Baek Hana crumpled like a stringless puppet, falling towards the floor.
An unexpected turn of events.
As soon as Baek Hana showed signs of distress, my body reacted as well.
"Baek Hana."
I called out to her, but she didn't respond, even as I caught her before she hit the floor.
'...Awakening.'
The temperature of the girl in my arms was rising. Her breathing, escaping through slightly parted lips, was becoming faster.
"As I thought… Is this it?"
Perhaps… Just perhaps, I had hoped that this small girl, by meeting me, would lead a normal life, not as an Awakened. I had often thought about it.
But it seemed that this world wouldn't allow for such variables.
"Baek Hana."
"Ugh, ugh…"
She wasn't responding to my call.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to have lost consciousness completely.
I wanted to lay her on the bed immediately, but as the moon turned white and emitted its light, Baek Hana collapsed.
So, I held her in my arms, waiting for the moon to return to its original color.
Fortunately, unlike the gradual whitening, the emission of light was brief, and the white moon couldn't sustain it for more than five minutes before returning to its dull color.
Tap—
I closed the window, then quickly carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.
Most Awakened individuals manifest their abilities without any adverse effects. However, a small percentage of Awakened with special or exceptional abilities experience symptoms like fever, hallucinations, or chills during their Awakening.
This was information I had gathered both through my own research and from 'Baek Woo-jin's' memories.
'The power to kill gods…'
Perhaps it was foolish of me to hope that she would awaken such a power without any complications.
As her temperature continued to rise and her breathing became more labored, my priority was to bring down her fever.
Using my magic would be simple, but the magic channeled through my will has a different nature from ordinary magic.
That's why I had refrained from using magic in front of Baek Hana. Moreover, Awakening is the process of becoming an Awakened, during which one gains an affinity for magic and absorbs it into their body.
Pure magic is accepted and fused with one's nature to create a unique magical power. Soon, Baek Hana would undergo this process.
If my will-imbued, altered magic were to seep into her body, she might become dependent on me for magic, unable to recover it on her own.
If she were to live an ordinary life as a child, a girl, and a woman, it wouldn't matter. But now that she has Awakened, I intend to raise her as a proper Awakened.
It's my duty as her guardian and my purpose as 'Baek Woo-jin,' who wished for her happiness.
'First, I need to bring down her fever.'
Baek Hana, who had been quietly perspiring, began to writhe and groan.
I removed my hand from her forehead and started to get up from the bed, but—
Squeeze—
"Ugh, ugh…"
"..."
The tiny white hand, which still looked small to me, tightly gripped my sleeve.
It would only be a moment. Just a moment. But even knowing that, I couldn't bring myself to let go of her hand.
"Don't… go…"
"I'm not going anywhere."
I sat on the edge of the bed, stroking the sweaty hair of the girl who was now old enough to rest her head on my chest.
Her grip on my sleeve tightened further. The rising temperature must be causing her pain.
In her distress, she kept calling my name.
"When will you stop acting like a spoiled child?"
She would be an adult soon.
I placed my hand on her forehead, smoothing her hair.
It had been six years since I opened my eyes in this body. In the infinite lifespan of this body, it was a fleeting moment, but the broken body had recovered to a decent state.
'I will take away the fever…'
It wasn't something grand that I was taking. Just the heat from a girl.
If she had fully awakened her power, it might have been impossible, but taking away the heat from Baek Hana, who was still in the process of Awakening, was well within my capabilities, even without proper training.
"Haaah, ugh, ugh..."
I didn't need magic.
-All I needed was my will.
"Kkeuuhh… Haah… U, jin..."
The white hair.
The fierce-looking eyes.
The mature body.
But the heart was still that of an innocent child.
She wasn't just text on a screen. She was alive and breathing before my eyes.
-A primal desire.
'I will.'
I will adorn the ending of this story with her smile.
And I will witness and record it. A memory solely mine, to be shared with no one else.
-The manifestation of will.
'I will bear what is unnecessary in this process.'
The scorching heat flowed from her forehead, which my palm touched.
"Haa, haaah… Haah… Uuung..."
Baek Hana's ragged breathing gradually stabilized.
The blazing forehead slowly cooled down.
"Tsk..."
The heat I took from her wasn't a result of a cold or fever, so it affected my body as well.
Fortunately, my body wasn't ordinary, so enduring the heat wasn't a big issue. However, the problem was that I had to consistently draw away the heat until Baek Hana's Awakening was complete.
