138 – HGL 138

“Follow me.”

With those short words, he turned and began to walk away.

“Yes? Wait a minute!”

Ga-eul hurriedly moved her feet to follow him. She forgot her suspicion that he might be a bad person, and the throbbing pain in her legs that felt like they were about to break. She was just glad to see the person in front of her. Beneath the black cloak, speckled with ash, worn-out Walker boots were visible. Footprints were left on the ash.

Strangely, the farther she walked following his footprints, the more the distance between them grew. Huff, huff…. A sweet taste filled her mouth as she breathed heavily. The cloak that had been fluttering right in front of her was already far ahead. Was he fast, or was she slow?

‘Is he using Instant movement technique or something? He’s really fast….’

Ga-eul sniffled and caught her breath. Just then, the sound of footsteps that had been fading away stopped.

“……”

He stood far ahead, silently looking at Ga-eul. Did she say it out loud by any chance? Ga-eul, feeling guilty, muttered.

“I, I’m sorry…. My legs hurt.”

“……”

The black cloak didn’t answer and threw something. It was an old leather pouch. Ga-eul managed to catch it and fumbled to open it. Inside the pouch were all sorts of Elixirs. They even looked really good at a glance!

Was he telling her to drink them? Ga-eul took out a red Elixir and glanced at him. He replied.

“We have to go further.”

Did he have some kind of disease that would kill him if he spoke at length? Fortunately, he waited patiently until Ga-eul, having drunk the Elixir, hobbled over to him. As she got closer, a strong sweet smell wafted through the bitter scent of ash. It was so strong that it felt like a lot of sugar had melted somewhere.

‘What is it?’

She sniffed, but the sweet smell quickly disappeared. Did she smell it wrong? Ga-eul rubbed the tip of her nose. In the meantime, the cloak was moving ahead again. Ga-eul shook the leather pouch as she followed behind him. Once she was convinced that he was suspicious but not a bad person, she started to talk.

“Where are we going?”

“……”

“Um… are there no Monsters here?”

“……”

“Uh, how much further do we have to go?”

It was a miracle that she even heard a short word. She threw out various questions, but no answer came back. She felt like a fool talking to a wall. Ga-eul grumbled to herself for no reason and glanced at the cloak. Since they started walking again, the distance between them hadn’t widened beyond a certain point.

The surrounding scenery changed a little. The street lined with the remains of collapsed buildings ended, and a relatively flat plain appeared. Was it once a road? Before long, an abandoned building with only the frame and walls remaining appeared. Actually, even calling it a building was ridiculous.

The one wearing the cloak entered first. Ga-eul looked around and followed him inside. He said briefly.

“Rest.”

“Yes? Ah, yes….”

Ga-eul sat down on the floor. Only then did she feel like she could breathe a little. Ga-eul tapped her legs and raised her head. The man was leaning against the wall. She suddenly asked.

“Um… but why are you helping me?”

“……”

Right, she didn’t expect an answer. Ga-eul grumbled again and lowered her head, but then.

“Because you called him.”

“Yes?”

Ga-eul raised her head sharply. A sharp, dry jawline was facing her. ‘Because you called him.’ Who? The only person Ga-eul had called was one person.

J.

‘No way.’

Instinctively, she felt a chill. Cold sweat poured down. Ga-eul carefully clenched her fist. Should she warn him not to come? But how, with that person next to her? And if J doesn’t come, alone in a world where Doomsday has arrived….

Something pure white crawled up from the cracks in the floor, wrapping around her legs. Its appearance and texture were similar to what had wrapped around her neck just before she was dragged here. Gasp, Ga-eul held her breath.

A cold voice pierced the top of her head.

“Stop.”

“…Uh, ah.”

“Don’t use your head.”

“…Ugh.”

“Don’t think, about anything.”

‘How can I do that!’

Ga-eul squeezed her eyes shut. If you tell someone not to think about an elephant, an elephant is bound to come to mind! What had wrapped around her legs had already climbed up to her arms. Haa…. A long sigh was heard.

“Hey.”

Ga-eul carefully opened her eyes. She couldn’t see properly because she was wrapped in something pure white, but she could tell that he was squatting right in front of her in a nonchalant posture. Gasp, it was the moment she inhaled. He roughly flipped back her hood. Black hair poured down.

“I’m….”

“……”

“I just have to watch. The end that will come someday. Here.”

“……”

“But the reason I helped you,”

A sharp glint flashed between the strands of hair that were long enough to cover his eyes.

His eyes,

“…is because he would want that.”

Were a faint purple.

Even though they were burned pure white and couldn’t hold anything.

