There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 611 - 605. Pulsing Rope

Chapter 611: Chapter 605. Pulsing Rope

The first thing Bassena did after emerging from the white snake was listen to Zein’s heartbeat.

It’s there; he thought with relief. That relief persisted until he moved Zein to the Sanctuary and Han Shin told him the guide was in good condition. Then came the dread.

Staring at the unconscious Zein, Bassena could feel something different when he touched the guide’s pulse. The feeling of sensing his own pulse while listening to another’s was newly exhilarating and...scary.

It should be a beautiful moment and a blissful sensation, but all he could feel was a hot lump in his chest.

Because the way it was made...wasn’t beautiful.

At that moment, when Bassena looked at the widened blue eyes from the door, that intertwining relief and dread churned inside him again.

"I’m...sorry..." with cold nape, Bassena cowardly lowered his head.

He couldn’t. He couldn’t see those eyes. Those eyes would incite longing and affection, beckoning for indulgence in grasping the thread of fate, but he shouldn’t. It wasn’t something he received--it was something he snatched away.

"I...I couldn’t think of any other way," Bassena clenched his fists, cursing himself for trying to make an excuse. "My blessing...it only worked for me, but...it was something He gave me to keep me alive."

As someone who reached the highest floor at such a young age, Ophiucus favored Bassena greatly as a talent the world should not lose. The deity, who was a healer more than a warrior, bestowed the blessing to keep the rare talent alive as long as possible.

And so, Bassena did a gamble.

"I thought that if we were bonded, I’d die if you die, so...I was betting on the fact that He wanted to keep me alive," Bassena continued.

He had to use both of his scales for that--the only two chances left. But so what? At that moment, Bassena only thought of keeping Zein alive. He thought it would be fine even if the guide hated him because of that.

He thought.

But when he was facing that possibility for real, his heart was wavering. His tenacity crumbled into dust. Could he really? Could he really do what Han Joon did and leave Zein’s side?

"I’m sorry..." he grasped his throbbing forehead and covered his blurry vision. "I’m sorry to force this on you..."

Bassena knew they had a promise to make this bond after the mission, but he also knew Zein used to hate the idea of imprint. He witnessed the kind of face Zein made when he knew his parents underwent a forced imprint. He knew the hatred in the guide’s voice when he talked about the miserable life of the guide in an unconsented imprint.

So what if they had a promise before? That willingness could be shattered with just one forceful act.

And that possibility was the source of Bassena’s dread.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry," the anxiety that had been piling up inside of him for days spilled out as he wobbled and slid pathetically to the floor. "I’m...you can...I will sever it if you want, just..."

The moment an imprinted esper and guide sever their bond, they would never be able to redo it, and the esper would never be able to receive that guide’s guiding. But even so...

I don’t like being tied. I don’t like being trapped

Bassena remembered what the guide had said in the past, and he couldn’t bear trapping Zein inside a bond he didn’t want. The same way he couldn’t bear to be away from the guide.

"...just let me stay by your side," Bassena pleaded. He was already on the floor anyway. "Even if you sever the bond, just...just let me stay, please..." he would kneel, he would beg, he would do anything. "Please..."

He was so desperate and anxious in his plea that he couldn’t even hear the approaching footsteps until Zein grasped his hair and made him face forward. Through blurry eyes filled with tears, Bassena saw a pair of shaking blue eyes and trembling lips.

"Ze--"

"My esper..."

A sweet voice, far from hatred. A gentle caress on his trembling cheeks, and a regretful stroke on three dull scales under his eyes. At that moment, Bassena saw nothing but affection in those blue eyes. A simple, yet powerful affection.

"My esper," Zein stroked the messy platinum hair and whispered against the esper’s trembling lips. His esper. The man who shook his heart and soul just with a presence.

He remembered his heartfelt plea when he saw this face at the edge of his life.

I want to live. I want to live with him in the future we drew and fought together.

That plea, with the strong pulse flowing in both of their life, had been fulfilled.

Guiding Bassena’s trembling hands to his face as he pressed his forehead against Bassena’s, Zein whispered again, in a voice like a hymn.

"My esper."

Because it was, after all, a blissful blessing.

Holding his guide tightly in his arms, Bassena let go of his dread and anxiety through a torrent of tears.

* * *

Zein and Bassena would have spent a whole day by themselves savoring the fact that they were together--more than together--if it wasn’t for two old men making a fuss outside the tent.

