Quickly his mind began to wane, his senses being enveloped by the sight of the inexplicable entity.

The birth of the universe, the evolution of mankind, the erosion of past mountains, the swirls of the sea, the mysteries of the world–such things poured into his mind simply through the mystical, frightening whispers that froze him.

He was so lost in the trance of what laid beyond imagination that drool crept down his lips to his chin, falling down onto the cement before–

“Snap outta it, fire-head!”

–With an abrasive slap to the back of the head, his vision was moved away from the enigmatic entity as he looked down, holding his head as he turned back in surprise.

“…Yeong-Un?!” He called out in surprise.

“What’re you doin’, dozin’ off at a time like this?!” Yeong-Un barked at him.

He felt as if he was dreaming for a moment, being jarringly taken out of the trance as he blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes that had dried out before he placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders.

“Yeong-Un?!”

“Err, yeah, it’s me? What’s up with ya’?” The sharp-toothed adolescent raised an eyebrow, looking at him as if not understanding why he was surprised to see him.

It must’ve only been a minute or two, at most, but for him, that trance felt like hours by the strain put on his body.

“Are ya’ alright, man? What the hell is that thing, anyway?” Yeong-Un asked, noticing how heavily he was breathing with sweat clinging to his skin, grabbing his friend by the shoulders to help him stay on his feet.

“…Yeah, but that thing…I don’t know…but don’t stare at it–! It put me in some sort of trance…I was stuck in it until you hit me in the head. How did you know, anyway?” He asked, looking at the wild-haired man.

Yeong-Un snickered bashfully, rubbing his own head, “I saw ya’ droolin’ like a baby, so I knew a good smack would set ya’ straight.”_.

“…Fair enough. Did Ma-Ri send you out here?”

“Yeah,” Yeong-Un nodded, “–Reinforcements are on the way, dontcha’ worry!”

As the man assured him, he drew both of his blades from the sheaths on his back, flipping them through his fingers as he spread his arms, uncovered by the rolled-up sleeves of his dark-blue-and-black coat.

“This thing doesn’t look very aggressive–if the trick is just not to look at it, then this’ll be a piece of cake!” Yeong-Un called out, closing his eyes.

“Are you…? Hey, dummy! You’re not really planning on fighting with your eyes closed, are you?!” He yelled out towards Yeong-Un.

Yeong-Un stopped, briefly looking back at him as if confused with his confusion, “Huh?! Just watch me!”

Without leaving any room for discussion, the fishnet-shirt-wearing man broke off in a rapid sprint with his open coat fluttering in the winds made by his own agility. While he moved, he kept his eyes completely shut, yet still managed to maneuver perfectly without any hindrance.

Hopping from the hood of each car, and even using the walls of the surrounding buildings as footing, Yeong-Un perfectly set himself on a path towards the stationary, hovering eye.

Wait a minute, he’s actually doing it–?! He thought.

He accidentally looked at the eye while spectating the efforts of the wild man, quickly averting his gaze and shielding his eyes before the mysterious eye could do anything.

“Yer’ mine!” Yeong-Un called out.

Both of his dual blades were spun around once more before he leapt directly towards the large eye, rearing his weapons back before going for a powerful strike–however, it was intercepted.

“…Huh?!” Yeong-Un let out, keeping his eyes shut.

It was one of the spiraling, every-moving rings that orbited the enigmatic entity, completely blocking his slash.

He could only see this while spectating as he watched through his fingers, making sure not to look directly at the main eye.

“Yeong-Un, be careful!” He called out.

“Yeah, yeah!” Yeong-Un yelled out in response.

He wanted to help, but there was little he could think to do to help against such a perplexing enemy.

At least, it doesn’t seem to be attacking, I think…? He thought.

Yeong-Un flipped back after being blocked by the ring of eyes and ever-shifting materials, catching his balance before bursting forth for another attack, this time dragging his blades along the ground without much elegance to his style.

“–Try this! Raging Bull, Mellow Yak!”

This time, both of his blades possessed a potent energy, with the same type of amplification inhabiting his body as his muscles temporarily swelled, giving him further speed as he kicked with enough speed to break through the ringed guard of the entity.

He did it?! He thought.

