A cool, refreshing breeze drifted through the room, brushing softly against the boy’s pale, luminous skin like the gentle touch of dawn after a nightmare.
The white curtains swayed lightly beside the open window, allowing streaks of golden sunlight to spill into the quiet room. Dust particles danced lazily in the air, and for a fleeting mont, everything seed strangely peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Lying on the bed, Sian felt the crisp air against his face. His lashes fluttered faintly before those amber eyes slowly opened.
The mont consciousness returned, pain followed.
Sharp.
Heavy.
As though every bone in his body had been shattered and pieced back together by force.
"Ah... my body hurts like hell."
His voice ca out hoarse and exhausted.
Supporting himself with one hand, Sian slowly sat up, muscles trembling slightly from the effort. A dull ache spread through his entire body as he glanced around the unfamiliar room in confusion.
When had they escaped that desert?
Fragnts of mories flashed through his mind—the burning sand, the suffocating pressure, the monstrous creature roaring beneath the crimson sky.
...Well, it seed he had overused his powers again.
For so reason, most of his abilities were still sealed away, like a terrifying beast bound in countless chains, each seal slowly breaking apart whenever he pushed himself beyond his limits.
And now...
Sian could feel it clearly.
The chains were loosening faster.
His power would return soon.
Yet instead of relief, a heavy sense of dread settled deep inside his chest.
Because that could only an one thing.
Sothing was happening in this world.
Sothing dangerous.
Sothing capable of forcing his sealed powers to awaken.
And whatever it was—
It would be far worse than anything humanity had faced before.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud bang, startling the silence inside the room.
Two people rushed in almost imdiately.
"Captain! You’re awake—oh my God, you scared to death!"
Kira practically launched herself at Sian without hesitation.
"Ah—"
A painful groan escaped his lips as the impact nearly crushed his already injured body.
"Kira... you’re going to kill at this rate."
"O-Oh! Sorry, sorry!" She instantly jumped away, waving her hands frantically. "I just got excited! You’ve been unconscious for five days!"
"...Five days?"
Sian froze for a mont, genuine surprise flashing across his face.
That long?
This ti, he hadn’t used nearly as much power as before. Having He Jinyeon there had eased a great deal of the burden and helped him suppress most of the destructive force behind that attack.
Still...
It was a good thing they had managed to kill that monster.
If they had failed, this world would never have been able to deal with it so quickly on its own.
Entire cities might have disappeared.
Countless people would have died.
"So... where are we now?"
The question was directed at He Jinyeon, who had remained silent ever since entering the room.
Standing near the door, the man avoided Sian’s gaze entirely, his expression unusually tense.
Guilt.
It was written all over his face.
If Sian still failed to notice sothing was wrong, he would have to be blind.
He slowly raised a brow.
"What happened?"
Kira awkwardly scratched her cheek, suddenly unable to et his eyes anymore.
"Well... um..."
Her voice grew smaller.
"We might’ve done sothing without your permission."
An hour later, both Kira and He Jinyeon sat quietly in front of Sian’s bed with their heads lowered like children waiting for punishnt.
The atmosphere inside the room was strangely heavy.
Sian stared at them for several long seconds before finally letting out a quiet sigh, caught sowhere between exasperation and amusent.
"You two really are..."
He never finished the sentence.
Yet sohow, that only made them feel even guiltier.
Their heads lowered further.
Neither dared to look at him.
Seeing them like this, Sian simply couldn’t bring himself to scold them.
After all...
They had done it for his sake.
Because just like him, they were still prisoners of the past.
Still unable to trust people again.
Back in their original world, once they had gathered together, their team—and the base they built—had beco the strongest force on Earth.
A symbol of survival.
A fortress no enemy dared approach.
But at the sa ti, it had also beco the hardest organization to join.
Because they no longer trusted humanity.
Not after the betrayals.
Not after watching people they protected stab them in the back over and over again until nothing remained of their faith in mankind.
From that point onward, they beca more than comrades.
More than friends.
More than family.
They would gladly die for one another without hesitation—
Yet they could also stand by and watch the rest of humanity perish if it ant protecting the people they cared about.
"Alright, alright," Sian finally said, rubbing his aching forehead. "I haven’t even said anything yet. Wou both look like I’m about to execute you? Anyone seeing this would think I’m so kind of bully."
Kira’s eyes imdiately lit up.
"See?! I told you the Captain isn’t unreasonable!"
She jumped up excitedly and pointed proudly at He Jinyeon.
"He’d never bla us!"
He Jinyeon stared at her silently.
For a brief mont, he seriously considered exposing the sa woman who had been biting her nails in panic earlier while repeatedly insisting that the Captain was definitely going to skin them alive.
In the end, he chose peace.
Turning toward Sian once more, his expression beca serious again.
"That man, Lan Qishing, tried to stop us from leaving," he explained calmly. "But I intimidated them a little and took you away with Kira before they could react."
He paused briefly.
"My spies also sent word. The military has intensified its search for us. They’re determined to find us at any cost."
Sian didn’t seem particularly bothered by the news.
The mont he used his powers publicly to save that child, he had already expected consequences like this.
Still—
sothing suddenly crossed his mind.
The child.
Sian’s expression shifted slightly.
"What about the kid?"
This ti, Kira answered imdiately.
"Don’t worry, Boss! Brother He Jinyeon’s n brought him with us. We stole him away without any trouble."
"...Stole?"
Sian’s eye twitched faintly.
Was that supposed to sound reassuring?
Forget it.
"He’s fine," she continued quickly. "He’s staying in the room across from yours. He refused to leave your bedside for a long ti, but eventually he fell asleep from exhaustion."
For a brief second, Sian fell silent.
A strange emotion flickered through his amber eyes before disappearing just as quickly.
Suddenly—
Bang!
The door swung open once again.
Carl hurried inside while holding a laptop tightly in his arms, his breathing uneven and rushed.
"Boss, this is bad. Sothing happened—"
The mont his eyes landed on Sian, he froze.
"The Young Boss is awake?!"
...Young Boss?
Sian slowly turned toward He Jinyeon with a dangerously calm expression.
He Jinyeon imdiately coughed several tis into his fist before glaring sharply at Carl.
"What’s so urgent that you barged in without knocking?"
For a split second, Sian experienced an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
A terrible feeling crept into his chest.
And then—
His worst nightmare beca reality.
Carl’s trembling voice echoed throughout the room.
"Several monsters... different types and species... have suddenly appeared across the world."
His face had turned deathly pale.
"They’re attacking multiple cities simultaneously..."
The laptop screen shook violently in his hands, showing countless ergency broadcasts, collapsing buildings, screaming civilians, and skies filled with smoke and fire.
Fear.
Panic.
Despair.
It was spreading across the entire world.
Carl slowly lifted his horrified eyes toward Sian.
"S-Sir..."
"The apocalypse has begun."
Reviews
All reviews (0)