Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes.
A pure white light stung his eyes painfully.
He squinted and tried to block the light with his palm. However, it didn't make the light disappear.
"…Ahem."
Cha Eui-jae began to ask himself questions as he folded the fingers, that were covering the sky, one by one.
Where am I?
Not sure yet.
What is my last memory?
Bae Won-woo's mouth growing wider and wider. I could see his Adam's apple trembling.
How is my physical condition?
My back and arms ache, but it's within the normal range.
How is my mental state?
Should be fine enough.
What is my objective?
To deal with the apocalypse before the world is destroyed.
He folded all five fingers into a fist. In the meantime, his eyes, having adjusted to the bright light, reflected the surrounding landscape. A world covered in white ash to the horizon. It was exactly like in the West Sea rift.
Cha Eui-jae sat up. Crunch, the sound of something crumbling and a cloud of dust rising. The place where he had been lying was a small hill.
A shiver ran down the back of his neck.
'…Surely this isn't a mountain of corpses.'
He hurriedly fumbled the ground with his hand and felt hard, rough concrete. It appeared to be a hill piled with building debris. Cha Eui-jae roughly rubbed his mask. Anxiety surged at the sight of the pure white landscape.
Did he arrive at the right place?
If he arrived at the wrong place—
Before he could reach a conclusion, a black shadow fell over him. Cha Eui-jae lifted his head. And immediately rolled to the side to avoid the shadow.
CRASH—!!
A cloud of dust rose from the hill. Cha Eui-jae gritted his teeth.
"What the hell?!"
He sprang to his feet and examined what had nearly crushed him. It was a red sports car. To be precise, it was part of it. Only the trunk and rear seats remained of the sports car. The front had been roughly torn off, and claw marks and teeth marks were clearly visible on the red body. Shortly after, something rectangular fell with a thud onto the sports car's rear seat.
[… Hair Salon]
What fell this time was a piece of a signboard with its front roughly torn off. It looked like a hair salon sign, as a small scissor shape was drawn behind the letters.
"Is this… where what those bastards ate falls?"
Cha Eui-jae stepped away from the hill where things fell ceaselessly and observed the uneven ground. As he swept away the ash covering the ground, a streetscape was revealed. Building fragments bitten with teeth marks, streetlights, cars, and signboards. Skeletons scattered above and below them. The skeletons were clothed, but not a single intact part of them remained. Whether arms or legs, upper or lower bodies, parts of the body had been severed.
He paid his respects before a skeleton with its arm outstretched forward. Then, he opened the wallet placed right in front of its hand.
"I'm sorry… I just need to check your wallet."
There were a few receipts inside the wallet. They were from just a few days ago. Cha Eui-jae carefully examined the skeleton.
"…The person who was eaten back then has already turned into a skeleton?"
Wasn't it physically impossible? To turn into a skeleton in just a few days, without even a trace of decay. Cha Eui-jae put the wallet back in its place and stood up. Everything was unexpected.
'I thought I could just fight and get it over with as soon as I came in.'
It was then,
Thump, shiiiiiik…
He heard a faint sound of something being dragged. Cha Eui-jae immediately crouched down and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a swaying shadow at the edge of the horizon. The shadow was slowly approaching.
'…A person? A monster?'
Tracker's Eye!
The eyes behind the mask glowed blue. He closed and opened his eyes. Instead of a swaying shadow, a flickering golden flame appeared. Cha Eui-jae opened his mouth slightly.
"…"
Thump, shiiiiiik, thump, shiiiiiik…
The flame grew closer and closer. Soon, the sound of someone humming a tune was heard.
"Let's see…"
Cha Eui-jae blinked. The first thing that caught his eye was a crutch made of pipe. Next was a vivid green color that seemed out of place in a world of nothing but white and black. Long brown hair scattered over a tattered green tracksuit.
"I wonder what fell today… oh? What is that? A car?"
The tip of the crutch began to dig into the hill. Cha Eui-jae just moved his lips, then suddenly called out his name.
"…Hong Ye-seong?"
"Huh? Oh?"
The owner of the crutch snapped his head up. Through the gaps in his unkempt brown hair, a bandage tightly wrapped around his left eye and cheek was visible. He scratched his head.
