By Zephyria The cold water lapped at his feet and legs. Eui-jae continued on without a care. Splish, splash. When he was soaked up to his waist like Mackerel had been just before, he suddenly turned around. Lee Sa-young was standing on the white sandy beach where the waves were washing up, looking at him. He had even taken off his Gas mask. His black curly hair and the hem of his long coat fluttered in the wind. He….
“I can’t go, I can’t.”
“……”
“If I go in…. Hyung might die.”
He looked forlorn.
“……”
Was that what he looked like when he was waiting for me in the West Sea? He felt strange. Like he had seen something he shouldn’t have. Eui-jae took off the mask that was covering his face. And he threw it hard at Sa-young. Sa-young reflexively caught the mask with a start and his eyes widened. Eui-jae pointed at Sa-young.
“I’ll be back.”
“……”
“Wait for me!”
With those words, Eui-jae went further into the sea. White ash and cold water kept grabbing at him. When the water reached his neck, Eui-jae took a deep breath and submerged himself in the deep water.
And, Lee Sa-young, who was left alone.
“……”
He groped for the black mask, then carefully kissed it.
The Whitening-progressed sea was just stagnant water.
‘I see why he said that.’
There wasn’t a single common seaweed, fish, or shellfish that should have been there in the sea, not even the sand and rocks on the bottom. It was just empty. All there was was dark water with not a single ray of light. This place was also a kind of wasteland. Where nothing could live.
Even if it was Eui-jae, it would be hard for him to last long underwater. Fortunately, something was rippling not far away. It was the color of the checkered shirt that Mackerel was wearing. Eui-jae quickly swam towards it. The paled Mackerel was drooping and continuing to sink.
‘Trying to die in front of me, huh.’
The moment he reached out his hand, something appeared in his view.
It was a System Window.
[Warning! This action will overwrite previously recorded memories. The consequences are unknown.]
[Do you still wish to proceed?]
Did I still wish to?
‘Of course, I have to!’
Eui-jae snatched the checkered shirt with all his might. At that moment, the System Window that had been flashing menacingly changed in an instant. A pure white light poured out.
[That’s how you should ■■.]
[Don’t fail this time.]
Eui-jae’s eyes widened. The light disappeared like melting snow and only the drooping Mackerel remained.
‘Just now, that was….’
The way it spoke was just like… ‘Hong Ye-seong,’ wasn’t it?
But he had to put his thoughts aside for later. Getting Mackerel out of the sea was the top priority. Was this guy even breathing? Eui-jae tucked Mackerel under his left arm and began to swim upwards with all his might.
It was then.
[Warning! A record alteration penalty will be applied.]
[Caution! The System is applying a penalty to the body. Debilitation….]
‘What?’
Mackerel tucked under his arm and Eui-jae’s limbs were getting heavier and heavier. He could feel his strength fading away. No, this wasn’t right. What was wrong with the System? Was it crazy?
‘Why now…!’
No matter how much he struggled, he was being dragged further and further underwater. Damn it! Eui-jae gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to be submerged like this. But he couldn’t give up on Mackerel either.
‘Somehow…!’
Lee Sa-young standing on the white sandy beach came to mind. His forlorn face, too. He couldn’t leave him alone again and disappear. He had promised that he would be back.
Eui-jae’s eyes shone blue. The moment he put more strength into the arm that was holding Mackerel.
Thud.
Something hard touched his feet as he struggled to splash around.
‘…Huh?’
Eui-jae looked down. Something white was surging in the pitch-black deep sea. Bubbles were rising. Something was supporting him and Mackerel. It supported the two of them and slowly began to swim towards the surface.
Eui-jae lowered his body and stroked what he was standing on. It was smooth and cold. Eui-jae let out the breath he had been holding back. His voice scattered through the bubbles.
“…You, are you his Hyung?”
The thing he was standing on trembled softly. In the sea that he had seen with the Eye of the Tracker, a huge thing was swimming. It wasn’t a fish, but a Monster that had evolved into the form of a fish. It was probably human before.
“……”
Eui-jae closed his eyes. Did even a mutated Monster have a heart?
He wanted to believe that it did, at least for this moment.
Soon, when Eui-jae’s breath was about to run out. They popped out onto the cold surface of the water.
“Ugh!”
Splash, the cold water soaked his whole body once again. The two of them fell straight into the sea. Fortunately, it was shallow enough for their feet to touch the bottom. Puhah! Eui-jae, who was kneeling on all fours, opened his mouth wide and inhaled. After coughing for a while because he was out of breath, a careful hand grabbed Eui-jae’s shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
Eui-jae blinked his blurry eyes and raised his head. Sa-young was grabbing him with a worried look on his face. He was half-sitting in the seawater, not caring that his coat and pants were getting wet.
