It didn't take me long to reach where the dome once stood.
Strangely, the number of monsters dropped to zero as I approached closer to the dome.
That alone made me think—these domes might act like spawn server.
Places where the Star Stream begins its first scenario.
More reason to bet on that claim is –
No sooner had I stepped in her, system notification lights up.
'you entered the channel area #BIR2553'
The streets were desolate.
I expected screams—panic, chaos—something.
Instead, there was only silence.
Maybe I was wrong.
Maybe the dome served another purpose.
The sky pulled my attention.
A reddish-yellow sun hung low on the horizon, casting its final light over the land.
The sky was illuminated in the shade of gold that faded into indigo, streaked with red then deepened into dark blue.
On the opposite end, the moon crept upward, shy and pale.
The stars… they were too bright. Abnormally so.
The sky looked like a painted canvas.
Beautiful.
And yet—
It's Heartbreaking -
For, I didn't have the luxury to admire it.
With a quiet scoff at the irony, I moved on.
In the distance, a large mall came into view.
On the upper floors, garment bill board was hung.
I glanced at my torn clothes.
Yeah… I needed something better.
I walk forward, footsteps not echoing.
Yes that right. I am not careless enough to walk with loud steps.
The moment I open the door, the familiar scent of blood hit my nostril.
I frown a bit.
Bodies scattered.
Fresh-
Blood still flowing, slowly forming pools of blood.
With my blade at hand I slowly walk forward.
No breath.
As my step on the stairs echo, a squeak came up to my ears. I stop mid step.
I froze.
It came from below.
Carefully, I stepped back and circled around, trying to get a view to what's beneath the staircase.
There—
A figure.
They've folded themselves down to the smallest shape their body will allow—
knees pulled tight to the chest, arms wrapped around their head as if they could shield it from the world.
Their back is curved, almost hunched into a protective shell, every muscle drawn inward.
They press themselves into the slope of the stair, as if merging with it might erase their presence.
Fingers clutch tightly—fabric, their own arms.
Their presence screamed desperation. Overwhelming fear, making themselves small as possible, believing that doing so would save them from whatever is passing.
With each steps I see how their body twitch. I see their body shudder, small, broken hiccups escaping as they tries to stay quiet.
With slow steps I got closer.
They look up from their arms.
A girl.
Her eyes were wide, glassy with tears.
Those eyes were filled with overwhelming terror, pain, remorse and anguish.
As I step closer she shrunk further back into the corner.
Her palms pressed tight on her mouth.
I don't go forward any further.
We stand in an unbearable silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
She was looking at me with dread, as if staring at death itself.
I could see how she was struggling to even breathe.
And me?
I just stood there.
'Do I say hello… or ask how they are'
I had no idea what to do.
I never thought I would be in such a scenario.
She looked small.
Fragile
Like some cornered bunny.
She was a spitting image of Netherland Dwarf.
She had short brown hair, red eyes, and a cute, slightly Western-looking face.
I open my mouths
Once
Twice
Yet nothing comes out.
The silence was crushing on me.
Then I noticed it.
At her feet—
A dead dog.
Its neck bent at an unnatural angle.
"The dog…did you do it?"
The moment the words left my mouth—
Regret.
Instant. Crushing.
I felt like cutting my own throat open but my own body was at shook as to what I said.
Her body trembled.
Tears gushed out her already teary eyes.
She bit into her own hand—hard enough to draw blood.
She said nothing.
She didn't need to.
My hands moved to my head before I even realized it.
'Idiot!'
'What the hell is wrong with me?'
Before I could even think I pull her in a tight hug, because –
I don't know what else to do.
Whenever I felt sad mother used to hug me.
After her passing whenever I was hurting Ms. Ji-Yoon used to hug me. This is the only thing I know that comforts me.
She couldn't resister me pulling her as it happened very fast due to my overwhelming speed.
She stiffened at first.
Tried to resist.
But it didn't last.
Soon—
She broke.
Her cries started flooding out, loud and uncontrollable.
I gently rub a hand over her head.
Awkward. Careful.
Hoping… it would help.
At first, she trembled violently.
Then slowly—
She calmed.
Her cries softened.
Faded.
Until—
She went limp
I sat there with her in my arms, her hands clutching tightly to my clothes.
I looked down.
"…She's out cold."
Now what?
A presence brushed against my senses.
More than one.
Carefully, I lifted her into a one-handed cradle.
Sword ready in my other hand.
I stared at the approaching figures.
Three people.
Two men and one woman.
The closest was a woman in her thirties wearing a purple cotton dress over jeans.
Behind her stood a man in his fifties in a white suit stained with blood.
A fire extinguisher rested in his hand.
Blood dripped from its edge.
The second man looked to be in his twenties.
He wore a chef's uniform and stood near the restaurant across the exit, gripping a kitchen knife tightly.
