The entire field of vision flickered red. The system window blinked crimson, as if warning.
[■■ You are connecting with the Original Species ■■]
[This ■■ choice cannot be ■■ reversed.]
[No]
[No]
Eui-jae pulled his hand back slightly.
"…What the hell? Neither of these makes sense."
"Does the system have a will of its own now?"
Sa-young clicked his tongue and waved a hand to dismiss the window. But it wouldn't disappear. Instead,
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
[No]
The "No" options began multiplying like mad.
"Hey, don't touch anything yet!"
Eui-jae grabbed Sa-young's waist and yanked him back. The red system windows marked [No] kept appearing with sharp beeps, ding, ding, ding, filling the air, forming a barrier between them and the Core, as if protecting it.
Eui-jae recalled the moment of his awakening. The laws of the system. The system displayed windows to humans and offered them choices: Yes or No.
The human had to make the selection by touching the option directly, with a hand, foot, or even tongue.
In other words, the moment any part of their body touched those crimson options...
"Don't touch those. At all."
"Yeah… The moment we touch them, the [No] activates. Got it."
Sa-young nodded instantly, understanding. The windows kept multiplying in rhythm with the regular beeping.
"What do we do? They're still spreading."
"Do you trust me?"
Sa-young narrowed his eyes at him. Eui-jae ran a hand through his hair in irritation.
"Fine. Go ahead, do whatever reckless thing you're planning again."
Eui-jae didn't answer with words. He ran, sliding forward. He gestured toward the forming wall of [No]s, the lower part wasn't yet complete.
Sa-young nodded once. In the next instant, both of them sprinted like bullets, dropping to the ground and sliding.
Crash!
Their bodies jolted from scratches on the floor, but Eui-jae gritted his teeth and crossed the forming barrier. There was no time to hesitate.
They both leapt up. And together, they struck the luminous sphere, the Core of the Apocalypse.
Crack!!
The surface split. Eui-jae clenched his teeth harder and punched again.
Bang!
The Core shuddered violently and shattered into fragments. Their fists collided midair, thud!
They quickly withdrew, clutching their bruised knuckles. The fragments hit the floor and turned to dust.
"Ah!"
"Damn, that thing's tough… I almost broke my hand."
Before they could say more, the red [No]s vanished, and the space began to quake. From where the Core had been, a blinding white light burst forth.
Boom!
A massive shockwave threw them backward. Eui-jae grabbed Sa-young's coat, Sa-young's arm wrapped around his waist in return.
"Shit…!"
"Hold on!"
White light engulfed everything. Eui-jae tightened his grip around Sa-young's waist. Then the floor beneath them vanished. They began falling.
"Ugh…!"
Eui-jae looked down, there was nothing but endless void.
'Ah.'
For a moment, he couldn't breathe. He had come here fully prepared not to return, if he could stop the end, if he could grasp that final chance, he didn't care what would be the cost. Even if it meant death.
The Apocalypse was destroyed. The system was gone. After countless failures, he had finally succeeded.
And now, he was falling into the void with Lee Sa-young.
Sa-young didn't belong here. He couldn't let him fall, too. But there was no way out.
'Was this the end?'
Eui-jae stared blankly into the pitch-black emptiness. Then, a large hand cradled the back of his head. A low voice whispered by his ear.
"Remember? What we did back in the desert. When you changed your mind a little."
The white desert flashed through his mind. He nodded, and the fingers gently brushed through his hair.
"Then… think about where you want to go back to."
"…Where I want to go back to?"
"Yeah. The place you belong. And…"
"..."
"The place we belong."
If someone had asked him right after returning from the West Sea Rift, he wouldn't have been able to answer. But now, he could. The people who fought desperately outside. The ones who waited eight years to see him again. The messy, chaotic, but fun people. 'Grandma. Ha-eun. And…'
He held the warmth in his arms tighter.
Even this endless fall, he could endure it, as long as Sa-young was with him.
***
Ssshhh
Splash. Splash.
Creak.
Unfamiliar sounds filled his ears. Eui-jae frowned and blinked open his eyes. Right in front of him, a stupid-looking seagull waddled by.
'…A seagull?'
His pants and shoes were soaked. With effort, he looked down. White waves lapped gently at his legs.
"…The ocean?"
