By Zephyria 359
Sa-young rested his chin on Eui-jae’s shoulder. Soft hair tickled his cheek. Haa…. He let out a small sigh and whispered.
“…Once, I imagined the day you would say these things to me.”
“Yeah.”
“That you would come back and say… good job, you worked hard, thank you for waiting…. Things like that.”
Lee Sa-young’s heartbeat was transmitted through his clothes. A faster beat than usual, a low laugh reached his ear. Their touching bodies trembled slightly in response to the laughter.
“It’s even better… than I imagined. Hearing it directly.”
“…Then I’m glad.”
Eui-jae said gruffly for no reason and patted Sa-young’s back. Sa-young rubbed his head against Eui-jae’s neck. Like a large beast clinging to him.
Then, the dark night sky gradually cleared. The scenery of the alleyway slowly disappeared as if soaked in white paint. Eui-jae raised his head. The alleyway where they reunited disappeared, and the white desert filled its place again. Feeling his feet sinking, he grabbed Sa-young’s wrist and started running.
“What suddenly―”
“Just run! If you stop, you’ll sink!”
“Sink? I wasn’t?”
Eui-jae paused for a moment and looked back at Sa-young, who was being dragged along by his wrist. Sa-young, with a slight frown, stood upright on the desert, and only Eui-jae’s feet were helplessly entangled in the white sand.
Sa-young, after confirming that Eui-jae’s feet were gradually being buried in the sand, grabbed Eui-jae’s hand and started running. He bit his lip and asked.
“Ha… there’s never a quiet moment. When did this start? Did you do something weird again?”
“I didn’t, you crazy brat! I was running to find you….”
Eui-jae, pulled by Sa-young’s hand, looked back as he ran. The pure white desert was vast, and even the horizon was blurred. He thought of his aunt. He thought of the colleagues he lost in the West Sea Rift. He wondered if their memories were somewhere here.
At that moment, a low voice pierced his ear.
“Don’t look back.”
Eui-jae flinched and shuddered.
“If you’re trapped in the past, you can’t move forward anymore. You’ll be stuck in that place.”
“……”
“Pull yourself together. Regretting it won’t bring you back to that moment, and you can’t change what’s already happened.”
A firm voice struck his ear. Eui-jae stared at the memories of people scattering beneath his feet. They were running, stepping on layers and layers of memories.
“Don’t look back. Don’t regret it either. Just keep running. Don’t stop.”
A lukewarm, large hand firmly grasped his calloused hand.
“If that’s too hard, just focus on my hand.”
Eui-jae raised his head. The back of Sa-young running ahead filled his vision. Fluttering black curly hair, the hem of his black coat fluttering, black fingers firmly holding his hand.
Lee Sa-young does not long for the past. He doesn’t regret it either. He simply leaves the past in the past and moves forward.
“…Don’t you have any regrets?”
At the self-deprecating question, Sa-young glanced back. Eui-jae’s figure was clearly reflected in his purple eyes. He smirked and raised the corner of his lips.
“How can you live without regrets? That’s a robot.”
“But how….”
How can you run without hesitation like that? Eui-jae swallowed the words that were about to come out. With each step he took, unknown memories bloomed from the white powder that scattered. Countless scenes flashed past them. Moments that had passed. People’s pasts, memories, regrets.
The passing scenery was varied. He saw worlds completely different from the world Eui-jae knew. There were people rushing towards Monsters, people protecting someone from Monsters, and people meeting a miserable death. Countless worlds that Doomsday had passed through. Countless memories of destruction.
Sa-young turned his head back to the front. He tightened his grip on the hand he was holding.
“This moment is the most important to me.”
“……”
“The fact that you’re next to me, right now.”
At that moment, the scenery surrounding them changed.
“Divide up the areas that need support and report immediately! Contact the Awakened Management Bureau too!”
“Yes, understood!”
“What about the newly created Rifts?”
“About five! The creation speed has decreased compared to before.”
“Keep checking, and what about the evacuation of civilians?”
“In progress! Most civilians have entered the shelters. The Mackerel Brothers are guiding those who haven’t been able to enter yet.”
“If the Mackerel Brothers request support, send people immediately.”
