Chapter 43 – The Man Who Returned

11:32 AM – The Moment of Awakening

Kyung-min's breath hitched.

He was awake.

The sterile white ceiling above him blurred, sharp hospital lights glaring down at his dazed vision.

His ribs ached. His body felt… weaker.

His fingers twitched against the sheets. His heart still pounded from the phantom pain of a dagger to the ribs.

A second ago, he had been there—in the dungeon, collapsing in agony, his summons vanishing one by one.

The betrayal. The resets. The mocking system notifications.

"You just… weren't meant to survive this cycle."

His breath shuddered.

It had felt so real.

But now—

His senses caught up with him.

The room smelled sterile—antiseptic, plastic, and something faintly familiar.

A hospital.

Not a dungeon.

Not a battlefield.

His mind lagged behind, still expecting the scent of blood and rot.

Still expecting to be hunted.

Still expecting to be stabbed again.

But he wasn't.

He was here.

His body was shaking.

And someone was gripping his wrist tightly.

"Oppa…?"

A voice.

Trembling.

Familiar.

11:33 AM – The Family's Reaction

His blurry vision finally focused—

And the first thing he saw was his sister.

Tears lined her wide eyes. Her grip on his wrist was tight enough to leave marks.

"...Kyung-min?"

She wasn't breathing properly, her lips parted as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

His mother stood frozen beside the bed.

His father, normally composed, had a strained expression.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then—

"How…?"

His sister's voice was barely above a whisper.

"You—" Her grip tightened. "You were gone for a year. One year."

Her voice cracked at the end, the flood of emotions overwhelming her.

"Where… where the hell were you?"

Kyung-min tried to respond.

Tried to speak.

But his throat was dry.

Words wouldn't come.

11:35 AM – The Awakener Association Steps In

Outside the hospital room, two Awakener Association officials had been observing the situation.

The moment the machines went haywire, they had moved closer—listening.

Now, one of them—a man in his late thirties, with a sharp gaze and a stiff posture—turned to his colleague.

"We should go in."

His partner hesitated.

"Give them a minute."

The older man's brows furrowed.

"A missing awakener, legally declared dead, reappears out of nowhere in a C-rank dungeon. That's not something we can sit on."

A pause.

Then—

"His mana readings are still unstable. We have to confirm his condition before—"

A sharp beeping sound interrupted them.

The machines monitoring Kyung-min spiked again.

His mana surged—then fluctuated violently.

Both officials straightened.

"...Something's wrong."

11:37 AM – The First Surge

Inside the hospital room, Kyung-min felt it.

His mana.

It was unstable. Chaotic.

Like something was wrong.

The moment he had woken up, something inside him had tried to lock down.

It wasn't just that he had been reset to E-rank.

It was that his body was rejecting it.

The system had taken away his strength.

Had stolen his levels, his attributes—his very existence.

But something deep inside him was fighting back.

The air in the hospital room shifted.

His sister's breath caught.

"...Oppa?"

A faint mist-like aura curled around his fingertips before vanishing.

His mother instinctively reached for him.

"Kyung-min—!"

And then—

The hospital lights flickered.

The machines spiked again.

The Awakener Association officials stormed into the room.

11:38 AM – A Sudden Interrogation

The moment the door swung open, Kyung-min's instincts flared.

His mana flared up, reacting to the sudden presence of outsiders.

The moment it did—

The Awakener Association officials hesitated.

That reaction. That sudden fluctuation.

That wasn't normal for an E-rank.

But they didn't let it show.

One of them stepped forward, calm but firm.

"Han Kyung-min," the man addressed him directly. "I'm with the Awakener Association. We need to ask you some questions."

Kyung-min's head throbbed.

He was still trying to process everything.

And now—

Questions?

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

They weren't here for his well-being.

They were here because they saw something they didn't understand.

His fingers twitched, the feeling of his missing power gnawing at the back of his mind.

He wanted to tell them to leave.

But before he could—

His father stepped in front of the bed.

"We appreciate your concern," he said, his voice calm but carrying undeniable authority.

"But my son just woke up. You will not pressure him the moment he opens his eyes."

A heavy silence filled the room.

The Awakener official measured him carefully—then glanced back at Kyung-min.

"...We'll be back."

They turned and left.

The room remained silent.

Until—

His sister finally spoke.

"...Kyung-min."

He turned his gaze toward her.

She looked like she wanted to say a thousand things.

But instead—

She just whispered one.

"You're really back?"

The Lingering Instability

Kyung-min didn't answer immediately.

Because something inside him felt off.

The system had erased him.

Had reset him.

Had taken away everything he had bled for.

And yet—

Something still remained.

Something buried deep beneath the surface.

Something the system hadn't managed to fully erase.

His fingertips tingled.

For just a brief moment—

He could still feel them.

The presence of his lost summons.

The fragments of his true power.

Buried. Locked. Suppressed.

But not gone.

And when it came back—