Saturday cleanup monitoring at seven fifty eight AM.
Two minutes early.
Han-Ho had adjusted the Saturday start time by two minutes after a route calculation showed that arriving at seven fifty eight allowed five additional minutes of Dragon Vein flow assessment before the S-Ranks arrived at eight.
He used the five minutes.
Made notes.
Filed them.
The Dragon Vein flow at the central junction above Cheongi was the highest it had been since the activation.
The shard's continuous presence on the route was compounding the improvement.
The flow rate was up fourteen percent from Monday's reading.
Han-Ho made a note.
Central junction Dragon Vein flow: fourteen percent above Monday baseline. Shard ambient effect compounding. Rate of improvement accelerating. Projecting twenty percent improvement within two weeks if current rate holds. Filing.
He filed it.
Looked at the river.
Cheongi was in the shallow section.
Looking at Han-Ho.
"Cheongi," said Han-Ho.
Yes.
"The central junction. Deeper than the standard network level. I am going to try to access the dimensional space at the junction point today."
Cheongi was quiet for a moment.
The sound that meant I understand in the tone that meant I already knew.
"You knew I was going to do this," said Han-Ho.
Yes.
"You have been here the whole time," said Han-Ho. "Above the central junction."
Yes.
"Were you waiting for me to try to access the dimensional space."
Cheongi made a long sequence of sounds.
Han-Ho listened carefully.
Made notes.
Filed them.
"Cheongi says—" He looked at the notes. "That the central junction is accessible from above. That pressing through the standard Dragon Vein network into the dimensional space is possible for someone with the cleaning sense. That Cheongi has been sitting above the junction to make it easier. The fracture network — Cheongi's circulatory system — runs through the central junction. Following the fracture network downward leads to the dimensional space directly."
Min-Seo arrived.
Read the note over Han-Ho's shoulder.
"Cheongi has been positioning itself to give you access to the dimensional space," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"How long has it been doing that."
Han-Ho looked at Cheongi.
Cheongi made a sound.
Han-Ho listened.
Made a note.
"Since Monday," said Han-Ho. "Since the deep network entity noticed me. Cheongi felt the entity's attention and moved to facilitate the dimensional space access."
"Cheongi facilitated access to the dimensional space because the entity noticed you," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Why," said Min-Seo.
Han-Ho looked at Cheongi.
Asked.
Cheongi's response was long.
Han-Ho listened.
Made extensive notes.
Filed them.
"Cheongi says—" Han-Ho read the notes. "That the entity in the deep network is old enough to have known the Dragon Vein network before the blockage. Old enough to have known Cheongi before Cheongi went to sleep. The entity and Cheongi are—" He paused. "Connected. Not the same. But old enough to have shared the network before everything went wrong."
The river bank was very quiet.
"They know each other," said Min-Seo.
"Knew each other," said Han-Ho. "Before the blockage. Before the worlds separated. Before twenty thousand years of contamination." He made one more note. "Cheongi wants me to reach the entity. To clean whatever needs cleaning in the dimensional space. To open the connection again."
Min-Seo sat on the bank.
Not because he was tired.
Because information required sitting.
"Cheongi wants you to repair its relationship with the deep network entity," said Min-Seo.
"That is not what Cheongi said," said Han-Ho.
"What did Cheongi say."
"Cheongi said: the drains need cleaning." Han-Ho looked at his note. "In the dimensional space. The drains need cleaning."
Min-Seo looked at him.
"Cheongi described the dimensional space junctions as drains," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Because Cheongi has been listening to me for months," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"And has learned that when Han-Ho says the drains need cleaning it means: this is important and he will do it."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Cheongi learned to speak Han-Ho," said Min-Seo.
Han-Ho made a note.
Cheongi: communicating in cleaning terminology. Drains = dimensional space junctions. Learning the language that gets action taken. Filed.
He did not file the note he was thinking about putting in his pocket.
But he thought about it.
The S-Ranks arrived.
One by one.
The standard assembly.
The old man arrived last.
At eight fifteen.
He had been at the Seocho apartment training.
He walked directly to Han-Ho.