Additionally, although I had used my Authority, I felt fatigue accumulating in my soul, not my physical body.
"Uuung... Ujin…."
The girl, who had been holding onto my sleeve, had now turned and wrapped her arms around my arm.
The remaining heat and the dampness of the perspiration on her skin weren't particularly pleasant sensations.
"You never get sick… So, this is why you've been so energetic, huh?"
Completely unaware of my current situation, Baek Hana relaxed her face and pouted.
I found her expression a bit annoying, so I gently poked her cheek, now devoid of baby fat.
"Uung~"
Her soft cheek indented, and Baek Hana beamed.
I wondered what made her so happy.
This girl was as puzzling as ever.
Squeak- Squeak-
The sound of even breathing rose from below.
Fortunately, Baek Hana's illness didn't last long. Exactly two hours.
"I guess it ended rather calmly…"
I had been worried that she might go berserk after the fever, synchronizing with the beast within her, but fortunately, that didn't happen. Instead, Baek Hana's body was now imbued with a unique magic she hadn't possessed before, along with an unknown power that made me a little uncomfortable.
I watched her for another two hours, concerned that she might have a delayed reaction, but as you can see, she's sleeping soundly, drooling, and oblivious to anyone trying to carry her away.
"As expected..."
"Uuuu~"
This foolish-looking face suits her.
Even if she frowns, her sharp eyes give her away.
"Ehee."
"...You look too foolish."
I gently stroked her cheek, and she opened her mouth wide, smiling.
She was passable because of her natural beauty.
After admiring her face for a moment, I turned away and leaned against the bed.
While my physical body wasn't overly strained, using my Authority had tired my pathetic soul considerably.
'I guess I'll have to write the journal entry after she wakes up.'
Although this is something I shouldn't delay, unfortunately, the fatigue accumulated in my soul couldn't be overcome by my physical body.
I didn't like the feeling of her sweaty hands clutching me like a doll, but at that moment, my mind and body were both urging me to rest rather than deal with it.
My eyelids slowly lowered.
As my field of vision narrowed, I looked down at Baek Hana's face one last time.
Her sweaty hair was messily spread out, and she slept soundly, looking a little foolish.
Swoosh—
I didn't resist the descending eyelids and instead used my other hand to gently smooth her disheveled hair.
-I hope she shows this side only to me… That's probably too much to ask.
My consciousness faded.
**
"Sswuuuup...?"
Baek Hana opened her eyes, licking the drool from the corner of her mouth.
"...Hmm?"
Her body felt sticky, but she felt strangely energetic. Before her eyes was the familiar hand of a man.
"Ah..."
After a few seconds, Baek Hana softly uttered a sound and slowly sat up, not checking her own body but instead looking at the sleeping Baek Woo-jin leaning against the headboard.
'This isn't a dream…'
As the white moon emitted its light, she had lost consciousness. However, Baek Hana remembered everything that had happened during that time.
Although she had passed out, she vividly recalled everything she had seen, heard, and felt, as if it were a vivid dream, and from the perspective of looking down at her own collapsed body.
As if she had become a ghost.
"..."
"..."
Baek Hana stared at the deeply sleeping Baek Woo-jin.
She felt embarrassed about moaning and repeatedly calling his name in her feverish state, but that embarrassment was overshadowed by the shock of what Baek Woo-jin had said at the end.
With a warm and large hand, he had smoothed her hair and quietly spoken,
'I hope you show this side only to me…'
Hwaaaak—!!
Baek Hana's face turned bright red with a flush.
The heat that rose within her was far hotter and more intense than the heat Baek Woo-jin had taken away with his Authority.
"Aeuu..."
Her heart pounded as if she had run laps around the garden several times. She felt suffocated.
It was a different kind of suffocation from when she saw Claire and Baek Woo-jin together.
At the same time, Baek Hana's mind replayed the actions Baek Woo-jin had taken while she was unconscious.
The hand that had tidied her sweaty hair.
The large palm that had rested on her burning forehead.
The fingers that had gently poked her cheek as he smiled faintly.
And...
The affectionate touch as he smoothed her disheveled hair.
"Che, cleaning… No, I should take a shower first…"
Baek Hana clutched her pounding chest and carefully got out of bed.
Would he find it unpleasant that she had soaked the bedsheets with her drool?
Would the smell of perspiration that had dried on her body and clothes be noticeable?
She had never paid attention to such things before, but now they suddenly became a concern.
Grrrrr—
"I, I should eat something first…"
Of course, eating was still her top priority, as always.