Chapter 6

Once again, Ji-Ho woke up.

This time, however, he was lying in a hospital bed. The morning light streamed through the slightly open window, casting a soft glow across the room. A cool breeze slipped in, making the air feel lighter.

He blinked a few times, trying to process reality. His fingers moved slowly, curling into fists. Strangely, he felt invigorated. His body, which should have been weak after being unconscious for so long, pulsed with energy.

"Was it just a dream...?" he murmured to himself, staring at his reflection in the window.

In the corner of the room, a familiar figure caught his attention. His sister, Hikari, was asleep, sitting beside his bed. The deep bags under her eyes made it clear—she had been there for a long time, waiting for him to wake up.

Ji-Ho moved cautiously, trying not to make any noise. But as he shifted in bed, a treacherous creak echoed through the room.

"Hm...?" Hikari stirred, her eyes slowly opening.

Their gazes met. In an instant, her drowsiness vanished.

"JI-HO! YOU'RE AWAKE!" she screamed, throwing herself at him in a tight hug.

Her body trembled. A mix of joy and relief. But soon, her expression changed. She pulled away and frantically checked him over, as if searching for injuries.

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt? What happened? How did you survive? Do you remember anything?!"

"Hikari..." Ji-Ho grabbed his sister's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "I'm fine. It was just... an accident at work."

Her eyes widened. That look said everything. Ji-Ho knew she wouldn't believe such a simple excuse.

Without a word, Hikari grabbed a crumpled newspaper and tossed it onto his lap.

The front-page headline sent a chill down Ji-Ho's spine:

"CONDEMNED AWAKENED GROUP SLAUGHTERS PRISON GUARDS AND LOOT MINERS! ALL VICTIMS FOUND DEAD."

Below the title, a gruesome photo displayed the scene of the attack.

Ji-Ho recognized the fallen faces in the image.

His grip on the newspaper tightened.

"So... it was real."

The silence between the siblings was broken by Hikari's trembling voice.

"Mom... Ever since your accident, she hasn't eaten. She's getting weaker every day. I wanted to admit her to a hospital, but..." Her voice cracked. "I couldn't, Ji-Ho. I don't have the money for it..."

She couldn't hold back anymore. Her head fell onto his lap, and she wept.

Ji-Ho remained silent. His face expressionless, but his eyes... His eyes carried something new. Something that wasn't there before all of this happened.

Then, his moment of reflection was interrupted.

The door swung open with a bang.

"Well... looks like you finally woke up." A deep, cold voice echoed through the room.

Ji-Ho looked up.

Standing in the doorway was an intimidating presence. Disheveled greenish hair, unshaven face, deep-set dark circles. He wore a flawless black suit, and on his collar sat a brooch shaped like a dog's skull.

Tenkai Arashi.

One of the most feared Awakened. An elite hunter from the Cerberus subunit, specializing in the execution of psychotic Awakened.

Ji-Ho felt his throat go dry.

Tenkai entered the room without hesitation, dropped himself into a chair, and crossed his legs. With a casual motion, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"So, tell me..." He blew out a puff of smoke, his sharp eyes locking onto Ji-Ho. "How does a young miner with no combat abilities walk away alive from a massacre like that?"

The air grew heavy.

"Is this an interrogation?" Ji-Ho didn't break eye contact.

"Maybe." Tenkai smirked slightly. "What happened in that mine doesn't make sense. First, a suspicious explosion. Then, three condemned Awakened slaughtering miners. No suspects were found. You were the only survivor." His gaze sharpened. "So, how did you survive?"

Ji-Ho weighed his options.

If he told the truth... he'd be hunted. If he lied... he'd be killed on the spot.

Swallowing hard, he chose a middle ground.

"I hid..." he began. "Mr. Park helped me escape. I buried myself under the roots of a golden tree. I saw everything from there."

Silence.

Tenkai leaned forward, closing the distance between them.

"If you're lying..." His voice dropped to an almost-whisper, laced with menace. "I'll hunt you down myself."

He stared at Ji-Ho for long seconds, as if trying to pull the truth straight from his soul.

Finally, he leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.

"That night, the entire city had a blackout. But something glowed in the forest. When we arrived, we found you unconscious, covered in ashes. And a golden tree... vanishing into the wind." Tenkai stubbed out his cigarette against the chair's armrest. "Since then, we've been after the condemned. But so far, no sign of them. You're not our only suspect... but you're the only survivor."

He stood up and walked toward the door.

"If you remember anything, call me. I left my card on the chair."

And with that, he was gone.

For a few moments, Ji-Ho remained still.

And then...

"WHOA!" He threw himself back onto the bed. "SO THAT'S TENKAI ARASHI! WHAT A BEAST!" His eyes sparkled as he gestured excitedly. Anyone passing by in the hallway would swear he'd lost his mind.

But his excitement was cut short.

BOOOOOM!

The entire building shook.

A colossal bolt of lightning struck the heart of the city.

Ji-Ho jumped out of bed and ran to the window.

"Sir!" A nurse panicked as she rushed into the room. "Step away from the window!"

"What's going on?!"

"These lightning strikes… They started falling days ago! And from them, hordes of monsters emerge! They're getting closer to the hospital!"

