"Yura?! " In my returning vision, I saw her shedding more tears than ever before, desperately pleading with me.
"Please don't go... I can't bear to be left alone again..." Her concealed emotions seemed to unravel, revealing her true feelings that had never surfaced before.
"Honestly, I was at my limit... It was right before I was about to break down when you came back!!"
"It's because you came back that I was able to hold on! If you disappear again, even for a moment... I might not be able to endure it...!"
"Please don't leave... Just stay like this..." She held onto my suit so tightly it crumpled, refusing to let go.
I had never seen Yura in such a state... She seemed to be crying out all the pain of her life.
"Just a moment, Yura... Calm down..." I tried to soothe her, but her emotions were far from settled.
"No... I can't bear it if you disappear again..." Her embrace tightened as if to impress upon me her unwillingness to part.
Though I felt restrained, her grip wasn’t strong; it was more out of desperation than force.
"Everything will be fine, honestly. If I hadn't mentioned it, it would have been such a short time you wouldn’t even have realized I was gone. I’ll just be away for a brief moment, no need for days."
"But what if something happens? How can you trust the words of someone who says they'll return soon from war?!" Her analogy was apt yet exaggerated; I had no real response.
"Well... The money will come in properly, and you won't have to struggle like you did before."
Was she acting this way because she remembered the hardships when I was gone? I tried to reassure her, but...
"It doesn’t matter! Even if I had to struggle, having you here is a thousand times better than being without you!" Clearly, her concerns were about something that money couldn't resolve. "Yura..." Why is it like this? Although we, as siblings, have always been close since childhood, like in a fantasy story, I never knew she depended on me this much.
"Just stay here! Why do you need to go back to that world? Is it more important than your family?!" She was imploring me with a technique that seemed impossible to resist, compelling me to agree with her.
"Your voice is too loud! Others might hear...!" We were in a shabby mansion, not well soundproofed. Yura usually took great care not to bother others, but her heightened emotions were making her unusually loud and agitated.
"Like I've said several times already, it won't be for long... just a brief moment..."
"Even if it's true that you went to another world and came back, wouldn't there be consequences there too? Isn't your short visit due to being unable to let go of the people you're attached to?"
Her sudden pointed questions, either calculated or coincidental, dug deep into an uncomfortable truth. Did she have an exceptional intuition, or was she reading my mind somehow?
"I have to go now." Continuing the conversation seemed futile as we were going in circles. It was time to take leave, especially since I had barely persuaded Mir to let me go. I didn’t want to risk changing her mind by delaying too long.
Carefully, I helped Yura to sit and stood up. She didn't resist but wept silently, looking utterly forlorn, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"I'm really sorry... but this will be a really short trip, so don’t worry."
As heart-wrenching as it was to leave Yura in such a state, I had to move towards the door.
She just wept quietly, her head bowed in sorrow. It was a tragic scene, but I believed things would be fine once I returned from this brief trip. "Sorry... I'll be back soon." I said, reaching for the door.
"Are you... going to meet a woman?" Her words came with a sudden chill in the air.
"What?! No!" I quickly turned around in surprise, feeling a familiar chill down my spine.
"Oppa..." Yura stood there, her fierce demeanor replaced by a somber one.
"You're going to meet someone in that other world, aren't you?" Her insight felt almost invasive, as if she was reading my mind.
"Yura, what are you talking about?"
"Your panic seems to confirm it... Just a guess, though." How could she be so accurately guessing my thoughts? I instinctively knew this was the worst-case scenario.
"Come with me!" She grabbed my arm, demanding to accompany me.
"What?! Why?"
"People meet for a reason, right? And if you're going to meet someone, it means you can explain things to them." Yura's confidence in her reasoning was unsettling.
"I want to come with you. I don't know who this person is, but I need to talk to them." Her sudden desire to meet Mir was alarming.
"Why...?" I couldn't fathom what she would say to Mir, and the potential outcomes of their meeting seemed dangerously unpredictable.
