Chapter 2: My salvation...

Seven years ago—one year after Zephyr was sent to prison—the ordinary human world he knew changed forever. He saw it on the tiny TV in the head guard’s office—the same old man who took out his anger on him whenever he was in a bad mood.

After all, Zephyr, who had just turned 19, was the easiest target in a prison full of older and battle-hardened criminals.

At that time, he still had his sight.

A strange, massive dark portal, crackling with electricity, suddenly appeared in the center of a city on the Eastern Continent.

At first, no one paid it much mind.

The government just evacuated the area and waited for the anomaly to disappear.

However, human curiosity is persistent.

Scientists were soon dispatched to study the portal. But before they could discover anything, fantasy novel fans saw the news footage and went wild with theories. Their thrill pressured the government to take a risk and send an exploration team inside.

To everyone’s shock—just as the ones who called themselves ’readers’ had predicted—the portal was an unstable crack between worlds, linked to a zone filled with beasts, alien terrain, and dark, corrupted energy.

The readers called it a ’Dungeon.’

They warned that if the dungeon wasn’t cleared in time, it would become overrun, leading to a ’Dungeon Break’—a horrifying event where all the monsters inside would spill out into the world and wreak havoc.

Zephyr had shaken his head at the news. He had even smiled—for the first time in a year spent in prison. Surely, no one would believe something so absurd. Reality and fantasy were two entirely different worlds.

But when a dungeon break was reported just a month later, he was left stunned.

Unfortunately, despite all the precautions the government took after learning about the dungeon break and its risks, they still couldn’t prevent heavy casualties.

Many lives were lost. And after the first dungeon break, the world descended into chaos as more and more portals started appearing rapidly across the globe. One dungeon was devastating enough—now they had to deal with countless more.

The readers went silent, almost as if they were waiting for something big to unfold.

Then they finally emerged—Awakened individuals with supernatural powers.

The readers called them ’Espers’.

But for some reason, only the readers of the boys’ love genre rejoiced—grateful to know that even though their world lacked hunters, systems, or stat windows...

They had Espers!

Individuals with abilities ranging from elemental control to telekinesis, spatial manipulation, and psychic weaponry! No two Espers possessed exactly the same powers, and their abilities often reflected their trauma, instincts, or deepest desires.

Some awaken naturally. Others awaken through exposure to dungeon energy or artificial catalysts. Espers are society’s frontline defense against the monsters.

Revered by some, feared by others—

They were both powerful weapons for humanity and a potential threat.

But fortunately, thanks to the readers, the world was already aware that utilizing their abilities would cause Espers to accumulate corrupted energy in their bodies, eventually driving them into a violent rampage where they would lose all sense of reason.

So, before Espers could reach that point, their counterparts were discovered—

The ’Guides’.

Awakened with stabilizing wavelengths.

They didn’t possess skills like Espers, nor did they have remarkable physical power.

Instead, their unique wavelengths could purify the chaotic, corrupted energy that accumulated within Espers’ bodies.

Of course, for Guides to work effectively, the readers had explained the importance of compatibility—the higher the match rate between an Esper and a Guide, the stronger and more stable the connection, allowing the Guide to provide much better support.

Soon, just as dungeons were categorized into ranks based on their energy levels and threat, Espers and Guides were also ranked according to the potential of their abilities.

The ranking system began with the lowest, F-rank, followed by E, D, C, B, A, and finally the highest rank ever recorded—S-rank.

That was all Zephyr had learned—from the news reports and the talk among prisoners. And yet, it gave his naive 20-year-old self a glimmer of joy and hope. Once again.

If... if he awakened as an Esper, wouldn’t he finally be useful to his family? Wouldn’t his mom and dad stop calling him worthless?

Wouldn’t they get him out of this scary place filled with dangerous criminals?

So, Zephyr prayed. He prayed fervently to awaken as an Esper. Even awakening as a Guide would have been fine. But no matter how hard he wished, he never awakened.

Even when his older brother unexpectedly visited and brought a few crystals infused with dungeon energy—known as mana, the very force that fueled all abilities—nothing happened. He, Zephyr didn’t awaken.

Not even as an F-rank Esper.

He remembered—his brother had clicked his tongue sharply, eyes filled with disdain.

"Our entire family awakened as S-ranks—even me. And you? Still useless. Pathetic."

He didn’t offer a single word of comfort.

Just a cold glare before turning his back and walking away, leaving Zephyr standing there alone, a bitter smile on his face. That day, the last shred of hope in him crumbled like glass. He could almost hear it shatter. He stopped wishing, stopped dreaming.

The world wasn’t simply cruel to the talentless—it humiliated them.

The next time his brother visited was six months later—this time with their parents. They had come to take away his sight.

Thanks to the changed world, Father had discovered a special Esper with the ability to transfer senses. Their goal was to cure his sister, who had lost her sight to an illness in childhood. As an S-rank Esper, she was considered far more valuable than him.

