｢Grrrr…｣
｢Krrrk!｣
Every sense in my body snapped taut in alarm. Since the day I opened my eyes in this world, I had never felt such dread. Even the two heads protruding beside mine hissed low growls in instinctive response.
I had already heard rumors that Beom-Ho could control others. But I hadn't imagined he would be able to seize control of a Ranker's body. Much less one as formidable as Akira's.
"Did you use a Privilege Code to control Akira's mind?"
"Mind control? Don't be ridiculous. My privilege isn't so convenient. Think of it more as possession. I've simply borrowed this friend's body for a little while."
Having revealed himself, Beom-Ho's tone shifted drastically—light, mocking, almost playful. The solemn mask from moments ago was gone without a trace.
But I couldn't allow myself to be deceived.
In the game, the Rank 7 had been a constant thorn in my side, a foe in some ways more dangerous than even Rank 3 or 4.
'…Stay calm.'
I steadied my thoughts, scanning for anything I might still gain from this unexpected encounter.
He can control a Ranker… but there are limits.
If he could so easily possess Akira, then he should be able to dominate my mind as well.
The fact that I was still free proved he could not conjure this power at will.
There are restrictions or conditions on the use of abilities.
'It's definitely not a task that requires time.'
It had been over ten minutes since we began speaking. Too long to be explained as "charging" time. More likely, the ability required tools or direct physical contact.
And this was the Trash-Planet, a graveyard of hidden scrap. The perfect place to conceal a device.
'I just need to look for something out of place…'
I scanned the heaps of debris with auxiliary organs, though my main gaze never left the enemy.
"No need to be so tense. Everything I've told you is true. The offer still stands."
"Cooperation? If that's all you want, wouldn't it be simpler to possess me instead?"
"If only it were that easy. Possession requires preparation. And like now, a shallow possession doesn't let me use privileges it's unstable."
He raised the hand he had extended earlier. It flickered half-shifted into a beast's claw, then disintegrated. The unstable form crumbled like a failed genetic graft.
"As you see, this is my state. Until true possession is complete, my abilities remain crippled."
"Meaning… if the possession deepens, you would be able to control fully?"
"Yes, but at a cost. The closer I am to full possession, the less of my privilege I retain. My origin reshapes itself to fit the new body. If I complete the process entirely, I lose my unique ability forever. Which is why I'm careful."
He spoke so lightly, handing me weakness after weakness with a friendly smile.
It didn't feel like a lie. But it couldn't be trusted either. After all, he had already tricked me once.
"Anyway. Will you accept my offer?"
"Do you really think I'd agree to something so absurd?"
"Of course."
Without hesitation, he nodded as if my answer was obvious.
"You're clever. You know what value this alliance could hold."
"Perhaps. But your comrades won't be pleased."
I had killed three of the Return Faction before. Would they truly welcome the one who slew their members into their ranks?
Especially Rank 4, the strongest among them who not only loathed me but once joined forces with the Dominion faction just for a chance to strike me down.
Beom-Ho only shrugged.
"They won't like it, no. But they'll understand. They always have."
"You're certainly confident."
"The Return Faction has only one goal: seeing the Ending. To that purpose, every one of us, even me, is only a tool. Surely you, of all people, can understand that."
"…Understand, hm."
"Since you came to this world, your path has never wavered. Everything your traits, your privileges, even the powers that follow you exists for the sake of ascension. Just like me."
"How do I know if you're telling the truth?"
"Because I need you. You're the one being in this universe who understands Amorphs better than anyone else. You are the key to defeating the new boss. Why would I waste that chance with a lie and lose your trust?"
For the first time since his reveal, his expression sobered.
"So. Decide. Will you join the Return Faction?"
It was, indeed, the hour of decision.
But my mind was already made up.
"I refuse."
"Hm? Refuse? If there's something you lack, I can…"
"No. There will be no alliance between us."
"…Hmph."
Beom-Ho made a low sound of displeasure, his face twisting into something ugly.
"I don't understand. Why insist on walking the harder path?"
"Because listening to you carries too much risk."
I knew his knowledge had value. I knew an alliance with the Return Faction could yield great advantages.
But there was a fatal problem.
'He's a fraud.'
Beom-Ho didn't lie but neither did he ever reveal the whole truth. He conveniently omitted every fact that could turn against him.
I knew this because I had already consumed members of the Return Faction. Through their broken remnants, I had seen what he chose to hide how he fed them only scraps of information, never the full picture.
None of them had even known of the new boss. Not one.
Only Beom-Ho knew everything. The rest of his faction were nothing more than expendable pieces on his board.
'There's no guarantee he wouldn't treat me the same way.'
And he hadn't even come here himself; he'd simply puppeteered Akira. Even if I destroyed this vessel, Beom-Ho would lose nothing. In fact, he might even benefit.
Trusting someone like him would be the height of foolishness.
"Hah… haha. You refuse me? Hahahahaha!"
At first, it was just a hollow laugh. But soon, it grew louder, harsher until suddenly, it stopped.
"Do you think you can reach ascension without my knowledge? Without my help?"
"If not, I'll find another way."
"What don't tell me you plan to rely on that oh-so-great Information Construct?"
"…You know about it?"
"Of course. Do you think I came here only for some treasure? No… I came because I knew you would come here."
"What?"
That was not what I expected.
"Do you know how my privilege truly works? I copy my own consciousness and overwrite it onto another. That is the mechanism of my possession."
"You knew I was coming here? How?"
"Think it through. If I can copy my own mind, isn't it only natural that I could attempt to copy another's?"
He ignored me entirely, speaking only to himself, driven by his own narrative.
"Admittedly, it was far more difficult. I tried many times. But true success I achieved it only twice."
｢Grrr!｣
｢Krrrk!｣
The heads at my sides howled, as though desperate to drown out his words before he spoke them.
"One of those successes was at the Altar of Ascension itself. While the boss was busy butchering the Rankers, I risked everything to impose possession. But that damned creature had defenses in place… I nearly failed. If not for the assistance I received. From none other than your precious Information Construct."
"…"
"Thanks to him, I succeeded in copying consciousness. With it secure, I escaped the altar. Afterwards, I was quite busy. A new weapon requires careful handling, after all."
"Silence."
"The hardest part? Choosing the right egg. Fear of Amorphs was rampant among the Rankers. That made things… delicate. Many mistakes, many wasted efforts. But I persevered."
The more he spoke, the colder my veins felt.
"When I implanted the mind into the egg, I made… adjustments. Seeding in truths would have caused problems. Of course, it wasn't a perfect process. There were times it nearly broke free of my plans, nearly uncovered hidden things. But ultimately, it worked out."
The truth I never wanted to hear wrapped around me like a chokehold.
"And in time, the castaway child hatched. It grew. It matured. And now, at last… it comes back to me. You can't fathom how long I've waited for this."
The boss at the Altar wasn't a replacement at all. The one now enthroned there had simply stolen the seat, usurping the role.
"Yes. A being from another world stole the throne of the Altar. The first Ranker summoned here. Space Survival's living nightmare. And you…"
"Shut UP!"
"You are my creation. The Shadow of Rank 5."
As the words left him, he pulled a small device from his pocket.
I saw his finger move toward the switch. Too late. The mental blow slowed my body. I couldn't stop him.
'Then…!'
I triggered the energy fields I had prepared earlier. Invisible arcs shot from me like the spines of a hedgehog, stabbing outward into the mounds of scrap.
The target was not his device, but the unfamiliar constructs hidden among the junk.
Explosions erupted one after another. Shards of metal and components flew like shrapnel.
Beom-Ho leapt through the chaos, his body cloaked in an ominous violet light. The device was just the distraction the real strike came now.
'Direct contact that's the trigger condition!'
He closed in. I wouldn't be able to deflect him in time. I had to repel him by other means.
I bared my teeth. A hidden MPS burst from my jaws and shot at him. The Mini-Screamer latched onto his face, and the instant it stuck I struck with a pulse through my monstrous tendrils.
