The next morning, I woke to a splitting headache.
It wasn't just exhaustion or stress — it was the weight of two deaths burned into my mind.
Rikard.Taejin.Two very different men, both silenced by the same unseen hand.
And me…The only one who saw how it all ended.
The Watcher of Death wasn't just giving me skills. It was carving their memories into my soul. I could still hear Taejin begging for his life. I could still feel Rikard's chest collapse as the sword impaled him.
I dragged myself out of bed, ignoring the dull ache in my skull. I had a shift at the gate in two hours — or at least I was supposed to. After what happened yesterday, there was no way they'd let me near that dungeon again.
Not after Heaven's Fang disappeared under my watch.
Sure enough, a message had arrived.
FROM: Hunter HQ"Effective immediately, Yun Haseo is relieved of gatekeeper duties pending internal investigation."
I stared at it for a moment.
No apology. No explanation. No support.
Just like that, I was cut off.
"Figures."
They probably think I saw too much.
They're right.
I paced the room, my thoughts spiraling. The system still hovered in my peripheral vision, silent but always watching.
"Hey," I muttered to it, "what happens if I absorb too many echoes?"
A moment passed.
[WARNING: Psychological burden increases with each Echo. Prolonged exposure may lead to memory bleed, emotional distortion, and identity instability.]
My blood chilled.
Memory bleed?
"Wait… So the more I absorb, the more I lose myself?"
[Affirmative. Power comes at a price.]
I sat down, slowly.
So this was the cost.
The strength, the truth… all of it came with a price.
And the price was me.
But what choice did I have?
Someone was killing Hunters to protect a secret. The Hunter Association was compromised.And the dungeon itself… it was changing. Breathing. Watching.
If I didn't use this power, no one would believe me. No one else could expose what's going on.
I looked down at my hand.
Still trembling.
Still… human.
For now.
BZZZT.
Another ping.Another death.
[NEW DEATH ECHO DETECTED][Location: Sector 7A — Underpass near the Abandoned Railway][Hunter Grade: B-Rank — Status: Deceased]
I clenched my jaw.
Another one?
That made three in less than 24 hours.
Whoever was behind this… they were accelerating. Cleaning up their messes before anyone noticed.
Except me.
I pulled on my jacket and grabbed my gloves. If this was going to keep happening, I had to decide something now.
Either I keep running…Or I become something they can't ignore.
The choice wasn't hard.
Because the moment I absorbed Rikard's dying breath…
I stopped being a gatekeeper.
I became the last witness.
And now, I was going to make sure no one could bury the truth again.