By Zephyria 
Side Story Episode 3.
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Shiiiiiing—.
After a flight that lasted well over half a day, the small aircraft slowly touched down. It was a distance so vast that, back in the days of aviation fuel, they would have had to land once midway to refuel.
Because they had departed late in the afternoon, they arrived only after a full day had passed. The forests of the Northern Hemisphere, where the sun hung high, were white and desolate, yet densely packed for winter.
“It’s summer in Goryeo City.”
“Are you cold? Your scarf.”
“I’m fine without it. Besides, Teacher Jung told me not to wear anything that bugs could cling to.”
A considerable amount of snow had accumulated. There wasn’t even a path, making it easy to lose one’s sense of direction if one wasn’t careful.
It was so close to the wild that it was hard to believe it was near a once-prosperous metropolis. It felt as if a beast might come crashing out from somewhere at any moment with a rustle.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
While Mu-hae’s gaze had shifted elsewhere for a moment, Joo-oh was scratching a mark into a withered tree trunk.
Mu-hae caught a glimpse of his fingertips; they were wet, though he couldn’t tell if it was water or saliva. He thought he saw a tongue peek out from between the other’s lips for a split second, but he hoped it was just an illusion.
“Solar City. I’m excited.”
“Excited, my foot. It’s dangerous, so don’t get distracted and just follow me.”
Despite his words, Mu-hae also felt a strange thumping in his chest. He had always thought Solar City existed only in the urban legends that mercenaries traded for amusement.
Could his self from a year ago have imagined that it would come so close to his life and unfold before his eyes?
Beep—.
As expected, the GPS does not work here. There are no detectors, and the satellites are dead.
Zones where the cities to be managed and the people have vanished usually end up this way. As Solar City collapsed, this vast area turned into a desolate land where human technology held no sway.
There is even a massive Crystal Zone nearby. The great fire of the city and the subsequent collapse were accidents caused by Aberrants that had swarmed from there in the first place.
While no lifeforms were currently appearing on the radar, Aberrants could be prowling around at any time. It was a chillingly grim situation.
“I don’t smell anything yet.”
“We’re heading straight for the city. Tell me immediately if you sense anything even slightly off.”
With every step toward their goal, his heartbeat gradually quickened. The pure white snow made a crunch, crunch sound, creating an eerie footstep that strained the eyes.
After walking for some time, the trees that had been blocking their view thinned out and nearly disappeared.
Jin Mu-hae couldn’t help but marvel at the massive structure revealed before him.
“Hah.”
A giant dome, its top entirely destroyed and collapsed. Through the gaps, the ruins of buildings were faintly visible.
It was a Comfort zone far larger than the one in Goryeo City. Its scale alone allowed one to naturally imagine the appearance of the city when it had once flourished.
Beneath the snow piled upon every broken spot, rusted and burnt traces remained intact. Somehow, it felt as if a horrific past had been preserved exactly as it was.
“Solar… City.” Joo-oh, who had been following quietly, murmured the name. His red eyes obsessively scanned the remnants of the city.
“I think that’s the entrance.”
“Do we really have to go around? The side is already burst open.”
“But… it’s my first time. And we might discover something more.”
Good grief. He really thinks he’s on a sightseeing tour. His eyes sparkled with an overflowing excitement as he prattled on about it being his first visit.
Still, it wasn’t an opinion that couldn’t be entertained. According to the data obtained from West Wind, the underground facility they were searching for was located in the heart of the central area.
Considering the unique structure and infrastructure of a Comfort zone, the entrance would be easier to access in many ways than a broken gap.
Above all, the entrance was wide open. Unless some lunatic had appeared in the few years since West Wind’s secret investigation to forcibly pull down and fix the broken doors, that way was actually safer and more convenient.
“Oh.”
Turning his head at the small exclamation, Mu-hae saw Joo-oh kicking at the ground.
Between the dug-up snow and the frozen earth, a white bone was half-exposed. One didn’t even have to think hard to know it was a human bone.
He realized anew. This place, Solar City, was not just a source of information for the Starpath, but a space where countless people slept.
To put it kindly, it was a memorial of a disaster; to put it coldly, it was nothing more than a damnably large cemetery the size of a city.
Creak—.
As a strong wind blew, a noise like metal shaking echoed. Mu-hae prayed that wasn’t the sound of the dome’s ceiling.
If the sky suddenly collapsed while they were inside, they would truly be left with no way out.