[ZZZZ (Transfer the MPS!)]
Far in the distance, PS-111 activated the Prometheus Protocol. Blue particles swirled and enveloped both of us.
Just before we vanished, a filament of violet lashed out from Beom-Ho's fingertips. It barely brushed against my flesh.
And suddenly, a crushing wave of fatigue washed over me. My legs buckled, and I collapsed.
'Possession…!'
The main body vanished the moment I was transported. But Beom-Ho's venomous seed remained, lodged deep within me.
How long could I hold him back? A minute at most. Then I'd black out, and he would claim me.
'To delay his grip…'
Summoning every shred of strength, I raised my tails and tendrils. Then, with all my might, I smashed my central head downward.
｢Krrk?!｣
｢Grrrr!｣
My two heads hissed in confusion. But I commanded them to strike as well in the middle.
The central head governed our body. If Beom-Ho lodged his presence anywhere, it would be there. Destroying it might buy precious time.
I would not die yet. The side heads remained, and the heart of a dragon still burned within me.
｢Feedback sequence—activate!｣
｢Feedback sequence—activate!｣
Carapace splintered. Blood sprayed high. Exhaustion and agony blurred together with the truths Beom-Ho had spat into my ears.
Through the haze, I forced myself to cling to what mattered most.
Number 26. Adhai. All who had fought alongside me.
My final hope.
'…The rest, I leave to you.'
With that thought, my consciousness sank into darkness.
————
｢Amorph?｣ ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by noᴠelfire.net
A sudden report reached PS-111, who had been scanning the surface of the scrapyard. The message came from an MPS unit that had accompanied Amorph.
The report stated that they were transporting a mini-screamer and a human-sized object beyond the system.
Before coming here, Amorph had repeated the same warning many times: be cautious, for there may be hidden traps.
Now, an unfamiliar presence in such a situation? An ominous sign.
｢Orders acknowledged.｣
PS-111 awakened the dormant power of Prometheus. Its dual high-functioning brains instantly calculated the coordinates of the transport targets and their destinations.
Warp particles at the location were manipulated, sending the two objects into a space beyond space.
｢Friend, what's wrong?｣
Number 26 shot over to PS-111, leaving behind the garbage he had been sifting with his tentacles.
｢Amorph. Emergency transmission.｣
｢From Big Sister? Why?｣
｢Accident suspected. Summoning everyone.｣
PS-111 called back Adhai and Isabel, who had gone elsewhere to investigate.
｢Sister, wh-what's happening?｣
｢Enemy.｣
｢They've appeared?｣
Both looked flustered from the sudden jump. Moments later PS-111 relocated to Amorph as well.
With a burst of blue light, an enormous mass tens of meters wide emerged into the air.
｢Big Sister…?｣
Number 26, who had been ready to greet him with joy, froze in place. Amorph looked drastically different from when they had last seen her only hours before.
His torso head collapsed limply onto the scrapyard heap. Blood from his wounds stained the ground.
｢Big baby!｣ ｢He's wounded!｣
Shock rippled through them all, but Adhai was the first to recover. The red-scaled Gallagon dove down urgently to Amorph's side.
｢He needs help!｣
｢Stop! Wait don't approach!｣
Isabel cut her off, halting Adhai as she tried to support Amorph.
｢Amorph has… a problem! Don't get close!｣
｢Problem?｣ ｢Big baby!｣ ｢Her injuries severe!｣
｢Worse than injury it's more serious than that!｣
Isabel's eyes now glowed green, proof that her innate power All Seeing Eye had activated.
She scanned Amorph's textbox and quickly understood his state, and why the head was missing.
｢Sister. Amorph… he's under a mental assault.｣
｢Mental? Is it predator you mentioned earlier?｣
｢That's right. To escape having his body overtaken, he destroyed his own head.｣
PS-111 knew Isabel could read the truth through her mysterious gift. And indeed it wasn't just her head. Signs of self-inflicted wounds marred Amorph's body.
For some reason, Amorph had deliberately destroyed his own brain.
｢Cerebrum destroyed. Mind control impossible.｣
｢No… it's only bought him time. He'll recover soon.｣
As she said Amorph's headless torso was already regenerating, though agonizingly slowly. His life force was tenacious; even with his brain gone, she would not die.
｢Once regeneration ends, the assault resumes.｣
｢Then how do we defend?｣
Unlike her sister, Isabel could not directly sense psychic assaults. Without knowing their mechanism, they could not prepare a counter.
｢Let's return home first… and find a way.｣
｢Understood. Preparing transport…｣
PS-111 was about to relocate everyone, and would have if not for suddenly detecting the anomaly.
｢What… is this?｣
｢Sister?｣
A wave that hadn't existed before now enveloped them. Its scale is vast enough to swallow the scrapyard planet whole.
｢Feels… strange… something… here.｣
Adhai, who too sensed the wave, lifted her gaze.
Where there should have been a ring of scrap metal, there was only blackness. Not plain void darkness writhing, alive.
｢Outspacers…｣
From beyond the orbital ring, a legion of monsters clad in black carapace swarmed toward the scrapyard. The very waves disrupting faster-than-light leaps emanated from them.
｢Too many enemies!｣
Even Isabel ever composed released a field of anxious thoughtwaves. With the All Seeing Eye, she could clearly see: their numbers were near a billion.
｢So many… and we failed to notice them?｣
｢They approached from beyond sensing range. The wave interference hindered detection.｣
｢But how did they find us here?｣
｢They field tracking-specialized organisms. They followed our traces.｣
Such a fleet would not come without purpose and certainly not stealthily. As PS-111 suggested, this was the aftermath of their last battle. The enemy had pursued them.
Then the legion dark as storm clouds blazed with sudden light. Moments later, countless projectiles rained down upon the scrapyard.
Meters-long stakes. Sacks of highly corrosive acid. Thousands poured indiscriminately on some striking Amorph's fallen body.
｢Big bay! How dare they!｣
Adhai's gaze flared with violet fire, ready to retaliate. But before she could, another moved first.
Number 26 who had been paralyzed in shock.
Her body, once pale pink, now burned crimson. She surged in size, swelling to nearly 100 meters in an instant. Spreading herself above Amorph, she shielded him. Countless fins and tentacles swept through rubble, seizing debris in every limb.
｢Die!｣
With a pulse as sharp as it was furious, Number 26 hurled the seized wreckage with overwhelming force.
Broken rocket shells, the skeletal frames of ruined spacecraft hurled debris collided against the distant black cloud. Enemy formations wavered, scattering down clusters of small pellet-like creatures.
｢Me too!｣ ｢Revenge!｣
Adhai, clad in her red armor, charged straight toward the Outspacers. Thunder rolled like a storm breaking across the heavens, scarlet lightning tearing through the dark.
Number 26 followed up, hurling more jagged fragments of scrap. Enemies that tried to intercept Adhai were smashed apart by the makeshift projectiles. The two, long accustomed to fighting side by side, moved almost perfectly in tandem.
And yet, Isabel could not hide the unease twisting inside her.
｢To fight here… isn't good.｣
In terms of raw force, Number 26 and Adhai were overwhelming. But the problem was scale: against hundreds of millions, individual strength meant little.
Worse still, their time was running short. If the Predator's psychic domination succeeded, then everything was truly finished.
They had to return home as fast as possible to find a way to counter mind control. To tarry here was folly.
｢Sister… can we escape?｣
｢Impossible. Because of the pursuers, evading the legion is not feasible.｣
｢What if I… confirm and kill them myself?｣
｢Too dangerous. Your power is not omnipotent.｣
Her sister was right. The All Seeing Eye only worked when her gaze directly fell upon the target. If they moved faster than sight, or lurked beyond her vision, confirmation was impossible.
And among such a colossal swarm, how many specialized trackers might exist? To seek each one individually was reckless to the point of suicide.
｢Dangerous… but no choice. I must try.｣
She knew very well it was near impossible. Yet no other path remained.
