By Zephyria Seowon Guild, Nam Woo-jin’s lab.
Cough, cough, his emaciated shoulders shook. Nam Woo-jin gasped and lowered the hand that had been covering his mouth. It was soaked with bright red blood. The boy standing beside him offered a damp towel.
“Here’s a towel, Master. Shall I prepare water for you to rinse your mouth?”
“Ah… yes. Bring it over.”
“Understood, Master. May I inform you of the Whitehole news and Hunter Hong Ye-seong’s news?”
“…Speak.”
“The Whitehole has disappeared from the sky. Also, Hunter Hong Ye-seong is out of contact, and the Shield he created has collapsed. The Management Bureau has deemed him missing and is tracking his whereabouts.”
“Wait, what?”
He dropped the bloodstained towel, revealing the bones in his hand. The boy stared blankly before answering.
“The latch that suppressed Doomsday has been released, Master. The number of Mutant reports coming in from various locations has also increased significantly.”
“…Damn it!”
Nam Woo-jin cursed and hurriedly turned around. However, his emaciated body lost its balance and swayed violently. Nam Woo-jin grabbed the edge of a drawer and knelt down. The boy supported his Master’s arm and helped him up.
“Please be careful, Master. Your body has weakened considerably.”
“Shut up! My body isn’t important! Get the vaccine immediately….”
“No, Master.”
The emaciated figure of Nam Woo-jin was reflected in the boy’s glass-like green eyes. Soon, the boy’s small hand accurately struck the back of Nam Woo-jin’s neck.
“Keuh…!”
His thin body lost its balance and fell forward. Just before his face hit the floor, the boy supported his Master’s body. Half-closed, pale white eyes struggled to glare at the boy.
“You, what… what are you….”
“I apologize, I was unskilled and couldn’t knock you unconscious immediately.”
“What are you doing… This is… a violation of orders!”
The hand, with only skin and bones left, struggled to grab the boy’s collar. However, the boy remained calm even as his collar was grabbed.
“No, it is not a violation of orders, Master.”
“What…!”
“As you know, Master, your current health is at a dangerous level. I have determined that a process of recovering your strength and health is necessary.”
“Shut up!”
“The order you gave me is to always be on your side and to dedicate myself to you. And….”
A cold, small hand grasped the emaciated hand. Emotionless eyes blinked.
“My creator’s order is to protect you. No matter what, no matter what it takes.”
“…….”
“Anything that harms you must be eliminated. Even if it is….”
The whitened eyes slowly disappeared behind the eyelids. The boy listened to the increasingly steady breathing and completed his sentence.
“…Even if it is yourself.”
“…….”
The boy carefully removed the crooked glasses and whispered softly.
“Sleep well, Master.”
It was silent.
No one dared to open their mouths.
It was just a ‘gaze.’ But that alone was enough to make it hard to breathe. Several people who had been staring at the sky collapsed. Some vomited, unable to withstand the presence, some closed their eyes and screamed, and some foamed at the mouth.
A Soul that had experienced two Doomsdays. The fear engraved in the Soul.
Even the Hunters couldn’t dare to move. They were frozen in place, as if captured.
However,
There was one who moved alone.
A black cloak fluttered.
Eui-jae knelt in front of a person foaming at the mouth and secured their airway. After completing simple first aid, he put his phone between his shoulder and ear and opened his mouth.
“…Jung-bin.”
Eui-jae looked up at the sky again.
It was still watching.
Cha Eui-jae.
―…….
“The Whitehole is an eye.”
―…….
“Until now, it had no purpose, no ego… It was just opening its eyes and watching. Like a surveillance camera.”
―So now it has a purpose?
“…Perhaps.”
Eui-jae got up from his seat. The puzzles scattered in his head were connecting one by one.
‘The reason there were no Black Holes or Whiteholes in the Dungeon.’
Because there was no need to watch a Destroyed world.
“I’ll hang up for a moment, Jung-bin.”
His heart was beating fast. Fear? No. Something else was swirling within him. From the moment he met the eye with an ego, his Soul was writhing.
Terror?
No.
Something more intense. Eui-jae placed his hand on his heart. At that moment, something poked at Eui-jae’s ankle. It was Cluck, whom he had put down to perform first aid earlier.
