"..."

  He stood silent for a few moments until he opened his mouth to speak.

  “I?...!"

  But he dashed forward, jumping at me, pushing me to the ground.

  "Hey..."

  I spoke as I bnkly looked at him. Behind him, the woman who had fallen on the ground exploded, with flesh scattering all over the pce, and blood mixed with the rain falling down.

  Just like that, the rain started heavily pouring down, and the people in the vicinity started dying; some combusted in the rain, burning as the undying fire with an undefined cause consumed their minds—they screamed until they couldn't scream anymore, their voices speaking in reverse as their breathing faded away and they faded into dust.

  Some fell down, dying on the spot; some started ripping their own skin off, their nails scratching their skin until the nails came off, and the skin was peeled off, but they couldn't stop as they bit themselves again and again until they met peace, finally dying. Some consumed themselves until nothing was left.

  "…"

  I just silently watched the incomprehensible horrors happening before my eyes. I didn't speak, nor did I blink. I just stared mindlessly straight ahead, completely forgetting the purpose I was here in the first pce.

  Did I make any mistakes?

  In front of me, a truck came crashing straight onto me as the building fell, cars collided with each other, and children screamed, menting over their dead mothers and fathers.

  Re was supposed to increase in threat level over a few days, or rarely weeks, or in an uncountable chance, months.

  But I hadn't accounted for this variable.

  While I was admiring the beauty that was occurring ahead, he grabbed my hand and ran ahead, dragging me along.

  No. It's not that I hadn't accounted for this exact variable, but I did determine that this type of variable may occur, but...

  I was not paying attention to my surroundings anymore.

  Mmm... Things have gotten intriguing.

  I looked behind, still lost in my thoughts, fire rising to the skies as the rain fell, love being scattered to ash.

  Hate being spread across their veins, minds being broken, flesh being ripped apart, the air being suffocating yet carrying a soft warmth.

  People crying over their loved ones, mourning until voices couldn't come out of their throats, until their hearts exhausted themselves from their emotions.

  Multiple police came, fire department, ambunce, and most important of all, the cameraman recording it.

  Them dying meaningless, only to be used as material for someone's entertainment.

  Some cried, some ughed, but most were left speechless. Instead of doing something, they just stood there, looking at them as if they couldn't be saved anymore. Some of them were still alive, yet no one moved.

  It was only a normal day for them, as it was yet another day until their end. They expected this. They cannot avoid their end, as cruel as it may be, as beautiful as it may be, as sad as it may be deep down, you accepted your end. Yet you don't want to experience such a thing as death, no matter how much you accept it; you cannot fathom how painful it may be. Maybe you are numb to pain, maybe you are numb to life itself. Maybe you have the desire to not exist anymore. The desire to still live without any pain, without anyone bothering you, without any pain, without anyone, just you and you alone.

  You won't know this, but try to understand how important and yet worthless your life is.

  You cannot know unless you try to know it; you won't know it unless you know yourself.

  The view was getting blurry, but I could still see it—the rain washing away their tears. Yet their bodies flew off along the storm.

  【Episode 1:】

  Their memories being carried by the distant wind, only to fade away. Their bodies being carried away only to be forgotten. The sparks of the fmes dying as their lingering emotions failed to keep up. As the present they were in became another past for us. For you. As the future just becomes another shadow of the past, never diverging off its own reflection, still.

  「Chapter 2: Confliction」

  But before I could think any further, I was dragged further away until the view wasn't visible anymore.

  People live to die, they survive to struggle, yet struggle to die.

  You... why don't you do something?

  While I was thinking, he suddenly stopped.

  We were in an old alleyway.

  He panted heavily.

  But I was panting even more, almost to the point where I almost died.

  "Ha.... Ha.... Ha...."

  I stumbled down, grabbing my chest.

  "Hey, are you okay?"

  He asked while looking at me, his red eyes glowing in the dark, his hands slightly shaking.

  "I don't need your sympathy..."

  I spoke as I barely stood up, bancing myself by leaning on the wall.

  "What happened back then?"

  He asked, looking at the sky that was still pouring down, barely keeping his voice from shaking.

  "…"

  I didn't speak for a while.

  He stayed silent, waiting for me to talk. All that was audible was the rain.

  "How should I know."

  I paused and looked ahead, and I still somehow could hear their screams and cries, but suddenly a blood-curdling scream, distorted with something inhumane, was heard.

  “AHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

  I heard him scream at the top of his lungs as he looked up, and strange things like bdes came out of his back, like bloody wings growing out.

  Half of his face decayed, his skin falling off, leaving only flesh, with his other half turning completely burnt, his other eye glowing red like a scarlet moon in the night sky.

  Blood came out of his mouth, his shoulders ruptured, his legs combusted, his torso opening up revealing his organs, which were soon covered by blood.

  The wings on his back soon stabilized into four bloody wings, with one eye on each of them, the upper two having two eyes.

  The rain was still falling down.

  The sky crackled, distortions in space occurred, everything became monochromatic with every color disappearing before what was to come.

  "Hwan Saeng...?"

  I called out his name, but no response came back, only screams of agony and misery.

  The rain slowly fell, it was like everything had slowed down.