｢Wait just a moment.｣
Isabel steadied herself to fly at the Outspacers, but her elder sister's voice stopped her.
｢There is one method.｣
｢A method?｣
PS-111 pointed a finger toward Number 26.
｢The 'Main Controller' has once before restored a mind.｣
｢Number 26? Oh…｣
At the words, Isabel remembered. When she herself had been reborn as a Screamer, her mind could not awaken. It was Number 26's power that mended her.
｢High probability Amorph can also be healed.｣
｢Yes… certainly worth the attempt.｣
｢Agreed. Then, we begin at once.｣
From its abdomen, PS-111 produced a dormant mini-screamer and handed it to Isabel.
｢What's this?｣
｢No time for explanations. Just take it.｣
｢…Understood.｣
｢Main Controller sending you with Amorph now.｣
Number 26, who had just been readying to hurl another dead engine, froze in place.
｢To a place the Main Controller knows. There, heal Amorph.｣
｢Heal? How do I heal Big bay?｣
｢The same way you treated my younger sibling.｣
｢The little one? Oh, I get it!｣
His body shrank quickly, returning to the size of a balloon. A shimmering blue aura wrapped around Amorph and around the pink Sea Demon perched atop him.
｢We entrust this to you.｣
｢Okay! I'll fix Big baby, all better!｣
Waving her tentacles energetically, Number 26 vanished with Amorph into the dimension beyond space.
｢Time is short. We must move.｣
｢Understood.｣
The Screamer sisters streaked skyward together, closing in rapidly on the legion encircling the scrapyard planet.
At the same time, the swarm detected the flare of faster-than-light. Varied Outspacer forms peeled off into pursuit, descending in a storm.
｢What… do we do next?｣
Isabel asked as enemies closed the gap with terrifying speed. But PS-111 offered no reply.
｢Sister?｣
｢If there are many warp signatures, pursuit becomes difficult.｣
Meeting her sister's eyes, Isabel realized what the plan was.
｢And strong energy detonations will mask the traces.｣
｢You don't mean…｣
Of course. With Prometheus' power, PS-111 would relocate the entire scrapyard's mass colliding it into itself.
Here, countless unstable faster-than-light engines and dud torpedoes lay abandoned. Detonate them all at once, and the resulting energy release would be catastrophic enough to erase their trail completely, impossible for even the trackers to follow.
｢As long as my sister is here, this attempt is impossible.｣
Even as PS-111 spoke, a haze of blue particles appeared around Isabel.
｢W-wait! If you do that, Sister you'll die!｣
｢MPS units carry my memory data and genetic samples. So long as those exist, I cannot truly die.｣
Isabel tried to cancel her jump to shield her, but she was too late.
｢Sisters always protect each other.｣
｢No, Sister! Don't!｣
Those were Isabel's last words before she vanished, leaving behind only the lingering echo of a cut-off scream.
Her younger twin gone, PS-111 prepared for the final step. She would now attempt to move an immense number of objects all at once. Even with the brain of a Supreme Councillor to augment her, calculating those countless coordinates demanded absolute focus and time.
As she began, monstrous hulks emerged behind her: the Queen's Guard.
One lashed a sickle-shaped talon across her wing. The strike did not cleave the chitin alloy laced with Vortex One's carapace but the surface was scored deep.
The guard poised for another blow… when suddenly its body exploded in a spray of gore. The projectile that had pulverized the Outspacer was none other than Adhai.
｢Thank you… little one.｣
｢The youngling's gone.｣ ｢I sent him away.｣ ｢Are you alright?｣
Adhai's thoughtwave carried her worry as she tore through enemies at PS-111's side.
The machine wished to answer as always: that there was no problem. But for the first time, its mind was overwhelmed with irrational surges of thought, impossible to dismiss.
｢…More than that I need your help.｣
For a few breaths she fell silent, before finally sending the thought signal with effort.
｢Help?｣
｢Protect me a short while. That is all I ask.｣
｢No problem.｣
Adhai spread her wings wide, scarlet lightning bursting from every scale. Enemies rushing in front of her were scorched to ash in the storm.
｢Krurrr! Tiny strong one!｣
Through the drifting chunks of flesh appeared a massive beast red and beetle-like, yet larger than any insect should be. Its bulk belied its speed as it slammed violently into Adhai.
｢You cannot escape me!｣
｢False.｣ ｢This is the plan.｣
｢Rrrgh! Then this time, you die!｣
Adhai engaged, locking the crimson beast in combat as countless Outspacers swarmed her. She bought the time PS-111 needed.
The machine's awareness expanded endlessly, warp particles as her circuit-channel. Twin brains burned at full throttle, mapping the coordinates of every mass in range.
Her physical frame strained toward collapse. Heat boiled from within, skin glowing red-hot. Camera lenses that replaced her eyes cracked; fissures split across her face. It did not matter. All that mattered was completing the calculation before the enemy realized.
At last the final sum was resolved.
｢Little one. It is finished.｣
｢Finished?!｣
｢Yes. Come here.｣
Holding off the horde, Adhai broke away and darted to her.
｢I will send you to where my sister awaits.｣
｢Not… together?｣
｢I still have work left. Take care of my sister, I beg you.｣
｢?｣
With those last words, PS-111 unleashed Prometheus at full capacity.
The void turned to blinding light. Adhai tried to speak again then was swallowed, gone.
｢Little strong one! Running agai...grrk?!｣
The crimson beast, rushing after her, stopped short as light erupted everywhere. Realization struck, and it fled in panic. The lesser Outspacers followed their upper caste in retreat.
But it was too late.
Abandoned engines, failed torpedoes, unstable reactors warped in from across the scrapyard ring all emerged simultaneously, colliding with the debris and planet that had spawned them. Each error in coordinate spawned a chain of impacts and detonations.
Again and again the cycle compounded, the magnitude of the blast swelling beyond measure. When it reached critical mass, the chain no longer needed fuel. A newborn sun ignited.
Radiance and shockwave obliterated the fleeing legion without a trace. Even creatures with armored husks like the crimson beast were hurled away, mortally wounded, into the far galaxy.
PS-111 was not spared. Its frame was torn apart, most of its body lost, slammed into drifting wreckage.
'It's finished.'
Prometheus was gone. Even her thoughtwave circuits failed. In moments, every function would cease.
Through its one undamaged right lens, PS-111 gazed at the force that had ended everything.
The scrapyard planet, detonated and reborn, was now a single plasma fusion mass. A radiant star, burning with impossible brilliance.
'…A light born of garbage?'
For all humanity had cast aside since its first steps into space now become a star. How ironic. If her body were still alive, perhaps she would have laughed.
If only my sister could have seen it too.
That was the Screamer's final thought.
The inanimate wreck was soon swallowed by the newborn plasma star.
———
A cavern, its walls filled with writhing, living membranes.
Only the Outspacers more specifically, only the chosen among them could ever enter such a place. And there, within its depths, a gigantic Outspacer lay in repose.
This being had no thick carapace, no sharp claws or armored appendages for protection. Except for its immense size, nothing about it appeared especially dangerous.
But appearances could not be trusted. For this was one of the deadliest creatures in the entire universe.
She was the Mother of all Outspacers the Empress who birthed queens, the progenitor from whom the highest strains descended. Among the great beings, she was known simply as the Mother of the Sky.
Now, the ultimate Outspacer rested in her palace, listening to the report of one of her subordinates.
｢So… it has come to this.｣
The biowaves she emitted made the mucous-coated cavern walls tremble.
Just hours ago, her link to two thousand queens had been severed all at once. Every one of them had been a commander dispatched to capture the Amorph within Megacorp territory.
Billions of soldiers vanished with them. All wiped out by the Amorph—snuffed out in a single moment.
Only a handful had survived: Torders, acting as her proxy in commanding the army; and a few of the heavily-armored Queen's Guard.
The Amorph might be formidable, but even it should not have been able to annihilate such a vast swarm in mere seconds.
That was why she was now listening to Torders' explanation, to understand exactly what had happened.
