By Zephyria The figure that had gradually faded from his toes disappeared completely, and the warmth that had filled his arms until just moments ago vanished like melting snow. The black hand clenched at the empty air. Sa-young rubbed his forehead where their lips had last touched, then tilted his head back. A small sigh escaped.
“Haa….”
He swept a hand across his face.
Did Cha Eui-jae know?
That from this moment on, until he met him again, he would savor only this sensation. Unable to think of anything else, he would endure, lost in that feeling and the memory of that moment.
‘He wouldn’t be like this if he knew.’
His clenched fist tightened. Sa-young gritted his teeth. From the moment he felt the living Cha Eui-jae, his thirst had only intensified. It might have been better if he had never known of his existence. Knowing that Cha Eui-jae was waiting for him, talking to him, touching him, every moment was a test.
“…….”
His mind was filled with one person’s face. A smiling face, a flushed neck and earlobes, a neck that flinched with every kiss, a body flushed with heat, an arm that trembled when his waist was stroked, a pouring breath, the constantly changing sounds of breathing and heartbeat.
Evidence that could only be felt from a living person.
He was anxious.
Irritation surged.
Sa-young nervously ruffled his hair. His throat was dry. The thirst grew more intense with each passing day. The shell he encountered every time he went home could not satisfy this longing. Only the living Cha Eui-jae could quench this thirst and desire. His Adam’s apple bobbed. His mouth was parched.
‘…Damn it.’
He thought he was confident in his patience. Sa-young straightened his coat and jumped up from his seat. At the same time, the tightly closed door of the small room opened.
“Ah, there was a guest here today too.”
A gaunt, mummy-like man, Nam Woo-jin, staggered in. Mackerel, who had his arm around Nam Woo-jin’s shoulder as if giving him a piggyback ride, asked gruffly.
“You seem to come to the small room more often than the Doctor. Is there something fun here?”
“There’s no way.”
“Then please move aside, the Doctor needs to sit down.”
Sa-young stood aside with his hands in his coat pockets. His purple gaze followed Mackerel as he observed him. His dark blue hair was already turning white, and white scales were faintly visible on his neck, hidden by his collar. Not taking off his broken glasses was probably his own stubbornness.
Mackerel carefully sat Nam Woo-jin in the chair. Nam Woo-jin sat on the edge of the chair, catching his breath. His hand, barely covered with skin, fumbled for a notebook.
“What was I doing? …Ah, did I doodle again…?”
“No. I was reading it. To see how far it’s progressed.”
“Haha…. To see how many times I’ve failed, you mean.”
Nam Woo-jin pushed up his glasses with a trembling hand. From some point on, the smell of death began to emanate from him. It was a smell he had smelled countless times. The narrow laboratory, the people passing by, the mountains of corpses, the smell from the people who had to be burned because there was no place to bury them.
‘Is it almost over?’
Sa-young stared at Nam Woo-jin. He didn’t feel pity, regret, or relief. Even if he died, Lee Sa-young had to stay here anyway. That way….
Nam Woo-jin asked, holding a pen with a trembling hand.
“So, how is it…. Did you find any satisfactory information?”
“No.”
Sa-young answered curtly and headed for the door. Nam Woo-jin raised the corners of his mouth and smiled as if he expected it.
Leaving behind the sound of paper and pen colliding, he left the room. He walked down the long corridor towards the hall. The number of people coming and going from the Seowon Guild had also decreased significantly. The groans of people, the painful moans, the sounds of tossing and turning from sleeplessness, and the cries were no longer heard.
The Whitening speed was gradually increasing.
The number of people Mutating in response was also increasing.
Countless people were dying from the Mutated.
Nam Woo-jin was dying.
The vaccine had not yet been developed.
Which would come first, Nam Woo-jin’s death or the development of the vaccine?
“…….”
Sa-young stood at the entrance, worn out from the countless people who had passed through it. Pure white ash poured down like snow. The once bustling street was so ruined that it was impossible to find its former glory, and only the sound of small Monsters scurrying through the collapsed buildings could be heard.
The sound of the living could not be heard.
Doomsday came quietly.
He took out a yellow amulet folded in half from his pocket and tore it, and a swirling Portal appeared before his eyes. A blurry green lawn rippled beyond the Portal. As he took a step, soft grass was trampled under his feet and the air changed. Under the bright blue sky, the grass swayed gently in the wind.
