"Ugh, this is boring me..."
Yeon Yujun, Lee Seolji, and a little boy stood there in front of a massive painting at the museum. Yeon Yujun just sipped on his drink as his eyes observed the painting that doesn't make quite sense.
"Why do you have to drag me along with you?" Yeon Yujun mumbled as he shifted his gaze back to Lee Seolji who was glaring at the painting.
"Because Jinho's mom said I can have extra bucks on my shift if I decided to take him to a museum, but I hate museums!" she whined, as if throwing a fit like a toddler when she's clearly a babysitter.
"You're sixteen, you're supposed to be doing your job even if you hate it."
Yeon Yujun shook his head in disbelief as he felt someone tugging the sleeve of his coat.
"Can we leave her, hyung?"
"Hey! I'm your babysitter, not him!" Lee Seolji gritted her teeth as she took Jinho's hand and put him beside her.
"I need to take care of you so I can get the money from your mother, alright?" Lee Seolji added, gently flicking Jinho's temple as he whined.
"Not fair!" Jinho pouted as he continued taking bites of his cheese bread out of reluctance.
When Jinho and Lee Seolji's chatter faded as a simple noise in Yeon Yujun's mind, his gaze glanced around the crowded venue before spotting someone familiar.
A tall hooded man. The one he had bumped into a few weeks ago and he has to admit... he had been seeing that man everywhere.
He knows he's up to no good. What if that man is the one putting those creepy notes around?
Yeon Yujun better have to talk to him.
"Seolji, take Jinho somewhere. I'm sure he'll fuss over these boring paintings, no?"
"Wait, you're right, Oppa!" Lee Seolji said as if she just had a perfect idea.
"Let's go, I'm taking you to the food center but we're not buying anything!" Yeon Yujun watched Lee Seolji drag the unwilling little boy with her as they faded in the crowd.
Yeon Yujun turned around and walked towards the mysterious man who seemed to be lost in the painting. Once he had approached him, he said nothing just yet, just stood beside him.
After a few seconds that felt like forever, Yeon Yujun didn't turn just yet. "Are you the one who's stalking us?"
Yeon Yujun turned, but he found himself talking to no one. How did that man leave so fast and quietly too!? He clenched his fists.
"That man... he's definitely–" Yeon Yujun trailed off as the alarm of the building went off, startling everyone with the amber alert.
"Vortex appeared nearby, we repeat a vortex appeared nearby. Please evacuate at the nearest evacuation center." The announcement speaker automatically turned on as everyone had scattered hazardously, panicking towards the entrance and exit, pushing each other.
"Shit..." Yeon Yujun cursed under his breath as he immediately moved out of instinct, he went towards the fire exit and took two steps in one go without even registering on his mind.
Lee Seolji and Jinho should be out of the building by now since the food center is outside. But that doesn't mean they're out of danger.
When Yeon Yujun reached the end and came out the alleyway, he encountered a wild creature.
A gigantic purple serpent snake crawled towards him, but stopped as it rattled its tail as if sensing his instinct. It instantly hissed at the sight of Yeon Yujun and stood high in a defensive stance, its ivory orbs stared right through Yeon Yujun, its diamond on its forehead glowed in the dim alleyway.
( "[S] The Mind's Eye" is passively activated! )
Yeon Yujun immediately scanned the creature before him and his skill quickly gave him the information he needed to know about.
[ ("Crowned Jewel Serpent") - (C-class creature) ]
"Great, a stray decided to block my way?" Yeon Yujun scoffed bitterly to himself as he looked around for a moment, wondering if someone could do what he's about to do.
He couldn't just let this creature loose, it could potentially harm others.
He immediately fished his hand onto his pockets, looking for a potential weapon towards the creature, instead... he grabbed a small and fluffy creature. No other than Pouch.
"Pupu!!" Pouch squirmed from Yeon Yujun's grip as it cried dramatically.
"Sorry, sorry!" he sighed, putting Pouch back in his pocket. Pouch had been always with him, sticking to him like a little shadow ever since he first met it.