He scratched his head every few seconds, fidgeting like a madman.
Well… after surviving the first scenario, being sane would be the abnormal reaction.
Sharp clicks echoed from the top of the stairs.
Another person appeared.
A young woman wearing short jeans and a pink crop top stumbled downward while holding onto the railing for support.
Her makeup was ruined, Eyes swollen, face puffed up.
Blood was splattered across her upper body.
Every now and then, quiet sobs escaped her lips.
The woman in purple slowly approached me.
I turned toward her.
Click.
My grip tightened around the sword handle.
Her shoulders trembled at the sight of the bloodied blade pointed in her direction.
Slowly, she raised her hands.
"It's okay," she said with a quivering voice.
"It's over now. You don't need to point that at us."
I let out a giggle.
She looked confused.
I don't know what she's on about, but hearing that was strangely funny.
"Over?"
I could feel everyone staring at me.
"This was only the first scenario."
"By now, you should've already received the underground survival scenario."
I looked at them quietly.
"I'm afraid this is just the beginning."
After saying that, I started walking toward the exit.
I didn't want to deal with them.
"W-Wait… please…"
A sharp voice stopped me.
I looked back.
The girl in the crop top hurried toward me.
"Where are you going?"
"The subway."
She stared at me like I was insane.
"Didn't you hear the system? It said the surface is dangerous!"
"Yeah?"
Her face reddened instantly, eyes widening in disbelief.
She looked moments away from exploding before the man in the suit stepped forward.
"Wouldn't it be safer to move as a group?" he asked calmly.
"We don't know what's waiting out there."
His voice was deep and steady.
"I can handle it."
"But can you do it while carrying her?"
My body froze.
I looked down at the girl curled against me.
At some point, I had already started walking while carrying her naturally.
Seeing my hesitation, the man continued.
"Let's move together."
"Safety in numbers."
I stared at the man for a while, weighing my options.
Honestly, they probably wouldn't help much in a real fight.
Still…
Protecting someone while fighting would be troublesome.
So I agreed.
Right now, we were heading toward Jongno Station.
Now that I think about it, I wasn't obligated to reach dongmyo station.
It was really stupid to be fixated on it.
Oh, and the girl had woken up shortly after we left the mall.
Speaking of her—
Behind me, she quietly clutched the hem of my jacket, following like a duckling with her head lowered.
She was a quiet one.
But with time…
I was sure she would recover.
Every few minutes, the woman in purple gently rubbed the girl's head or back.
Sometimes I have seen her hug the girl trying to comfort her.
Occasionally, monsters attacked us.
I forced the others deal with them.
Though I only pinned them handle the weaker monsters.
When tougher ones like Berserk Wolves or Blood Chasers appeared, I stepped in personally.
The first few fights were disaster.
They had nearly gotten their throats ripped out on multiple fights.
Still slowly they are learning to pull their weight.
It would increase their chances of survival later.
Actually not 'they', just three.
We collectively agreed not to let the duckling fight and the one in crop top is just natural selection waiting to happen.
As for our temporary squad lineup—
I took the front.
Right behind me was the duckling.
To my left was the woman in purple, Lee Eun-ji, gripping a baseball bat.
On my right was Jung Ha-eun—the woman who had somehow tried surviving the apocalypse in heels. We had to "respectfully" ask her to change out of it.
She carried a hockey stick, though honestly, I doubted she'd actually swing it anytime soon.
At this point, it was more of an emotional support stick.
Park Sang-hoon—the man in the suit—was probably the most dependable among us.
And the most rational.
- With the sole exception of me of course.
Lee Do-hyun, the chef, and Jung Ha-eun kept eyeing my blades earlier.
They argued that distributing weapons fairly would strengthen the group and all that nonsense.
Of course I wouldn't just hand my weapon to strangers.
Park Sang-hoon, however, understood immediately why I would refuse.
He shut that argument down immediately.
As none one would hand over their weapon to stranger, especially me as I have a height disadvantage going for me.
And blades were hard to come by.
Still—
I did arm them with other weapons and also looted stores for items like food.
We continued forward as silently as possible.
Surprisingly, for the last twenty minutes, we hadn't encountered any trouble.
Then—
We arrived.
Jongno Station.
The safe zone.
Everyone immediately rushed toward the entrance.
A completely normal reaction.
Then I looked at the duckling.
"Hey. Why are you still here? Go with them."
She blinked at me.
"…You're not coming?"
I looked at her quietly.
Those big round eyes stared directly at me.
I expected her to run toward safety immediately.
Instead—
She was worried about me.
I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
Gently, I rubbed her head.
"I have something to do out here."
"You go ahead first."
"When will you come back?"
"Hopefully before midnight."
Reluctantly, she released my jacket.
I watched as she joined the others.
Once the station swallowed them from view—
I turned away from the entrance.