Fragments of the World

"That person is… as you know, still a minor, and probably doesn't have time for this kind of thing. She's not a combat hunter either."

"Oh, she's a high school senior, right."

"Yes. She's preparing for the college entrance exam. She'd probably rather study an extra passage in the exam prep book than enter a rift."

Cha Eui-jae recalled the conversation he overheard on the first day Jung Bin barged into the hangover soup restaurant. A high school senior, a minor at a very sensitive time, who hasn't fully started her hunter activities despite being an S-grade hunter. That seemed to be Yoon Ga-eul.

Yoon Ga-eul clenched and unclenched her hands, which were red from the cold. A small shard of glass appeared in her empty palm, shimmering like a kaleidoscope with countless lights.

"It's a bit late, but let me introduce myself. My name is Yoon Ga-eul, a senior at Saebom Girls' High School, and I recently awakened as an S-grade mental-type awakener. My ability is…"

Cha Eui-jae looked at the fragment glowing above Yoon Ga-eul's palm. It seemed like a black light flickered and then disappeared.

"…to see fragments of the world."

For a moment, the atmosphere became so heavy and dense that it was hard to breathe. The strange energy crawled up his legs, back, and nape, suffocating him. Yoon Ga-eul's youthful face turned slightly pale. But after taking a deep breath, she continued speaking resolutely.

"Would you believe me if I told you that there are other worlds besides this one?"

"…"

Cha Eui-jae did not respond. Yoon Ga-eul smiled somewhat bitterly.

"I… see fragments from another world every time I fall asleep. Unintentionally. That world is similar to ours but different. There are many cases where they have the same names and faces but are different people. Watching it is dizzying and confusing, like this shard."

Yoon Ga-eul poked the shard with her finger. Even though it existed there, her finger passed through it, instead getting stained with countless sparkling lights. Cha Eui-jae quietly observed the scene. Her golden eyes turned towards him.

"J."

"…"

"The end of the world is coming to this world soon."

The end. Cha Eui-jae remembered hearing that word recently. The group that Lee Sa-young was chasing. Those secretive people who spread drugs for awakeners and artificially created awakeners. They said they were doing it to prevent the apocalypse.

Yoon Ga-eul squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them, continuing to speak.

"Everything I've seen in my dreams… is fragments from worlds where the apocalypse has already happened. The world itself was shattered because they couldn't stop the apocalypse."

"It's not an easy story to believe."

Cha Eui-jae said in a low voice. Yoon Ga-eul nodded as if agreeing.

"Yes, it won't be easy to believe. You might think I'm crazy. I think there's a reason why you're hiding your identity like this, J. I didn't want to come and find you either. But… I have no choice but to speak."

A determined expression appeared on Yoon Ga-eul's youthful face.

"I'll be direct. I… want to stop the apocalypse, J."

"…"

"I don't want to lose the things I hold dear by doing nothing, even though I know the end is coming."

Yoon Ga-eul extended her hand, shimmering like a kaleidoscope.

"Please look at the fragment I've seen."

"…"

"…Please."

…And Cha Eui-jae could never refuse such a hand.

He let out a long sigh and took her cold hand. For a moment, his vision blurred, and he felt like he was being swept away somewhere.

***

Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes. Snow was falling. No, it was white ash. The white, crumbling ash piled up and covered the whole world.

The place was eerily silent and ominous. And familiar. Had he returned to the West Sea rift?

'No.'

He had been at the hangover soup restaurant until just a moment ago and had taken Yoon Ga-eul's hand. This must be inside the fragment Yoon Ga-eul had seen. Cha Eui-jae ignored the metallic taste of blood from his bitten tongue and looked up. Instead of a black hole, a white vortex was swirling in the white sky. A fragment of a world that had perished after the apocalypse. A familiar place.

An endless white night.

In the apocalypse, night never comes.

Thump. Thump. An indescribable sense of anxiety filled his heart. Cha Eui-jae took a deep breath and looked around. The intermittent flickering karaoke sign, the darkened hair salon, and the café's signboard. Everything was covered in white ash, making it all look blurry. He started walking.