There must have been slums in Solar City as well. However, the interior of the city they encountered after walking much further was in a state where such distinctions were utterly useless.
The whole world was white, black, and yellow. White snow piled atop the blackened ruins of buildings, and yellow, withered vines clung to every single wall.
If it had been summer, perhaps they would have seen a lush sight of nature swallowing the city. The winter Solar City felt like the skeleton of a civilization that had completely withered away.
Just how large had the fire been? Beyond the destroyed buildings and shattered windows, nothing but black soot was visible.
The streets seemed to have surprisingly few traces, but when Mu-hae dug into the snow with his toe, just as Joo-oh had done, something like a piece of clothing emerged from beneath tangled, dry grass.
‘Damn it.’
He knew it was a tragic accident, but it was a repulsive place. It felt even worse because he could guess how livable and brilliant the city must have been, judging by the foundations of the burnt-out buildings and the large-scale zoning.
Even so, seeing all sorts of decorations carved into the shattered building foundations, he could imagine the splendor of Solar City’s past without even closing his eyes.
“Look at this. Was it a toy store?”
Joo-oh, who had been walking and looking around, suddenly darted forward. It was a spot where faint, colorful letters remained on the first-floor exterior wall covered in vines.
Structurally, it looked like a shop that had a show window, and the frame of an animatronic was melted black onto a warped steel shelf.
“What a waste. They must have all been new.”
The reprimand that toys weren’t the priority in a place where people died didn’t come out. Perhaps it was because of the surreal and desolate atmosphere; Mu-hae himself felt less like he was walking through a disaster site and more like he was performing a training simulation of this theme.
“Don’t pick up weird things and put it back.”
“…It’s not weird. It’s a glass marble.”
“It’s a doll’s eye.”
Still, he couldn’t let the guy keep collecting travel souvenirs. Jin Mu-hae snatched away the soot-covered glass eye, threw it away, and pulled along Joo-oh, whose lips were pouting.
Beep— beep— beep—.
It was a relief that the radar was quiet, but the scenery was the same wherever they went.
Occasionally, if there was a building that had survived the fire, the interior was miserably ransacked.
Since there were reports of people breaking in to steal ownerless assets, it was likely the work of mercenaries.
He felt a renewed sense of gratitude that the underground facility containing the Starpath-related data still existed undiscovered.
If not, West Wind might have already gotten his hands on the information and completed a ‘flawless’ prototype of the Starpath.
Screeech— Thump!
A strange sound came from the railroad tracks they had just stepped over. Fearing it might collapse, he pulled Joo-oh away.
He should have brought a hover mobility vehicle to ride in. Since the city, which would have moved by the power of Blue Energy, had come to a complete halt, there were no means of transport to seize.
Avoiding the roads where the ground had sunk and obstacles were scattered, walking along the train tracks was an ordeal due to the cracked and severed sections.
“Hmm. There’s something.”
“An Aberrant?”
“Not an Aberrant. Probably a beast.”
To make matters worse, a threat had emerged. It seemed some creatures had used the ruined city as a nesting ground to breed.
Judging by the fact that they hadn’t been caught on the radar yet, they seemed to be quite far away.
“Central…”
As he walked while checking the radar, Mu-hae heard the murmuring voice again.
He saw Joo-oh with a blank expression, staring into the distance. Following his gaze, the outline of a building soaring high as if to pierce the sky came into view.
It looked exactly like a giant charcoal tombstone, making the distorted skyline stand out even more. Mu-hae took off one glove and blew a warm breath onto his chilled hand.
Finally, from here on, they were in the heart of Solar City.
“You said the entrance would be strange, right?”
“Yeah. That’s why it would have been hard to find.”
“And we can find it if we go where West Wind said?”
“Probably.”
Creak… screech… As even the spine-chilling sounds carried through the air, it seemed the structure before them was about to collapse.
A rectangular frame that must have once been an electronic billboard now had only the outer frame remaining, shaking whenever the wind blew.
[Leap into the Futu▒▒ ▒▒▒▒]
For something inscribed so hopefully in the language of Solar City, the sight of a future not attained was unsettling.
A few mutated birds, too small to be caught on the radar, flew overhead with strange kree-reek cries.
There wasn’t much distance left to the estimated location provided by West Wind. Mu-hae tightened his gloves once more and strode toward Central, where only the traces of splendor remained.
The documents and videos left behind in the return flight—somehow, it all felt like a hollow echo.