"Just take me with you!" Her stubbornness was clear in her eyes. From childhood, once Yura set her mind on something, it was impossible to dissuade her.
Her grip on my arm tightened, her determination unwavering and fueled by an unknown courage.
In such a situation, I had no choice but to take her. My experience growing up with her told me that if I tried to leave her behind, she would stubbornly follow and insist on meeting Mir. "Okay, fine..." I resigned myself to the situation, realizing there was no point in making it more difficult than it needed to be.
"But you can't say anything weird, okay?"
"I get it! I'm not planning to cause trouble!" Yura assured me, smiling contentedly as she led the way, despite not knowing where we were going.
With a sigh, I sent a text to Mir, warning her of an unexpected guest. We left the apartment, heading to the designated meeting place in the late hours.
We arrived at a luxurious hotel, a place that seemed exclusive to the elite, where even a few days' stay could drain my monthly salary. Why had Mir chosen such a venue? I wondered if a grand spell to travel worlds required a more expansive space than a confined hotel room. Despite my doubts, I didn't voice them and followed Mir's instructions.
Knock, knock, knock.
We were at the top floor of the building, outside the suite where Mir was waiting. The sophisticated design of the door itself was beyond my ordinary means.
Yura's grip on my arm tightened as I knocked on the door. "Hey, could you at least let go of my arm in front of others...?"
"No, I feel uneasy," she refused, her stubbornness unyielding.
The door suddenly opened, and there was Mir.
"Hmm... is that the girl?" Mir's voice held a hint of displeasure as she saw Yura clinging to my arm, having been forewarned about her.
"You're the person my brother wanted to meet, right? Please, talk to me!" Yura requested boldly, undeterred by Mir's cold demeanor.
"A mismatched kid, huh..." Mir muttered under her breath, clearly not fond of Yura's presence. At first glance, Yura and Mir looked about the same age, which made Mir's condescending tone slightly awkward.
"Fine... both of you, come in," Mir sighed, granting us entry, and I followed Yura into the room. Inside, the facilities were even more luxurious than I had imagined.
"So, you're Minjun's sister, then? What brings you here?" Mir, sitting casually on the bed, eyed Yura with an apparent dissatisfaction.
"I heard about it from my brother... You're planning to take him somewhere, right?" Yura got straight to the point, undeterred by Mir's menacing aura and even projecting a sense of confidence in her inquiry.
"Hmm... it's actually at your brother's request," Mir confirmed, still eyeing Yura sharply.
"In that case, I'll be straightforward: please don't fulfill my brother's request."
"What?!" I was somewhat prepared for this, but hearing it still made the situation unavoidably tense.
"So, you're telling me not to take him?" Mir's question was met with a firm nod from Yura.
"Yes! He's my brother! Whatever happens, I won't let you take him!"
There was an odd confidence in Yura's words, and even without knowing Mir's true identity, she seemed overly assertive. It was almost as if she was implying something more, which could lead to misunderstandings.
"Yura...!!" I tried belatedly to intervene.
"Really?" What truly shocked me wasn't Yura's statement.
"Alright, then I'll leave him be." It was Mir's unexpectedly easy acquiescence.
Perhaps it was the expected response. She had reluctantly transported me to this world, so leaving me alone would likely lead to a change of heart. Considering that she should have been convincing me to stay, her sudden change of mind seemed too easy.
"Wait, what?!" I couldn't hide my astonishment and looked at Mir, trying to convey my confusion.
Mir's ease in changing her stance was unsettling. She had made it seem like it was a trivial decision, despite the likelihood of my potential defiance. Her readiness to agree to Yura's request without a fight was bewildering. "Really?!" I was astounded, but my plea was drowned out by Yura's spirited voice.
"Yes, of course... I never really wanted to take you away in the first place." Mir was surprisingly supportive of Yura's request.
"Thank you!!" Yura bowed deeply, showing gratitude without knowing the full situation.
