By Zephyria “…Hyung?”
His head felt empty. Sa-young stopped as if rooted to the spot. He was breathless. Cha Eui-jae was on his hands and knees, staring at the bones that covered the floor.
“That can’t be…”
His voice was listless, devoid of strength, and dazed. It was a voice he had never heard before, so much so that he doubted who it belonged to.
Before long, Cha Eui-jae staggered to his feet and began to walk. His palms and the knees of his pants, which had swept across the floor, were stained white. Without the slightest distortion, only tears streamed down his blank face.
Eui-jae was crying.
A trembling voice wormed its way into his consciousness.
“Wait, if this floor is all bones…”
Yoon Ga-eul approached a small hill and brushed away the accumulated ash. Something that looked like a rib was revealed. “Eek,” she squealed softly, her gaze filled with unease.
“H-here. Could it be that all of this is…”
“……”
Lee Sa-young turned his head to follow Cha Eui-jae’s back. Cha Eui-jae was heading somewhere with faltering steps. But the sight was strangely familiar.
This area was rugged, with hills rising in various places. If all of this was bones, as Yoon Ga-eul said, and Cha Eui-jae was acting so familiar, and this Destroyed world was similar to the West Sea Rift, and he was the sole survivor of the West Sea Rift…
Cha Eui-jae.
Lee Sa-young hurriedly gestured to Ga-eul.
“Follow me!”
“Yes? Ah, yes!”
Lee Sa-young began to run, chasing after the back that was already far away. He shouldn’t leave Cha Eui-jae alone. He had a feeling. Strangely, the closer he got to the back, the more his anxiety soared. Lee Sa-young gritted his teeth. When the back was right in front of him, Lee Sa-young stopped without realizing it. Before them stood the highest hill they had seen so far. And flexible bones wrapped around the hill as if to show it off.
At the top of the hill, a gigantic skull with its mouth wide open was vaguely visible.
Cha Eui-jae was looking up at the hill. Tears streamed endlessly down his pale, expressionless face. He muttered,
“I’m… too late.”
“No, you’re not.”
Lee Sa-young instinctively denied it. But Cha Eui-jae didn’t hear him.
“No… There were always… a lot of bones here, but…”
The muttering continued. On and on.
“I killed the Basilisk and tried to recover the bodies of my comrades… but Monsters and people were mixed together, so I couldn’t find them all. The bodies were all fragmented.”
Lee Sa-young had seen it too. The sight of bones covering the floor, soaked in bright red blood, everything mixed up in a mess, regardless of Monster or human. And in the middle of the corpses and puddles of blood, a person who seemed to be human had placed a few limbs that seemed to be human in front of him, and was squatting down, covered in blood, muttering something blankly.
Cha Eui-jae.
…Me?
Lee Sa-young, frowning, grabbed his head. His head ached as if it were tearing apart. The sea of bones covered in pure white ash and the sea of bones covered in bright red blood overlapped and disappeared repeatedly before his eyes.
He had never seen it.
But he had seen it.
Lee Sa-young grabbed his head and hunched over. He felt dizzy, as if he were about to throw up.
“Keuk…”
“A-are you alright?”
In the meantime, Cha Eui-jae had taken a step forward. A hand covered in white ash touched the hill. The ash was wiped away in the shape of a palm, and what was hidden inside was revealed.
It was all bones.
“Everything is mixed up… I couldn’t tell them apart.”
“J! Wait a minute…”
“I, I… tried to do something. But in the end. I couldn’t save anyone.”
Cha Eui-jae knelt down in front of the hill. Trembling hands rubbed away the ash on the floor. Bones that were not human and human bones were mixed together. Clear tears dripped down. A trembling voice flowed from the infinitely small back.
“I was too late… Everything, like this…”
No.
“Everything…”
No!
“It’s all my fault…”
“Cha Eui-jae!”
His name struck his buzzing ears like a thunderbolt. Eui-jae abruptly raised his head and turned to look at the person who had called his name. Lee Sa-young, clutching his head, was glaring at Eui-jae. His purple eyes were shining fiercely. The only thing in the midst of all the pure white things…
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“What?”
Lee Sa-young gestured to Yoon Ga-eul, who was fidgeting behind him.
“Yoon Ga-eul. Go and look for anything unusual. It seems like this place is a point connected to the West Sea Rift.”
“Ah… Yes! I understand. I’ll call you if I find anything.”
