Zeze lay sprawled across the cracked floor of a ruined apartment, half-buried in rubble and silence. Blood trickled slowly from the corner of his mouth, staining the shattered tiles beneath him. His once, neatly tied black hair was now wild and tangled, spread like dark ink across the debris.
His limbs, those sharp, twisted extensions, hung uselessly by his sides, bent and bleeding. Some were broken, some barely attached. All of them still.
With his bangs pushed away from his face, his eyes were visible now, and they were haunting. Deep black. Empty. Like bottomless voids staring up at the collapsed ceiling above.
I lost, huh...
The thought drifted in his mind like a whisper.
Well, it doesn't matter anymore. There's nothing left to protect in this city anyway.
I failed a long time ago.
I let my people die.. every single one of them. Right in front of me. And I couldn't stop it.
His chest rose and fell slowly, each breath shallow and strained.
The ones I swore to protect, the ones who trusted me.. loved me... saw me as their shield..
And what did I do? I lost. Just like that.
That masked man... he left me alive on purpose. Took everything else. Killed them all, while I watched. While I stood there... frozen.
His eyes twitched, a flicker of life, or memory.
This place used to be so alive. Laughter in the air. Lights in every window. Families on every street.
A faint groan escaped his lips, barely audible over the creak of metal above him.
And yet here I am.. still breathing.
Still pretending like I'm some kind of saviour.
But the truth is.
I'm just a coward clinging to an old lie.
A liar who couldn't keep his promises.
A failure as a father.
A loser husband..
A worthless son...
A coward brother....
A faint tremble ran through one of his limbs, but it quickly stilled again. Blood pooled beneath him.
It's good that I'm finally dying here.
Maybe I should be thankful to that boy..
He shattered this illusion I was clinging to.
Zeze let out a long, quiet exhale. His eyes stayed open staring at the broken ceiling.
The silence was shattered beneath the sharp crunch of glass.
Jinhwan stepped forward, his boot pressing down on the broken shards scattered across the ruined apartment floor. Each step echoed through the hollow space, slow and deliberate. Dust stirred in his wake.
He came to a stop, standing tall above the broken body of Zeze, who lay twisted and bleeding beneath him. The dull light from a shattered window caught on Jinhwan's blue eyes, cold, steady, unblinking.
Behind him, Koko stood quietly near the entrance, her silver gaze fixed on Zeze, her hands still faintly glowing as she maintained the buff. She didn't say a word.
Jinhwan's voice broke the silence again, calm, sharp as the blade of a knife.
"Looks like you're on death's door."
He stared down at Zeze's half-dead frame, not a hint of mercy in his gaze.
"Now tell me.. where is that princess?"
He pause.
"Or at least, what do you know about her?"
The weight in his voice was quiet but heavy, like steel drawn in silence. His question hung in the air, balanced between life and death.
Zeze didn't move his head.
"..Can I ask you something..."
His voice was barely a whisper, ragged and dry, but in the quiet ruins, even that faint sound carried clear.
Jinhwan didn't move. "What is it? Go on."
There was a long pause, just the soft crackle of dust settling, the wind brushing faintly through shattered windows.
"You're not from this world, right?" Zeze asked at last, each word strained between coughs. "You're normal.. there's no curse mark on your body."
A small cough followed, sharp. Blood slipped from the corner of his mouth.
"You're right," Jinhwan replied, folding his arms. "I'm from another world. So what?"
His tone stayed flat, unbothered. "Now are you going to answer my question, or what?"
Zeze's cracked lips curled just slightly, a weak smirk forming. "Impatient, huh.."
He coughed again, lower, weaker this time. Then, finally, he spoke.
"She's in this city."
Jinhwan's brows twitched slightly. His gaze sharpened.
Zeze blinked slowly. At last, his eyes shifted away from the ruined ceiling and landed on the man standing above him.
"What are you going to do to her?" he asked, voice slow, curious. Not aggressive, just tired.
"Save her," Jinhwan said without hesitation.
Zeze stared for a moment. His pupils, black as void, studied Jinhwan's expression as if searching for something.
"..Save her?" he echoed.
"From what?" His voice was a breath. "And why?"
Jinhwan tilted his head slightly, as if even he found the question annoying.