After a few steps, he saw someone in a white ash-covered padded jacket scavenging through the ruins. Cha Eui-jae approached quietly. The person rummaging through the ruins suddenly turned around. It was Yoon Ga-eul, who seemed to be in her early twenties. Her chapped face had dried tear marks that she hadn't yet wiped away.

Did she see me? No, can she see me? Cha Eui-jae tensed up. But Yoon Ga-eul's gaze passed right through him and looked further into the distance. There, a pale monster with thin limbs and no eyes was flapping its wings, wandering the streets.

Bang! With a loud explosion, white dust rose up. When the dust settled, a giant spear had pierced the monster's heart, leaving it in agony.

Screeeech—

A low voice suppressed the unpleasant scream.

"Yoon Ga-eul."

The voice was strangely modulated, making it hard to determine the age. But at the same time, it was familiar. Of course, it was the voice he always heard while living as J.

Cha Eui-jae turned his head along with Yoon Ga-eul. Cutting through the silence and unease, a young man in black combat gear and a black mask appeared. In a world covered in white ash, he was the only black existence. J swung his spear and slammed the monster to the ground. The monster flailed its limbs before it stopped moving.

He walked forward without hesitation but quietly.

Cha Eui-jae swallowed nervously as J got closer. But J passed through him without noticing.

J reached out his hand to Yoon Ga-eul.

"What are you doing here? The base camp is over there."

"…"

"…Honeybee was worried."

Yoon Ga-eul grabbed the debris of the building and avoided J's gaze.

"…I'm sorry, I was just going to look around a bit more… but I ended up coming here."

J crouched in front of Yoon Ga-eul, resting his chin on his hand.

"Was this near your school?"

"Yes… that's right."

There was no trace of the school left. All that remained was the ruins, covered in white ash. The apocalypse was silent.

"…"

J and Yoon Ga-eul would both know that there were no survivors around. Both were S-grade, so their keen senses wouldn't have missed it. But instead of saying it was a pointless task, J nodded.

"Let's take a quick look around then."

"…Can we?"

"Yeah. If a monster appears, I'll take care of it, and there might be survivors we haven't found yet."

J easily slung the giant spear over his shoulder and stood up. He turned and looked back at Yoon Ga-eul.

"Oh. Don't tell Sa-young about this."

"Sorry?"

Cha Eui-jae's eyes widened slightly as he watched the unfamiliar scene of J talking to Yoon Ga-eul and himself. J put a finger to the mouth of his mask.

"If he finds out, he'll complain again. Keep it a secret."

Yoon Ga-eul finally smiled brightly.

"Yes! Thank you!"

Her cheerful voice was drowned out by the clear sound of glass shards clinking. The scene before him wavered, and J and Yoon Ga-eul's figures blurred. Something was redrawing the scene in real time. The collapsed street turned dark gray and soon painted another space.

This time, they arrived at a huge library. However, half of the bookshelves were broken or tilted, and books were scattered all over the floor, seemingly forgotten.

Since this was a fragment seen by Yoon Ga-eul, Cha Eui-jae found himself standing near her again.

Unlike the street with no signs of life, this place was bustling with people. Many were injured too. People were busy treating the wounded and clearing debris. It seemed they had arrived at the base camp that J had mentioned earlier.

Yoon Ga-eul was also moving around the library, picking up books and tidying up. Cha Eui-jae followed her, looking around, when he suddenly saw a black figure standing still, seemingly separated from the busy interior.

Disheveled black hair, cool purple eyes, thick lips with a mole beside them. A black leather coat reaching the knees and black gloves. The only difference from the memory was the long sword hanging at the waist.

"…"

It was Lee Sa-young.

He looked a bit more mature than the face he remembered, but it was unmistakably Lee Sa-young. There was only one person with that face and aura. Moreover, the long sword at his waist looked similar to the Basilisk's Fang Cha Eui-jae had picked up in the West Sea rift.

Cha Eui-jae observed Lee Sa-young as if he were entranced. But his purple eyes were solely…

"…We're definitely short on medical supplies."

"We might have to check the hospitals in Gyeonggi-do, J. Can you do that?"

"Hmm… well, we have to."

…focused on J, who was conversing on one side of the camp.