“Yer’ mine!” Yeong-Un called out with his eyes still tightly shut.

He stomped against the ground with a short-lived quake, mustering all of his strength as he unleashed hefty, all-out strikes against the eye of an unknown material; it wasn’t “fleshy” by normal means, instead inhabiting a ludicrous durability to itself.

“Don’t stop!” He called out in support of his ally.

“I don’t plan on it!” Yeong-Un yelled out in response, continuing with a strength-bolstering warcry as he continued his barrage of slashes against the eye.

–Suddenly, a sonic boom unleashed, causing his ears to ring a powerful shock wave emitted with a great flash.

“Yeong-Un!” He called out, uncovering his eyes.

He could see his scar-covered companion being blown back through the air by some unseen force likely produced by the eye in retaliation.

“Shit…!” He muttered through gritted teeth.

There wasn’t any room for hesitation–he used successive [Blink Steps], using a car as a foothold, then a bent traffic light before using another to bring himself in the air, catching Yeong-Un who was stunned by the blast.

“Damn thing got me good…!” Yeong-Un hacked up blood, coughing.

“I told you to be careful!”

Holding his friend in his arms, though in a slightly awkward position as Yeong-Un was larger than himself, just slightly in height, but greatly so in muscle mass, he landed back down on the ground, making sure to keep both of their backs to the mysterious eye.

Yeong-Un didn’t waste much time after taking a momentary knee to catch his breath, standing back up with both swords in his tight, callused grip, “Alright, time for round two, you cyclops bastard!”

“We’re waiting for reinforcements…!” He told Yeong-Un, pulling him back down.

“Huh?!…I almost had ‘im!” Yeong-Un tried to contest his decision.

Though, it didn’t go too well since at his weakened state from suffering the powerful shock wave directly, he was easily kept down by Jeong-Hui, who was adamant on waiting for the others.

“Dammit, yer’ stubborn sometimes, ya’ know that!”

“Good, because I’m not losing anybody…not ever again!” He yelled directly into his face, keeping him down.

Yeong-Un’s eyes widened slightly as he decided not to fight against it anymore, seeing the pained look in the red-haired man’s emerald eyes.

Before they could exchange any further words, an ear-filling hum emitted from the colossal eye’s position.

“The hell is it doing now…?” Yeong-Un asked.

“I wish I knew…”

They were both taken aback, having to look at it through slight means as they were left clueless to its intentions.

It was clear just sitting around wasn’t going to cut it now, as the malicious hum shook the street, causing the dormant alarms of the cars to sound out before being promptly crushed by the pressure emitted by the enigmatic eye.

Sage System, is there anything I can do to get around that eye? My senses aren’t crazily animalistic like Yeong-Un’s…He thought.

[…]

[There is a method in which you can use.]

It was a different voice than the “Angel System”–a male voice that sounded distinctly human, rather than plainly robotic and female like the former.

Give it to me straight, he thought.

[It’ll be taxing on your mind, however, it can be done: using the capabilities of your Sage ability, you’ll be able to memorize the surrounding area to the most minute detail–this way, ingraining that visualization in your mind, you will be able to move freely without normal sight.]

Gotcha–let’s do that then! He thought.

Standing up, he opened his eyes wide as his emerald irises were inhabited by a spiraling, digital-like accent.

“Sage System: Memorize!” He commanded.

Through his vision, it was as if a wave of an extended sixth sense stretched itself over the surrounding area, ingraining not just the visuals of the scenery, but its sounds, feelings, and smells.

[Memorization Complete. When closing your eyes, your blank sight will be overridden by the snapshot of the street’s layout.]

“Understood,” he mumbled to himself, looking back at Yeong-Un, “It’s my turn to give this a shot.”

“Tch,” Yeong-Un clicked his tongue before smirking, “Give it hell, then!”

He closed his eyes, experiencing a bizarre sensation as with his eyelids shut, he was still able to see, though he knew it was a recreation of his vivid memories.

Still…it’s so real. Even the wind brushing against leaves…It’s alive. This is “Sage System”, huh? He thought.

Without wasting any further time, he sprinted towards the humming eye, intending to halt whatever attack it was building up to.

Sage Period, activate! He thought.