“Yes, understood!”
“And― damn it, there are so many Monsters.”
Thwack― A hand axe split a Monster’s head in two. The face of Yang Hye-jin, a Hunter belonging to the Rift Management Bureau, frowned in annoyance between the split head. She continued to give instructions into the radio.
“Yes, this is Hunter Yang Hye-jin from the Rift Management Bureau. Yes, Director? Ah, yes. Just a moment….”
Yang Hye-jin, the Hunter and regular at the Hanover Soup Restaurant, and the new Hunter.
His feet felt a little lighter.
Collapsed buildings and broken cars, cracked asphalt roads. It was a familiar sight. Golden hair fluttered above it. Eui-jae instinctively followed the trajectory of the passing hair. It was Honeybee. She was single-handedly blocking a Dungeon Break.
Honeybee readjusted her Rapier and shouted.
“Don’t dawdle and evacuate them quickly!”
“Support might be needed―”
“Get lost! I don’t need it. Would you rather block other places with the time you would spend helping me?”
Hunters in suits escorted civilians. Honeybee rushed into the swarm of Monsters without hesitation. Her figure faded away.
Honeybee.
The pressure that had been pressing down on his body lessened slightly.
Next was the Seowon Guild lobby. The lobby, which would normally be filled with books, bookshelves, and librarians, was filled with patients who had lost consciousness and were groaning. While the librarians were busy treating minor injuries, a man in a white coat, with his white hair tied back, was seen.
Nam Woo-jin stood in front of a patient with a hole in his stomach, panting. A pure white light burst from his hand. His eyes behind his glasses were narrowed, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. The light subsided after a long time. The round hole in his stomach healed, leaving only a slight scar.
“…Next.”
Nam Woo-jin staggered as he walked towards the next seriously injured person. The Marionette, who had been waiting right next to him, caught him. The boy supported Nam Woo-jin’s arm and waist.
“Master, you need to rest a little. You’re consuming too much energy.”
“…No time for that. Next!”
“Understood.”
He headed to another sickbed with the boy’s support. His figure also faded away.
Nam Woo-jin.
The powder that had been entangling his feet scattered powerlessly.
In the passing scenery, a red goldfish swam leisurely on a road covered in pure white ash. Ah, that’s. Eui-jae’s gaze was drawn to the red color in the pure white world. The goldfish crossed the road and soon turned into a narrow alleyway. The small fish stopped in front of a presence huddled under a box in the alley.
“…Yeah, found two survivors here. 12-4 Street, right alley. One seems to be injured.”
In a dark room where the only light was the blue light pouring from the screen, Mackerel the Younger, who was sitting on the desk, opened his eyes. Mackerel Hyung quickly tapped on the keyboard. A small screen appeared in the lower right corner.
“H-here’s the route to the c-closest hospital, the shortest route. It’s relatively c-close…. The Bureau of Rift Management’s help w-won’t be needed.”
“Okay~ Thanks, Hyung.”
Mackerel the Younger flicked his fingers. The red goldfish began to guide the people under the box to the hospital. The goldfish faded away.
Mackerel Brothers.
His feet felt a little lighter.
“Hey~ Where do you think you’re going?”
Thwack! A black Walker kicked the man’s face without hesitation.
“Agh!”
Covering his face and screaming was Ivan, a member of Prometheus. He gasped for breath with a fearful expression. A blood-stained Walker approached him. The owner of the Walker bent down. Below his disheveled light blue hair, the corner of his lips turned up.
“We haven’t even played properly yet~ It’s troublesome if you already say you can’t do it, that it hurts so much and you’re going to cry.”
“Why, why, why are you d-doing this.”
“Why, you crazy brat.”
Pow! A fist struck Ivan’s head. Gyu-Gyu grinned slyly.
“Because you fucked up several of my friends…. It’s annoying~”
Gyu-Gyu grabbed Ivan by the hair, whistled, and dragged him into the darkness.
“Let’s play together for a bit? Don’t worry, I won’t kill you….”
Squeak, squeak, the sound of clothes dragging on the floor was the last thing heard before the two disappeared into the darkness.
Gyu-Gyu.
The sand that had been trying to grab his feet lost its strength and scattered.