By Zephyria 194
A white wind raged.
The peaceful city began to crumble from its edges. The world, once full of color, gradually lost its hue. Buildings collapsed. Asphalt rose and twisted. The atmosphere churned ominously. The world was collapsing. All because of one person’s death.
Amidst the collapsing world, Sa-young carefully adjusted the body he held in his arms. The limp form was helplessly tossed about as he moved. He wanted to pull out the sword that pierced through the body, but he didn’t want to inflict unnecessary pain, even knowing it wasn’t real.
Sa-young sat Eui-jae on his lap and supported him. His powerless head fell limply onto his shoulder. His hand was soaked red. The damp sensation was unpleasant.
“……”
Sa-young rested his cheek against the gray hair. White ash fell. He murmured to the person who couldn’t hear him.
“You know what’s really annoying?”
“……”
“Why you did this, what you were thinking when you committed this…”
The utopia that another him had carefully crafted crumbled, and the real world was revealed. The buildings that had soared into the sky were now ruins, and the neat streets paved with asphalt and sidewalks were covered in dust and white ash. There were no intact buildings, only ruins. A desolate wind blew, but even that soon stopped. Perfect silence.
How did Lee Sa-young, left alone in the Destroyed world, survive? In a world without Cha Eui-jae. He must have just repeated and repeated it. The happy world where Doomsday hadn’t come. A world where he didn’t have to die, a world where he didn’t have to save the world. A peaceful world where no one knew Cha Eui-jae. A world he had repeated for so long that it became more detailed than reality.
He must have dreamed of a what-if.
“To be able to understand everything…”
But Sa-young knew it was arrogance. He knew very well that Cha Eui-jae was the kind of person who would break free from any shackles, no matter how tight. He knew that he was a person who shone on his own, even if he wanted to hide him. Sa-young closed his eyes and murmured softly.
“It’s annoying.”
Even so, I wish you would stay by my side.
Sa-young murmured into the void.
“Come back soon, Hyung.”
“……”
“It’s a little…”
“……”
“Lonely here.”
The white wind blew again. The air trembled. The things hidden beneath the white ash slowly emerged.
Flap….
A low voice echoed in the void.
J.
The undisputed number one, the hero who saved the country, the great man who saved countless people…. All sorts of dazzling modifiers followed behind the black mask, but he was horrified every time he heard such titles. He grumbled, telling people not to call him that, wondering why people were so obsessed with such impressive titles.
…….
A person who performed good deeds without asking for anything in return. A person who said he liked saving people. Every time he returned from a major battle, he would be bedridden for a long time, but even so, he would rush out without hesitation if there was a place where he was needed. It felt like everything would be alright if he was there.
He was a person who gave such hope, Cha Eui-jae.
…….
Flap…, the sound of a page turning was heard.
…….
He wholeheartedly sought out Poison, administered Antidote, and stayed by his side to save the life of a complete stranger. One day, ‘I’ had an Awakening. It was when Cha Eui-jae was away.
Unable to control my ability, I melted the cups and objects I cherished, and melted all the machines connected to my body without distinguishing them. Black Poison covered the hospital room. Eventually, I locked myself in the hospital bathroom.
Cha Eui-jae rushed over after hearing the news late. He said he came as soon as he finished dealing with the Dungeon. I didn’t open the door. I didn’t want to show him my hideous appearance. But Cha Eui-jae broke down the door with a single kick. And he grabbed my hand without hesitation. Even though the skin that touched was melting, he didn’t even frown. The melted skin was hot.
…….
‘I’ lived with Cha Eui-jae from the time Cha Eui-jae saved me once again.
We were always together.
Until he died.
…….
It took a long time before the page was barely turned.
…….
Cha Eui-jae was not in good health.
He said it had been like that ever since his Awakening. Even when he caught a giant Monster and was filmed in a video right after his Awakening, he collapsed soon after. His aunt took care of him then. Cha Eui-jae was embarrassed. He said he was quite healthy before his Awakening.
Sometimes he would tell me stories about playing soccer every lunchtime in the middle school playground that no longer existed. He said he was quite a good striker. He said everyone wanted to be on his team because he won every bet. He said he loved eating ice cream after the game. Every time I hear the story, I imagine the young Cha Eui-jae. Cha Eui-jae, who is not sick and runs around the playground healthily.
…It wasn’t easy to imagine.
Because the Cha Eui-jae I knew was brave but just as physically weak.
He always became bedridden after using great power. But except for a very few people, no one knew that fact. He said that if it became known that he was sick, even greater anxiety would come, so he locked himself in a dark room. He was originally a mysterious person, so there was no problem even if he didn’t show up for a few days. Everyone just thought that was the case. They only knew it as the eccentric side of a hero. They didn’t know he was dying.
…Is it the reaction of power? I couldn’t know. Expectations, guesses, estimations. Tedious days continued. Not only Nam Woo-jin, but also overseas healer Hunters were consulted, but they couldn’t know.
Nam Woo-jin stuck to it and continued to research, but he couldn’t figure it out. Later, even Nam Woo-jin gave up. He said that a power we couldn’t understand seemed to be acting on his pain. That was all.
Without knowing the cause, he was slowly dying. The cycle of pain gradually shortened. The person who used to be bedridden only after fighting a big battle became weakened even if he used only half his power. Sometimes he saw blood. When I went out in the early morning because I felt empty beside me, he was holding onto the sink and vomiting blood. It was dark red blood. Even if I washed it off with water, the red color engraved in my mind did not disappear easily.
What’s really annoying is that he accepted death. From some point on, he said as a habit. This can’t be helped, so don’t worry too much…. Don’t get hurt for nothing.
Who decided that?
I scraped together information as much as I could. I put my head together with Nam Woo-jin and gathered people. Before Doomsday came, and after Doomsday came.
He always shone brilliantly, but that light was uneasy. It was like a candle shining by burning its life. Like shining with all its might for the last time just before the fire goes out. He shone like that.
I didn’t want him to shine. I just wanted him to live long with a faint light.
…….
Doomsday came.
Battles increased. The Monsters that appeared endlessly gnawed at his life. His condition got worse and worse. I ran around as much as he did so that he wouldn’t go to the battlefield, but I couldn’t fill his void. And people were used to it. J will save us once again.
J can do it.
J will solve everything.
The surroundings flashed red.
Nonsense.
NonsenseNonsenseNonsenseNonsenseNonsenseNonsenseNonsenseNonsenseNonsenseNonsense
…….
Silence flowed. Flap, the page turned.
Cha Eui-jae lived up to people’s expectations.
He died.
Leaving me behind.
…….
Are you satisfied?
The sound of the page turning stopped. The world stopped. A white wind began to blow. The darkness slowly receded, and a pure white ruin was revealed. Eui-jae moved his steps. Sabak, sabak…. The ash piled up like snow crunched.
Dust flies from the collapsed building. It felt like something was pushing his back. As if leading somewhere. Eui-jae walked along the path. Endlessly.
How long had he walked?
“……”
Someone’s breathing was heard. It was rough breathing like a beast. Eui-jae hid his presence and approached. There was something black in the pure white world. An old leather coat that had lost its luster, black Walker dirty with dust and white ash. Disheveled black hair. It was a familiar appearance.
He was holding someone in his arms. A limp leg was glimpsed over the coat. Eui-jae lowered his head without realizing it. It was the same Walker he was wearing.
“……”
He took a deep breath and checked the unfolded scenery.
And….
He sees Lee Sa-young’s face.
‘It’s the same.’
It was the same.
With the face he had vaguely seen just before he closed his eyes.