"The central junction," said the old man.
"Today," said Han-Ho.
"I will monitor," said the old man.
"Thank you," said Han-Ho.
The old man sat on the bank.
Next to where Han-Ho would work.
Not at the monitoring positions.
Here.
Present.
The S-Ranks looked at the old man sitting on the bank.
At Han-Ho reviewing the junction approach.
At Cheongi in the river above the central junction.
Oh Kyung-Soo said nothing.
He sat.
Watched.
This was what he did.
At nine twenty AM after the standard cleanup monitoring Han-Ho sat at the river bank edge.
Took off his shoes.
Rolled up his work trousers.
Put his feet in the water.
The standard position for the fracture network cleaning work.
But today different.
He pressed both hands against the riverbed.
Not the surface.
Deeper.
Following the fracture network channels downward with the cleaning sense.
Not cleaning yet.
Reading.
Going deeper than he had gone before.
The standard Dragon Vein network depth.
Then deeper.
The fracture network.
Cheongi's circulatory system.
Following it.
Deeper.
The old man was very still on the bank.
Monitoring through his Dragon Vein sensitivity.
Reading what Han-Ho was doing.
Tracking the depth.
Han-Ho went deeper.
Past the Dragon Vein main channels.
Past the fracture network lower sections.
Into the dimensional space.
He felt it the moment he crossed.
Not a physical crossing.
No Gate.
No curtain of dense air.
Just a depth.
A depth past which the normal Dragon Vein energy became something else.
The space between world networks.
The same space the original blockage had occupied.
Now clean.
But not empty.
The three upstream junctions were here.
He could feel all three of them.
Different qualities.
Very old world: open, adjusted, clean energy flowing through it. Already recalibrating. The approaching positive outcome Lee Soo-Bin's constellation had described. Needs only minor attention to fully open.
Very large world: open but rough-edged from the entity's crossing. The departure had left traces. Not contamination. Just — the impression of something very large moving through a space not designed for something very large.
Very strange world: narrow. Almost closed. A thin thread of clean energy reaching through. Not enough for a full connection. The world on the other side had no framework for clean energy and the junction was — uncertain. Like a door being held mostly closed by something that did not know whether to open it.
And then.
Deeper still.
The deep network entity.
Han-Ho felt it the moment he reached the dimensional space.
The same energy as Tuesday at drain eleven.
But here it was present.
Not a distant awareness.
Present.
Right here.
In the dimensional space with him.
Very old.
Very present.
Very—
Han-Ho pressed his cleaning sense outward.
Not cleaning.
Reading.
The entity's energy.
The quality of what had been in the Dragon Vein network since before the worlds were separate.
He read it.
Made notes with one hand while keeping the other pressed against the riverbed.
The entity was reading him back.
He could feel the reading.
The specific focused attention of something very old assessing something very small.
Not threatening.
Curious.
He filed the notes.
Then he said — not out loud, through the Dragon Vein network, through the cleaning sense, through the dimensional space:
"You have been in the network for a very long time."
The response came back through the same channel.
Not words.
The closest approximation: Yes. Since the beginning.
"Since before the worlds were separate."
Yes.
"Since before the blockage."
Yes. I was here when it happened.
Han-Ho made a note.
Deep entity: was present when the original blockage occurred. Has been in the dimensional space since. Eyewitness to the blockage. Filing.
He filed it from above water.
"What happened," said Han-Ho. "When the blockage occurred."
The entity was quiet.
A very long quiet.
The kind of quiet that has twenty thousand years of weight in it.
Then:
Something came through the dimensional space that should not have been here. It was very large. It was not clean. It contaminated the junction points. The contamination spread through the networks. The worlds separated as the junctions blocked.
"What was it," said Han-Ho.
I do not know what to call it. It was from somewhere further along the network than any world I knew. It was — the opposite of what you carry.
Han-Ho made a note.
Deep entity: original blockage caused by large non-clean entity crossing dimensional space from an unknown world further along the network. Entity described as opposite of what I carry. Implication: the blockage was caused by something carrying concentrated contamination equivalent to the shard's concentrated cleanliness. A contamination shard equivalent. Filing.
