Dimensional instability: extreme. Recommended approach distance: zero meters. Recommend: reconsider mission."
Not helpful, Akasha.
Master Yoon gestured.
"Perimeter team, establish positions. Mira, stay fifty meters back. If retrieval becomes necessary, I'll signal. Mr. Lee—" she looked at Jae-sung "—I need you to stay calm. Your son is about to do something extremely dangerous. Do not interfere. Clear?"
"Crystal." Jae-sung's voice was tight.
"Yoo. Approach when ready."
Yoo walked forward. Each step felt heavier. The rift's pull increased—not physical, but existential. Like it wanted to erase him.
Five meters away, he stopped.
This is it.
He looked back. Saw his father's terrified face. Mira's cold assessment. Master Yoon's clinical focus.
For all of them. For the five billion who'd die otherwise. For humanity.
I can do this.
Yoo closed his eyes. Extended his spatial senses. Felt the rift's structure—complex, alien, wrong. Like looking at inverted geometry.
He gathered his Gi. Channeled it through pathways trained over three months. Shaped it into sealing formation—Master Yoon's technique, adapted for his unique abilities.
And reached out.
Touched the void.
The Sealing Begins
Pain.
Immediate, overwhelming, existential pain.
The void rejected him. Tried to pull him in, erase him, unmake him at fundamental level.
Yoo pushed back. Wrapped his spatial energy around the rift's edges. Began the cauterization—burning reality closed millimeter by millimeter.
The rift fought. Surged. Tried to expand to consume him.
He held firm. Compressed it. Forced the edges together.
One minute down. Forty-six to go.
His body, standing motionless five meters away, began to bleed—nose, ears, eyes. The strain of manipulating space at this level was destroying him physically.
Don't stop. Can't stop. If I stop, I erase.
Five minutes. The rift shrank by three centimeters.
Ten minutes. Six centimeters.
Fifteen minutes. His vision blurred. Blood flowed freely now. He heard Jae-sung scream something but couldn't process words.
Focus. Seal. Survive.
Twenty minutes. The rift was fighting harder. Like it realized what he was attempting. It pulled at his consciousness, trying to drag him in.
Yoo's spatial seal slipped—
NO!
He caught it. Reinforced. But the backlash sent shockwaves through his body. Something in his chest cracked—ribs, maybe.
Keep going. Don't stop.
Twenty-five minutes. Halfway. The rift was seven meters now. Still massive. Still deadly.
But shrinking.
Thirty minutes. Yoo's consciousness began fragmenting. The pain was beyond physical. It was soul-deep. Like dying in the alley again. Like scattering in the void again.
Not again. I refuse.
He drew on Extras World. Pulled energy from his pocket dimension to reinforce himself.
It helped. Slightly.
Thirty-five minutes. Six meters. The rift's resistance was weakening. It was losing.
I'm winning.
Forty minutes. Five meters. Yoo's body collapsed. Fell forward. But his consciousness held the seal. Kept working even as his physical form failed.
Forty-five minutes. Three meters.
Forty-six minutes. One meter.
Forty-seven minutes—
The rift sealed.
Reality snapped back into place. The hole in space closed. Cauterized. Gone.
Where eight meters of void had been, now there was just… normal space.
Yoo's consciousness returned to his body.
He was lying in blood. His blood. Too much of it.
Did I succeed?
Master Yoon's voice, distant:
"Seal is stable. Mission success. Get him medical. NOW!"
Hands grabbed him. Jae-sung's voice, breaking:
"Stay with me. You did it. Just stay awake—"
But Yoo was already fading.
The last thing he felt was pride.
I did it. I sealed the void.
One down. Sixty-two to go.
I can do this.
Then darkness claimed him.
Three Days Later – Medical Wing
Yoo woke to white ceiling. Medical equipment beeping. His body wrapped in bandages.
Jae-sung was asleep in chair beside him. Dark circles under his eyes. He'd been there the whole time.
I'm alive.
"Affirmative. Host survival: confirmed. Injuries: extensive but non-fatal. Estimated recovery time: two weeks. Mission status: complete success. Void Rift Delta-7: sealed permanently."
How long was I out?
"Seventy-three hours. Your body required extensive healing. Dragon physiology aided recovery significantly. Without it, survival probability was 8%."
Yoo tried to move. Pain shot through everything. He gasped.
Jae-sung woke instantly.
"Don't move. You're held together with stitches and prayer right now."
"Did it work?" Yoo's voice was raspy.
"Perfectly. The rift is gone. Completely sealed. Master Yoon says it's the cleanest closure she's ever seen." Jae-sung's expression was torn between pride and fury. "You almost died. Your heart stopped twice during transport. Twice."
"But I didn't die."
"You came close enough." Jae-sung leaned forward. "We need to talk about this. Sixty-two more rifts? At this cost? You'll be dead before number twenty."
"Then I'll improve. Get faster. Take less damage."
"That's not—" Jae-sung stopped himself. Took deep breath. "You're right. Someone has to do it. And you're the only one who can. But I hate it. I hate watching you sacrifice yourself."
"I know. I hate it too." Yoo met his father's eyes. "But what's the alternative? Let billions die so we can survive in a bunker? That's not living. That's just slower death."
Jae-sung had no answer.
The door opened. Master Yoon entered.
"You're awake. Good. We need to debrief while the experience is fresh." She pulled out a tablet. "The sealing—you modified my technique mid-closure. What changes did you make?"
Yoo explained. How the standard formation wasn't flexible enough. How he'd adapted it using Extras World principles. How he'd drawn on his pocket dimension's energy for the final push.
Master Yoon made notes.
"Interesting. That explains the efficiency spike at thirty-five minutes. You basically invented new sub-technique mid-combat. Impressive."
"Will it help with the next ones?"
"If you can replicate it—yes. You might cut closure time to thirty-five minutes. Still too slow for sixty-two rifts in remaining time. But better." She studied him. "You understand you're the only human who's ever sealed a void rift? The other spatial experts tried. All failed. Most died. You succeeded on first attempt."
"I had good training."
"You had impossible natural talent." Master Yoon's expression was unreadable. "Rest. Recover. Next mission is in sixteen days. Target: Rift Delta-3. Ten meters diameter. Harder than Delta-7."
"I'll be ready."
She left.
Jae-sung and Yoo sat in silence.
Finally—
"I'm proud of you. And terrified for you. Both at once."
"I know. I feel the same about you."
They clasped hands. Father and son. Both fighting impossible battles. Both refusing to give up.
Sixty-two rifts remaining. Five and a half months left.
I can do this.
I have to.