Ga-eul’s eyes widened. The glint she had glimpsed in the corner of her vision was surprisingly familiar. Where had she seen it before? The eyes, deeply tinged with a gloomy light, soon disappeared from view. She felt like she would remember if she looked just a little longer.

Soon, something black suddenly approached her vision. She thought she saw a glimpse of silver sparkle, but in the end, darkness covered Ga-eul’s vision.

‘At least let me say something!’

Her mind gradually sank and her eyes closed. The white things that had wrapped around her body lost their strength and loosened strand by strand. Her body, which had been tense, relaxed languidly. A low voice echoed.

“Tell him. Everything will flow to where it needs to go… so don’t worry too much.”

Ga-eul struggled to keep her fading vision alive and asked.

“Why, don’t you… say it yourself….”

“…That’s a stupid question.”

He scoffed.

“Because….”

There was a rustling sound, as if he had gotten up. A low laugh pierced her.

“If I meet …, then….”

“…And when I opened my eyes, it was now. I think the coat is his.”

“Do you know what the rest of the story is?”

“No… I only heard up to there and couldn’t hear the rest. I’m sorry.”

Ga-eul sighed deeply. Anxiety was evident in the way she fidgeted with her skirt. She glanced at Eui-jae, then at Lee Sa-young standing behind him, and lowered her head again.

Cha Eui-jae, having heard the story, was also troubled. The owner of the black leather coat, the eyes that were burned pure white but still had a purple tint, the rudeness felt between the short words. Eui-jae covered his mouth with his fist and frowned.

‘…Damn it, isn’t that Lee Sa-young?’

This is the Destroyed world. And Cha Eui-jae ‘saw’ the Lee Sa-young of the Destroyed world. In Yoon Ga-eul’s Fragment, Lee Sa-young was stuck in a dark place. The one who didn’t budge even when Honeybee and Bae Won-woo came to find him.

“……”

The black cloak said that he had to watch the end that would come to this place. Eui-jae fiddled with the coat spread out on the floor. The leather, worn out to the point of being old, was only soft without any stiffness. A sweet smell wafted from it.

‘The third chance.’

If the world we live in is the third chance, then two Doomsdays have already come, and time has been turned back twice. We don’t remember, though. But Cha Eui-jae briefly saw two worlds.

According to what Hong Ye-seong showed in the Memorial Dungeon, Cha Eui-jae turned back time. Lee Sa-young died, and he judged that there was no way to solve the coming destruction. For the second chance.

In the world in the Fragment that Yoon Ga-eul showed, Cha Eui-jae died first. Lee Sa-young lost Cha Eui-jae and became a wreck. Then who turned back time in this world?

To turn back time, an axis is needed.

The world where Cha Eui-jae died. Who became the axis?

“……”

Eui-jae raised his head sharply. A questioning voice was heard from behind.

“Hyung?”

Eui-jae clenched his fist.

‘It must be Lee Sa-young, damn it….’

Cha Eui-jae knows his own power. He doesn’t know exactly what it means to become an ‘axis,’ but it’s something that even he can’t do without a considerable amount of determination. Moreover, considering the tight System, there’s no way he could use such a great item twice! Cold sweat broke out on his clenched palm.

‘If Lee Sa-young turned back time….’

Why hasn’t Lee Sa-young disappeared and is wandering around the Destroyed world? Like a ghost.

‘Did a side effect appear? Was his power insufficient? Or is there another problem? Is that how it’s supposed to be?’

It would be nice if he could see that clock directly and read the explanation. Then all this reasoning would be certain. Eui-jae wiped his palms on his pants instead of his apron and opened his mouth.

The apron and dented ladle that were brought along when Lee Sa-young was dragged here. Where should those be? Hanover Soup Restaurant. Ha-eun, Grandmother. The first place he went after escaping the Rift.

Hanover Soup Restaurant.

Grandmother didn’t kick out the tattered Cha Eui-jae and gave him a warm bowl of rice. But Cha Eui-jae had nothing to repay that kindness. All he had were empty Elixir bottles and his body. Cha Eui-jae rummaged through his body to give her something….

“Ah.”

He took off the silver clock that he didn’t even know when he had been wearing and handed it over.

The clock that Cha Eui-jae, who had turned back time, had shown to Hong Ye-seong!

Eui-jae, with his mouth wide open, screamed and jumped up from his seat.

“Aaaah!”

“Hyung?”

“J?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Sa-young and Ga-eul looked at him with puzzled faces. But it wasn’t the time to care about their gazes. His heart was racing. Eui-jae panted.

“We, we have to go. Right now.”

“Where to?”

The key to all these problems was at the Hanover Soup Restaurant.

“Hanover Soup Restaurant!”

From a long time ago!