"Heh..." But then, Mir suddenly flashed a suspicious smile and giggled, "There is one condition, though."
"A condition? What kind of—" Yura began, tilting her head in confusion.
Thud! Suddenly, Yura was lifted into the air with a violent noise.
"?! " I quickly turned and saw Yura hitting the wall, collapsing lifelessly.
"I need to examine your brother a bit."
"Yura?!!" I rushed to my sister, who was motionless on the ground, and held her in my arms.
"She's still breathing... Just unconscious." Thankfully, she was just knocked out, breathing steadily and with a detectable pulse.
"Mir... What the hell is this- cough?!" Before I could express my hatred, I was rendered helpless.
Click! Click! My physical freedom was suddenly stripped away.
"Argh...?!" Black chains appeared from nowhere, binding me.
"Don't worry, I just used enough force to put her to sleep." Mir's sinister smile grew as she spoke to me, then lightly lifted my body and laid me on the large bed.
These chains... It wasn't the first time I've encountered them... Could she really wield magic at will in the real world? Desperately struggling, I found the chains unbreakable.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Anger laced my voice, but Mir just smirked briefly and then revealed the entire truth.
"I'm sorry, truly. I never intended to let you go back in the first place." Climbing onto me, she began to exhale a strange breath.
"There was never a way to go back, to begin with." Her words made me doubt my own ears, denying the reality, but her ruthless announcement continued. "On the day we first met in this world, remember how I shattered a crystal? That crystal actually contained both reality manipulation and teleportation magic."
"The moment I destroyed it, we were bound to remain here forever." Unbelievable... So, from the beginning, she was lying? Did she anticipate this situation?
As despair and betrayal filled me, Mir blushed seductively, a threat I'd sensed many times before.
"The reason I called you to this hotel was, in fact, to finally have you. I've been holding back, not wanting to overwhelm you, but the moment you spoke of leaving, I couldn't contain myself any longer."
Licking her lips lewdly, she caressed my cheek and neck like a puppy. "You claim to live a content life, yet you wish to return. It must be because of those other women in that world, isn't it?"
"Your excuse of a brief visit is clearly a lie... If you really returned, you'd leave me for those other women. I can't let that happen."
She began to unbutton my shirt as if to assert her dominance. "That's why I'm doing this... I will completely claim you as mine..."
I struggled against her, but it was futile. "Don't be afraid, just surrender..."
Ignoring her persuasive but hollow words, I continued to resist. "It's useless, resistance is meaningless. Just accept it."
Mir's words, seemingly sweet and tempting, began to sway me. Is this how it ends? On one hand, I had already given up.
"Good, you're being obedient... Now, shall we begin?"
My resistance halted involuntarily, prompting a happy smile from her. "Finally, I have you..."
As she prepared to unleash her desires on me, reveling in the fulfillment of her wish... Bang! Suddenly, thunder began to crash outside. It was a clear day, and this thunder seemed like a bolt from the blue.
"What...?" Mir suddenly stopped, her eyes wide with shock as she stared out the window, sensing something.
"No way... It can't be..." She muttered in disbelief.
Crash! The room's window shattered into pieces.
"Ah?!" Mir, seemingly targeted by the flying shards, shielded her face with her arms.
Boom! Another bolt struck from the clear sky.
"How dare you covet what belongs to a deity... You hasten your own end."
Then, the unbelievable happened.
"So, the ancient dragon boasted its dominance...," came a familiar yet chilling voice.
A familiar face flashed through my mind. I quickly turned towards the broken windows.
"Did you think I couldn't find you if you took him to another world? Foolish dragon..."
The girl, staring at Mir with a mix of contempt and hatred in her hollow eyes, was there. She seemed to float in the air outside the window, as if standing on an invisible platform.
"No matter the distance, even across dimensions, nothing can separate him and me... Not even if he were at the very bottom of hell, I would find him..."
The goddess, with a calm but firm decree, seemed to warn against touching her property.
"I have come to reclaim what is mine."