'…To think it forced the garbage vessels to leap all at once and collide.'
The Amorph had deliberately triggered accidents that only rarely occurred during faster-than-light jumps.
Countless derelicts had slammed into one another at translight speeds, releasing unimaginable energy.
The resulting shockwave had torn through her legions, erasing them.
Even the Screamer—engineered with the power of Prometheus—was destroyed with them, but that was of little comfort. The true target, the Amorph itself, escaped unscathed.
｢Has Krieger's corpse been found?｣
In answer to the Empress's question, Torders reported that the search was still ongoing.
Krieger, who had been deployed alongside him, was caught in the shockwave and cut off. Like the others, it was most likely dead—its remains adrift somewhere in space.
｢Its essence must be recovered. At all costs.｣
Krieger had been her finest creation, unmatched in tracking ability. Only with its essence could she mass-produce pursuers capable of hunting the Amorph.
'Damn it!'
Curse that infamous Morph Butcher—because of him, the losses were immeasurable.
Ninety percent of her invasion force against Megacorp was annihilated. Three of her four painstakingly bred Queens lost. Fungusnote captured outright by Megacorp. Krieger vanished within their territory.
That much she could accept. Armies and genetic essences could always be replaced.
But what truly left her seething in anguish was something else entirely.
'…Joy.'
Joy Spencer—her beloved, the one she had sworn to spend her life with when she returned to reality. Now dead, slaughtered by the vile Amorph, violated and devoured alive.
The Joy she remembered had been gentle, pure-hearted—someone utterly unsuited for the brutal life of space survival. She had shielded her as best she could from danger, and yet it had all ended so suddenly, so pointlessly.
'Beomho, you bastard… no reply at all!'
When Joy first noticed the suspicious signs, when she made her move against the Amorph, the Empress had reached out to Beomho, begging him to protect her.
But Beomho had ignored her. Not once did he answer her call.
'Do you think I'll forgive you? Never. Never!'
To her, both the Amorph and Beomho were guilty. Both shared in the killing of Joy. Both had to pay the price—through death.
Having resolved herself, the Empress unleashed a new wave.
｢Every queen is to return, except those assigned to tracing Krieger. I will create a new queen.｣
The queens had failed in their duty, unable to protect Joy despite their strength. Even though Joy had been more powerful than any other Outspacer, she had been defeated.
Failures had reasons. They would be analyzed, and the swarm improved. That was the way of the Outspacers—the way of the Mother of the Sky.
'…I should move the nest.'
With Joy dead and Beomho a traitor, there was no longer any reason to remain among the Returnists. She had to relocate her dwelling to a place none of them could know.
She was about to add one more command when another Outspacer's wave cut through the chamber.
The message was brief: A colossal fleet was approaching.
'No… it can't be!'
Only one other being alive knew the location of her nest—Beomho, the leader of the Returnists. He must have betrayed her to the Dominators, feeding them this information.
｢All of you—repel the invaders!｣
But most of her forces were already away, striking at Megacorp and the Cult Empire. Left behind were only her Queen's Guard and a token garrison—far too few to stand against a full assault from the Dominator forces.
As she ordered the defenders to hold as best they could, the Empress herself prepared to flee.
Moments after she activated the bio-portal, the entire planet shuddered violently beneath her nest.
***
"How did it go? The Empress?"
｢We lost her.｣
"What?"
Inside a pristine, orderly room.
When the words flowed out of the diamond-shaped monument, Chloe Garmelda frowned.
"We even brought the upgraded Prometheus. And still, you're telling me you lost her?" Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel✶fire.net
｢Hmph. Prometheus can't block a bio-portal. Neither can the lightweight V2.｣
"…She's still using those unstable bio-portals? I thought she'd already switched all warp systems, especially after that last queen specialized in mobility."
｢Looks like she kept it as insurance… for situations like this.｣
"Tch. Typical of her personality."
At Star Union's Grand Elder Jubaca's words, Chloe clicked her tongue softly.
This operation had been launched based on intelligence her own house's spies had stumbled across—information that an Outspacer had nested in a place utterly barren and beyond the reach of the great powers.
That planet was OW-33, so desolate it was near impossible to detect signs of life. From the perspective of an Outspacer—whose strength was measured by the abundance of organisms—that was the worst possible choice of nest.
Which is exactly why Fourth Ranker had chosen it. No one would ever expect her to hide there. Until the report came in, even Chloe herself had never imagined Fourth would lurk in such a place.
As soon as they uncovered the base, the two mobilized and stormed OW-33. Yet the result, as they now saw, was failure.
"Damn. If I knew it would turn out like this, I'd have tightened preparations and gone in harder."
｢If it's Fourth, she would have sensed our move the moment we stirred.｣
"True enough, I suppose."
｢Regardless, now she'll likely keep her head down for a while. We can't waste this chance.｣
Jubaca's deep voice came through the monument. Chloe understood all too well what he meant.
This was their opportunity to accelerate the secret project they had been conducting behind Akira's back: The Dream of Jacobus.
｢The Machine Committee insists—if we want faster progress, we need tighter collaboration among the researchers.｣
"Of course. Even with multiple specialists working together it's not going to be easy."
｢So why not come here outright?｣
"What?"
｢Since Pyra Eleven was lost, our research pace in genetic design has plummeted. We need you to bring it back up.｣
Chloe knew Pyra Eleven well. An android with unusually flexible thinking, one so notable that even Jubaca kept a close eye on her. If she hadn't been slain by the Amorph, she would've been invaluable to the project.
｢Weren't you planning to join us permanently once the project completed anyway?｣
"Well, yes, but…"
It was true.
Once the project was complete, she would leave Megacorp behind. By then, the overwhelming power secured through the project would make the Garmelda family irrelevant.
'Still… until then, being part of the house is useful.'
Her family wielded vast connections and influence. Those assets were vital to pushing the project forward.
"For now, it's difficult. There's still plenty I can obtain here in Megacorp."
｢Tell me what you need. I'll provide as much support as possible.｣
"Oh? If I said I wanted antlers from the Cult of Staghorns or horns from the Yakhorns, could you actually get them? You're the Grand Elder—you can secure almost anything. But honestly, it takes forever, doesn't it?"
｢Hmm. That's… true enough.｣
"Even if I joined you now, the speed boost wouldn't really be worth it…"
Suddenly, her levitating chair flashed. A message popped up on the console—sent by her aide.
'Didn't I tell you not to disturb me? What's this about?'
｢Hm? An emergency transmission, you say?｣
"Huh?"
Not just her—Jubaca too seemed to have received something urgent from his subordinates. His voice through the monument wavered, then faded.
'Did we both just get emergency calls?'
Chloe began to check her console—when Jubaca's voice shot out, sharp with urgency.
｢Chloe! Look at the news immediately!｣
"The news?"
Chloe pulled up the message from her aide. A link was attached, titled "Breaking Emergency Coverage," with only a note: This is huge.
She opened the link, streaming it as a hologram.
｢…For the past four months, I have lived in utter darkness. My free will was crushed, great swaths of my memory erased…｣
"The Old Man?"
On the screen appeared Akira Yujin, CEO of Megacorp.
But this was unlike the man's polished usual appearances. He looked gaunt, frail, clad in a patient's white gown, fingers clutching a respirator.
｢The Cult did not stop at brainwashing me—they went further, abducting me. If not for an explosion in a scrapyard nearby, damaging their transport vessel… cough, cough… I might never have escaped.｣
"The Cult? Abduction? You have got to be kidding me…"
｢No. It's on every single Megacorp channel right now.｣
Under the broadcast, captions scrolled nonstop: 'Megacorp CEO discovered near scrapyard system,' 'Was the Imperial Council behind the abduction?' 'Cult-linked stocks plummet!'
Chloe quickly switched channels. Every broadcast was the same.
'The Cult abducting him? What kind of absurd nonsense is this?'
And still, Akira's voice carried on.
