By Zephyria After being alone again like that, Cha Eui-jae pondered the person who had suddenly appeared every day, every hour. Whenever loneliness washed over him like a wave, he could endure it by thinking about his voice, the feel of the coat that covered his body, and the conversations they had shared. The promise he made with someone whose face he didn’t even know became a shackle. A shackle that kept Cha Eui-jae from dying.
How great is a promise?
So much time passed. He didn’t know how much. A pure white System Window suddenly appeared before him as he was counting the number of bones around him.
[Checking for survivors….]
[1 person.]
[Individual Cha Eui-jae has conquered solitude.]
[Congratulations! Initiating the return of individual Cha Eui-jae.]
[Error! Possesses information values that do not match the era.]
[Critical error may occur if left unattended… 99%.]
[Possibility of Doomsday progressing faster than scheduled if left unattended… 99%.]
[Executing Memory Deletion Protocol.]
Before he could even react, a pure white light enveloped his entire body. He felt like his body was being sucked somewhere. He tightly closed his eyes.
The next moment, Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes.
A pitch-black sky filled his vision instead of the red and white ruins. Swish, swish…. Cold raindrops poured down, soaking his entire body. The white ash and bloodstains on his body were gradually washed away.
What happened? As he blinked for a long time, his messed-up senses slowly began to return.
He could hear people talking and loud music in the distance. It was a song he didn’t know. Then, the stale and musty smell of oil, the smell of rotten food. All sorts of unpleasant odors assaulted his nose. It was a stench he had never smelled before. The squishy and rustling sound of plastic under his body was a bonus.
“Where is this, ugh…!”
Was it because of the unpleasant stench? A nauseous feeling welled up inside him. Eui-jae quickly took off his mask and vomited. Ugh…. Only a clear liquid dripped out. His throat stung. Damn it. Cough, cough. Eui-jae, clutching his sore throat and coughing a couple of times, laboriously turned his head and read the letters of what was under his arm.
[Volume-Based Waste Bag]
Oh, garbage.
It seemed he was lying on a pile of garbage. He had to get up. But his body wouldn’t listen. His whole body ached as if it would break. Cold raindrops soaked his skin, and the wind brushed his cheeks. It was a sensation he hadn’t felt in a very long time. What happened? Eui-jae groped for his memories.
The unfamiliar Monsters that poured endlessly from the pure white collapsed ruins. Yes, he remembered fighting the Basilisk that appeared last and stabbing its head with a knife. And….
‘…What else was there?’
He felt like he had forgotten something, but he didn’t know what he had forgotten. Eui-jae groaned for a long time before giving up. Only an inexplicable frustration remained.
Barely lifting his eyes, he saw a huge black hole in the middle of the dark blue night sky. An existence that seemed to bring about the Doomsday of this world, but now it had become so natural that he couldn’t imagine a sky without it. Commonly known as the Black Hole.
The Black Hole is not visible inside the Rift. That meant he had returned to reality.
Eui-jae cleared his throat and listened carefully. Various noises tickled his ears. Not only his own breathing, but also the sound of people laughing amidst songs he didn’t know, and the sound of car wheels running on the wet road….
Unfamiliar but longed-for sounds.
How long had he been listening? Once his consciousness became somewhat clearer and he grasped the situation, what rushed in next was a physiological need.
Gurgle. His stomach vibrated. Eui-jae rubbed his hollow belly. A terrible hunger he hadn’t been aware of pressed down on his entire body. He gritted his teeth. It was the first time he felt like he was going to throw up from hunger. It was a terrible starvation. As if he had been starving for a very long time. He was so hungry that he felt sad.
Eui-jae muttered weakly.
“I’m hungry….”
His brain commanded. To survive, he had to eat something. Right now!
Eui-jae grabbed the garbage that was piled up haphazardly under him and raised his body. The terrible hunger made him forget even the pain. Staggering, leaning against the dirty wall, the blurry figure disappearing left behind faint bloodstains and rainwater mixed with white ash. But even that was soon washed away.
Creak.
The sound of a sliding door opening echoed….
Soon, darkness came.
…Hah. Eui-jae gasped as if he had suddenly woken up from a dream. What is it? Where is it? He quickly rolled his eyes. A blurry reddish-orange light flickered. Eui-jae put strength into his fingertips. He could feel the rough concrete floor through the soft vines. He was lying flat on the floor. He groped his face. The mask was properly on.
