Gi-Gyu looked at Soo-Jung with cloudy eyes. A faint glimmer of light appeared in them but quickly faded. Once radiant, the God Hunter armor he wore was now darkening in color.

[...]

Soo-Jung remained silent before she opened the space further and stepped out. Baal stood still while Lim Hye-Sook and Shin Yoo-Bin, seemingly lifeless, remained on the ground. Gi-Gyu's family also remained in the other space.

“Did you have to play such a cruel joke?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“A joke?” Soo-Jung finally spoke in her voice.

Gi-Gyu looked past her and saw his family. He couldn’t hear them breathe, and they still looked like corpses.

“Why are you trying to rile me up on purpose?” Gi-Gyu asked Soo-Jung.

“Tsk.” Soo-Jung clicked her tongue, showing emotion for the first time. “Lee Sun-Ho—I mean, the Creator… I guess you succeeded in syncing with him.”

Soo-Jung waved, and the space behind her became distorted. Shin Yoo-Bin, Lim Hye-Sook, and Gi-Gyu's family, who had seemed dead, suddenly appeared in good health and yelled.

“Oppa!”

“Gi-Gyu!”

Their faces looked awful, marked by tears of sorrow, not signs of physical abuse or torture.

Fwoosh.

When Soo-Jung waved her hand again, the space behind her closed and disappeared. With a chuckle, she muttered, “I guess that was unnecessary, huh?”

“Indeed,” Gi-Gyu agreed. He stayed completely still as she approached him.

She leaned, bringing her face closer to his, gave him a genuine smile, and asked, “So how does it feel to be god, pupil?”

“Isn’t this what...