P-8 Sector. This stretch saw almost no foot traffic—blocks slated for demolition and total redevelopment meant the area resembled a cold, abandoned city.
"Still, I'm not entirely alone, huh?"
"Does that look like good news to you? Those are just vagrants."
"At least it's not completely empty, kid."
Between the derelict buildings, hundreds of eyes tracked my movements—a filthy, uncanny sensation. Those gazes calculated how best to pick me apart.
"...Though none of them dare come closer."
A lone child wandering these streets would be an easy target, but perhaps they recognized the Guard State badge on my chest—or they simply regarded me warily.
"Either way, it doesn't matter. I have a mission to carry out."
My destination was a dilapidated, ominous infirmary on the brink of collapse. I'd rather not go, but orders must be obeyed.
In Yongmun's back alleys, the Rat King's influence outweighed that of Wei Yenwu. Besides, it was I who begged him to teach me Originium Arts.
"By the way, what did he leave here in a deserted hospital?"
"...Mountain Spirit. You still with me?"
"Yeah. I hear you."
"Doesn't this place feel like some kind of miasmic zone?"
A crawl of dread slid over my skin—this was no ordinary ruin. Then again, orders this simple would hardly merit such a run-down target.
"Scared?"
"Heh. Have you lost your mind?"
"Keep your mouth shut, but stay sharp. Those tailing us vanished the moment we entered this block."
"What? Seriously?"
Come to think of it, the presence that shadowed my steps had abruptly stopped. In other words, something else was in here.
"Only way forward is inside."
Wasting time was pointless.
"Should've grabbed a flashlight."
I immediately regretted it as my eyes strained in the dark, waiting for my vision to adapt.
"What are you waiting for? You really chicken out?"
"Not until I see what I'm dealing with, asshole."
"I'm a specter, remember? Do you think I'd—"
Right. A specter should have its own will-o'-the-wisp.
"How do you even use that?"
"Uh...you just kind of...do it well."
"You're winding me up."
Sure. If doing well in school guaranteed admission to the top academy, I'd have a PhD by now. If cooking skills alone equaled Gordon Ramsay, everyone'd be Michelin-starred.
"Seriously, how would you explain walking to a baby?"
"Move your legs properly?"
"Exactly. You can't teach what comes naturally—like asking a fish how to swim."
Great. A glittering promise I'll never reach. So I can conjure fire, just not ignite it? Am I Hong Gil-dong?
"Give it your best shot."
Christ. Burn it all down? Rush straight ahead? No—hold on, feel the claws in my gut.
"...."
"…She knows you're trapped, right?"
Ahem. Silence. Back to business: securing light was priority. Fire, fire...I'd only used flame Arts twice—both times to spawn pillars of flame powerful enough to scorch stone.
"Flame needs oxygen. Summon wind."
I formed a fist-sized swirl in midair, then layered the Mountain Spirit's alien energy onto the Art.
"...Tch. Again."
The enhancement was simple; igniting the spark was not.
tick, tick
"...Ah. Right."
On my third attempt, it struck me: fire requires three elements—oxygen, fuel, and friction.
The first two I could substitute with wind Arts and the spirit's power, but friction I couldn't generate.
"Unless I source it externally."
This long-neglected hospital felt bone-dry under mid-May's sun. The ground floor's humidity was nearly zero—every surface parched.
"Never fails—where there's smoke, there are butts."
I found a disposable lighter in a sunlit alcove. Wind, spirit, then light...
pop!
"Got it. Good."
A small blue flame, about the size of my fist, hovered in the corridor. It held steady once ignited.
"Sharp thinking."
"Smart use of basic science, you might say."
Despite the tool's help, at least I'd produced fire.
"Let's see...the lost-and-found should be on the sixth floor."
creeeeak
"...? What was that?"
Someone—or something—entered. Likely vagrants or hostiles.
"...Heh."
"What? Just an Originium Larvae?"
Wild fauna like Originium Larvae are common across Terra; finding one here wasn't surprising.
"You really spooked?"
"Always stay on guard, alright?"
Z3dKZWdMSS8yY3RyVzVxZXc3MkIvcTBWVndiTnFSVTVGbnMwdjNVZTFCTk1PSllTaWlYQjNZQXJXU0RsdGtZYg
creeeeek...
"Harabuji~~"
"Alright, Nora. Where are the others?"
"They're cleaning! I came alone because I'm the only one you're watching."
Nora had been abandoned young in these alleys but retained boundless energy—more than even Lin Wuxia, his own daughter.
"What about Hyun?"
"He's probably having a hard time—you know, I showed him a fun toy."
That bastard. Let him suffer.
"Dad? What does that mean?"
"Daughter? When did you get here?"
"More importantly, what did you mean by toy, Dad?"
"Uh...kids, I need to check on their cleaning status..."
"Nora, can you go watch them for Dad?"
"Okay! Sister!"
...This kid obeys too well.
"Dad? You didn't do anything bad to Hyun, did you?"
"Do I look like a monster?"
"Then tell me what that toy is."
"Well...you see? Uh..."
Even the Rat King has no power before his little girl.
"So that means..."
"This place gives me the creeps..."
Up here, the hospital grew colder with each floor. Already on the third, it felt like walking into winter.
"Not a trace of sunlight..."
Despite shattered windows, the corridors remained eerily dark, as if the glass itself absorbed the light.
clack, clack
"...Kid!"
"I know that!"
By now, only a fool wouldn't realize something else lurked inside. Clearly, I wasn't alone.
"...Human?"
In the middle of the dim hallway stood a figure—its joints stiff, posture rigid—its presence amplified the oppressive stillness.
"I won't approach foolishly. Move aside or die."
I launched the spirit flame forward. The blue light swept the corridor; something struck it, then collapsed.
"Go check it. Something's off."
"...Sniff. Hey, isn't that the smell of burning plastic?"
"Indeed. Beyond any human scent, it reeks of charred waste. Whatever it was, it's not human."
The acrid odor was unmistakable. No trace of human flesh—only plastic burning. I produced the lighter again, struck a spark—flame met glass shards on the floor, illuminating the ceiling.
"Above?! What the hell is that?!"
Mannequins. Mannequins moving on their own.