By Zephyria Sa-young knelt on one knee and gently laid Ga-eul down. He looked around, then began to walk, avoiding the fallen people. The hem of his black coat fluttered. Footprints remained with each step. The world where Doomsday had arrived was silent. When he stopped walking, the fluttering hem of his coat settled back into place.
“……”
Did Cha Eui-jae also stay in a place like this? In a desolate space where there was no human voice, no sound of wind, no chirping of insects, no birdsong. In this place where the only sound was his own breathing.
It must have been hard for him. Because he likes people.
The world covered in white ash resembled an endless snowfield. Sa-young walked wherever his feet led him. His work here was done. He had a place to return to, people waiting for him, someone to pick him up. But he didn’t rush.
Sa-young put his hands in his coat pockets and gazed at the pure white horizon.
He wanted to understand Cha Eui-jae a little more.
I want to know more about you.
More than what you’ve told me.
Even the deepest, hidden secrets you haven’t revealed.
From head to toe, eyes, nose, mouth, eyelids, every strand of hair, I want to know everything.
Tell me your weakest point.
But the lovely person never tried to reveal his weak points. It was a terrible chronic disease. He would only show a fingernail’s worth after much coaxing. Therefore, Lee Sa-young did not miss this opportunity.
“You’re so much trouble…”
Purple eyes gleamed beneath disheveled hair.
He couldn’t be satisfied with just what he generously revealed. Lee Sa-young was no longer a child satisfied with touching the cheek beneath the mask. As long as he had waited, his greed and desire had grown.
The ash-covered Walker moved again. Sa-young began to walk a path where no trace of the street could be found. He savored the sensation that could only be felt in a world devoid of life.
He savored the loneliness that Cha Eui-jae must have felt.
He thought of Cha Eui-jae.
He could only think of Cha Eui-jae.
Sa-young sighed softly.
This was also a terrible fever.
“A little more to the right!”
“……”
“Too far! A little more to the left again!”
“……”
“If you dig there, it’ll all collapse! Geez, you can’t do delicate work, can you? Buddy.”
“Shut up!”
Cha Eui-jae threw down the shovel he was holding and shouted.
“I saved you from falling, and instead of thanking me, you’re just bossing me around and nagging! I’ll do it myself, so be quiet!”
“Geez.”
“If you say one more word, I’ll gag you. Seriously, be quiet.”
Hong Ye-seong immediately covered his mouth with one hand. Eui-jae took a deep breath and picked up the shovel again. They were digging near the hill where Eui-jae had fallen. According to Hong Ye-seong, various things fell here whenever Doomsday moved. Corpses, building fragments, whatever.
“Have living people ever fallen?”
“No way. If you fall here from that sky, you’ll either be eaten alive or die from the fall.”
“……”
“We survived because we’re Awakened! Because we’re tough!”
…Anyway, he had come to pick up something useful again and ran into Eui-jae. Eui-jae dug through the debris and asked.
“You were reported missing, so why are you in a place like this?”
“Ah, I almost died to Doomsday, but I managed to twist my body right before being crushed, and I got swallowed whole. When I opened my eyes, I was here. Oh, that! Tear off that car seat for me. Carefully, so the leather doesn’t tear.”
“Why this?”
“I don’t have a sofa. The big-mouthed guys don’t eat sofas.”
“……”
“Wanting to sit in a comfortable place is human instinct.”
Hong Ye-seong puffed out his chest like a chicken and boasted. Eui-jae separated the entire rear seat of the sports car and glanced at Hong Ye-seong below the hill. Then, he asked as casually as possible.
“What’s wrong with your eye? Did you get hurt?”
“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing. I looked at that guy with my Emotional Eye on, and it went boom~.”
Hong Ye-seong fiddled with the bandage and grumbled.
“I guess he’s someone who can’t be judged with the Emotional Eye.”
“…You can’t see at all?”
“Yeah. It’s okay! My other eye is fine.”
He didn’t know if he was saying it lightly on purpose or if he was really okay. Instead of offering words of comfort, Eui-jae glanced at the crutches.
“And what’s wrong with your leg?”
“It’s broken! But it’s mostly healed. I’ll be able to walk without these soon.”
“……”
“Well, it’s enough to be alive. Can you bring the seat over?”
“Sure.”
Hong Ye-seong hopped away on one leg, leaning on his crutches. Eui-jae carried the two detached seats on his back and followed. The ruins covered in pure white ash resembled the West Sea Rift. Maybe….