｢This abduction is an act of terrorism that shakes the very order of the universe. I, Akira Yujin, will never stand idly by in the face of such injustice. Therefore, I call upon the Cult Empire to cooperate fully in investigating these terrorists. If they refuse, then… cough! Cough!…we may have no choice but to resort to force!｣
｢We apologize for the unstable broadcast. We, DailyMars, are now attempting to contact the Yujin family for further details on this shocking abduction…｣
"..."
As soon as Akira's broadcast ended, Chloe shut off the hologram.
"…We'll have to postpone the project discussion."
｢That would be wise.｣
The moment the transmission cut, Chloe immediately summoned her aides and researchers.
The situation had taken a turn no one had foreseen—but one truth stood out crystal clear.
The stable order of the universe was about to be shaken to its foundations.
And the announcement they had just witnessed marked the very turning point.
***
I had a long dream.
In that dream, I wandered not Earth, but the vastness of space. I visited countless planets, met beings of every form.
Most were my enemies… but some became my friends. With them I shared adventures. With them I endured crises.
There was a bond between us. Though we were of different races, we lived not merely as friends—but as family.
｢■■■■?｣
In reality, I had never known such connections. I had no friends, and my ties with family were poor at best.
Perhaps that was why… in the dream, I was happy.
If only reality could be the same…
｢■■■!｣
'Who…?'
Someone was calling to me. A voice that carried both a warmth I knew and a desperation that felt strange.
I was certain it belonged to someone familiar—but the memories would not come. Like fragments of a dream slipping away upon waking, everything was hazy.
I wanted to ask, Who are you? But my mouth would not open. My body refused to move, as if bound by sleep paralysis.
"Ah? Th-the patient is waking up!"
A high-pitched voice stabbed at my ears. At the same time, sensation crashed over me, like surf pulling me from sleep.
The steady rhythm of a beeping monitor. The faint sting of antiseptic in the air.
The voice was unfamiliar… but everything else was not. I opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw—white curtains I recognized.
And beneath them, I realized—I was lying on a hospital bed.
'Why am I here?'
Just moments before, I had been somewhere else—somewhere that saved no lives, only destroyed them.
'…I can't remember.'
As fragments slipped away, someone yanked open the curtain—and suddenly threw their arms around me, pressing me tight.
"■■! Are you alright!?"
"Ah…ahh."
"Gods, thank you! Thank you so much! My son—my son Hyun-seo has awoken! Thank you—thank you!"
The man's sobs shook against me. The instant I heard his voice, I realized who it was.
A voice I had not heard in so long—yet one I could never forget.
"F…Father…?"
It was my father's voice.
"Hyun-seo's father! He's really—Hyun-seo, my dear!"
My mother burst in with nurses, covering her mouth in shock as tears welled in her eyes.
The sight of both their faces cleared my mind like skies after a storm. Worries that had bound me fled like mist into nothing.
And I understood. Finally, I had awakened from the long dream.
｢■■■….｣
"Please! The patient must not be agitated yet! Guardians, step outside for now—he needs time to stabilize!"
The room was soon full of commotion.
And so… the strange voice that had brushed past my ear in that fleeting moment, I forgot just as quickly.
—————
Not long after I awoke, the doctor came. He patiently explained everything that had happened.
'Over a year in a coma…'
I had thought I'd been asleep a long while but never would I have imagined lying in a hospital bed for more than a year. Hearing it left me stunned.
The doctors and my parents had tried everything to treat me, but nothing worked. My body was healthy, yet for reasons unknown, I remained trapped in sleep. Until, suddenly, today… I woke up.
"Are you sure you're really okay to leave?"
Now, not long after, I was sitting in my father's car, heading back to my tiny apartment.
Incredibly, aside from some muscle loss, my body was almost fine. Even the doctor had eventually agreed to discharge me, saying we'd simply keep an eye on things with regular checkups.
'I've had enough of hospitals.'
I'd been a prisoner there for over a year already. I couldn't stand any more time within its walls. I wanted out and my parents respected that.
After dozens of tests, I was finally discharged by nightfall.
"You should've stayed longer."
"I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry."
"He just said he's fine. Keeping him in that place any longer, even though I might get sick."
"Tch."
From the passenger seat, my mother gave my father a sharp look. He only replied with a sheepish laugh.
Odd. The parents I remembered would've turned that into an argument on the spot.
After all, though they had never divorced, they had lived separately for years now. I couldn't even remember the last time the three of us had ridden in the same car together probably when I was still a child.
"Ahem. I wasn't going to bring this up right after you'd just woken up, but…"
I caught my father's eyes flick toward me in the rear-view mirror as he spoke.
"After you collapsed, I began rethinking family. Not just me your mother as well."
"..."
"What I mean is… we're taking it slow, trying to understand each other again. It sounds ridiculous saying it now, after all this time, but…"
"Honestly. Can you stop saying such things to him when he's barely awake?"
My mother muttered in mild protest.
In my memories, she'd always been cold in expression, tone, everything about her. But now, even her complaints carried a softness I barely recognized.
"No… I'm glad. Really. I like it, seeing the two of you getting along again."
"…That's good to hear."
After that, the car fell into silence.
It felt familiar. There'd been another time like this when I'd just suffered those severe burns. Back then too, it had seemed like everything might finally turn for the better. But it didn't lasted. Clearly.
That fragile silence broke only when we pulled up to my apartment building.
"Well then, I'll head up. Thank you for the ride."
"You're sure you'll be alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Really. Get home safe."
I waved them off and stepped inside alone.
My apartment was on the seventh floor. After taking the elevator up, I stepped out into a gray-lit corridor. Subtle differences told me a year had indeed passed.
'So someone finally moved in next door.'
From the once-empty unit, faint music trickled into the hall.
I remembered then it had been a neighbor who'd found me collapsed and called for help. Without them, I'd probably have died.
It's late tonight. I'll thank them tomorrow.
Casting the briefest glance at the door beside mine, I unlocked my own and stepped in.
Everything inside was exactly as I remembered it. Tossing aside my clothes, I sat straight down at the computer.
"Phew…"
From the dark monitor, my reflection stared back. My face twisted and warped across one entire side by burns.
In that reflection, the truth sank in.
'So it really was all just a dream.'
From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the VR headset neatly resting beside the monitor.
A sudden start to life in Space Survival, awakening as the Amorph.
Killing foes who hunted me, devouring them, growing stronger until I was feared as a monster that ruled them all.
There were other memories too, but they were fading already, slipping away on the way here. Only the faintest afterimages remained, like imprints behind my eyes.
No matter how hard I tried to recall them, the wall inside my head refused to let them through. As if someone had deliberately sealed them off.
'It's probably nothing.'
It was late already, so I readied myself for bed.
I had lost an entire year of my life for reasons I couldn't explain. Now there was school to return to, responsibilities to pick up again, countless things demanding my attention.
I had no time to waste dwelling on dreams.
For a long while I tossed and turned. Just as I was finally about to drift off, I heard something.
｢■■■…｣
At first, I thought it was just music leaking in through the wall from the neighbor's place. The tune felt oddly familiar, something I was sure I'd heard before.
But there was a problem. The voice wasn't coming from the wall. It was too close. So close it felt as though it were inside my own room.
｢■■■…｣
Again, the sound. Familiar. Intimate. The instant I heard it, my eyes snapped open.
And I knew, with absolute certainty, someone was here with me.
That thought proved true.
The first thing I saw as my eyes adjusted was an enormous pink eyeball, the size of a basketball. Its surface glimmered, glowing faintly in the dark. It started unblinking, and from it came the whisper of words I could not understand.
I lurched upright, hand slamming the light switch.
In the bright flood of the room, I found myself alone.
"N… what the hell!?"
But I had seen it. Right there where my VR headset lay I had seen something. The monster.
Cautiously, I switched the light off again. Darkness spread back across the room.
Nothing.
No strange eyeballs. No creature.
'Did I just imagine it?'