"Who called my name? …Am I hearing hallucinations now?"
Cha Eui-jae stood up and called out in a louder voice.
"Hong Ye-seong!"
A single round brown eye wandered through the air before finally landing on Cha Eui-jae. A bright smile bloomed on the face of Hong Ye-seong, the man in the tracksuit. He threw his crutches aside and spread his arms wide.
"Oh, my God. My friend!"
And then,
"Seeing you, I'm finally convinced! This is heaven, right? You're a free pass to heaven!"
Losing his balance, he swayed precariously to the side.
"Hey, you…"
Cha Eui-jae shouted angrily and ran out.
"You think this is heaven, you idiot?!"
***
Purple eyes appeared through the gaps between his long eyelashes. Lee Sa-young blinked slowly. Lately, he had been taking longer to fall asleep. Was it due to boredom, or perhaps because the surroundings were quiet? It might be because he didn't have much time left to live. Lee Sa-young fiddled with the silver watch with his black fingers. His hands were already stained black up to his wrists.
Knock, knock, after a small knock, someone carefully opened the door. It was Yoon Ga-eul. She closed the door to avoid making any noise and then approached him.
"Lee Sa-young-ssi."
"…"
"Well, I wanted to let you know about the situation. You told me not to tell you about each of these things, but… I still think you should know…"
A low voice answered.
"There's only one thing I'm curious about."
The minute hand of the old clock moved one tick.
"When will the vaccine be completed?"
"Soon… soon. The doctor is doing his best too."
"…"
"Once completed, after that…."
Yoon Ga-eul hesitated, looking at the floor, then slowly but firmly raised her head. The eyes shone brilliantly with golden light.
"Let's turn back time. Before it's too late."
"Huh."
"As the Master Artisan said, the watch has already been used once… Even if Lee Sa-young-ssi becomes the axis, it will not have enough power. We don't know what side effects may occur."
Lee Sa-young nodded slowly. The Yoon Ga-eul before his eyes was a being reconstructed from memory. It was no different from an actor acting out a play with a predetermined ending. However, she held her back straight and spoke each word with emphasis…
"So I asked the surviving hunters for help. To operate the clock."
She seemed like a living person.
"After all, this world will disappear once the clock starts. I want to gather even a small amount of strength to increase the chances of success, even just a little. And everyone agreed."
Yoon Ga-eul took a deep breath after finishing speaking. Lee Sa-young closed his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, the golden light still shimmered beyond his eyelids. Lee Sa-young knew what would happen next. So he refrained from saying anything.
…They would fail.
Lee Sa-young stood in the center, holding a watch in his hand. Hunters and the unlucky survivors gather around him. A pure white light poured out from his black hand. A large clock rose behind him. The clock pointed to 11:56.
Their world had ended.
However, if given just one more chance.
Tick, tick…
The clock slowly started to run backwards. One by one, hope bloomed on their tired faces. The speed of rewinding gradually increased, and all needles rushed towards the number twelve.
A long time had passed.
Lee Sa-young opened his eyes.
Silence fell. The people surrounding him lay collapsed on the floor. A faint, small breathing could be heard from behind him, as if it might fade at any moment. Lee Sa-young turned around. Yoon Ga-eul, who had been holding his shoulder, stood there with difficulty. Yoon Ga-eul gazed somewhere in the space with hazy eyes. A choked voice asked.
"…Did we… succeed?"
"…"
"Why… I'm still conscious…."
Lee Sa-young raised his head. The clock that appeared in the air had stopped.
11:59.
The second hand moved ever so slightly. At the same time, Yoon Ga-eul's knees buckled. Before she completely collapsed, she braced herself by placing her trembling arms on the floor. Lee Sa-young neither supported her nor lifted her up. For her life was over.
So, a lie like this should be fine.
"…Yes."
The second hand did not stop. Someday, it would reach twelve. A faint smile appeared on Yoon Ga-eul's face.
"…Thank God…"
The body that had been forcibly supported collapsed. Yoon Ga-eul closed her eyes with a smile. Even the soft, gentle sound of her breathing faded away not long after.
Lee Sa-young was left alone.