By Zephyria This death didn’t hurt. Well, maybe.
Eui-jae was in a dark void. A place with nothing. He spread out his hands. Okay, it seemed his eyesight was back to normal since he could see his hands. Eui-jae traced the scar on his palm. A golden chain rippled over the scar.
The contract is still valid. Both I and Lee Sa-young are alive.
“……”
But there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t open his Inventory, couldn’t summon the System Window, and couldn’t move his body freely. All he could do was float around in the void. Eventually, Eui-jae began to think about the thought he had been avoiding.
‘It seems I avoided complete death thanks to sticking with Lee Sa-young….’
In fact, he thought he could return to his original world if he died. This place was a Memorial Dungeon, so the memories of the dead would end there. But instead of returning, Eui-jae was wandering in a strange place.
‘Is this an error?’
Was I supposed to die here originally? I think I met Hong Ye-seong in a place like this last time.
‘He probably won’t come….’
He felt complicated when he recalled Hong Ye-seong’s last appearance. Eui-jae closed his eyes and curled up. What was Lee Sa-young doing? He didn’t show himself until the moment Cha Eui-jae was covered by Monsters and stopped breathing. Even though he must have watched the whole process of him stopping breathing.
‘He’s so cruel….’
…….
He wanted to see Lee Sa-young.
He hadn’t seen his face for too long. He couldn’t be satisfied with just touching him. He wanted to see Lee Sa-young with his own two eyes….
At that moment.
Tick, tock, he heard the sound of clock hands turning. Eui-jae turned his head sharply. A huge clock appeared in the pitch-black void. It looked exactly like the broken wristwatch. The clock hands began to spin rapidly. He instinctively realized.
‘Time…!’
It’s going back. Golden light drove out the void. Eui-jae closed his eyes.
He opens his eyes.
White ash scatters.
Eui-jae blinked slowly. A pure white wasteland spread out before his eyes. It was a familiar sight. Eui-jae spread out his hands.
There was no scar.
He hurriedly touched his face. A smooth mask covered his face.
At that moment, someone’s voice pierced clearly.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a Rift like this.”
It was a familiar voice. To be exact, it was a voice he couldn’t forget. Eui-jae looked towards the voice. A short-haired Hunter with a bow was brushing the ash on the floor with her finger.
“There’s really nothing here. No ecological environment has been formed.”
The short-haired Hunter was very interested in the Rift’s ecological environment. She said she used to work in the Korea Forest Service before the world became like this. She was always curious about the different environments in each Rift and Dungeon.
A muscular Hunter approached the short-haired Hunter and asked.
“Didn’t the advance team take care of everything?”
“Ha, you don’t understand…. Nothing can live in this environment. There’s no drinking water, no creatures that can be food, not even a single blade of grass.”
“Then the advance team….”
“They’re likely dead. We shouldn’t stay here for long either. We’ll starve to death.”
She said firmly. People were silent. Eui-jae gripped his trembling hands. His head had forgotten, but his body remembered.
This is what it was like right after entering the West Sea Rift.
‘I don’t want to.’
“Since the retreat route has also disappeared….”
‘I don’t want to!’
“It would be best to proceed as quickly as possible, J.”
‘I don’t want to….’
But his mouth moved on its own.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Their superficial goal was to search for and rescue survivors, but their real goal was to collect remains. J also knew. He just hadn’t given up the last hope.
Even that was all covered in white ash.
A sturdy arm wrapped around J’s shoulder.
“But we have J!”
The muscular Hunter was a Hunter who handled the earth. To be exact, it was the ability to dig up the earth. He was B-ranked, but since his ability wasn’t directly related to combat, he mainly collaborated with construction companies. What was it, a human shovel? He said it himself.
J turned around. The entrance they came through had disappeared without a trace.
They can’t go back. They can’t run away.
“Then…. What should we do?”
People’s eyes were on him. It was time to answer. And, it was the moment to take responsibility for everyone’s lives. His modulated voice flowed out naturally. His body remembered. The words he said himself, the actions, everything.
“Let’s secure the safety of this area and set up a base camp. After setting up, we will start searching. First, we will divide into two teams.”