But there was nothing in my room that could be mistaken for such a thing. And it hadn't felt like the half-conscious blur of a dream either. Even now, the image of that massive eye remains vivid, burned into my mind.
Next week I had a scheduled hospital check-up. I decided I'd bring it up then.
For now, I left the lights on and lay back in bed.
It was only in that uneasy glow that I finally fell asleep.
***
"Mr. Hyun-seo?"
"Yes?"
Someone was calling me.
On the mahogany table in front of me sat two cups of coffee. Opposite me, a man in a white coat sat on the sofa.
"You suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Are you alright?"
"Ah yes, I'm fine."
The memory drifted back as I answered.
This was a consultation room. The man in the white coat was my therapist, the one who managed my mental evaluations.
Today was my weekly check-up.
"You look fatigued. Are you having trouble sleeping?"
"Uh, yes. You could say that…"
"Because of the visions you mentioned last time?"
He was right.
Ever since I'd been discharged, the pink-eyed creature had appeared nightly, whispering its incomprehensible words. Because of it, I hadn't had a single proper night's rest.
"Hmm. It could be the stress of your past accident, resurfacing from your coma in the form of flashbacks."
"What? But I was told that part was healed."
"The human brain is more complex than modern medicine can fully explain. It's possible some aspects were overlooked during your treatment."
Those words made my chest hollow. Thinking about reliving that pain again sent cold sweat down my spine.
"There's no need for an alarm. It seems to be only a temporary symptom. I'll prescribe you something to help lessen it."
"If I take it… will it really help?"
"I guarantee you'll feel the effect the moment you start." The most update n0vels are published on novel✶fire.net
The counselor smiled warmly as he said it.
That ended our session. I left with the medication in hand.
On the bus ride home, something unsettled me. I'd taken this route countless times since waking, yet today it felt strange. As though I was traveling there for the first time.
'Maybe it's just exhaustion and the medicine will fix it.'
When I got back to my apartment, I wasted no time tearing open the packet. The hallucinations never showed themselves during the day, but that didn't mean my heart was at ease.
"..."
Inside was a capsule the color of deep, vivid violet. Without hesitation, I swallowed it down with water.
"…Hm?"
The therapist was right. The effect was immediate. The anxious weight filling my chest lifted, washed away like it had never been. And with it came a firm conviction the visions and voices would vanish too.
Of course, the true test would come at night… but already my body felt lulled, heavy with sleep.
It hadn't been minutes since I'd come home, yet I collapsed into bed and drifted away.
***
In the depths where no light could reach, the sea pressed down without mercy.
A massive marine beast swam forward with steady strokes of its fins. A predator by nature, it moved in silence, stalking its prey.
Ahead, an unwitting creature glimmered faintly.
In this cruel abyss, to expose oneself with such radiant bioluminescence was suicide. That fool would soon be the predator's meal.
The carnivore closed the distance, inch by careful inch. The sparkling prey drifted, unknowing, almost inviting.
When the moment was right, the hunter lashed its tail-fin. Its vast body shot forward like a torpedo. But then, without warning, its target's light vanished.
The predator faltered, suddenly blind, and worse, something far stranger stirred nearby.
A shape of shadow, twisting faintly in the dark. Long, mountainous ridges that resolved themselves into writhing limbs and tentacles.
And waiting below… was their master.
The predator tried to swerve, but it was impossible. With its body so committed to the rush, it could not change course. Only then did realization strike: the true prey had been itself.
From the abyss, an immense tentacle surged upward and caught it. Bones shattered like twigs. In an instant, the hunter was no more.
｢Got you.｣
The one who spoke was the sea demon Number 26. Clutching its meal, it sank deeper, down past the ocean floor and toward the yawning trench below.
At the trench's midpoint lay a cavern. Number 26 glided inside.
There, sprawled across the chamber, was a monster as vast as itself. A being of many limbs and three great heads. To the Cult, it was known as the Three-Headed Demon.
｢Big Sister, food's here!｣
Number 26 pulsed with bright, lively waves as it pressed near the silent leviathan. The Demon did not stir.
｢Today's meal was a stupid fish. Long ago, stupid fishes bullied my family.｣
It seemed accustomed to the silence. Wrapping a tentacle around the Demon's jaws, Number 26 gently pried them open, then carefully slipped the prey inside.
｢Stupid fishes like shiny things, so I tricked it with shiny, shiny lights. Clever, right?｣
Once the meal was fed, Number 26 extended a violet shield over the cavern, like sunlight cast into the deep sea.
｢Honestly, I wanted to punish the greedy Many-Limbs instead. Because of them, we had to leave our home and run away. Bad, greedy thing.｣
The glow encased both herself and the unmoving titan.
｢Back then, I had so many family here. We swam together, shared food. Sometimes, we all joined forces to chase away stupid fishes! Amazing, right?｣
The effort drained her, until she slumped against one of the Demon's massive heads, her body dimming from bright pink to pale shadow. Still, she chatted on through waves.
｢Now no one's left. The bad people took them all. But it's okay! We punished them, you and me, Big Sister!｣
｢I lost my old family… but I found a new one. You, Big Sister, Little Sister, Middle Sister, Friend, Small Friend, and even tiny kind humans. Now I have a big family again!｣
｢Though… Little Sister can be mean sometimes. She says she's grown now, won't even listen to me. But I'm older! That's not fair.｣
｢Middle Sister takes such good care of the tiny kind humans. But sometimes she looks lonely. Maybe she needs more family too.｣
｢Friend and Small Friend always fighting, even though they're family. Guess they're still too young.｣
｢…I hope they're all doing well. I miss them.｣
Her waves, once bubbling with liveliness, ebbed into a quieter murmur. The pink aura that lit her body sank into a dull flicker.
Every day since she'd come here, Number 26 had shared her heart with the silent giant: her past, her deeds, her fears, her hopes. Day after day, pouring herself out.
But 'Big Sister' never answered. Not once.
｢I still have so much to tell you. So much I want to show you. That's why…｣
She reached out a single tentacle, tenderly pressing it against the Demon's head.
｢I'll help you wake up.｣
The same treatment she had tried countless times before, without result.
And yet Number 26 refused to give up.
One day, she believed, there would be an answer.
So once again, she poured her power into the slumbering Demon.
——————
"Mr. Hyun-seo?"
Someone's voice stirred me awake. As soon as I opened my eyes, the familiar smell of coffee rushed into my nose.
"You said it's been over two weeks since your last hallucination, right? At this rate, you should make a full recovery soon. Congratulations."
The counselor sitting across from me at the mahogany table flashed a friendly smile. For more chapters visit novelꜰire.net
'Ah.'
This was my regular therapy session. I must have dozed off for a bit.
"I also heard your relationship with your family has improved. Is that true?"
"Family…."
The mention of that word brought a memory to mind.
Just last week, we'd all gathered at my father's house for dinner. It was the first time since my parents separated. It wasn't as comfortable as before, but still… satisfying, I suppose. I could tell they felt the same way.
Eating together like that really is a joy.
I know this well. I used to gather with the others and feed with them too.
'…Huh?'
A memory I shouldn't have suddenly surfaced in my mind—something that never happened.
Ever since I started living alone, I've never once shared a meal with anyone.
'Then why…?'
"Come to think of it, you said you were preparing to return to school. How's that going?"
"Eh? Oh—yes."
The counselor's question cut through my unease.
"I'm set to go back next month. Already finished registering for classes."
"Good. That's a wise decision. If you have any friends, perhaps they can help you ease back in."
"Friends?"
There's no way I'd have something like that. Nobody wants to be around a man whose face is half-burned. Being ignored would be the best outcome.
'At least… in college, it hadn't been that bad. But still.'
I didn't want to risk getting close to anyone only to feel like I did back then.
"Hmm."
The counselor sighed softly and interlaced his fingers.
"Alright then, I'll give you a bit of homework."
"Homework?"
"Yes. By next month, I want you to find someone you can share a meal with—anyone, except family."
"…Sorry?"
