#cywscross

It's five in the afternoon, and they're all loitering on the edges of the district where Sung Jin-Woo is supposed to be staying.

 Well, there's no maybe about it. One look at how thick the shadows are - and at how they seem to ripple like wind across a pond whenever Thomas looks at them from his peripheral - and they have all the evidence they need.

 Still, Thomas isn't quite sure why they're not going in. They've been talking about going in for over five minutes now, but they haven't actually gotten anywhere. Barging into foreign territory might not be the wisest option, but that's still got to be better than just standing around. By the looks of it, Liu is about as fed-up as he feels, if that increasingly homicidal smile is anything to go by, and while it's understandable why Goto doesn't seem to want to be the first one to enter, the Koreans can't quite seem to make up their minds about what they want to do.

 Except Woo Jin-Chul. Guy's fucking weird, pings that way off of all of Thomas' instincts too. A threat, but not a threat, and not in the way Liu Zhigang might feel when he isn't actively being a vindictive bastard. It's more like he physically couldn't be a threat to Thomas even if he wanted to be - and since the guy's an A-rank, that makes sense - but at the same time, there's something about him that makes Thomas sit up and pay attention, a small blinking neon sign politely advising him to mind his manners or some shit because this man could make his life real difficult if he ever feels like it.

 The guy reminds him of Laura, actually, just a bit, but somehow worse. Still, the guy's not annoying so Thomas ultimately doesn't care.

 But yeah, weird, because he's also peering intently into a patch of shadows a few feet away, and then he's crouching down and rapping his knuckles against it like it's a door. Except maybe he's on to something because Thomas doesn't think he's imagining the blue-white gleam of eyes staring back.

 "Excuse me," Woo Jin-Chul says in his native tongue, polite as fuck, and the rest of the Koreans finally shut up. "We'd like to speak to Sung Jin-Woo hunter-nim. If you could tell him we're here, and perhaps give us an indication on how to proceed, we'd very much appreciate it. Thank you."

 Thomas can't carry a conversation in Korean. But he may or may not have started learning after meeting Sung Jin-Woo, not to mention he'd at least picked up a bit of the language after Hwang Dong-Su had joined his guild way back. Mostly swear words, but a handful of more common phrases too. He still can't understand enough to really claim to know the language, but he actually does usually get the general gist of whatever is going on, and what Woo Jin-Chul has just said is no exception.

 That's already better than Liu Zhigang or Goto Ryuji, judging by their disgruntled expressions, which Thomas is pettily smug about.

 Of course, no one misses the way the shadows writhe and surge, and Woo Jin-Chul only has time to straighten to his full height and back up a couple steps before something rises from the black impenetrable depths.

 It's an ant. A winged ant but standing upright like a human, wreathed in shadows and ghost-light, easily as tall as Thomas himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Goto recoil before the man's self-control kicks in and suppresses it. He gets points for standing his ground, even if his face has lost at least two shades of colour.

 It's probably a good thing the other two Japanese S-ranks and Min Byung-Gyu had elected to stay behind.

 Beru, Thomas recalls, one of Sung Jin-Woo's strongest generals. He'd been one of the ones sent to fight the Monarch of the Iron Body with him.

 The ant takes a step towards them, and even Liu Zhigang's hands twitch for a brief second as if wishing for his swords. The Korean S-ranks are all tense, and Goto's jaw is so tight, Thomas wonders if he's in danger of cracking a tooth.

 He supposes he can't blame any of them. He can feel a sense of unease creeping up on himself as well, that natural fight-or-flight instinct rearing its head in the presence of a very lethal predator. If the ant decides to kill everybody here, there's absolutely nothing any of them can do about it.

 And then, "Beru-nim," Woo Jin-Chul greets with a dip of his head and no visible fear whatsoever (what the fuck even is this guy?), drawing the ant's attention to him. "It is good to see you again. Would Sung Jin-Woo hunter-nim be willing to speak with us? Several of us have regained our memories of the previous timeline, and we'd like to help him in whatever way we can with his fight against the Monarchs."

 The ant stares for a long unnerving moment before making a chittering hiss of a sound. Thomas has no idea what it means but at least it doesn't sound threatening.

 "You can ask my lord yourself," The ant rasps, and the temperature suddenly drops about five degrees, with the afternoon daylight no longer half as bright. The ant's gaze moves past their heads. "Here he comes now."

 And as if on cue, a voice from behind them - higher-pitched than Thomas is used to but familiar in both tone and cadence - speaks. "I was wondering what the commotion was about."

 They all whirl around-

 -and there he is, smaller, shorter, fluffier hair and an even slighter build. But his eyes are the same, foxfire-bright and inscrutable as they move from one Hunter to the next, and the weight of the mana radiating from his mere presence feels almost enough to drown them all.

 Sung Jin-Woo, the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light, the Shadow Monarch ascendant.