He sat up shakily. A vast blue sea stretched before him.
"You're awake?"
Soft, wet footsteps approached. Sa-young. He had apparently woken first and looked around. Eui-jae tried to hide his relief with a teasing tone.
"Seeing you here means this isn't heaven, huh."
"Guess your mind's working again, since you're talking nonsense."
"…Where are we?"
"The sea. To be exact, the West Sea."
"…"
"It's pretty far from the rift you entered… kind of an isolated area."
The tension drained from his body. Eui-jae leaned back, supporting himself with both hands.
"…Ha, guess we really did survive."
"Looks like we've both got long lives."
"Yeah. Huh, we really made it to the sea, didn't we? Just the two of us."
"…Not exactly how I imagined it."
"Still counts. We kept our promise. What, gonna give me another 0.1% raise?"
"…Maybe."
Sa-young held out a hand.
"Come on. Your pants are getting soaked."
Under the blue sky, white waves broke gently. Standing on the pale sand, Sa-young's hand reached toward him.
Eui-jae stared at that hand for a moment, then looked up. The sunlight made it hard to see his face. He wondered: 'Did Sa-young see me like this back then, too?'
A small smile tugged at his lips. He clasped the offered hand firmly and stood, gripping it like one would a friend's or family's. Together, they began walking along the beach, leaving two sets of footprints side by side.
As Eui-jae swung their joined hands lightly, he said,
"Sa-young."
"Mm?"
"How about we find a place to live? Preferably one with an ocean view."
"…."
"Wouldn't it be nice to see the sea right from the window?"
Sa-young stopped walking. Eui-jae did too. The other gave him a suspicious look.
"…Are you asking me to move in with you?"
"Move in? That sounds way too formal."
"Living with someone isn't exactly easy."
"Yeah, well. I already decided I'd live with you once we got back."
"…"
"It just took a little longer than expected."
Sa-young didn't answer right away. He just squeezed Eui-jae's hand tighter.
"…Building too close to the sea's not great. The salt air corrodes things fast. Lots of maintenance, sea fog too."
"Really? Didn't know that."
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Sa-young's lips.
"Idiot."
"Hey, what's with calling me an idiot?"
"Well, we'll figure it out later…"
The violet eyes stared at him, soft and unwavering.
"You sure you don't need to cover your face anymore? You're not wearing the mask. Should I buy you a scarf?"
"Huh? Oh, this."
Eui-jae rubbed his cheek. The salty breeze brushed against his bare skin. The air, without a mask, felt fresh. His blue eyes reflected the sea.
"It's fine. I don't need to hide anymore. The system's gone, so my abilities should be, too. Guess that makes me a normal guy now."
"…"
"I only started hiding because of my aunt. She said it'd be better if I did."
The wind tousled his ashen hair. He brushed it back and looked toward the sea.
"She probably told me that because I was too young. Maybe she thought I couldn't protect myself. Maybe she wanted to leave me one last way to escape."
"…And now?"
"Well, I ran enough, didn't I?"
A faint smile curved his lips.
"Maybe now I can just live as I am."
"…"
"Might even be fun showing my face for once. No need to stay quiet anymore. Besides…"
Their eyes met. Eui-jae grinned.
"If anything happens, you'll handle it, right?"
Sa-young smiled faintly.
"Oh? So you're planning to use me?"
"No use, just ask for help."
"So shameless."
"Hey, I've helped you plenty too!"
"That's true. You did save my life."
Sa-young leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.
"I guess I'll spend the rest of my life repaying that."
"How long's that, exactly? Let's hear the plan."
"Hmm… my life's worth quite a lot. To pay it all back…"
Violet eyes shimmered. A low whisper brushed his ear.
"A lifetime."
His lips brushed his cheek again.
"…And whatever comes after."
Their foreheads met. Warm violet eyes gazed into his. Eui-jae didn't look away. Their lips touched lightly, like sealing a promise, like exchanging warmth.
Then Sa-young drew back slightly and tugged on his hand.
"Come on."
Eui-jae looked at his retreating figure, the clear blue sky, the transparent sea, the breaking white waves.
The place Cha Eui-jae would return to…
He followed after him. Black fingers intertwined with his own.
"Yeah. Let's go."
…It was beside Lee Sa-young.