Yeon Yujun searched around the alley and lunged towards the pile of garbage then saw a weapon sticking out.
...A rusted scalpel.
Yeon Yujun HATES rusted weapons even though it wouldn't really affect him much, just enough to activate his powers.
With a sigh of resignation, Yeon Yujun grabbed it from the pile and before he could react, the serpent was heading his way in a fast movement.
Yeon Yujun didn't hesitate to use his weapon.
The rusted blade met his skin — shhhk!!
( "[S+] Reoccurrence" is now activated! )
Blood splattered everywhere as it came in contact with the serpent, nothing happened at first and it halted the snake in discomfort and confusion.
"Burn."
The blood on the serpent's body and face burst into flames as it screamed in pain, its body convulsed and started to decay. Yeon Yujun just watched before burning the scalpel in his hand.
This sight reminded him of something a long time ago, a distant memory he refused to remember and forget.
***
It was twenty years ago when the "Messenger " hit Earth, changing everything that Yeon Yujun had learned in life at eight years old.
"Umma..." Young Yeon Yujun cried in the backseat, both of his parents were leaning against their seats, unmoving, and bleeding.
Yeon Yujun sniffled softly, wiping his tears clumsily as he trembled from his injuries. He was wounded in the shoulder, thigh, and arm.
He's aware that his parents are dead.
When he looked out of the window, seeing everything crumble and fall apart, there were a lot of creatures destroying everything in sight and screaming, enough to shake the ground.
He was bleeding out and about to be unconscious.
Before he could, a flash of light flashed through his eyes — keeping him awake and even oddly comforted.
Yeon Yujun snapped his eyes open, breathing heavily as he clenched his own chest, his splattered blood beginning to burst into flames while his injuries were healing miraculously, closing on its own.
Yeon Yujun immediately got out of the crashed car and limply walked away from the destroyed vehicle, he watched as the flames engulfed his parents.
[ You're the first awakener of Seoul. ]
"A-awakener…?" Yeon Yujun sobbed as he stared at the unfamiliar status window in front of him before it flickered and disappeared.
Yeon Yujun sat down against the rumble of concrete, wrapping his arms tighter, his knees pressed against his chest as he tried calming himself down.
"You're strong… strong… strong…" Yeon Yujun repeated his mother's last words under his breath while he watched the car die away and only remain into nothing but dust.
He could hear the terrifying screams and cries for help in the distance, but he couldn't do anything about it. He's just another survivor of this apocalypse.
After the apocalypse happened and more people awakened, Yeon Yujun disappeared for five years before returning as a powerful hunter known as "8" who conquered every vortex and monsters.
***
Yeon Yujun stood at the alleyway, the creature had long disappeared into dust as if it didn't even exist. He started leaving the alleyway to join with the civilians and find Lee Seolji and Jinho.
"An unregistered hunter just cleared a vortex in eight minutes!"
The words stopped Yeon Yujun as he looked up, watching more crowds form in curiosity and gratitude at the swirling portal.
A hooded man had emerged from the vortex, holding no weapon. Did that man just clear it with his bare hands or what? Yeon Yujun thought to himself as reporters began swarming the mysterious man.
"Sir! Tell us how you cleared the A-class vortex alone!"
"Do you know it's illegal to be an unregistered hunter?"
"Sir what's your name?!"
The hooded man didn't answer as he just stood there before the military hunters arrived, about to make an arrest when suddenly —
KA-BOOM!!
An explosion occurred in the distance and all hunters present began running towards the location, everyone's attention snapped towards the noise except for Yeon Yujun.
Yeon Yujun stared at the hooded man in the distance, he couldn't see his face when he suddenly just became transparent. As if he didn't even exist.
Yeon Yujun just stood there, frozen and confused with a tinge of curiosity. It's been a while ever since he last saw someone with an invisibility ability, after Anna Sloane.
That mysterious man… is definitely the one putting up those creepy notes. Was that why he couldn't track him at all?
"That bastard…"