"A friend, a classmate, even just someone you eat with once. It doesn't matter. All I want is for you to come back and tell me about the experience."
Before I could protest, the session ended.
As usual, I picked up my medication and headed back to my officetel.
'Make a friend out of nowhere, just like that?'
By the end of this semester, I'll already have enough credits to graduate. At this point, running around looking for someone to eat with felt ridiculous.
'I'll just tell him next time that I couldn't do it.'
That's what I thought as I stepped into the elevator.
Just before the doors closed, footsteps echoed from the hall.
"Wait, please!"
I held the door, and a young woman hurried in. I shifted into the corner, making sure the burn scars on my face weren't visible.
"Thank you so much!"
She bowed her head in gratitude. I simply nodded back.
'…Wait.'
Her face looked oddly familiar. She turned away right after greeting me, but I was certain—I'd seen her before. Not too long ago, either.
'Was she… a nurse from the hospital?'
"Excuse me?"
She suddenly addressed me.
"Do you live in unit 701?"
"Yes? I… do. Why?"
"Ah, I thought so! Are you alright now?"
She spoke as if she already knew me. Her tone was warm, familiar.
'…She even knows where I live. Oh.'
"You must be… in 702?"
"Exactly! I moved in last year."
That's when it clicked. I'd been told once that I was only rescued from my coma because of my neighbor—the one who reported the strange noises when I collapsed.
The elevator stopped on the seventh floor. She and I stepped out together.
"Thank you, for back then."
"Oh no, don't mention it. I was only coming over to introduce myself when I heard the sound. Just coincidence. Anyway—you're doing okay now?"
"Well… yes. More or less."
"That's a relief! I worried you might still be sick."
She was cheerful, outgoing. That was probably the only reason the short walk down the narrow hallway was filled with her easy chatter.
"Well then, I'll let you get home."
"Um, excuse me."
"Yes?"
As we each reached for our doors, my mouth moved of its own accord.
"As a way of thanking you… may I treat you to a meal sometime?"
The moment I said it, I regretted it.
This was our second time meeting. Altogether, we'd spoken for less than ten minutes.
"Of course you may. When were you thinking?"
Her easy acceptance surprised me. I had expected her to refuse right away.
"Uh… how about tomorrow noon?"
"That works! Oh—may I pick the restaurant? There's a place I really like."
"Uh, yes, that's fine."
"Perfect! Then let me get your number too."
Before I knew it, we had already exchanged numbers.
"Your name is Hyun-seo Lee, right?"
"Yes. That's right."
"I'm Yoo Si-hyun. Nice to properly meet you."
"Si-hyun…?"
That name sounded oddly familiar.
Well, it wasn't exactly uncommon, so maybe that was it.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow!"
With that, she slipped into her apartment.
"…What just happened?"
Only after her door shut did it all sink in. Something straight out of a drama or novel had just happened to me.
Even after I got home, I was still dazed when my phone buzzed.
It was a message—from next door. She'd sent me the name of a restaurant near my university.
'Is this for real?'
I hadn't made plans with a woman since middle school, when I'd been invited to a classmate's birthday party. Back then, I was given an address, ended up in the wrong place, waited alone for ages, and eventually went home humiliated.
But this… this felt different. Even from our short exchange, I could sense that my neighbor's friendliness was genuine. She carried no malice, no hidden edge.
Maybe that's what left me so unsettled. In all my life, I'd never really experienced anything like this.
'Wait… no. That's not quite true, is it? Not too long ago, with the others…'
The thought brought a sudden image to mind: a pink, many-eyed monster. Then, coiling immediately after it, the massive body of a crimson serpent.
"Urgh?!"
A piercing headache slammed into me. My chest tightened, as though I'd been plunged underwater without air.
"Cough—khh, khhh!"
I fumbled for the vial of pills and tossed a purple tablet into my mouth.
"Haa…."
Just like that, the pain drained away, the dizziness clearing into sharp awareness. Relief spilled from me in a long exhale.
I'd thought I was cured. But clearly, I wasn't there yet.
The counselor's words rang true: to adapt to reality, I do need someone's help.
'Alright then. This time… I'll make sure to carry out the assignment.'
Half-sinking into the drug's softened haze, I let that promise settle in my mind.
***
A dining hall, its walls made of steel.
It was large enough to seat hundreds, but only two people occupied it.
One was an old man, his body towering at nearly two meters, built of solid muscle. If not for the white hair and deep creases etched across his face, no one would have guessed he was elderly.
Seated opposite him was a middle-aged man who projected the opposite impression. Dressed in a black suit, his appearance made it difficult to judge his exact age.
"Not fond of meat?"
The old man tore into the bone-in cut like a predator feeding on prey.
"This is sirloin from a Hond Gigant. Quite a delicacy."
"Thank you for the offer, Lord Walter. But my balance would break if I consumed anything outside of my regimen."
The man waved a hand as he spoke, his ordinary palm shifting into a beast's forepaw for an instant before returning.
Walter St. Kay clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"Tch tch. Can't even tear into proper meat, yet you go through all that genetic modification."
"My enhancements are exclusively for combat. Other services available from Yujin are not this restrictive."
"Hah. 'Services provided by Yujin,' you make it sound clean."
Then his expression sharpened.
"Since we're on the subject—your master. He's been looking worn out lately. You sure you don't need to return?"
The state of the megacorporations was chaos.
The Outspacer grand offensive had ended, but a new crisis loomed immediately: war with the Cult Empire.
Ever since the CEO's abduction a month ago, relations between the two powers were a nightmare. Everyone expected open conflict any day now, and the CEO's workload had only multiplied.
"My lady gave me clear orders: to support Lord Walter until you capture 'the ultimate prey.' I cannot return before that task is done."
"Hmph. Is that so."
Walter knew Akira well—and understood why she saw this butler as more of a tool than a man.
In truth, the butler's combat capability surpassed even the Yujin clan's elite Shadows. His body was engineered to its limits, and he carried combat experience few could match.
The only reason Akira kept lending him out was exactly as he said: to aid Walter in seizing the greatest quarry.
"Catching that beast would indeed take more than one man."
The monster had revealed itself at the Battle of NEO-3. Though Akira had requested the hunt months earlier, that was Walter's first time seeing it in person.
The creature's recorded combat power was overwhelming, beyond anything he had witnessed. The Cults called it the 'Three-Headed Demon' and the name suited it perfectly.
It was only the second prey, after Vortex-One, to ever stir genuine shivers of awe and dread in Walter.
"Maybe this hunt will be my last."
He had lived his life chasing prey. Dying in a struggle against something stronger than himself didn't sound like a bad end.
'Not that I'll make it easy for the bastard.'
The monster was strong as Vortex-One, yes—but not immortal.
At NEO-3, it had appeared with only two heads left, wounded, and retreating from the battlefield.
If it bleeds, it can be killed.
The hunt would be brutal, but that never mattered. As always, he would prepare—and Walter was nearly finished with preparations already.
As the meal wound down, his adjutant approached.
"My lord. We've found traces likely left by the Three-Headed Demon."
"Oh?"
"From those, we've narrowed its possible hideouts to seven locations."
The adjutant activated his device, projecting floating holograms of several planets. Walter dabbed his mouth with a napkin and rose.
"Good. Then let's begin."
The old hunter's eyes locked onto the seven miniature worlds.
Among them was even an oceanic planet—the same type the Yujin family used as a harvesting ground for biological samples.
——————
"Mr. Hyun-seo, you look to be in a good mood today."
'Had I been smiling without realizing it? The counselor's eyes were on me.'
"Something good happened?"
"Oh, yes. Well… it's nothing specific. Lately I just feel like everything's turning out right."
"Hah. That's the first time I've seen you like this."
I scratched my cheek instead of answering.
Because it's true.
Before I fell into the coma, my life had been a wreck.
College was meaningless—I had no friends, no one to contact. I spent entire days barricaded in my room, lost in full-immersion VR games.
Even when circumstances forced me to step outside, there was no joy. No goals. No desires. Unhappiness was inevitable.
