By Zephyria Eui-jae fiddled with the watch on his wrist. The round watch dial had three small clocks engraved on it. Two of them had stopped, and the last one was moving busily on its own. Eui-jae pointed to the small clocks.
“You mean these small clocks?”
“Oh, you’re wearing it well. That’s right. Originally, there was only one big clock. I modified it to be more visible.”
Cluck raised its head proudly.
“All thanks to this one’s skills.”
“Why did you modify it? It wasn’t just to look good, was it?”
“I did it because it was necessary.”
“Necessary for what? Lee Sa-young of the Destroyed world modified this when he used it, didn’t he? When I first used it to turn back time, there weren’t these small clocks.”
“Wow, you remember that? I thought you didn’t know anything.”
Cluck chattered away. Eui-jae sighed and ran a hand over his face. Then,
“Hey.”
A low voice called to Cluck. The light in the thatched-roof house flickered ominously before going out with a pop. The table vibrated, humming. He raised his head, and blue light flickered in the darkness. A cold, sharp energy that seemed to freeze him from the depths of his body covered the thatched-roof house.
A calm voice flowed from a face so shadowed that its expression could not be seen properly.
“You were joking and beating around the bush like that, so I guess I looked okay to you.”
“……”
“But I’m not. I’m fucking anxious right now.The heavily weighted air began to distort. Crack, the cup cracked. A threatening pressure poured down as if to strangle him at any moment. But the voice was gentle.
“I didn’t come all the way here to joke with you.”
“……”
“I came to hear why this happened and what the solution is. I don’t have time to waste.”
“……”
“So, get to the point. You said it’s the last chance. We have to cooperate.”
At that moment, a presence was felt in the inner room. He turned his head sharply. Beyond the half-open door, Lee Sa-young, covered with a blanket, was tossing and turning.
Eui-jae sighed briefly and covered his face. Flicker…. The light, which had flickered a few times, regained its light. The pressure that had been weighing down on people disappeared as if washed away. Hong Ye-seong, who had been crouching and shivering on the bare floor, also regained his composure.
Eui-jae sighed.
“Sorry.”
Cluck flapped its wings and shook its head.
“No. Your opinion is valid. But to tell that story, we need to move the location. There are things that can’t be said here…. Are you okay with that?”
“I’m okay.”
“Then look closely into my eyes.”
Eui-jae raised his head. The Emotional Eye he faced began to spin rapidly. His consciousness faded away as if being sucked somewhere. Eui-jae closed his eyes without resisting the flow.
A moment later, when he opened his eyes, he was standing in the middle of Hong Ye-seong’s studio, which he had seen at the end of the Memorial Dungeon. The monochrome space, where only black and white existed like a photograph taken with black and white film, had a strange atmosphere as if time had stopped. It felt like stealing a peek at someone’s album.
It even smelled like dust from somewhere.
Eui-jae turned his gaze. A man in a training suit was sitting on a backless chair in the studio. He was making a V-sign with a confident smile. It was Hong Ye-seong, with his ambiguously long hair tied in a ponytail.
A voice flowed from his unmoving lips.
—I won’t keep you long.
He was also black and white all over, as if he were part of a film photograph. Only the golden pattern floating above his eyes had color, and it was the only thing that moved alive in the photo. The Hong Ye-seong in front of him had a different atmosphere from the person Cha Eui-jae knew.
‘He looks much more experienced and relaxed.’
He was a person who deserved the word veteran. He was.
The embalmed Hong Ye-seong’s voice echoed in the studio.
—Originally, I didn’t plan to explain in such detail or intervene…. I didn’t expect Lee Sa-young to turn out like that. I’ve come to the conclusion that you should know everything too. You’re the only one who can react quickly to variables, my friend.
“……”
—I was only allowed to observe, but now it’s an emergency…. I’ll explain from the very beginning.
The rapidly rotating Emotional Eye found its speed and began to move slowly.
—Shall we start with the clock? The clock is used to turn back time, but to be precise, it erases the previous world and starts in a new world.
“Yeah.”
—Therefore, in the first place, that clock was an item that could not be used twice. To turn back time, erase the previous world, and restart in a new world, it’s absurd to use such a great item multiple times.
“……”
—It could only be used once. Once used, it should have disappeared. So, when you and I, we first turned back time, we didn’t promise the next time. We said the next time would be the last.
Eui-jae fiddled with his wrist. The cold touch of the metal cooled his flushed fingertips.
“But the clock is still there. In my hand.”
—That’s the problem. From this one’s point of view, the problem started from the first use.
The Emotional Eye began to intertwine intricately.
—Because the power of you, who was the first axis, was too strong, there’s a clumsy amount of power left in the clock. So, far from disappearing, the power to turn back time has remained halfway along with it.
“……”
—It’s too ambiguous to turn back time, but you don’t know what side effects will occur. It’s literally become a gambling item. You had it in the second world too, but after you died, it went into Lee Sa-young’s hands.
“……”
—I modified the clock to reduce the side effects, and Lee Sa-young used it. But even though he took the burden with his whole body, he couldn’t completely avoid the side effects.
Side effects. Eui-jae thinks of Lee Sa-young, who wandered endlessly in the Destroyed world. The moment they met, his mirror-like eyes were filled with Cha Eui-jae, and only tears were dripping. Lee Sa-young, who had become something other than human, with all emotions dried up.
‘…I thought it was meaningless.’
‘The things I did….’
Is that also part of the side effects? Becoming a warden left alone in the Destroyed world, wandering endlessly, and waiting for the end that may never come. Without even knowing whether he failed or succeeded.
That’s too…….
Eui-jae stared at Hong Ye-seong, speechless. Numerous thoughts rose and fell repeatedly, but he couldn’t find a suitable word to say. Eui-jae covered his mouth, afraid that words that had not yet become words would flow out.
Hong Ye-seong muttered. His voice was somehow dejected.
—You’ve experienced one of the side effects too.
“…Me? What?”
—The West Sea Rift.
His head rang as if hit by a hammer. Eui-jae opened his mouth slightly. Hong Ye-seong, who had trapped himself in a black and white photograph, was looking at this side with a confident face, without any change in expression.
—I told you? It erases the previous world and creates a new world. But because the clock is incomplete, this time the previous world was not completely erased. So, the Destroyed world continues to affect the current world.
“Then… the West Sea Rift too?”
Eui-jae’s voice trembled slightly. His stomach churned. His vision was dizzy as if he was about to throw up. A hint of regret was in Hong Ye-seong’s voice.
—Haven’t you ever thought it was strange? The West Sea Rift kept growing and swallowing Hunters until you entered. Have other Hunters entered since you entered? I don’t think so. You must have been the last one.
As he said. Not only the Hunters who had been previously engaged, but also the Hunters who entered with Cha Eui-jae all died, and until he killed all the Monsters wandering inside and stabbed the Basilisk in the head. No additional personnel were投入投入.
“……”
Because the Rift was closed.
From the beginning… it was as if Cha Eui-jae was the purpose.
A heavily weighted voice hammered in the wedge.
—It found you, the first axis. The Destroyed world. Because the price paid by the current axis is not enough, the person who will pay the rest.
Hong Ye-seong paused for a moment and sighed briefly. The Emotional Eye, which had been rotating without rest, became blurred.
—You know, friend, we made a promise.
“……”
—You may not remember….
A lonely air was in his voice.
—You turn back time to prevent Doomsday….
“……”
—I decided to watch it.
“Why did you make such a promise?”
—…….
Hong Ye-seong said heavily.
—To save the world, of course.