‘Maybe the West Sea Rift resembles this place.’
“Ta-da, this is this body’s sweet home.”
The place he pointed to with the end of his crutch was something like a tent. Hastily built with building walls, fabric, and broken trees. Eui-jae observed the tent, which looked both flimsy and sturdy, and asked.
“Did you build it yourself?”
“Of course. I can’t just sleep on the ground every day.”
“What about food?”
“I don’t get hungry here. I don’t get thirsty either. Amazing, right?”
“……”
A space where he didn’t feel hunger or thirst. Suddenly, his vision was tinged with red. Eui-jae put down the car seats and deliberately acted nonchalant as he replied.
“How long have you been here?”
“Hmm, I haven’t counted, so I don’t know. It’s hard to count the days here because there’s no night.”
“Weren’t there any Monsters or other threats?”
“It’s very peaceful. To the point of being boring!”
Eui-jae bit the inside of his cheek. Everything was different from what he had expected.
“…I came in here thinking this was the source of Doomsday.”
“Oh! You’re half right. The real source is deeper inside.”
He sat on a white plastic chair and drew a circle in the air.
“This is a space where they swallow up worlds to destroy and observe them? Something like that. Like a terrarium.”
Hong Ye-seong roughly gathered his shoulder-length hair with a yellow rubber band.
“Besides, you came at the perfect time! They’re always watching, you see.”
“Watching?”
“Yeah, from the sky.”
Eui-jae looked at the sky. The hazy sky was clear, without any Black Holes or traces of Whiteholes.
“When they’re watching the other world, they take their eyes off this world. I guess they only have one eye.”
“Probably.”
“You agree?”
“I took out one eye. My past self.”
Eui-jae rolled his eyes and added.
“…Probably.”
“Oh.”
Hong Ye-seong clapped his hands in small admiration.
“You were amazing.”
“Shut up.”
“So, you came all the way here? To take out the other eye too?”
“Yeah.”
Eui-jae leaned against a broken tree trunk.
“The damage is immense just from that guy opening his eyes. If we drag it out, it’ll end up like the first world. We’ll be destroyed without even trying anything.”
“You’re going to deal with it quickly?”
“That’s right. Before it gets out of hand.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
Hong Ye-seong nodded with his arms crossed, then suddenly raised his head sharply.
“But what about Lee Sa-young? Why did you come alone?”
“He’s still in the Memorial Dungeon. I went to pick him up, but he said he’d stay inside until the vaccine is developed.”
“What?”
His one eye widened. Eui-jae scratched his head awkwardly.
“I was going to wait until he came out too, but Prometheus woke up Doomsday again, so there was no time to wait.”
“This isn’t good….”
Hong Ye-seong frowned and rubbed his chin. This guy, had he learned the smart Hong Ye-seong’s way of speaking while he wasn’t looking? He was muttering to himself just like him. Hong Ye-seong tapped the armrest of the plastic chair with his fingertips and asked.
“What do you think was the reason for the two failures?”
“…Lack of preparation? Or because Doomsday came suddenly?”
“No! It’s because of you.”
“Because of me?”
He asked in an absurd voice at the first time he had heard someone else blamed, and Hong Ye-seong shook his finger.
“It’s because you’re too diligent. Why do you do Hunter work?”
“Well, I Awakened, and it’s my job….”
“Why do you work so hard?”
“Because I can.”
“That’s why everyone relies on you. Because you do everything. Why do you do group projects all by yourself? Haven’t you ever done group projects in college?”
“Would I have?”
“You’ll get cursed out if you do group projects like that. Try trusting other people a little. Pass some work off.”
“I already trusted and left it to them. Jung-bin, Honeybee, and….”
“What about Lee Sa-young?”
“……”
“See, see? You don’t trust Lee Sa-young, do you?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust him, it’s just that I….”
He was at a loss for words. Did he not trust Lee Sa-young? He did. Even if he couldn’t trust everyone in the world, he could trust Lee Sa-young. He could trust that kid who had endured the endless wait….
“…I want Lee Sa-young to live.”
“……”
“I want him to live no matter what he does. I…. I….”
Eui-jae swallowed. A black coffin had already appeared before his eyes. Through the slightly open coffin lid, he could see black curly hair and pale skin. Eui-jae murmured as he looked at the bloodless lips.
“Lee Sa-young can’t die.”