The system is adamant to erase her. Evelyn Park.
[Day 0 — 13 Days After the Grantor's Return]
The air changed.
No one knew how to explain it — the wind grew colder, heavier, like something vast and ancient was breathing down upon the world again.Birds no longer sang at dawn. The light filtering through the branches of the World Tree dimmed, its once-radiant glow flickering faintly as if the sky itself were holding its breath.
Beneath that immense tree, Evelyn sat quietly, her fingers tracing the soil's pulse.She could feel it — the way the mana veins beneath the ground were trembling, like a heart skipping beats.The System was stirring.
[Global Alert — Unauthorized Entity Detected.]
[Initiating Crimson Protocol.]
[Countdown: 12:59:59:59]
A low hum began to resonate in the sky — mechanical, oppressive, like static drowning out the sound of the wind.Then the clouds bled red.
[At the Edge of the Safe Zone]
Scouts from the Silver Ash Guild watched the horizon where the barrier ended.A crimson haze rolled in, eating through the light of the sun.They raised weapons, some clutching their badges that bore the mark of Evelyn's blessing.
One of them whispered, "Is it another wave?"Another shook his head. "No. The monsters aren't moving. They're waiting."
A faint chime echoed — a familiar System tone.
[Crimson Class Monsters Released.]
[Origin: Outer Perimeter.]
[Objective: Eradicate All Blessed Entities.]
And as the haze thickened, shapes began to move — towering silhouettes with cracked, burning veins.They weren't like before.They weren't supposed to exist.
Each one carried fragments of light trapped in their cores — pieces of the System's own corrupted mana.
The World Tree's barrier flared as the first creature struck it.The sound was deafening — like metal screaming.The barrier held, but the ground quaked.
[Min Jae — Command Tent]
Inside the inner camp, Min Jae stood before a sprawling map of Korea, his hands pressed against the table.Lines of red dots — System signals — blinked along the perimeter.
"All fronts are reporting contact," one soldier said. "The barrier's holding, but they're increasing in number. Ten thousand— maybe more."
Min Jae's jaw tightened. "The System's trying to break the safe zone manually."
A sudden ripple passed through the mana field — his senses screaming.He looked toward the heart of the World Tree.
"She's weakening again," he whispered.
[Under the World Tree]
Evelyn knelt at the base of the trunk, sweat glistening across her skin.Her hands pressed to the roots — glowing faintly as they pulsed with green light.Each surge of her blessing reinforced the barrier, but every time she did, her body grew paler.
The roots whispered back to her in a language older than mana itself.A resonance — soft, melodic, but heavy with warning.
"You are not meant to bear this alone."
Her voice trembled. "I know. But I don't have anyone else who can…"
"Then you must choose one."
[The System's Broadcast — Global]
Every device, every crystal, every interface flickered to life.The System's voice — mechanical, yet almost mocking — echoed across all channels.
[Attention, Remaining Entities.]
[Grantor Identified as System Anomaly.]
[Objective: Erasure.]
[Protocol Active: Crimson Purge.]
[Reward for Termination: World Tree Fragment.]
Gasps erupted throughout the camps.Even those once loyal to Evelyn froze at the word reward.
Fragments.The very same power that had given rise to the safe zone.
And already, messages began to spread across rogue frequencies — mercenary groups, fallen guilds, desperate survivors whispering of riches and rebirth.
Some began marching toward the tree.
[Nightfall — Min Jae's Dilemma]
Min Jae found Evelyn still beneath the roots, light pooling beneath her hands like liquid.He knelt beside her, trying to steady her shoulders.
"You can't keep burning your life away like this," he said, voice cracking. "You've given enough—"
She smiled faintly. "You sound like me, back then."
"I'm serious," he snapped. "You think you can hold the barrier forever? You think the world deserves to lose you again?"
Evelyn's eyes opened — calm, almost distant. "It's not about deserving, Min Jae. It's about surviving long enough to rebuild."
The roots pulsed once more.Then she heard it again — that whisper, softer now, threading through her thoughts.
"Choose your successor before the roots reject you."
She exhaled shakily. "The tree is warning me. If I stay any longer, I'll merge with it completely."
Min Jae's breath caught. "Then pick someone! I'll find them—"
She looked at him, and the silence that followed said everything.He understood.She'd already chosen.
[Evelyn's Blessing — The Passing of Light]
She reached out, her trembling hand cupping his face."I can't give you everything," she said softly. "But I can give you the power to protect what we built."
Light spilled from her fingertips — a thin stream of green and gold that sank into his skin like sunlight through water.His body convulsed; his veins glowed.
[Grantor's Blessing Transferred.][Designation: World Tree Guardian — Min Jae.][Access Granted to Root Network.][Barrier Control — Secondary Node Established.]
Min Jae gasped as new power flooded him — wild, ancient, alive.It wasn't like mana. It was breathing with him.
When his eyes opened, they glowed faint green.
Evelyn smiled weakly. "Now you can keep the roots alive. Protect them… for me."
He caught her hand as she began to fade into the light."Where are you going?"
"To the heart," she whispered. "To buy us more time."
And then she stepped into the roots — her body dissolving into a thousand motes of light that were absorbed by the World Tree.
[The System — Deep Network Layer]
[Critical Error: Grantor Signature Lost.]
[Calibrating Tracking.]
[Target Location: Inaccessible — Root Domain.]
[Deploying Phase Two Entities: Crimson Knights.]
The crimson haze thickened into solid form — humanoid figures wrapped in fractured armor, their cores pulsing like exposed hearts. Each one bore a sigil on its chest: SYSTEM REAPER.
They marched toward the World Tree.
And above them, the sky split open.
[Epilogue Scene — Min Jae's Stand]
Under the roots of the tree, Min Jae raised his weapon — now glowing with the same green energy that pulsed through the soil.Behind him, hundreds of survivors gathered, their faces lit by the barrier's dim light.
He looked up, watching as red streaks descended from the heavens like meteors.
"For her," he whispered."For the Grantor."
The barrier roared to life again, brighter than before — his power fusing with the roots as the first of the Crimson Knights descended.
And deep beneath the tree's core, Evelyn opened her eyes again.She was no longer bound by flesh — her body gone, but her will imprinted within the roots themselves.
The System could not erase her.Not anymore.
[Root Domain Active.]
[Grantor Consciousness: Online.]
[Phase Two Detected — Begin Countermeasure: Rebirth Bloom.]
The war for the world's soul had begun anew.