“Oh, you’re here?”
A voice asked from behind, fanning a furnace. As he approached, a rush of heat poured out. Hong Ye-seong had rolled up the sleeves and legs of his green tracksuit to his elbows and knees, and his hair was tied up in a bun. He threw dry firewood into the furnace with his gloved hands and said.
“Just wait a bit~ I’ll finish stoking the fire and give you a Sweet Rice Drink.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Come on, try to be a little more friendly. We’re kind of a community of fate.”
Sweat beaded on Hong Ye-seong’s forehead. A complex golden pattern floated above his bright brown eyes. The swirling pattern turned towards Lee Sa-young.
“How was it, the method I taught you? Did it work?”
“…….”
“Ooh, it looks like it was a success. How was it, how was it, amazing, right?”
“How did you do it?”
“Hmm? Since your friend will come looking for you anyway, and this is a Shield I created…. I just slightly connected the flow. And there was an object connecting the two of you, right?”
Hong Ye-seong grinned and stood up. He wiped the soot off his cheeks with the back of his hand and gestured.
“Come on, let’s go to the main building.”
“I don’t plan on staying long. Just the main point….”
“We have plenty of time anyway. You and me.”
“…….”
Hong Ye-seong hummed and headed towards the tiled-roof house. Sa-young glared at his fluttering back and slowly followed him. The sensation of stepping on the grass and the warm breeze gently brushing his cheeks and hair felt unfamiliar.
Hong Ye-seong had contacted him right after Cha Eui-jae had appeared and disappeared like a bolt of lightning.
‘Didn’t someone come and go?’
Even though it was just a shell, was it because he was the one who created the Memorial Dungeon? Hong Ye-seong immediately noticed something was wrong. At the time, Sa-young was not even in the right state of mind to hide anything, so he told him everything as it was. Cha Eui-jae seemed to have come and gone. He suddenly appeared and disappeared.
‘Knowing my friend’s personality, he’ll definitely come again… Great! I’ll help you a little.’
‘With what?’
‘A special service for a guest who’s left alone. You can trust me!’
Should he have pushed away Hong Ye-seong, who had smiled and given a thumbs up? Sa-young thought as he looked at the ceramic cup with steam rising from it.
Meeting Cha Eui-jae was good, but the more he talked to him, the more he touched him, the more intense his thirst became. He wanted to go find him right away and be by his side. He wanted to hold him. He wanted to devour him from head to toe, leaving no trace….
“…Lee Sa-young!”
Clang!
Sa-young barely came to his senses at the sound of the table being slammed. Hong Ye-seong sipped barley tea and clicked his tongue.
“You’re completely out of it. Was it that good?”
Sa-young tightened his grip on the cup. A crack appeared in the ceramic cup. He gritted his teeth and retorted.
“…Whose fault do you think this is?”
“Well, it’s definitely not my fault!”
Hong Ye-seong retorted shamelessly and pouted.
“Why, did your resolve waver when you actually saw him?”
“…….”
“But what can you do? It was your choice to stay here.”
Sa-young put down the cup. The hazy steam scattered in the wind. His dry lips moved.
“The stages of people Mutating are gradually coming to an end. There’s no more land left to be Whitened, and there are no more people to Mutate.”
Hong Ye-seong nodded lightly.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then, what’s next?”
“…….”
“If the Terraforming through Whitening is over, and there’s not a single human left alive…. Is that the true Doomsday? Is that the end of the Doomsday that comes in stages?”
His golden Emotional Eye scanned Sa-young up and down as if observing him. Sa-young said as if chewing.
“No matter how much I search my memories, I can’t recall the moment of destruction. It must be because I turned back time right before the destruction. Like running away.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then what is the real Doomsday…. What is destruction?”
“…….”
“What is the final stage of Doomsday, anyway?”
“Who knows.”
Hong Ye-seong looked up at the fabricated blue sky and muttered.
“Maybe…”
“…J! Wake up!”
A drop of cold sweat trickled down his chin. Ga-eul gripped his trembling hand with her other hand and gritted her teeth. The light of the brilliantly shining kaleidoscope gradually faded. The classroom shook. Ash began to fall from the ceiling. Ga-eul shouted like a scream.
“J!”
He averted his gaze from the sky and replied.
“…It might have already started.”