His lower back throbbed from being kicked twice. Hong Ye-seong, he would surely get revenge. Grinding his teeth, Cha Eui-jae slowly rose to his feet. The sand under his hands and feet was soft. No, it wasn't sand.
He bent down and lifted what had piled up on the ground. The pure white powder flowed softly down and scattered in his hand. It was too soft to be sand, yet it didn't stick to his hands like ash.
Then what was this?
Cha Eui-jae looked up at the sky. Large snowflakes were falling from the hazy sky. Cha Eui-jae reached out his hand. The moment a single snowflake landed on his calloused hand,
"…I love you, darling."
The face and voice of an unknown man flashed through his mind and vanished. The man was spitting up blood, having been pierced through the stomach by something resembling a pipe. Cha Eui-jae hurriedly clutched his palm. What was that just now? He reached out his hand again. Another snowflake landed.
"…I don't want to die…"
This time, it was a woman's whisper. She was crouching, hiding beneath a building. Blood flowing from her side pooled on the ground. As expected, it was an unfamiliar face. Watching the snow pouring down from the sky, Cha Eui-jae suddenly realized something.
This wasn't snow…
'Are these the last memories of the dead?'
The memories, shattered into tiny pieces like snow, became one with the desert dust the moment they hit the ground. A chilling premonition ran down his spine.
Could this vast desert have been made of people's memories?
The desert was so vast that the end was nowhere in sight. Even the pure white horizon visible in the distance was hazy. How many people's memories must be sleeping here? He could not even dare to imagine.
These were not the memories of Cha Eui-jae's world alone. It must be a desert formed by the accumulation of memories from countless other worlds destroyed by the apocalypse.
How many worlds have perished?
Cha Eui-jae moved his stiff legs and advanced forward, stepping over the memories of the people. He raised his voice.
"Lee Sa-young!"
Cha Eui-jae couldn't have arrived alone. If it was Hong Ye-seong, he must have sent Lee Sa-young as well. He had to find him. Cha Eui-jae called out again.
"Lee Sa-young! Where are you?!"
No answer came back. Cha Eui-jae looked up. The memories of the people continued to descend without stopping. At first glance, it was a beautiful scene, like snow falling, but knowing the reality sent shivers down his spine.
How many people were dying? In his absence?
Cha Eui-jae gritted his teeth. He knew it in his head. He had to find the source of the apocalypse. That was why he had to stop this dreadful snow. So that no more people would die.
However,
He opened his hand. The long scar remained on his hand, upon which a golden chain gleamed. Cha Eui-jae clenched his fist.
"…Sa-young-ah!"
He could not leave Lee Sa-young behind.
Instead of waiting for an answer that would not return, Cha Eui-jae pushed off the ground. His gray hair fluttered in the wind. His body staggered as if about to fall.
"You come find me first. Like you did before."
Cha Eui-jae did not know who had said those words. Because Lee Sa-young was not at the West Sea rift. Because he was at the research institute at the time. But…
Cha Eui-jae gritted his teeth. He regained his balance, which had been staggering as if about to fall. He ran. Beneath his feet, pure white powder, memories of unknown people, scattered into the air.
***
The light pouring down from the sky gradually faded. The white hole, swirling pure white, was tinged with black, until it finally became a perfect black. The apocalypse had closed its eye.
"Its eye… has closed!"
Woo! A cheer erupted from the control room. Ham Seok-jeong let out a sigh of relief. However, she could not let her guard down. Not until it had completely vanished from the sky. She gave orders in a stern voice.
"Do not let your guard down. Collect the casualties and proceed with the rescue operation! We don't know when it might open its eye again!"
The hunters began to move busily. Seo Min-gi subtly crept up to her side. He whispered in a low voice.
"Hunter Song Jo-heon has reportedly opened the prison door and left."
"Hmph, so he only made up his mind after everything was over? Such a shame there wasn't a chance for him to shine."
Ham Seok-jeong scoffed briefly.
"Should we bring him back?"
"Let him go. Bringing him back would be a waste of manpower."
Seo Min-gi shrugged his shoulders and disappeared back into the shadows. She stared at the screen with piercing eyes.
"What is the situation at the Seowon Guild?"
"It is already overcrowded! They say they can no longer accommodate the injured, so they are prioritizing mutated patients. Civilians and general patients are being directed to private hospitals."