But everything had changed. Completely.
"By the way, how are things with that club you mentioned joining?"
"Really well. Everyone's been kind, helping me adjust. I've been working hard to learn."
Right before returning to school, I joined a club. That was thanks to my neighbor, Yoo Si-hyun—the one who'd invited me out for a meal.
That day over lunch, we talked and discovered that we not only attended the same university, but also shared a passion: films.
She was already active in a campus film club. Listening to her talk about it, I'd been intrigued… and ended up joining.
It was the first club I'd ever been part of in my life.
"I hadn't realized you were interested in movies. Perhaps your mother's influence?"
"Actually, I've never discussed that with my mother. If anything, my father was the one most interested."
My mother was an actress—famous enough that nearly anyone would recognize her name. But in our home, she never spoke about acting or her roles.
My love for classic horror and sci-fi films came entirely from my father.
"Why not use this chance to talk about it with her?"
"I don't know. She's never shown any interest before. I doubt it would be any different now."
"But you didn't expect yourself to change, did you? I'm sure she'd understand."
To imagine discussing hobbies with my mother once, that idea would've sounded absurd. Now, though, somehow it felt possible.
"If there's something you want, give it a try. Don't be afraid of how it might turn out."
It was the sort of vague advice that usually sounded empty, but for some reason… it struck home.
Everything really was going well lately. Every wish I'd made was being granted, as though some god had decided to humor me.
Of course, that was impossible.
Maybe the truth was simpler, just as he said: the real problem was always my outlook. Always seeing the worst, always giving up before I even started.
At least now, things were finally improving.
Thanks to counseling, I was healing.
"Well, let's wrap up here. Do you have any questions before we end?"
"Yes. About the medication—how long will I need to keep taking it?"
The thought had struck me suddenly as I was about to stand.
"It's been a long time since I last had a hallucination. Wouldn't it be fine to stop by now?"
"Ah… I see what you mean."
The counsellor shook his head with a troubled look.
"It's not that simple. Even if the symptoms improve, stopping abruptly is dangerous. If they relapse, treatment becomes even harder."
"I see."
"Besides, the medication also contains ingredients for anxiety relief. If we want to address not only the hallucinations but your anxiety itself, you'll need to continue."
It was a fair point. I did feel calmer every time I took the pills.
"So don't skip your doses. Understood?"
"Yes."
So far, everything my counselor had suggested had proven right. I collected my prescription quietly and returned home.
'Looks like I've got a little time to spare.'
On days I had scheduled medical checkups, I always left the rest of my afternoon free. Until the club seminar that evening, I had nothing to do.
Sitting idly at my desk, I caught sight of the VR headset lying nearby—the one I hadn't touched since waking from the coma.
Funny. Back then, I wore it more often than I took it off.
I used to all but live inside Space Survival. Sleep was the only time I logged out.
I picked up the headgear-shaped device.
Maybe I should try logging in again, see what's changed.
I slipped it on. With a startup chime, the familiar interface flickered into view. I selected Space Survival from the menu.
But instead of the sweeping orchestral theme and main-title screen, a simple text box greeted me.
'…Service terminated?'
So the game had actually died in the time I'd been gone.
It wasn't too surprising. Space Survival had been a clunky, outdated mess from the start, riddled with absurd mechanics. With so many competitors, survival was unlikely.
'Come to think of it, didn't they announce a sequel?'
I even remembered getting an email about participating in the closed beta.
In fact… hadn't I accepted? The memory was hazy, but I recalled launching the game after that acceptance—
'Wait… what was that?'
A strange memory surfaced, then evaporated. Something crucial. Something I absolutely should not forget.
'What was I just remembering?'
I tried to grasp it again, but it slipped away like the fragments of a dream upon waking. Only the feeling remained—that I had once received an enormously important invitation.
I yanked off the headset and dug through my old emails. Nothing. Whatever I thought I remembered simply wasn't there.
'Was it all in my head?'
There wasn't a single trace. Nothing but a faint afterimage in my mind, and the emotion it had left behind—disquiet. A wordless warning, as if some primal instinct urged me: don't forget.
I tore through the online forums, every community I could find. No mention, no record of a closed beta, no discussion of that email.
'But I'm sure it was real. Somewhere… it has to be.'
I plunged deeper into the search, scrolling, clicking, racing from site to site—when suddenly, there was a knock at my door.
It was Si-hyun.
"Huh?"
Dang. A glance at my phone made me jolt upright. The time had flown, far more than I realized. A message from her already waited: Let's head to the seminar together.
Frantically, I got ready and opened the door. She stood there, neatly dressed, polished—
"Hyun-seo oppa, are you alright? Why didn't you answer me?"
"Oh—sorry. I was busy with something and missed it."
"Today was your hospital visit, wasn't it? Is it… your health?"
"No, it's fine. Let's just go."
We stepped out together.
"You know, usually this is the kind of thing guys are supposed to say to girls."
"You told me yourself—our film club doesn't see gender, only cinephiles."
"That's not how the phrase is supposed to work."
"You had me worried for nothing."
"Yeah, sorry."
"Anyway. Are you free this weekend?"
"This weekend? I'll probably just stay home."
"Then let's go shopping for clothes together. It's autumn soon."
"…Clothes? With me?"
"Mm-hm."
"To be honest, I really don't know much about that stuff."
"Relax. I'll handle it. Think of it as your junior carefully picking outfits for her respected senior."
"Uh… alright then."
Before I could think it through, I'd agreed. Her lips curved in a small, pleased smile.
'Shopping. Together. For clothes? Why…?'
Was it just because we were neighbors? Was this normal? I'd been so isolated from people, I didn't even know anymore.
'She can't mean it like… a date, right?'
I liked her, sure. But that didn't mean she felt the same. Maybe she really just wanted company while she picked out outfits.
'Except… couldn't she go with her other friends for that? Why me?'
My head churned with endless theories until I was dizzy.
So dizzy that everything strange about what had happened at home—the memory, the missing email, that visceral warning—slipped from my mind completely.
***
I opened my eyes, and there was nothing but blackness.
A space filled only with darkness. The instant I saw it, I knew: I was dreaming.
As if to prove that fact, the black expanse shifted. It rippled like the trembling surface of some fathomless lake.
And then—something submerged within that gloom rose to the surface.
A colossal head emerged, crowned with horns and shelled in heavy plates of chitin. Its monstrous features looked like something out of a nightmare.
But I felt no fear. Only a deep sense of familiarity. Because I knew what it was.
The Amorph.
In Space Survival, it was the creature I loved most. That monster lifted its gaze, vast eyes the size of a human head fixing directly on me.
That gaze stirred déjà vu. Somehow, I had stood in this place before.
Without thinking, I reached out my hand. I knew—if this were like before—the Amorph would lower its head into my palm.
But this time, it didn't move. Instead, it bared its teeth and growled, as though protesting.
A protest? The thought unsettled me.
No one cherished the Amorph more than I had. No one. That's why only I had raised one all the way to Ascension.
And yet—to feel resentment aimed at me, its dearest companion… impossible.
As if sensing those thoughts, the beast opened its jaws in a silent roar.
But it wasn't anger. It wasn't hostility. It was a warning. A desperate wake up.
And then I saw it.
Beneath the Amorph's looming head, another figure swam up from the gloom.
A small, pink jellyfish-like being. One I knew well.
It called out frantically—
｢Big One!｣
"Urk?!"
Agony tore me out of the dream.
I shot upright, clutching my skull. An extreme headache crushed down as though trying to force me into forgetting what I had just seen.
Yet even through the pain, a single thought burned in my mind.
"Why…?"
'Why am I only realizing this now?'
All this time, in this very room, a presence had been crying out for me.
The pink, many-eyed creature I had dismissed, feared, and rejected.
It was never a hallucination.
No. It was my first companion in Space Survival.
My precious family.
"…Number 26!"
The moment I whispered its name, the darkness claimed me, and consciousness fled.
——————