Zephyr had only smiled when his parents told him he could at least do this much for the family, even if he was worthless. The usual lines, the same cold words they had used when they made him take the fall and go to prison in place of his older brother—yet somehow, they hurt just as much.

And so, he gave his sight to his sister.

The special Esper’s ability allowed one’s senses to be transferred to another—but the donor would lose them permanently.

His vision vanished in an instant.

No pain. Just silence, and a world that suddenly turned gray, blurred, and broken.

***

Now, after so many years, the 27-year-old Zephyr—who had finally let go of the family that saw him as worthless—let out a hollow laugh as something sharp tore through his stomach. Blood poured from the wound, soaking his prison uniform in a deep red.

He had tried his best to run...

Just like all the other prisoners who fled. Just like the guard who abandoned him.

He tried his best to survive.

But as someone who couldn’t see, how much could he truly do?

Fate clearly had other plans.

Zephyr gripped the thing embedded in his stomach with trembling fingers. It was very smooth... like the surface of a seashell. He couldn’t see the beast in front of him—only a big, dark blur, the sound of its screeching, and the foul stench of its acrid breath.

The creature flung him aside, only to seize his leg and drag him toward the portal that had opened a short distance away—maybe intending to store him as food for its kids.

It was far too fast on its legs and too strong for Zephyr to even put up a fight.

Yet, his mind kept echoing a single desperate thought: He didn’t want to die.

He didn’t want to die.

How amusing.

He had nothing.

Yet he still wanted to live.

He screamed for help, but no one came.

So he struggled—helpless, frantic—until, ultimately, he was dragged into the portal that had opened inside the prison. Despite the pain tearing through his body, he clung to life. The agony became unbearable as many creatures ripped him apart piece by piece... excruciating and relentless.

And yet, through the torment, the words that escaped his lips never changed.

"I don’t... want to die..."

And then, as if something sealed deep within him had finally been unlocked, a flicker of light flashed across his form.

Had anyone been there, they would have witnessed how his broken form began to greedily absorb the mana thick in the air—pulling it in like a massive, starving void.

So much so, even the small monsters feeding on his flesh recoiled in fear.

Then, it happened. A dark, corrosive aura erupted from his body, killing every living creature in the dungeon before vanishing without a trace—as if it had never existed.

And yet, Zephyr’s pain only intensified.

It was unbearable, maddening.

He felt like he was going insane, losing all sense of himself. He couldn’t hear, couldn’t see—there was only unbearable pain.

After what felt like an eternity, faint, dark shapes began to appear in the grayness—silhouettes that resembled human figures.

So, he begged.

"Please..."

He didn’t know if there was even anything left of his body, but still, he reached out to the shadows. Desperately.

"Please... save me..."

His breath was fading.

Just as he thought he was about to die... someone suddenly grabbed his hand. The touch was electric—warm—a feeling that made him gasp. For some reason, he felt that touch alone was enough to save him.

But then, something began to flow through his body, and he felt euphoric. It was sweet—unbearably so. One second he was dying, and the next, he felt like he was alive again.

How can it be...?

How could something feel so sweet?

So impossibly beautiful—even though he couldn’t see it?

His loudly pounding heart skipped a beat when the person touching him started to pull away. He instantly seized their hand.

So fast that it startled those watching.

No, he couldn’t let go!

He pressed his face against their body, causing them to tense. Instinctively, the words slipped from his lips.

"My salvation... you’re finally here?"

A single tear slid down his cheek.

Then, like a dam breaking, all the pent-up emotions finally poured out. He choked on his breath and forced the words through it.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Right then and there, he made a vow: no matter who this person was, he would do whatever they asked of him—forever.

He would stay with them. Forever.

He would do anything to make it happen.

The person in his arms shouted and even pounded on his back, but it was as if nothing could reach him. Zephyr wrapped his arms around them and even tightened his grip.

At the same time,

Lucien groaned, suffocated by the unknown man’s sudden, deathlike grip—almost as if he wanted to fuse their very beings together.

"This is exactly why I didn’t want to deal with Espers who have clearly lost their minds!"

He turned and glared at the people behind him, some of whom were mocking him.

’Screw the protagonist and his lover! Just why do I have to suffer through all this? It was his lover’s job to handle Espers on the verge of rampage! She’s an S-rank guide, for God’s sake! But he’s making me do it—just because the previous owner of my body was in love with him and did everything he said?’

Lucien shot a sharp look at the man clinging to him like a lost, oversized puppy—fed up.

’And who the hell is this guy? Why is he so damn strong—and why won’t he let go?!’

It had only been half a month since Lucien transmigrated into a novel he had read—the same one he had given a zero-star review—and he was already sick of the nonsense.

Reading a messed-up novel—where even the protagonist was half a villain—and living in it as a cannon fodder character were two completely fucking different things!

He didn’t sign up for this shit, alright!