He calls out the names he has to take responsibility for. Before entering the Rift, he memorized the names of all the people he was with….
Numerous scenes flashed like a panorama. Memories with gaps here and there. Memories that were messed up. Memories that only remained as fragments.
The memories he had locked away himself are coming back one by one.
The noisy first meal. Let’s do well, let’s finish quickly and get out, the greetings and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements shared while clinking glasses. J couldn’t sleep because of the rustling sounds, the tossing and turning, and the snoring.
The next day, they started searching in earnest.
One day, they found nothing. It’s okay. There’s plenty of time.
Two days, they found nothing. It’s okay. There’s plenty of time.
Three days, they found nothing. It’s okay. There’s plenty of time.
One week, they found nothing. It’s okay. There’s plenty of time.
Two weeks, they found nothing. It’s okay. Still.
20 days, they found nothing. It’s okay.
35 days, they found the remains of the additional team. There are no survivors. Food is scarce. There is no exit.
There was no time to grieve over the death of a loved one. J couldn’t grieve. He had to take responsibility for the people. Maybe he didn’t have the courage to face his aunt’s death.
They found the remains, but they didn’t find the Master of the Rift. At this rate, they wouldn’t be able to take the remains out, and they would be trapped in the Rift and die. As each day passed, people spoke less. They reacted sensitively to even trivial things.
At some point, their goal had changed from searching for survivors to survival. People searched for food, sifting through the white ash. They looked for a single blade of grass, a drop of water. Because even the plentiful food had to end.
Someone must have thought.
There are too many people compared to the food.
One day, someone said they found the sea. Five people, including J, headed to the sea. There was a white ash-covered beach and a sea with ash floating on it. They cleared away the ash and took a sip of the water. J also turned his back and took a sip under his mask. It didn’t smell like anything, but it tasted terrible. Ugh, someone gagged. The short-haired Hunter shakes her head.
We can’t use it as drinking water.
Someone makes a joke.
If you feed it to a human who won’t wake up even if they die, they’ll jump right up.
Haha, a boring laugh flows out. Someone mutters.
Well, I guess we can use it for laundry.
J thought he saw something swimming under the ash-covered sea. It was probably a mistake. There’s no way there’s any life left in this dead sea.
The food was running out. Everyone didn’t get an equal share of food. J reduced his share of food. But it wasn’t enough. Someone has to starve. They decided to take turns starving.
A scream erupted. Are you even human! The muscular Hunter grabbed someone’s collar and shook them. That day, there was a team that went with four and came back with three. Where did one person go?
The Awakened’s sense of smell is excellent. He smells cooked meat and blood that he hasn’t smelled for a while. It’s a disgusting smell…. Someone wailed.
We can’t help it! I don’t want to starve to death doing nothing like this!
J. Before another victim appears….
A heavy voice calls him. J nodded. Bloodshot eyes looked at J. A glistening mouth shouted. Useless bastard! What’s the point of being a hero, a hero doesn’t feed us….
That day, J stained the spear with human blood.
Only silence flowed during mealtime. Only the sound of opening cans could be heard. J estimated the remaining food and water. They won’t last long. He was sure that something like today would happen again. Then what should he do next time? Should he stain the spear with blood again? The disgusting smell of cooked meat doesn’t leave the tip of his nose.
He missed his aunt. He missed the boy.
Cha Eui-jae lowered his head.
He wanted to go back. Home.
A white Monster appeared.
He killed it.
Food is scarce.
After a long meeting, they decided to eat the Monster. It’s better than eating a comrade. The haggard short-haired Hunter said.
“Everyone’s eaten a Monster at least once, right? It might not be so bad.”
“Can we drink this blood too? It’s not red. It’s translucent….”
“I don’t know about that. We’ll have to eat it to find out.”
The blood tasted like nothing. It was okay to drink.
A white Monster appeared.
He killed it.
Food is scarce.
They decided to eat the Monster. It’s better than eating a comrade.
…….
One day, J headed to the dead sea to wipe off what was stained on the spear. When he stirred and cleared away the white ash, his appearance was reflected in the rippling surface.
Ash-colored hair.