"Mother! Mother! Look at this!" A little boy said with enthusiasm as he showed her a sculpture of an eagle he had crafted.

"That's such a cool sculpture! I have no doubts you'll grow up to be a prominent sculpture in the future." The woman praised.

"Look at mine next!" Another child called out excitedly.

"No, mine!" Another argued.

The woman was encircled by all of the orphans she had raised, as if moths drawn to a flame. All of them, including Sungah, were very eager to show her their most cherished possession as her compliments were akin to that of an angel.

Amidst the flurry of children vying for her attention, Sungah's thoughts were interrupted by an odd memory. In that fragmented recollection—she appeared to be no younger than thirty, and was dressed in a black suit while interacting with unusual individuals.

There was a smile plastered onto her face as she chatted with them—especially three subjects that had stolen the spotlight from the rest.

A young man with fair skin, wearing clothes of the same colour scheme albeit appearing a bit untidy and had stunningly shiny brown hair. The other man was gigantic, possessing a stature that could rival a bear's. He had brown skin, afro-style black hair and too wore the same outfit similar to Sungah's but way larger. However, the person that kept reappearing in her visions over and over again was someone she addressed as 'sir'.

He appeared to be of an adolescent age. Unlike the other two men, he was not dressed formally and instead chose a rather unique selection of clothes to don despite the regal environment they were within. A white t-shirt covered by a red leather jacket, and long, dark blue jeans. His hair too was not of a natural colour, and was dyed a striking shade of pink.

The visions of the people that came to Sungah mystified her. Her emotions were in turmoil—uncertain whether to be afraid or confused by the sudden appearances of these peculiar individuals.

Her mind quickly snapped back to reality as mother confronted her. Her eyes quickly darted to mother and her surroundings—only to discover that she was the only one remaining that has not revealed her prized belonging.

"Are you alright, Sungah?" Mother inquired—her voice tinged with a hint of concern.

"Y-yes…I'm…alright." Sungah hesitantly reassured—trying to regain her composure.

"If there is a problem, you can always tell me about them, okay? Now, what did you want to show me?"

"I…I…" As she endeavoured to speak—not a single sound emerged from her throat.

It was terrifying but it was merely the beginning. As she strained to produce a single sentence—the ground abruptly disintegrated into darkness. The sky shattered as the void gradually consumed everything in her vicinity. The faces of her precious contorted into grotesque scribbles as incoherent words exited the mouths until eventually…everything ceased to exist.

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"Uhm…uh…Ah!" Sungah screamed as she jolted awake from her terrific nightmare.

"Ah…Ah…" She let out a sigh of relief and leaned backwards—only to realise something felt amiss. The sensation was wet and slimy. As her eyes opened, she discovered her clothes gradually melting away, with red spots on certain parts of her body that caused a burning sensation.

Translucent, odourless slimy liquid drips onto the skin, making her feel as if she was being burned alive. She struggled with all her might—kicking, punching, and even biting the transparent green walls but to no avail—it was impossible for her to escape.

"Ha…ha…so…tough…" She murmured.

Now exhausted both mentally and physically, no matter how petrified she was—only the option of conceding remained open. Her eyelids gradually closed as she was about to enter another long slumber.

That is until unexpectedly—a broken katana pierced through the creature's skin—causing it to shriek out in pain and give Sungah a second chance to escape. The broken blade moved swiftly and smoothly as the entity was cleaved perfectly into two symmetrical pieces.

Her eyes darted upwards and were greeted by none other than her boss. His clothes were dirty—covered in blood, unknown green substance and now, translucent liquid.

"Sir…" She mumbled wearily.

"Sungah. Grab my hand." He said as he stretched his arm outward from her.

He then proceeded to pull her. Unfortunately, the situation proved to be even more fatal than she had initially envisioned outside of the monster's corpse. Lifeless bodies littered the sidewalks. A macabre scene of humans and monsters crushed beneath the rubble. Skyscrapers and buildings reduced to ruins. There were no other signs of life aside from the two of them.

"W-what…happened…?" Sungah whispered—her fear reached new heights as Park Jeongeun answered her bluntly.

"Death. Lots and lots of death, destruction, and chaos. Aside from you, and those two, I found no one else that was still breathing, or had a chance of surviving."

"T-those two being…Takashi and Kalfi…correct?"

"You're exactly right, Sungah. By the way…brace yourself." He warned.

She was a bit surprised by his sudden change in tone but kept the advice to heart. As they continued walking—the pile of corpses seemingly increased overtime as more and more deceased piled up on top of one another, until it started to resemble walls made of flesh, blood and bones.

The smell of death and discord lingered in the air. The putrid scent emanating from the dead filled up her nostrils. What otherworldly force had planned for this great tragedy to occur? Who was the mastermind behind these incidents? Unanswered questions dwelled within her mind.

Her stomach churned as she witnessed a small child repeatedly calling out to his dead parents who were entombed amidst the wall of the dead. The child's arms were drenched in blood. His eyes looked murky—devoid of any desire to live. His voice was hoarse as if he had been calling out to them for hours on end.

She had the urge to comfort the boy, but was abruptly stopped by Jeongeun as he grabbed her shoulder.

"This isn't the time to be sympathetic, Sungah." He said coldly.

"B-but, sir-!"

"Sungah. Focus on yourself first before others. What would be the point of helping others, if you can't save yourself first? So, listen to me. This is not the right time to pity others, even if they are young."

"How can you say that!? Do you not have any remorse!?" She screamed in a fit of rage—feeling betrayed by his impassive demeanor. Tear droplets dribbled onto the ground as she confronted him.

He turned his head to her with an indifferent expression as he spoke.

"Sungah. Do I look like I give a fuck? Have I not told you that I'm a very selfish man, ever since we began working together? If you want to take care of the child, so be it. But do not ever involve me if you wish to do so. So, tell me your choice. Will you follow me, or will you choose to sacrifice yourself?"

Sungah was in a dilemma. Although deep down she knew she could not take care of the child alone, especially considering the grim situation she was presented in—her upbringing made it impossible for her to simply abandon those who had experienced tragedies.

"I-!" Before she could make her decision however, Jeongeun spontaneously collapsed onto his knees as a stream of blood exited his mouth.

Worried for his well-being, she hurriedly reached out to him but only to be stopped as he slapped her hand away from touching him.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." He reassured.

"What part of vomiting blood is fin-" Once more—her sentence was cut short by a loud, eerie growl.

Carefully—with fear and caution, she turned her head around and saw it. The child that once lost his purpose became an entirely different entity. With a bulky humanoid figure, a mixture of blood and bones replacing the skin—the child's voice was distorted beyond belief. One word was all that was needed to describe the child's current appearance: Monster.

"RAGH!!!" He shrieked as he lunged towards Sungah.

Nonetheless, his path was intervened as Jeongeun appeared spontaneously in front of Sungah. With a broken decorative katana in his right hand—the monster's head soared high into the sky while its body was chopped into multiple segments faster than the naked eye could perceive.

Sungah stumbled onto the ground as she looked up at him with conflicted feelings dwelling in her chest.

"Don't you dare give me excuses. Follow me now, or we both will end up dead before you know it."

…