The Hongdae Gate at twelve thirty nine PM.
Six minutes early.
Han-Ho had adjusted the schedule following last week's three-minute-early return. Six minutes gave him adequate threshold residue cleaning time plus a pre-session assessment of the expanded target area.
Today was not the Kingdom of Solenne.
Today was the full fantasy world.
The kingdom was eight percent of the full ley line network.
The remaining ninety two percent was everything else.
Every other kingdom. Every forest and mountain and sea and desert and city and village and field that the fantasy world contained.
All of it still contaminated.
All of it still waiting.
Han-Ho stood at the threshold and pressed his hand against the Gate formation.
Read the ley line energy flowing through it.
The kingdom's full clean was noticeable immediately from the threshold.
The energy coming through the Gate from the kingdom side was different from the energy he had first encountered in week one.
Week one: seventy three percent contaminated.
Now: zero contaminated.
Clean energy flowing from the Kingdom of Solenne through the Gate threshold into Seoul.
The faintest trace of it in the Hongdae district ambient field.
He made a note.
Clean ley line energy from Kingdom of Solenne measurable in Hongdae district ambient field through Gate threshold. Approximately zero point three percent of ambient field contribution. Small but real. The clean energy is already reaching Earth through the boundary. Filed.
He filed it.
Thought about zero point three percent.
About Cho Hyun's GS25 floor.
About Rule Thirteen.
Some things get cleaner just by being near the person who cleans.
The Hongdae district was getting slightly cleaner just by being near the Gate.
He made another note.
Filed it.
Aria arrived at twelve forty one.
The sword was at the anticipating glow again.
Not the same quality as last Thursday.
Wider.
The sword was anticipating something larger than a kingdom.
"The full world," said Aria.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"The sword—" She looked at it. "The sword has been guiding chosen heroes for three thousand years. Eleven heroes through the full span of the prophecy tradition." She looked at the glow quality. "This glow quality. I have been trying to identify the last time it was at this quality."
"And," said Han-Ho.
"I think—" Aria paused. "I think it has never been at this quality before. In three thousand years."
Han-Ho made a note.
Sword: unprecedented glow quality for full world session one. No historical precedent in three thousand years. Filed.
He filed it.
"That is either very significant or the sword is malfunctioning," said Min-Seo.
"The sword does not malfunction," said Aria.
"Of course not," said the bag.
"Of course not," said the sword.
Min-Seo looked at the sword.
"It has really committed to that phrase," said Min-Seo.
"It has," said Aria. "I am no longer surprised by it."
"Of course you're not," said the sword.
"ARIA—"
"I genuinely cannot stop it," said Aria. "It has been saying of course for six weeks. It has expanded to other phrases now. Yesterday it said obviously when Wei Junhao asked if the ley line energy was cleaner than before."
"Obviously," said the sword.
Min-Seo looked at the sky.
Han-Ho went through the Gate.
The full world assessment required a different approach from the kingdom work.
The Kingdom of Solenne had three hundred years of ley line cartography.
The full world had that plus the cartographic records of eleven other kingdoms, four major independent city-states, two mountain confederacies, the great sea lanes, and the deep forest territories that had never been mapped formally but had been described in ancient texts that General Aldric had provided in week three.
Ms. Yoon had compiled everything into a single unified map.
It was very large.
Han-Ho had reviewed it for three evenings.
He had marked priority junctions.
Not by contamination density.
By network centrality.
The junctions that connected the most network sections simultaneously.
The highest influence points.
Same approach as the kingdom but at world scale.
Clean the highest influence junctions first.
The clean energy distributes faster.
The network begins helping itself sooner.
The compound effect accelerates.
Han-Ho opened the map in the clearing.
Marked the first seven priority junctions.
"These are not in the kingdom," said Aria.
"No," said Han-Ho. "The kingdom is clean. These are the highest centrality junctions in the connected network sections."
Aria looked at the locations.
"Junction one is in the eastern territories," said Aria. "The Varath Highlands. Three kingdoms share that territory. It has been contested for two hundred years."
"Is the contestation ongoing," said Han-Ho.
"It is—" Aria looked at the location. "Complicated."
"Will the presence of a cleaning operation cause diplomatic complications," said Han-Ho.
"Almost certainly," said Aria.
Han-Ho made a note.
Junction one: Varath Highlands. Contested territory. Three kingdoms. Diplomatic complications probable. Filing notification to General Aldric for advance coordination. Will not proceed without coordination confirmation.
He filed it.
Sent it to General Aldric through the Gate relay communication system Ms. Yoon had established.
General Aldric responded in six minutes.
Mr. Kang — coordination already in progress. The three kingdoms received notification of your schedule Monday. All three have agreed to temporary joint access for cleaning operations. My office will provide escort to each junction in their respective territories. Please proceed. — General Aldric.
Han-Ho read the response.
Made a note.
General Aldric: coordination completed Monday. Three kingdoms agreed joint access. Escort provided. Filed.
He filed it.
Looked at Aria.
"Your general prepared three kingdom diplomatic agreements for a cleaning operation," said Han-Ho.
"He has been preparing for the full world sessions since week three," said Aria.
"He prepared five weeks in advance," said Han-Ho.
"He is a very good general," said Aria.
Han-Ho made a note.
General Aldric: five weeks advance preparation. Three kingdom coordination. Filed. Note: very good general. Filed.
He put the notebook away.
Took the shard from the bag.
Warm.
"Junction one," said Han-Ho.
He walked toward the Varath Highlands.