Ji-Ho's eyes widened.

Outside, Tenkai was leaping between buildings, heading straight into battle.

And then—an explosion shook the city.

Ryuga.

Ji-Ho took a step back, his heart pounding.

"Ever since my accident… the monsters haven't stopped coming," he muttered. "They're not attacking at random… They're looking for me. The gods… have found out where I am."

His gaze turned ice-cold.

"And now… they're coming to hunt me down."

"I won't let those bastards take me. I'll kill them… one by one."

But with this weak body…

I'm nothing.

I need to prepare. I need to get stronger. And when the time comes…

They'll pay.

The tremors stopped. The desperate screams faded.

All that remained was the thick black smoke rising between the buildings downtown. The stench of soot filled the air, mingling with the iron scent of blood spilled across the streets. The silence was suffocating, as if the world itself held its breath in the face of horror.

Ji-Ho locked eyes on the devastated scene. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. The sight before him was a cruel reminder of the past. And at the center of his memories…

Daiki.

The man who took everything from him.

Ji-Ho clenched his teeth. His jaw tightened so much that pain shot through his skull.

Rage burned inside him like an uncontrollable wildfire.

"Daiki… You'll be the first."

Wasting no time, Ji-Ho began his training.

He would be stuck in that hospital for days, maybe weeks. No distractions. No television. No phone. Just him… and his determination.

Push-ups. Sit-ups. Squats.

His muscles burned. Every repetition tore a grunt of pain from his throat, but he pushed through. Sweat dripped from his face, splattering onto the cold hospital floor.

At first, his body trembled. His arms wobbled. His legs gave out.

But Ji-Ho didn't stop.

Every drop of sweat that hit the ground was a reminder of his promise. His enemies… Daiki… He couldn't defeat them as he was now.

So he kept going.

Pain?

It didn't matter.

Exhaustion?

It didn't exist.

His muscles began to adapt. With each passing day, his movements became sharper, faster. He increased the intensity, pushing his body to its limits—then shattering them.

The hospital halls echoed with the sound of his ragged breathing as he trained. He used therapy balls as weights, balancing on them to make his push-ups harder. He ran around the hospital grounds until the nurses tried to stop him.

But no one could stop Ji-Ho.

He was determined to rebuild himself.

Days passed.

The frail body was gone.

Now, his muscles were solid, every fiber hardened by hatred and brutal discipline. His frame grew stronger. His posture changed. His gaze became sharp. Cold.

The nurses whispered among themselves when he walked by.

There was something about him… Something different. Something terrifying.

But Ji-Ho didn't care about their stares. He had only one goal.

To get stronger.

And to kill them all.

His sister, Hikari, never came.

Since the day he woke up, she had disappeared.

Ji-Ho understood. He wasn't the only one who had gone through hell while he was in a coma. And because of that, he forgave her.

But his thirst for vengeance…

Only grew stronger.

As Ji-Ho prepared, the monsters kept coming.

Explosions of light tore through the sky. Rifts cracked open in the ground. Creatures emerged from the sea and ravaged entire cities. The Awakened of Korea were sent to Japan to contain the chaos.

But chaos couldn't be contained.

With each new attack, more blood was spilled.

More pain.

More destruction.

Ji-Ho watched everything unfold on the hospital television. And with every horrific scene, his hunger for revenge sharpened.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Then, the big day arrived.

A nurse walked into Ji-Ho's room.— Good morning, Mr. Ji-Ho…

Her voice faltered.

Ji-Ho was in the middle of a set of push-ups, shirtless. His muscles were rigid, sculpted by relentless discipline. The nurse's eyes widened. She froze.

— P-pardon me, sir…

Ji-Ho stood up, putting on his shirt without haste.

— No problem. I should be the one apologizing.

— N-NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE! — Her response was involuntary, almost a shout, her face flushed a deep red. — I mean… You don't need to apologize for anything…Ji-Ho simply nodded, returning to organizing his clothes in the drawer.

But the nurse was still there.

He sighed and looked up.

— Can I help you with something?

— Ah! Yes! Sorry! I came to inform you that the doctor will be discharging you today. How are you feeling?

Ji-Ho closed his eyes for a brief moment before answering.

— Rejuvenated.

— The doctor will come by later with the paperwork. Please stop by the reception to sign your discharge papers.

The nurse left.

Through the window, Ji-Ho saw her rush excitedly to tell something to the group of nurses at the front desk.

Later.

Ji-Ho was discharged.

He was packing his things when it happened.

A thunderclap.

A monstrous flash lit up the sky.

The air grew dense.

Time… stopped.

Ji-Ho turned to the window.

And saw it.

Right in front of the hospital, the sky tore open.

Space itself distorted.

A crater formed in the asphalt, and from its center, something emerged.

A colossal creature.

The hospital plunged into absolute silence. No sirens. No screams. Not even a whisper.Nothing.The only sound left was the heavy breathing of the monster.

It didn't attack.

It just stood there.

Staring at Ji-Ho through the window.

As if it was memorizing his features. Engraving every detail of his existence.

Ji-Ho didn't look away.

He showed no fear.

A chill ran down his spine.

His fists clenched.

A cruel smile formed on his lips.

"Let the hunt begin."