"I don't know," he answered bluntly.
"It's just my quest. A way to get back to my planet."
Zeze let out a low, tired laugh. It wasn't mocking, just distant, frayed at the edges.
"..Quest, huh? You're a strange person."
His voice drifted, almost like it wasn't meant for Jinhwan, but for the dust and ghosts in the broken walls around them.
"She's in the centre of the city," Zeze said, his voice breaking between shallow breaths. "You'll find a red container there... It's not hidden. Just lying on the ground. She's inside that container."
His eyes blinked slowly, a flicker of fading light behind them.
"I should tell you," he continued, coughing up more blood that trickled down his chin, "she won't leave that place. No matter what you say. And if you try to force her out.. she'll beat you. She's strong. A lot stronger than me.."
His lips twitched in the faintest smile.
"So.. good luck-"
His body convulsed slightly as a deep cough cut him off, blood splattering on the rubble beside him.
Jinhwan stood still for a moment, staring at him in silence. Then he turned, quietly. His footsteps echoed as he started walking away.
Zeze's head barely moved, his voice now only a whisper caught in the silence.
"...Before you go... at least kill me."
Jinhwan didn't turn around.
"You're gonna die either way," he said calmly. "So just wait for it."
He paused briefly, then added in a quieter tone,
"You seem to carry a lot of regret. So maybe try remembering your life's happy moments. That should make it easier. Might help you die with a little less weight."
And with that, Jinhwan walked away.
Koko followed behind him, casting one last glance at the broken man on the floor before the two disappeared into the ruins beyond.
Zeze was left alone.
The apartment was silent again.
His vision blurred, red and grey and dust blending into nothing. His limbs no longer moved. The warmth in his chest faded second by second as his breath grew thin.
Happy moments...
"Dada.. let's go."
A soft voice echoed near his ear, small, gentle, familiar.
Zeze's heartbeat surged.
"Honey, let's go."
Another voice. Tender. Kind. Soothing.
Then another...
"My son must be tired. Come here, I'll massage your head."
Warm. Motherly. Like a blanket of comfort, he hadn't felt in what felt like centuries.
And then one more.
"Come on, big brother, get up now!"
Cheerful, light, full of life.
Tears spilt from Zeze's eyes, rolling down his cheeks one after another. With what little strength he had left, he turned his head slowly toward the sound.
And through the shattered hole in the wall, the same path Jinhwan had just walked out of, a faint crimson light glowed.
Standing in that light.. was a little girl, no more than six. Her face was blurred, ethereal, but her clothes shimmered a soft, glowing white.
Beside her stood a woman, face blurred just the same, then another, older woman with a gentle presence, and lastly, a teenage boy, maybe sixteen, standing slightly behind them, smiling faintly.
Zeze's breath caught in his throat.
And then he broke.
He burst into sobs, body trembling as the floodgates opened, his cries filling the empty space.
I let you all die.. I wasn't strong enough.. I couldn't do anything.. I-
His thoughts halted.
A small finger touched his lips. Gently.
The little girl stood in front of him now, her glowing form so close. Her eyes, though hidden, radiated warmth.
"You didn't, Dada," she whispered. "You tried your best. You tried to save all of us."
She smiled, a smile so innocent it shattered whatever pieces of his heart were left.
"And that's enough. Because I know my Dada is the best in the world."
Zeze's breath hitched.
The girl reached out and took his hand in hers.
"Now let's go." she said, voice light as a lullaby. "You don't have to be alone anymore. We'll live together, from now on."
The words wrapped around him like light, soft and full of peace.
Zeze moved, arms shaking, and pulled the small child gently into his chest. He held her tight, tighter than ever before, yet careful, like she was the most precious thing in all creation.
Tears kept falling.
"Yes…" he choked out. "We'll live together.. I'm sorry Dada came late.. but I'm here now…"
He cried... and cried.... and cried....
And then the light grew brighter. Brighter and brighter, until it swallowed the room, the ruin, the pain, the sorrow-.
And then..
Silence.
Zeze's body lay still on the cracked floor. Lifeless.
Tears frozen on his cheeks.
A soft smile rested gently on his lips.
Peace had come.
He wasn't alone anymore.
[Episode 42 End]