"Make sure the hospital's power doesn't get cut off, and deploy personnel to guide the injured. And…."
At that moment, a red goldfish popped out from right by her ear. The goldfish swam leisurely right in front of Ham Seok-jeong's nose, wagging its tail.
[We'll handle that, Director~]
It was a sly voice. She burst into a laugh of disbelief and asked,
"Have you finally settled on a new residence?"
[Don't even get me started. Moving is no joke.]
"…You ask where my new place is? I'll tell you later. That's not important right now."
A blue light flickered in the dark room. It was light emanating from a massive screen that filled the wall. The young man, perched on the desk in front of the screen with his legs crossed, tapped his loafers. He held his phone to his ear and wore a relaxed smile.
"There's no need to waste precious manpower guiding the injured, right~? I'll assign a goldfish to each of them to guide them. Right, hyung?"
"Uh, yeah…"
As the young man sitting in the chair typed something, the screen expanded and a large map appeared. The younger Mackerel got down from the desk and put his arm around his brother's shoulder.
"Okay, tell me where to send the goldfish."
"Ah, got it."
The younger Mackerel adjusted his brother's glasses, which had slipped down slightly, and waved over the phone.
"If you share the data from each bureau as well, things will proceed faster~ Please send the data to the number we usually contact. Oh, the price? We can negotiate the price later, right? Yes, yes~ Oh, thank you~"
Pop!
The goldfish swimming in front of her vanished into smoke. It was timely assistance in a situation where every single person was precious. She changed her instructions.
"The Mackerel Brothers will handle the guidance of the injured! The deployed hunters should take charge of transporting the injured who have difficulty moving. What happened with Team Leader Jung?"
"The civilians have been subdued by the police, and Honeybee-nim has already subdued hunter Matthew. He is currently being escorted to the bureau."
"Understood. Then…"
"…Ah!"
The hunter's face turned pale as he watched the screen. Ham Seok-jeong leaned on her cane and approached the hunter.
"What is going on?"
"Th-the eye…"
He pointed at the screen with trembling fingers. The image he was watching was a camera aimed at the vortex in the sky.
The edge of the black hole was turning white again.
"…Damn it, how long has it been since it closed it?!"
Ham Seok-jeong raised her voice.
"Make contact immediately! Don't let your guard down! We have to deal with this again!"
Cold sweat pooled on her palms. She closed her eyes. She shouldn't entrust everything to just one person. But…
"J…!"
At this moment, it was inevitable that she would look for that one person. With her eyes closed, Ham Seok-jeong prayed earnestly. That he would succeed, and that he would return safely.
***
Lee Sa-young.
Amidst the noise of the airport, a voice called out to his ears. A young Lee Sa-young, clutching a doll in his arms, suddenly stopped and turned his head. Had someone called his name? He looked around, but saw no one but people hurrying on their way. His mother, who had been holding his hand, also stopped.
"Sa-young-ah, what is it?"
"…Nothing."
Did he hear wrong? Lee Sa-young blinked his dark eyes. His mother pulled his hand closer and spoke affectionately.
"Then let's hurry. I booked a window seat for you, Sa-young. Let's look outside as we go. Okay?"
"…Yes."
Lee Sa-young nodded. The moment he stood at the end of the long line, the scenery before his eyes jumbled.
When he opened his eyes, he was holding a massive spear. The spear was piercing through something grotesquely twisted, he couldn't tell if it was human or a monster. Red blood dripped from the tip of the spear. His hands trembled. He was afraid. He was terrified. Of the situation before his eyes.
In front of him, the people dismembering the monster stared at him. Their faces were hollow and empty. He struggled to compose himself, forcing out a voice that wouldn't come out.
"…Don't eat it."
"…"
"If you eat it… you might end up like hunter ■■■. Don't eat it."
No answer came back. The people mechanically moved their hands and began dismembering the monster. He closed his eyes. A sense of powerlessness weighed down his entire body.
Lee Sa-young.
He heard the sound of his name being called again. In an instant, Lee Sa-young came to his senses. He was in a memory that was not his own. A young man wearing a black mask pulled the spear out of a corpse. Splat, blood splattered onto his body. He staggered, then began to drag the corpse he had killed.
In that instant, Lee Sa-young was overwhelmed by a desire to embrace the slumped shoulders.
His transparent body became a little clearer.