Eui-jae rubbed his wet face and looked to the side. Mackerel was lying on his back with his arms and legs spread out, looking at the sky. He had a blank look on his face. Eui-jae pointed at Mackerel with a nod.
“Is he alive?”
“He’s breathing, though.”
“He’s still alive…. He was drooping so much… Ah, I’m tired. I was wondering if I should do artificial respiration or something.”
Sa-young’s face turned fierce.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“I was just thinking about it, just thinking about it. I have to save people.”
Eui-jae staggered to his feet, then lost his balance and fell forward. Fortunately, this time there was a firm arm to catch him. Sa-young narrowed his eyes.
“…Wait, again?”
“…That’s what happened.”
Eui-jae slyly avoided his gaze. The arm supporting Eui-jae became even more careful.
“Are you really crazy, Hyung? You almost lost your strength in that sea, just now? Do you know you almost died? Are you out of your mind?”
In contrast, Sa-young’s voice was getting louder and louder. Eui-jae shrugged his shoulders, though. What was it? His body felt strange. It was a different sensation from when he was overwhelmed by Lee Sa-young’s energy. It was chilly and cold….
Ah, I’m cold right now. A civilian’s body was so uncomfortable. Eui-jae sniffled.
“Sa-young.”
“What.”
“I’m cold.”
“…Fucking hell.”
Sa-young muttered a curse and took off his coat. Then he wrapped it tightly around Eui-jae and lifted him up. Eui-jae shook his head to shake off the water from his wet hair. Sa-young frowned.
“Are you a dog? Stay still. I don’t have a towel….”
“Won’t it dry if I just leave it?”
“You’ll catch a cold before that.”
“When was the last time I caught a cold? I don’t even remember.”
“It could be today, so stay still.”
“Sa-young.”
“What.”
“Bring Mackerel, too.”
“He’s an Awakened, so he won’t die even if he’s like that for a while. I’ll take care of Hyung first.”
Sa-young left the white sandy beach and carefully sat Eui-jae down under a low concrete wall near the edge of the sea. Then he rummaged through his Inventory and began to take out items made of various cloths and cover Eui-jae with them. H, heavy. Eui-jae curled up.
“This should be enough.”
“Are you really okay?”
“Yeah. If you cover me with more than this, I think I’ll be crushed to death.”
He said it as a joke, but Sa-young’s face became serious. He quickly picked up a few items. Checking Eui-jae’s face. Eui-jae awkwardly replied.
“It’s a joke.”
“……”
“…Sorry.”
“Don’t make jokes like that.”
“But it really was heavy.”
“I’m sure it was….”
Sa-young turned away and headed towards the sea. Eui-jae, who was staring at his back, raised his voice.
“Lee Sa-young!”
“What.”
Sa-young turned around. Eui-jae struggled to take out his right arm from the pile of cloth and waved it.
“I’m back.”
“……”
Sa-young ruffled his messy hair, then sighed loudly as if to be heard. And he reluctantly headed towards the pure white sea. To get the Mackerel that Eui-jae had grabbed.
Yoon Ga-eul opened her eyes.
It was an unfamiliar but familiar ceiling. A place where books were piled up like mountains in the collapsed library, and people in white gowns were busily moving around. It was the Seowon Guild in the Destroyed world. Okay, it was a Fragment. Ga-eul quickly adapted.
Recently, Ga-eul had been seeing Fragments of the Destroyed world more often than before. Did another me have something she wanted to tell me? It would be nice if I could talk to her directly.
Ga-eul sighed and moved her feet. The place she was heading to was the reception room. A young man was sitting on the sofa in the reception room. He hadn’t even touched the tea and refreshments.
Hmm, after clearing her throat, Yoon Ga-eul, who sat on the sofa opposite him, smiled. Her mouth moved on its own.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Yoon Ga-eul. I’m working at the Seowon Guild, helping Doctor Nam Woo-jin. I heard about you from J.”
“……”
The young man, who was wearing a black hat pulled down low, only nodded instead of answering. The hair under the hat was dark blue. Ga-eul rolled her eyes. This was a story from when J was alive. Was this person a Hunter? Or just a shy person? Fortunately, another her gave her the answer.
“Um, J only said you were a Hunter and didn’t tell me your name. Is there anything I can call you?”
Yoon Ga-eul held out her hand. The young man stared blankly at the hand she held out. Soon, he took her hand.
“…Mackerel.”
His hand was chillingly cold.
“Call me Mackerel.”
…Ga-eul opened her eyes. A pure white ceiling greeted her. It was the ceiling of her room at the Prometheus headquarters. As soon as she got up, Ga-eul looked around. Fortunately, Ga-young was nowhere to be seen.
Huu, only then did Ga-eul let out a sigh of relief and fidget with her hands. She still felt the cold touch of his hand.
‘Mackerel, huh….’
Ga-eul rolled her eyes and asked herself a question.
‘Why are you showing me this? Yoon Ga-eul.’
No answer came back.