“……”
He only rolled his eyes to look around. It was like a long arched passage, and white ash and white vines densely filled the walls and floor under the reddish-orange light. Was he still in the Memorial Dungeon? Eui-jae carefully sat up. The passage covered with white vines was strangely familiar.
‘Where did I see it?’
Eui-jae tilted his head with a sullen expression, but he couldn’t find a suitable answer. Because the memories that poured in filled his head. Damn it. Eui-jae sighed and leaned his back against the wall. He needed to organize the memories he had seen so far in the quiet gap. The memory he had forgotten.
The first thing that came to mind was.
‘Was the Monster I killed a person from the Destroyed world?’
Was the Monster I ate a person? His fingertips shrank. He remembered Mackerel’s sneer that Monsters were more edible than he thought. The backs of those who were dissecting the Monster’s flesh, too. What would happen if a human ate a mutated Monster?
‘…Wouldn’t Mutation start, or speed up?’
He recalled the muscular Hunter he had personally killed. The village where Mackerel stayed. There was hardly any sign of people in the village. Where did all the villagers go?
‘…….’
There were many presences in the sea where he jumped in to save Mackerel. Not only Mackerel’s Hyung, but also other presences, large and small. Hungry people eat anything. And Mackerel is a Hunter. They started eating sea Monsters instead of fish that couldn’t be caught, and….
‘They must have mutated.’
They must have returned. To the sea.
When he lowered his head, gray hair covered his vision. Eui-jae fiddled with the ends of his hair. Hair that turned gray no matter how much he dyed it. In the West Sea Rift, his colleagues’ skin and hair turned white as they ate Monsters. Cha Eui-jae of the past world, mutating due to Whitening.
‘…….’
Eui-jae leaned the back of his head against the wall. A chuckle escaped.
‘It’s one mountain after another….’
It was the moment he closed his eyes. He heard someone’s footsteps. Along with a humming tune. Eui-jae opened his eyes and turned his head towards the source of the sound. A large shadow was cast on the wall lit by the reddish-orange light.
“…Hmm?”
The shadow stopped. Eui-jae clenched and unclenched his fists. Fortunately, his strength was still there. The shadow tilted its head.
“Ah… Hmmm? Aha….”
Several exclamations burst out. Soon, a voice he had heard before hummed.
“Jackpot. I’m glad I didn’t go anywhere else and just waited here~”
Thud, the moment a shoe stepped on a white vine.
Swaaaeek―
The white vines, which had been swaying gently, rushed towards the presence all at once. But the owner of the presence stomped on the vines, crushing them, and approached without hesitation. The young man squatted down in front of Eui-jae. His disheveled light sky-blue hair swayed.
“Hmm, why is he okay? I thought he would be entangled in vines. Do the vines recognize strong people…?”
He took out a cigarette from a cigarette case, put it in his mouth, and then suddenly, as if he had remembered something, held out the cigarette case to Eui-jae.
“Want to smoke one?”
“……”
“Ah, can’t smoke because of the mask? Can’t help it. Just feel the mood~ A gift, a gift.”
Eui-jae snatched the cigarette case that was shaking in front of his eyes as if teasing him. The corners of his mouth, which had been smiling weakly, drooped.
“Oh, I didn’t know you would take them all.”
The blurry light flickered. White ash piled up high and white vines covered the passage. It was the same as the wasteland. Eui-jae tore off the vines from the wall he was leaning against. Red bricks were visible under the vines. It was familiar.
“This is….”
“Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon. Well, it’s a bit different from when you went in~?”
Chik, a small fire flared up from the lighter. He lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and exhaled. A hazy smoke rose. Through the smoke, the man held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you~?”
Gyu-Gyu, Ban Gyu-min smiled slyly. Instead of answering the smile, Eui-jae looked around. He didn’t feel any other presence nearby. Only Gyu-Gyu and Cha Eui-jae.
…Then where is Lee Sa-young? Where is Honeybee? Eui-jae brought up the questions that came to his mind.
“Where is Lee Sa-young? Where is Honeybee?”
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to ask these questions first.”
Gyu-Gyu threw the lighter into the air and caught it. His crooked mouth retorted.
“Those are the questions we should be asking~? For now.”
“……”
“Why did J come back alone…? Where did Lee Sa-young and Honeybee, and that other guy go? Please answer~? I have to report it, too.”
Thump, his heart sank.
Eui-jae hurriedly turned around and looked behind him. At the end of the Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon passage was the Dungeon entrance. Exactly where Eui-jae was leaning. But where the Invasion Dungeon entrance had been….
“…Huh?”
There was only a dark wall.