Chapter 91

After more than half a day passed without any contact from Theo, everyone began to consider alternative measures. The last image of him disappearing vertically like static noise lingered ominously in their minds—they could not dismiss it lightly.

They gathered around a table in the central hall, pacing or shifting nervously, reflecting their unease.

Father, arms crossed, muttered to herself, a grim look on her face:

“First… if there’s no contact by tomorrow morning, we’ll have to look for him offline.”

Everyone turned to her. Noquia asked:

“How? We don’t even know which town he lives in.”

Silence fell. Indeed, no one knew the town where Theo resided. Unsure of what to do, they exchanged uneasy glances. Marco cautiously raised a hand.

“Maybe… Aslan might know? They’re close, right?”

Being familiar with Theo, Aslan might know where he lived. But Father, Holanghee, and Noquia shook their heads in unison.

“How would he know if we don’t?”

The three seemed certain that Aslan wasn’t particularly significant to Theo. Marco fell silent, saying nothing further.

Father opened the guild interface, checking Theo’s still logged-out status and the unanswered messages. The lack of any response weighed heavily on her.

“If only we knew his real name… we could try a town search…”

She lamented, realizing that none of them knew either Theo’s full name or his town. Despite claims by governments and corporations that online life encompassed all of human activity, offline life still mattered for 1st and 2nd-generation players. Tracing or contacting someone offline for such a minor issue in the virtual world proved unexpectedly difficult.

“…Tae Seon-oh…”

A faint voice broke the tense silence.

“Huh?”

“Theo hyung’s real name…”

It was Blaine. Everyone stared in shock. Who would have thought Blaine knew Theo’s full name? Even more striking was his appearance.

His face was pale, eyes hollowed and swollen from tears, one side of his face slackened. In just half a day without word from Theo, he had deteriorated so drastically—it was remarkable. Any attempt at comfort seemed futile; the only true solace would come when Theo returned.

Father clapped her hands loudly, breaking the focus from Blaine and drawing attention to herself.

“Anyway, thanks to Blaine, we know Theo’s name now. We can cross-reference with his age and make the search easier. Let’s wait until morning, and if there’s still no contact, we’ll go look for him ourselves. Who’s willing to help?”

“You’re in District 3, right? I’ll check District 1.”

“I’m in District 7, so I’ll cover that area.”

Holanghee and Noquia didn’t hesitate. From the moment Father decided to search offline, they intended to join her. Most of the guild members volunteered, and together they divided the areas to search.

It was past 1 a.m. when the guild hall finally cleared. Everyone returned to their respective villages—but Blaine headed not to Ratteon, but to Sanaret Village.

Blaine trudged through the streets of Sanaret Village until he reached the exact spot where Theo had disappeared. Darkness had settled around him, and he sank to the ground, burying his face in his arms.

“Hyung…”

The call went unanswered, echoing pitifully in the empty space.

Like a rooted statue, Blaine remained there day after day, watching the sun rise and set, yet Theo never logged in. Since this was the last logout location, he would appear here if he connected again.

Just as Blaine began to fear he might remain a motionless statue forever, a faint presence stirred nearby. Every nerve on edge, he jerked his head up and clumsily rose to his feet.

Theo stood before him, staggering, hand clutched to his mouth, gagging and retching.

Blaine couldn’t blink, afraid that even the slightest movement or call might make him vanish. He could only stare, frozen.

After a while, as Theo patted his chest and wiped his mouth, gradually regaining some composure, he finally noticed Blaine.

“…Blaine?”

At the soft call, reality finally hit Blaine. His eyes widened, and tears began streaming uncontrollably.

The sight of Blaine at the village entrance was surprising enough, but to burst into tears at first sight of him left Theo momentarily taken aback. He bent over again, gagging once more.

Cold sweat drenched his back, and darkness briefly clouded his vision. Staggering, Theo nearly collapsed—only for Blaine to rush forward and steady him.

“Hyung… are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Blaine’s voice trembled, his hands shaking as he held Theo. Theo replied nonchalantly, “No,” though his face was pale as chalk. Through the tear-blurred eyes of Blaine, his condition might have gone unnoticed.

Leaning on Blaine, gripping his shoulder for support, Theo tried to appear composed, but the truth was that standing alone had drained him of strength.

“…But why are you here?”

“Because you disappeared here, hyung…”

“Are the others around?”

Theo scanned the area, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“No… the others said they’d look for you this morning…”

“You should’ve just stayed home.”

“I… I was too scared…”

Blaine’s voice trembled, tears streaming freely down his face rather than trickling.

“Huh?”

“They said they’d go check the town to find you, Hyung, but I couldn’t go… If it’s not a place with augmented reality… I can’t look for you in real life.”

His voice carried the weight of restrained emotion, threaded with sorrow. The pauses between his words conveyed both his grief and his frustration at his own helplessness.

Theo remained silent, gazing at Blaine, then lightly ruffled his hair.

“Still, you were the first to come greet me here.”

Blaine finally let his tears flow freely, throwing himself into Theo’s arms. He clung desperately, his whole body shaking, hands gripping Theo’s back as if afraid to let go. The pale hands, pressing white against Theo’s skin, were pitiful to behold.

Theo held him gently, stroking his back to soothe him.

“It’s okay, don’t cry, don’t cry…”

After a long while of sharing warmth and calming him, Blaine slowly regained some composure. Theo stopped stroking his back and gently tapped him.

“Feeling better now?”

Blaine hiccupped softly from his shoulder, then slowly lifted his head to meet Theo’s gaze. Relief washed over Theo—finally, Blaine was showing his face. But Blaine’s hand immediately reached up and brushed under Theo’s eyes.

“Hyung… your face is pale.”

“Oh? Uh….”

Theo fumbled with his expression, brushing over his own face awkwardly. Blaine quickly grabbed his hands, lowering them, and asked with a serious tone:

“You’re not feeling well, are you? Earlier, when you almost collapsed…”

“That’s just the falling effect.”

‘Falling’ referred to the sensation of dropping abruptly when entering virtual reality. It could induce dizziness or nausea for some, but was only a temporary effect as the device quickly adjusted the body’s rhythm.

“No one actually collapses from the falling effect.”

“No…”

Theo opened his mouth to deflect, then sighed in resignation. Glancing at the time, he noted it was nearly five o’clock.

“Let’s head to the guild house first. I’m tired and just want to sit somewhere. Soon, the others will wake up and gather at the guild house anyway.”

Blaine responded immediately to Theo’s mention of fatigue, flustered as if encountering someone about to collapse. He fumbled, offering to carry or carry him on his back, but there was no stopping Theo, who walked toward the relay station under his own power.

Arriving at the guild house, Theo went up to the central hall and sat at the table. Blaine suggested he lie down in the dorm until everyone else arrived, but Theo shook his head. Blaine fidgeted beside him, then decided to do the only thing he could.

“Then… would you like something to drink? I can make it for you.”

“Huh? Oh… no… could you just bring me some water?”

Without answering, Blaine quickly nodded and dashed off toward the workshop.

While Blaine fetched water, Theo groaned and collapsed face-first onto the table. The memory of the surging pain gauge from the tactile filter kept creeping back into his mind. He clenched his eyes tightly, shaking his head violently.

Moments later, Blaine returned with a cup of water. Theo took it with a grateful nod just as a guild message appeared.

[Guild] [Father: What is this?]

[Guild] [Father: Who are you?!]

Even from here, it seemed he could hear Father’s shouting.