He filed it.
"Did it do it intentionally," said Han-Ho.
Unknown. It passed through and left contamination behind. Whether the contamination was deliberate or incidental is not something I know.
"Can it happen again," said Han-Ho.
The entity was quiet.
It came through once. The junctions were open. The contamination blocked them. The blockage prevented it from happening again. Ironically.
"The blockage that has been causing twenty years of Gates and suffering on Earth," said Han-Ho.
Yes. The blockage prevented further contamination from the source. A bad solution to a worse problem.
Han-Ho made several notes.
Filed them all.
"I am going to clean the upstream junctions," said Han-Ho. "The three connection points. Today if possible."
I know.
"You have been watching me approach this since Tuesday."
Since longer than Tuesday.
"How long," said Han-Ho.
A pause.
Since you cleaned the first drain.
Han-Ho stopped making notes.
Looked at the surface of the Han River above him.
At the light filtering through.
At the normal Tuesday morning world.
Four years ago.
The first drain.
"You have been watching me since I started," said Han-Ho.
The cleaning. Yes. Something clean in the network was cleaning the surfaces above. I noticed.
"Why didn't you say anything," said Han-Ho.
You were not ready to be in the dimensional space.
"And now," said Han-Ho.
Now the blockage is clear. The junctions are accessible. The shard is here. And you pressed your hands through the riverbed and came looking.
Han-Ho made a note.
Deep entity: has been watching since my first drain cleaning. Four years. Was waiting for me to come to the dimensional space. Filed.
He paused.
Then made another note.
Did not file it.
Put it in his pocket.
The pocket was getting very full.
"The upstream junctions," said Han-Ho. "Can I clean them from here."
Yes. You are already in the right position. The very old world first. Then the very large world. Then—
"The very strange world last," said Han-Ho. "Yes."
You know.
"I filed a report," said Han-Ho.
The entity made a sound that Han-Ho read as the very specific energy equivalent of Oh Kyung-Soo's sound.
Not a laugh.
Adjacent.
Of course you did.
"Of course," said the shard, from the bag on the bank.
Han-Ho looked up.
Min-Seo was looking at the bag.
"The shard is listening," said Min-Seo.
"The shard is always listening," said Han-Ho.
"Through the Dragon Vein network."
"Yes."
Min-Seo looked at the water.
At Han-Ho's hands on the riverbed.
At the dimensional space that was not visible but was present.
"Are you going to clean the junctions now," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"All three."
"All three."
"Today."
"Yes."
"While sitting in the river."
"Yes," said Han-Ho. "The Saturday route is complete. The monitoring is done. I have sufficient time before noon."
"Of course you do," said Min-Seo.
Han-Ho pressed his hands against the riverbed.
Took the shard from the bag which Min-Seo handed to him without being asked.
Held it.
Closed his eyes.
Not dramatically.
Just focused.
The way he focused on every drain.
Every contaminated surface.
Every stain.
He applied the active ambient technique.
In the dimensional space.
With source energy in one hand.
And ten years of cleaning in the other.
The old man on the bank went very still at nine forty seven AM.
Wei Junhao looked at him.
"Master," said Wei Junhao.
"Quiet," said the old man.
Wei Junhao was quiet.
The old man was reading the Dragon Vein network with everything he had.
Ten thousand years of sensitivity focused on the dimensional space below the central junction.
He felt the ambient technique activate.
He felt the source energy from the shard feed into it.
He felt the very old world upstream junction begin to open.
Not slowly.
In approximately ninety seconds.
He felt the clean energy flow increase through the very old world connection.
Then the very large world junction.
Another ninety seconds.
The impression of something very large having moved through the space cleared.
The junction cleaned.
Fully open.
Then the very strange world junction.
The old man felt Han-Ho's cleaning sense approach it.
Feel the resistance.
The uncertainty on the other side.
The world that had no concept of clean.
The thin thread of clean energy reaching through the narrow junction.
Han-Ho cleaned the junction.
Not the other world.
Just the junction itself.
The blockage in the dimensional space.
The accumulated contamination from the original incident twenty thousand years ago that had been narrowing this specific connection point.