"Luzein!"

"Young Master!

So they had no choice but to get out of the tent, and face a whole throng of people who were waiting for Zein to wake up. The guides were wailing, and so did Senan. Even old man Tian Yu gave Zein a really tight hug.

"Thank Gods," the Iron Mountain whispered sincerely, before also giving Bassena the same tight hug. "Thank you."

Thankfully, not everyone could just go inside the Sanctuary, so Zein didn’t have to hold a sudden meet and greet. Except for the guides, only the injured and the executives were allowed inside. It had nothing to do with special treatment, but because of the presence of reporters outside.

After they killed the Fallen Star and got rid of all the dungeons, Radia moved the base to the valley in front of the Sanctuary to ease the rehabilitation process. After deeming it was safe and final, Radia announced the death of the Fallen Star and the eradication of the miasmic beasts. Of course, the Deathzone itself still persisted, so they couldn’t announce that the project itself was a success.

Still, it was ninety percent done, and since the area had been deemed to be safe enough, Radia finally allowed the reporters inside the Deathzone again. They still had to wear masks and protective gear, but the security protocol was way more lax.

Zein heard everything while having his first meal in the Sanctuary’s mess tent. "So, Radia is back in Althrea?"

"And Rexon, and everywhere," Han Shin shrugged. "He’s busy taking care of the aftermath and preparing for what we’ll do with this place after this, and...taking care of the dead."

"Ah," Zein nodded. The atmosphere turned slightly gloomy then. "How about Ashur?"

"He’s fine," Han Shin scoffed. "He was being taken care of by two girls."

"Jealous?"

"Of course, I’m jealous! I want to see my fiancee too!" Han Shin grasped his head miserably. But as the Chief Healer, he had to stay to make sure all of the remaining injured woke up safely. "I want to say farewell to this damn place!"

"Then go," Bassena rolled his eyes. "Zein’s up, so you don’t have to stay around anymore."

Han Shin blinked, and after a few seconds of stupidity, gasped. "That’s right!"

Bassena muttered ’idiot’ and shook his head. Thanks to this interaction, the gloomy atmosphere finally shifted, and Zein could have his soup and bread with more ease. "I heard you’ve been looking for the last shard?" he asked, glancing at the shining core up there on the second tier.

"Ah, yes..." Bassena exhaled heavily. He had been participating since he only felt guilty if he stayed near Zein, and so did the members of the Iron Shield. "You probably heard that we hadn’t found it yet."

"Could it be in the sea again?" Tian Yu stroked his chin.

"Then the one with the Sea Serpent would have told me," Zein shook his head. "It’s more likely for the shard to hide themselves deep underground like the twins."

Han Shin groaned as his darn memory conjured up the huge, ugly, disgusting Stone Eater. "Should we, like...make an underground sensor like the one we have for detecting mana stones?"

"I kind of wish someone would just stumble upon it like Zhan did," Bassena chuckled. "Or...who knows if he’ll do that again."

"He couldn’t be that lucky."

"But that guy’s spectrum only exists in extreme ends," Naoya chimed in. "He either had the worst luck with all those jinxes or tripped upon the best artifacts in the tower, so really...who knows?"

Han Shin waved his hand dismissively. "Eyy~even then, stumbling upon two shards accidentally is too much, isn’t it?"

"Well...you’re right about that..."

He was the one who started it, but Bassena also agreed that it was just an empty wish. "Rather than wishing for luck, we should just look more carefu--"

"Huh? Zein?" a familiar voice of a person they just talked about made everyone turn their head. Zhan perked up when he saw the guide and ran closer. "Oh, you’re up!"

Zein was about to wave his spoon in response, but he paused when he saw something absent from the spearman. An entire right arm. Zhan followed the guide’s gaze and grinned. "What? this? One of those tentacles pierced my forearm, but the poison was crawling so fast, so I just cut it off before the poison reached my heart."

"Huh..."

"The arm is eaten by the poison, so Shin couldn’t do anything about it either--but oh! That’s not important right now!"

Losing your dominant arm wasn’t important for a warrior? Zein blinked in a whirlwind of emotions, but he had no leeway to think further about it because of what the spearman said next.

"I find it!" Zhan laughed and patted Zein’s shoulder with his left hand. "I found the shard!"

The rest of the table were staring at each other. "...who knows...right?"