“Cluck? Do you want me to hold you again?”
“Cluck!”
Cluck shook its head vigorously, then ran into the Wave Guild building. And it gestured towards Eui-jae. As if telling him to follow.
“…….”
Did it have something to tell him about Hong Ye-seong? Eui-jae looked around at the people who were still frozen, staring at the sky, and began to run after Cluck.
Cluck, without tiring, hopped up the emergency stairs and reached the floor where the conference room was located. It squeezed through the half-open door and sat on the desk where the projector screen was lowered.
“Why are we here?”
“Cluck.”
Cluck opened its beak. Then, a pure white light poured out from the gap. The light projected a video onto the screen like a projector. Eui-jae stared blankly at the video.
A workshop with all sorts of tools and materials scattered messily, Hong Ye-seong picking up materials that had fallen on the floor, and….
‘Cha Eui-jae’ staring out the door.
It was a familiar sight. A scene he had seen sometime.
White ash poured down. Above it, a white vortex that had swallowed most of the sky swirled.
Eui-jae quickly remembered. It was the Memorial Dungeon he was trapped in when he went to save Ga-eul, the memory he saw at the end. The memory of the first world, the memory just before Doomsday.
Wasn’t it supposed to end there? Before he could question it further, ‘Cha Eui-jae’ began to move. Blinking his red, swollen eyes, he bent down and picked up the fallen junk together. ‘Hong Ye-seong,’ holding a pile of miscellaneous items in his arms, asked.
―How much of the memory will you leave behind?
It was clearer than the voice he had heard in the Memorial Dungeon. ‘Cha Eui-jae’ shrugged.
―As much as possible.
―How much are you going to squeeze me dry!
―It’s okay. I’ll buy you time to create.
―Buy me time? How? You said you were going to turn back time.
‘Hong Ye-seong’ poured out questions. ‘Cha Eui-jae’ dumped the junk onto the desk and replied.
―Why are you suddenly so stupid? Of course, I have to try everything I can before turning it back.
―Wow, that’s absurd. You’re the one who said I exceeded the limit! You said there’s no time!
―I’m going to endure to the limit of the limit? I have to find out even a little more.
‘Cha Eui-jae’ took out a bent cigarette from his Inventory, put it in his mouth, and tried to light it with a malfunctioning lighter several times. He sat on the edge of the desk and exhaled a long stream of smoke.
―If it seems impossible, I’ll use the clock.
―Hey, what if you die without even using the clock? It’s better to use it now….
―You never know. Maybe I can make a scratch with my spear.
‘Hong Ye-seong’ paced around the workshop anxiously. He chewed on his thumbnail and asked cautiously.
―You’re not giving up, are you? You’re not going to commit suicide, are you? You really shouldn’t do that, okay? You can’t just throw your life away.
―Suicide? …Does it look like that? To you?
A bright blue light flashed through the hazy smoke. Heh heh heh…, ‘Cha Eui-jae’ laughed, his shoulders shaking. He turned his head a full circle, then tilted his head slightly and muttered.
―You still don’t know me very well….
‘Cha Eui-jae’ reached out towards the open door. The scattering white ash brushed past his blood-caked hand.
―I think it’s better to live a miserable life than to die.
―…….
―Because if you’re alive, you’ll have a chance someday.
―That’s not something a guy who’s going to die should say.
―Well, there are times when you can’t run away.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
―This is one of those times.
―…….
―And….
Snap, the sound of cracking fingers.
―I have to kill that bastard. Suicide my ass.
―…Excuse me?
―He touched him. Lee Sa-young.
A calm voice continued. Blue eyes gleamed eerily.
―I’m going to pay back that debt.
‘Hong Ye-seong’ frowned as if he couldn’t believe it. He looked into the Mana Stone basket and muttered.
―Isn’t that too selfish a reason for a hero’s sacrifice?
―Does a sacrifice have to have only one reason? And one person’s trivial revenge might not even be noticed.
―You really can’t live a quiet life.
Eui-jae smiled and raised his index finger to his lips.
―This is a secret.
The smiling face scattered like mist.
―Because we’re friends.