Ga-eul nodded and closed her eyes before opening them again. Her eyes began to shine brilliantly with a golden light. Before leaving their side, Ga-eul looked at Eui-jae one last time. Her eyes were resolute, as if everything would be alright.
Tada-dak… Light footsteps faded away into the distance. Cha Eui-jae blankly looked at Lee Sa-young. Without hesitation, Lee Sa-young knelt down on one knee in front of Cha Eui-jae. Lukewarm, large hands wrapped around his cheeks and ears. The screams that had been circling noisily around him melted away in the warmth. Lee Sa-young’s lips moved.
Stop thinking about it.
“But.”
Hyung did his best.
“Everyone is, like this…”
Look at me, Cha Eui-jae.
Their eyes met. Cha Eui-jae was completely reflected in the purple eyes. A black-stained thumb wiped away the tears from his eyes. It was wet. Only then did Eui-jae realize that he was crying. Lee Sa-young’s face came closer. Soft hair and a small warmth touched his forehead. Forehead to forehead. Plump lips moved.
I’m here.
The only one who can deny Cha Eui-jae,
The person you saved is right in front of you.
Is Lee Sa-young.
It’s okay.
Eui-jae swallowed the rising sobs. Their foreheads parted, and soon a warm warmth washed over him like a wave. It was what he had so desperately wanted. Eui-jae put his arms around the warm neck and buried his face in it. Only then did a small cry burst out.
Large hands stroked his back.
Sniff. Eui-jae sniffed and blinked. He could feel the swelling just by blinking. Suddenly, a hand approached his field of vision and covered his eyes. Eui-jae muttered,
“I’m okay now.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“I’m serious. I’ve calmed down.”
“Then let’s just say I’m doing this because I want to.”
“……”
Eui-jae closed his mouth. A small laugh tickled his ears. At that moment, light footsteps approached. Along with a sullen voice.
“I’m sorry. I went around in a circle, but I couldn’t find anything. Just, everything…”
She trailed off, but he knew what would come after. That everything was just ash and bones. Cough, Ga-eul coughed softly. Looking closely, her neck was wet with cold sweat, and her complexion was not good either. Eui-jae asked,
“Student Ga-eul, are you alright? Are you sick somewhere?”
“Ah, no… I feel a little nauseous, but it’s bearable.”
Yoon Ga-eul didn’t have much time. She was the first to be dragged here, she had been wandering around here the whole time, and her Soul and body had been separated for the longest time.
“……”
“…We should go back soon.”
“But…”
Ga-eul looked at the floor and trailed off. Sa-young, who was sitting next to her, asked,
“Hyung, do you remember what you killed last in this place?”
“Killed?”
“Even though it’s connected to the Destroyed world, this place was also a kind of Rift. So, for that moment, it would have moved according to the laws of the System. If so, there would be a Master of the Rift. You have to kill the Master of the Rift to get the Riftstone…”
The closed Rift opens. Eui-jae took off the hand that was covering his eyes and answered.
“Ah, that’s…”
Eui-jae looked up at the hill. The owner of the flexible bones that were wrapped around the hill, even though only bones remained after a long time since their death. Basilisk. Lee Sa-young, who looked up at the hill with him, narrowed his eyes. Eui-jae answered briefly.
“I stabbed that bastard’s head with a sword.”
“Is that so? Then let’s stab it again this time.”
“What? It’s already dead.”
“We have to do something. We have to go back soon. What kind of sword was it? Just any sword?”
“No… I still have it.”
Eui-jae took out the Basilisk Fang, which had been shoved into the deepest corner of his Inventory. He could feel the black sword gripped in his hand throbbing like a freshly caught sea bream.
[‘Basilisk Fang’ wants to chat!]
[Fang’s thought: How dare you neglect this body like this! You’ll be punished by heaven!]
[Fang’s thought: Do you even know how long it’s been since you took me out!]
[Fang’s thought: Not only did you neglect me, but you even put other weapons next to me!]
[‘Basilisk Fang’ seems a little lonely.]
Does a sword feel loneliness too? But it was true that he hadn’t taken it out in a long time. It seemed like it was the first time since the Artisan Exhibition. He even used a spear when catching the Golem.
‘…Should I feel sorry?’
Eui-jae awkwardly held out the sword to Sa-young. The Fang throbbed again.
[Fang’s thought: You take me out after so long and then hand me over to someone else! You’ll be punished by heaven!]
[Fang’s thought: …Huh?]
The movement that had been rampaging in his hand stopped.
[Fang’s thought: Master?]