  I was left speechless, my mind bnk, my thoughts jumbled, but I didn't know how I managed to keep myself composed after all that.

  My body shaking, the b coat I was wearing was half torn, my legs unstable, it refused to obey me as I stumbled backwards.

  My mind is empty,

  My body is cold

  One of the wings came and stabbed, piercing my chest, likely my heart.

  Tears coming out of his eyes.

  I coughed up blood.

  Help me..

  My heart felt empty, my body extremely warm yet cold at the same time.

  Help me...

  My thoughts swayed around.

  Cold.

  My consciousness becoming more bnk.

  S?o cold...

  Everything around me was becoming more and more dark, until everything was consumed by darkness.

  Empty...

  Ah... I'm finally dead after all this time.

  How nice.

  "Hey, are you okay?" A voice came from somewhere.

  Everything was bnk. I couldn’t see, but I forced my eyes open

  The view was the same, the street, people walking around, the woman stumbling down looking terrified.

  The world was still colorful, yet it was still the same.

  Rain slowly falling down.

  I looked down at my body, my b coat still in one piece but stained with blood.

  I moved my hand up, they were trembling.

  "Ha... Ha... Ha..." My breathing grew erratic.

  Everything is fine.

  What did I see back then?

  I was dying...

  Was it all a daydream?

  I am fine.

  I looked in front of me, he was still standing there looking worried about me.

  "Ho... Ha...." I took a deep breath in and out.

  I composed myself, keeping my inner turmoil deep down.

  "Ugh, I don't care anymore!" I blurted out as I turned and started walking straight.

  I didn't know if he followed me or not, or if he looked at me or not. I didn't know what others thought about. I could only see in front of me, I walked forward leaving the world behind me.

  I soon reached a convenience store, my b coat still stained with blood but most of it was washed away by the rain.

  I walked in, all the people inside looking wary as soon as they saw me.

  I walked and grabbed some things to eat, and some coffee.

  The cashier was wary of me too, but he recognized that it was me.

  He asked about my health and I replied I was fine. Not talking much. I grabbed my bags.

  I walked out of the store, and on the way I saw someone I knew.

  She was someone who I used to talk to in high school.

  She was holding an umbrel, wearing a red blouse and a skirt that was not too short nor too long.

  She had long lustrous bck hair that reached just above her rear, she had blue-cyan eyes.

  Her face was beautiful, and cute.

  She was tall, maybe a little bit taller than average girls.

  I hoped she wouldn’t notice me, but she did, and before I knew it, she was dragging me to a café.I was quite reluctant to go anywhere but she started making a fuss so I had to accompany her.

  When we reached the cafe, most people were drawn to me seeing the way I dressed up, so I took off my b coat and put it next to me and following me she also sat down.

  We were sitting at the table next to the window, so the sound of the rain was pretty soothingly cold.

  She ordered something, I still had some coffee left so I drank that.

  For a while, the only sound that was audible was the sound of the rain and the sound of me and her drinking.

  "I... heard you dropped out?" After a while, she put the cup down and said with a weary voice, looking through the window beside her.

  "Mmm..." I nodded at her question, not saying anything.

  "Are you perhaps..."

  She didn't finish and looked outside for a while and then continued with a weary voice, barely keeping her voice from trembling.

  "Still troubled by that...?"

  "Ah..." I didn't say anything for a while. I thought, why did I quit in the first pce?

  Was it to save this forgotten world, or was it because of selfishness?

  I wonder.

  Why does it hurt so much?

  I...

  "I don't know..."

  That was all I could say to her.

  "Is that so?" She said wearily after a long silence.

  Seol Byulhye looked at me, our eyes meeting, and she said with a serious voice.

  "About the organization or cult, whatever you call it... unusual activities have been reported."

  ***

  It was still raining.

  I was still wearing my not-so-blood-stained b coat.

  I was walking back home after talking with her.

  But I decided to take a detour and head to an old park.

  Soon I reached the park and decided to sit on the bench and rex my back on the bench.

  So tired...

  Someone came and sat down next to me.

  I didn't pay attention to it.

  The rain was soaking my clothes, and my hair was wet.

  Kids were pying in the park, with their parents watching but eventually taking them back home.

  Ah...

  What was that daydream?

  There is no point...

  After all, everything will end soon.

  And the fate of the world depends on me, whether I want to save this dystopian world or not.

  I have decided on what to do.

  With that resolve, I got up and stopped for a second, looking behind me at the white haired boy.

  He looked at me with desperate eyes.

  "What?"

  I said with a tired voice.

  He stood up and came closer to me, dropping his umbrel on the bench, soaking in the rain.

  "'Why do I care?'"

  He said with a low voice, then paused, looking at me.

  "Ah... Why did I even think about this... Hahahahahahahah!!!!"

  He chuckled and started ughing.

  "It was too obvious, way too obvious!" He started shouting, his voice cracking.

  I stared at him, saying nothing, my gaze locked on his vacant eyes, empty, lifeless, consumed by obsession..

  The corner of his lips moved up, forming a smile.

  "I love you."

  He said calmly with bnk eyes devoid of any life or emotions.

  Hearing that, I was left baffled, more than ever.

  All that was heard was the quiet sound of the rain.

  A boy... confessing to a boy?

  Huh..