The world exploded within the domain, and the light turned into a storm of living ash.
When the chaos faded, Kim found himself standing in a strange version of the past —
the city where he was born, before the accident, before his family's death, before he became the monster forged by pain.
The streets were bathed in warm light, the breeze carried the scent of fresh bread, and the sound of birds revived memories he thought had died long ago.
His eyes glimmered with disbelief, tears gathering at their edges.
He ran through the streets like a child who had finally found his way home, until the sound of an old phone — the one destroyed in the accident — echoed in his pocket.
He raised it with a trembling hand, and the voice that came through nearly stopped his heart:
> "Kim, sweetheart! Come home quickly, we have a surprise!"
It was his mother's voice.
He froze mid-step, body shaking, heart bursting with joy and confusion.
He whispered through his tears:
> "Mom… Mom… you're alive?"
She laughed softly, just as she used to, before the call ended.
Kim ran with all his strength toward the house, tears streaming down his face.
When he arrived, he froze —
his mother and father stood there… together.
He lifted his hand slowly, voice cracking:
> "Dad?… You're not dead? You didn't leave us?"
His father smiled gently, his tone filled with regret:
> "I was wrong, Kim… I never should've left. I gave up everything to come back… to you."
Then a small girl peeked out from behind his mother's dress.
> "This is Lara… your little sister. Go on, Lara — this is your brother, Kim."
The child approached hesitantly and said in a soft voice:
> "Hi… Brother Kim."
Kim stood still, staring at them like someone caught between dream and madness.
He laughed — a cracked, delirious sound — caught between disbelief and despair:
> "Ha… ha… This… this isn't real… It can't be!"
Before he could think further, another voice came from behind —
a soft, familiar voice filled with aching nostalgia:
> "Welcome back, my dear."
He turned slowly… and saw her — Marie.
He ran to her, holding her tightly as if time itself had collapsed in his arms.
> "Marie… For eight hundred million years… I lived in hell just to bring you back!
I forgot my true purpose… to bring you, my mother, everyone back… but I was alone… helpless!"
Marie interrupted him, her trembling hand touching his face:
> "Kim… are you okay? Have you been drinking?"
He laughed through burning tears:
> "No… I'm completely sober… Just tell me — how are you all alive?"
Then, a hand rested gently on his shoulder.
He turned — it was Jack, his old friend.
Jack smiled and said:
> "Buddy, looks like you've been stuck in a long nightmare."
Kim sat among them, laughing and crying at once, as if all he'd lived through had been nothing but a distant dream.
A fleeting warmth filled his chest, as though life itself had granted him a second chance.
But what he didn't realize was that this paradise…
was merely a mask of false light, hiding a hell waiting to devour his very soul.