Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

YuWon and Soo-Ah found a quiet spot near the souvenir store, away from the dolls. The cheerful music of the amusement park played in the distance, but YuWon's mind was focused on the necklace in his hands. He held it up to the sunlight as if trying to look through the necklace itself.

Soo-Ah watched him curiously.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out how this works," he replied. "It's part of my quest."

"Right… I almost forgot about that," Soo-Ah awkwardly said. "You need to save those dolls, right?"

YuWon nodded, placing the necklace on the ground. To save the dolls, he needed to know what was turning them into dolls. As long as he found that, he could form a plan to complete the quest.

With that thought, he summoned the [Formless Blade]. YuWon quickly morphed the weapon into a collection of tools—a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and something resembling a scalpel.

"Uh… what are you doing now?" Soo-Ah said, squatting beside him.

"Taking this apart," YuWon said, kneeling down. He didn't bother looking up at her as he spoke. "If I can understand how it works, I can figure out how to free the dolls from it… or that's what I hope to achieve."

"Will this take time—?"

"You won't miss the next ride if that's what you're asking," YuWon replied.

Unlike his timeless quest, Soo-Ah was on a schedule. After all, the rides in the park were operated at regular intervals. If she didn't get to the next attraction by then, she wouldn't be able to take that ride later.

Meanwhile, YuWon pried open the metal casing around the gemstone with the help of a screwdriver. Any ordinary tool would break if he tried, but the [Formless Blade] was just right for the job.

It took a bit of effort, but eventually, the small, glowing stone popped free. He held it up, inspecting it. The gemstone pulsed faintly in his palm as if it had a heartbeat.

+++

Item Name: Hearthstone of Dominion

Item Type: Cursed Gemstone (Inactive), needs a conductive circuit.

Rarity: Mythic

Requirement: This is only usable by beings who master souls or mind manipulation (including god-like entities).

Description: A dark gemstone that pulses with a faint heartbeat, as if alive. Forged in the depths of forgotten realms, the Hearthstone of Dominion grants its wielder terrifying control over the minds and souls of others.

Base Stats:

Control Power: +50% effectiveness on mind control and soul-shackling abilities.

Mana Regeneration: +10% per second while the hearthstone is active.

Health Drain: -2% Max HP per minute of continuous use.

Special Bonus:

Dominion Aura: Within a 15-meter radius, enemies with weaker wills (lower level or intelligence stat) get charmed for 3 seconds upon entering the area.

Cooldown: 15 seconds per enemy.

Skills:

Mind's Chain (Active):

Sends out spectral chains from the gemstone, shackling up to 3 targets within a 10-meter range. A new gemstone might emerge on their necks after continuous exposure.

Cooldown: 18 seconds

Mana Cost: 75

Cursed Object: Extended use of Hearthstone slowly erodes the wielder's sanity, reducing resistance to mind-affecting abilities and causing hallucinations. Force use of the gemstone would lower the user's divinity.

+++

The last line stuck with YuWon. The gemstone was a mind manipulation device, but he had never thought Lucifer would use such an item just to toy with him. But it also showed his determination. After all, he was willing to lose his divinity if it meant he could get his revenge on YuWon.

"…only works with a conductive circuit," YuWon muttered under his breath. "So, it only works when it's inside the circuit, or the necklace."

He glanced back at the now-empty necklace lying on the ground. Without the gemstone, it looked plain and powerless.

"So, what does that mean?" Soo-Ah asked, still watching from the side.

"It means," YuWon said, standing up and pocketing the gemstone, "if we remove the gemstones from the necklaces, everyone will wake up, and I'll be done with this stupid quest."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"That's it? Just take out the gemstone?"

YuWon looked at her and shook his head. Taking the gemstone off the necklace was straightforward enough, but prying the necklace off the dolls was a different story.

The necklace, in a sense, was the source of their life. Because of this, the dolls would stop at nothing to prevent anyone from removing it. That was the real challenge of the quest.

"We'll test it out later. For now, let's move on to the next ride."

With that, YuWon retrieved the [Formless Blade] and walked away. He would need a plan before he rescues people. If Lucifer sensed something was off, the bastard would make his life more difficult.

***

"…Just kill me already."

Soo-Ah complained as she barfed on the floor. The quest was supposed to be simple—just ride the attractions in the amusement park. Easy, right? Wrong. In the four rides she took, she nearly died a dozen times.

The nightmare began with the rollercoaster. What started as a typical thrill ride quickly devolved into chaos as the track disintegrated piece by piece. Soon enough, the cars had vanished entirely, leaving them to cling to the wheel axles for dear life.

As if that wasn't enough, some flying monsters attacked them, trying to pry their hands off the wheels.

Next came the water slide. It seemed safe—until the end of the slide revealed a gaping maw of a sea monster waiting to swallow them whole.

If YuWon hadn't used [Soul Bind] to possess the beast, they would have ended up in the monster's belly.

The Ferris wheel? Another death trap. Midway through the ride, it collapsed, sending them hurtling toward the ground. YuWon barely transformed the [Formless Blade] into a massive cushion to soften their fall.

And the gyro wheel? Soo-Ah could barely process what happened. One second, they were spinning; the next, they got launched into the sky. She had no memory of how they survived the landing—just that YuWon had somehow made it happen.

By the end of it all, she was done. Completely done. The park manager could kill her for all she cared.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," YuWon replied, staring at the clock tower.

"What do you mean?" Soo-Ah gasped.

"We've run out of time."

The clock tower rang, and the power went off, plunging them into darkness.