Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

She didn't bother replying and got up, staring at YuWon.

"We need to talk right now!" Anna exclaimed, reaching for him.

"No, you don't!"

Gina and Yeji stepped between them, staring at Anna. They didn't enjoy having her around. Not when she was after YuWon's neck and not now. She kept acting like she was a close confidant of theirs, when in reality they couldn't tolerate her.

"Who do you think—?"

"Alright," YuWon said, interrupting Gina.

"But husband—!"

"It's fine Gina, don't worry about me."

YuWon wasn't sure if the others saw it, but he could see the desperation in Anna's eyes. He didn't think she was acting, and if she was, then she deserved a damn Oscar for her performance.

She's still a regressor and judging by how she's acting, it's wise to hear her out.

Anna didn't wait for anyone else to stop and grabbed YuWon's hand, taking him away from the crowd.

"What's got you all riled up?" YuWon asked. "It's like you've seen a ghost or some shit."

"...this is where you died the last time."

"What!?"

Anna couldn't look at him, but nodded.

"A disaster lives here and it killed you and countless others," she continued. "The same disaster killed the world tree, too. It can kill anyone and anything it sets its eyes on and wouldn't stop, no matter what."

YuWon raised an eyebrow, looking at the sky. The branches were certainly dry and leafless. Someone or something might have destroyed the tree. But that didn't mean they could kill him.

"I can respawn—" YuWon said, but Anna cut him off.

"There's a cooldown for the skill, isn't there?"

YuWon nodded. The skill certainly had a cooldown. But it was only eight seconds now. He didn't believe anyone or anything could kill him twice within 8 seconds. However, Anna didn't look convinced because she had seen happen before her eyes.

"You know about the creature and you're alive, so you must know how to kill it, right?"

"...I don't," Anna shook her head. "I have no recollection of fighting that damn mole."

"Mole?" YuWon asked. "You were calling a mole a disaster?"

Anna looked at him, horrified. It was the same thing he had said before and ended up dying. But not this time. It was her only chance to save him or she would never see him again, as jumping timelines wasn't a simple thing to do.

"Don't jinx yourself!" Anna blurted out, closing his mouth with her hand. "A mole killed the world tree. Can't you be serious about it for once!?"

But YuWon wasn't paying attention and thought about the mole. It wouldn't be the first time a mole killed a tree. After all, it was a well-known fact that moles could kill trees and any plants.

Well, not directly, but because of digging shallow tunnels that lifted the soil from the root, the mole could force tree roots to dry out and die.

But YuWon wasn't a tree. Hence, he wasn't worried about the creature Anna called a disaster, or so he wanted to say. But he wasn't a fool to dismiss Anna's concerns.

"Relax, I know it won't be easy," YuWon replied, walking past her. "I'm not a fool to take something that killed the world tree lightly. So calm your tits and remember how to defeat it."

With that, he headed towards the rest of the group. But before he could take another step, the ground beneath their feet rumbled violently.

"Shit! Run!" he yelled for everyone.

A second later, the earth split open, and a massive creature shot out from the ground. It looked like a hill of fur with claws attached to its side. It was the disaster Anna had warned him about.

Despite YuWon's warning, there wasn't much anyone could do, and the creature swallowed eight people whole before diving back into the ground. Everything happened in a blink of an eye and people were too stunned to move.

"RUN!" Anna screamed, running ahead. "It'll be back! Get to the tree! NOW!"

Lysandra tried using her vines to slow the creature down by spreading a web of vines along the ground. But when her vines touched the ground, they withered instantly, crumbling into dust.

"My powers… they aren't working…" she mumbled, looking at YuWon.

For the first time, Lysandra looked helpless. She didn't know what to do, but YuWon did and grabbed her hand.

"Forget about it and run!"

Just then, the ground shook again. They could feel the disaster mole move underneath. The next moment, it emerged again, swallowing six people this time.

"Go, go!" YuWon urged.

They ran with all their might. But the mole was relentless and kept attacking them. Every time it surfaced, people disappeared. Anyone could die at any moment and they were helpless to stop it.

After running for over half an hour, only eight of them reached the base of the world tree. Everyone else was gone, swallowed by the mole.

"We have to climb!" Anna urged everyone, and they began climbing. "It can't get us if we're on the roots!"

No one questioned how she knew that and followed her instructions. YuWon helped Lysandra up first before pulling himself up.

Even though they were just the roots, they were towering above them like the walls of a fortress. Climbing them after running for over half an hour wasn't easy.

But Min-Ji was struggling the most. Her feet were sore from running, and exhaustion was taking its toll. As if that wasn't enough, another tremor weakened her grip.

YuWon noticed her and hesitated to help her. By the time he offered her his hand, it was too late. Her fingers slipped, and she fell to the ground. The mole reappeared, its massive mouth wide open, waiting for her to fall right into it.

"Shit!" YuWon cursed and without thinking jumped towards her.

He grabbed Min-Ji's hand in mid-air and, with a grunt, hurled her out of the mole's path. Gina was quick to grab Min-Ji, but YuWon... there was nothing he could do.

Why the hell did I jump to save her? After everything she did?

"YUWON!" Anna yelled as he fell into the mole's mouth.

Their horrified face was the last thing he saw before everything turned dark.