The Varath Highlands junction was the largest junction Han-Ho had encountered since the deep central Dragon Vein fracture sections.
Not larger in physical size.
Larger in network centrality.
The junction connected seven separate ley line branches.
Seven branches of the fantasy world's full network converging at one point in a highland valley that three kingdoms had been fighting over for two hundred years and that ley line cartographers had been documenting as a critical energy nexus for three centuries.
They had been fighting over the wrong thing.
They thought they wanted the strategic position.
What they actually wanted was the energy.
The clean energy that used to flow through the junction before the contamination settled over it.
Han-Ho pressed his hand against the central stone of the junction.
Read it.
Made notes.
The contamination was denser than any kingdom junction he had encountered.
The centrality meant more energy flow.
More energy flow meant more contamination accumulation over twenty thousand years.
The central stone was carrying approximately forty times the contamination density of the average kingdom junction.
He looked at the shard.
At the source energy warm in his left hand.
Raised his right hand.
Active ambient technique.
The glow became diffuse.
At full contamination density he had found the angle at nine minutes.
Here the angle took four minutes.
The shard's source energy feeding into the technique.
The seven branch convergence actually helping once the angle was found.
The clean energy from all seven branches working together against the contamination.
The contamination at the highland junction cleared in eleven minutes and forty seconds.
Han-Ho lowered his hands.
Made a note.
Junction one: Varath Highlands. Seven branch convergence. Contamination density forty times kingdom average. Cleaning time eleven minutes forty seconds. Zero contamination achieved. Energy distribution beginning through seven branches simultaneously. Filed.
He filed it.
Looked at the junction.
At the clean stone.
At the seven branches of ley line energy now carrying clean energy outward through the highland territories and into the three kingdoms and further.
The escort from General Aldric's office — three soldiers, one from each kingdom — watched.
They had been standing at the six meter clearance.
The same six meters General Aldric had established in week one.
They watched the junction clean.
The specific watching of people who have been told something significant was going to happen and are seeing it happen and finding that significant things are usually quieter than expected.
"It is done," said Han-Ho.
"That is it," said the soldier from the first kingdom.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"The junction is—"
"Clean," said Han-Ho. "The seven branches will distribute clean energy from this point through their respective network sections. The improvement rate in connected sections will increase over the next seventy two hours."
The soldier looked at the stone.
At the junction.
At the highland valley that three kingdoms had been contesting for two hundred years.
"We have been fighting over this valley," said the soldier.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"For two hundred years."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Because of the energy nexus."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"And now—"
"The energy will distribute through all three kingdoms simultaneously," said Han-Ho. "The clean energy does not belong to the nexus point. The nexus point channels it. The energy belongs to the network." He made a note. "None of the three kingdoms has exclusive access to the clean energy. All three receive it equally."
The soldier from the first kingdom looked at the soldier from the second kingdom.
The soldier from the second kingdom looked at the soldier from the third.
None of them said anything.
"The second junction is in the coastal territories," said Han-Ho. "Eleven kilometers southwest."
He walked southwest.
Aria walked beside him.
The three soldiers followed.
Not because they had been told to.
Because they wanted to see the second junction cleaned.
Six junctions by three forty seven PM.
Han-Ho stood at the sixth junction.
A coastal ley line nexus where the ocean's energy flow met the land network.
One of the oldest junctions in the world.
The cartographers had documented it for three hundred years as stable.
Stable because the contamination had been there longer than the cartography.
They had been documenting the contaminated state as the baseline.
Han-Ho cleaned it in eight minutes.
The ocean's energy flow changed quality measurably.
The sprite, floating at three meters, made a sustained sound.
River translated.
"The sprite says it can feel the ocean's ley line contribution improving," said River. "The ocean has its own ley line network — connected to the land network at coastal junctions. The contamination in the ocean network was being fed through this junction." It paused. "It says: this junction was making the ocean slightly wrong for twenty thousand years."
Han-Ho looked at the ocean.
At the coastal junction.
At the clean energy now flowing between the ocean and the land.
Made a note.
Coastal junction: ocean ley line network connected. Ocean contamination reducing from land junction clean. Filed.
He filed it.
"The ocean network," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Aria.
"Is it accessible from coastal junctions."
"The cartographers have records of deep coastal junctions," said Aria. "Points where the ocean network is directly accessible."
"Are there maps."
"General Aldric's office has partial records," said Aria. "Three hundred years of coastal cartography."
"Ms. Yoon will want them," said Han-Ho.
"Of course," said the sword.
Han-Ho made a note.
Ocean ley line network: accessible from coastal junctions. Request General Aldric coastal cartography records for Ms. Yoon. Full world includes ocean network. Scope larger than current map. Filed.
He filed it.
Looked at the time.
Three fifty two PM.
Five minutes before departure.
"Sixth junction," said Han-Ho. "Session one. Six of approximately two hundred and forty high centrality priority junctions identified for sequential cleaning." He made a note. "Rate at current pace with shard: seven to eight per session. Revised full world timeline including ocean network: approximately thirty eight to forty Thursday sessions."
"Thirty eight to forty weeks," said Aria.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Almost a year."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
Aria looked at the ocean.
At the slightly cleaner energy flowing through the coastal junction.
At the full world spread out across the continent and under the seas.
At one cleaning afternoon per week.
"One Thursday at a time," said Aria.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Of course," said the sword.
Han-Ho cleaned the threshold residue on the way out.
Back through at three fifty eight PM.
Two minutes before the departure window.
He noted the schedule improvement.
Filed it.