He cleaned it.
The junction opened.
Not fully.
Wider than before.
The thread became a channel.
The very strange world on the other side received more clean energy than it had ever received.
What it did with that energy was its own matter.
The old man felt all three junctions open.
He sat on the bank for a long time.
Wei Junhao watched him.
"Master," said Wei Junhao, very quietly.
"Yes," said the old man.
"What happened."
"The upstream junctions," said the old man. "All three."
"They are open."
"Yes."
"All three."
"Yes."
"In how long."
The old man looked at the water.
At Han-Ho sitting in the river with his hands on the riverbed and the shard warm and the dimensional space accessed from a Saturday morning river bank.
"Four minutes and thirty seven seconds," said the old man.
Wei Junhao stared at him.
"For all three," said Wei Junhao.
"For all three," said the old man.
"I thought they were going to take one session each," said Wei Junhao.
"Yes," said the old man. "I thought so too."
Wei Junhao looked at the water.
"Master," said Wei Junhao.
"Yes."
"I do not understand what is happening with our world's most fundamental energy systems," said Wei Junhao. "But I feel like I should."
"You will understand it eventually," said the old man.
"When."
"When you have been paying attention for long enough," said the old man. "Like Oh Kyung-Soo."
Wei Junhao looked at Oh Kyung-Soo.
Oh Kyung-Soo was sitting on the bank.
Watching the water.
He had been watching since nine twenty AM.
"Oh Kyung-Soo," said Wei Junhao.
"Yes," said Oh Kyung-Soo.
"Do you understand what is happening."
Oh Kyung-Soo was quiet for a moment.
"No," said Oh Kyung-Soo. "But I understand enough."
"What is enough," said Wei Junhao.
"The drains are clean," said Oh Kyung-Soo. "The network is flowing. The worlds are connecting. Han-Ho is sitting in a river on a Saturday morning doing the job." He paused. "That is enough."
Wei Junhao looked at the water.
At Han-Ho sitting in it.
At the shard warm in his hand.
At the upstream junctions that had been blocked for twenty thousand years and were now open.
"Of course," said Wei Junhao.
The bag on the bank: "Of course."
Oh Kyung-Soo made the sound.
Han-Ho came out of the water at ten oh three AM.
Shoes back on.
Trousers unrolled.
He made notes.
Filed everything.
Looked at Cheongi.
Cheongi made a sound.
"Yes," said Han-Ho. "They are open."
Cheongi made another sound.
Han-Ho listened.
Made a note.
The note said: Cheongi: thank you.
"You are welcome," said Han-Ho.
He closed the notebook.
Looked at the S-Ranks and the martial world visitors and Aria and General Ashmark and the old man and Wei Junhao all sitting on the bank looking at him.
"The upstream junctions are clear," said Han-Ho. "All three. The networks are fully connected. The clean energy flow is complete through Earth, the martial world, and the three additional worlds." He paused. "There may be more worlds further along the network. The deep network entity indicated there are worlds beyond the three we identified. I have filed a request for extended constellation monitoring."
He looked at the group.
"The deep network entity is going to communicate more directly now that the junctions are open," said Han-Ho. "It has been in the dimensional space for a very long time. It has things to say. I will need help translating. The communication comes through the Dragon Vein network. Old man, your sensitivity will be the most accurate translation."
"Yes," said the old man.
"Ms. Yoon will need a new file section," said Han-Ho.
"She already has one," said Min-Seo.
Everyone looked at Min-Seo.
"She texted me this morning," said Min-Seo. "She said: tell Han-Ho I created the deep network entity communication section last Tuesday. It is ready."
Han-Ho made a note.
Ms. Yoon: prepared the deep entity communication section before I asked. Of course. Filed.
"Of course," said the bag.
Jin Tae-Yang distributed the food.
They ate on the bank.
The Dragon Vein network flowed clean through five worlds.
The upstream junctions were open.
Cheongi pulsed in the river.
The deep network entity was present in the dimensional space.
Paying attention.
Han-Ho ate his kimbap.
Made notes about the Monday route.
Some Saturdays were like this.