Beyond the Eternity

We left the camp site and started heading west.

There were two reasons behind this decision: first, to search for the missing party members, and second, to find any other survivors. However, we found neither. No survivors, no sign of the missing party members. In fact, not a single creature of the night crossed our path.

It was as if they had been thoroughly wiped out.

But If that was the case, we would have seen their corpses. The remaining survivors must have probably gone to other districts. Maybe the party members were in one of those districts.

"Tch. This is such a pain. If only communication was possible."

Angelica besides me asked with a look of concern. "What should we do now?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can try the other districts. Which district is closeby?"

"Hmm. We could head to Gwangjin-gu or maybe Seongdong-gu. However, to reach Seongdong-gu, we'd need to cross the Han River."

"I don't about Gwangjin-gu. Let's try Seongdong-gu."

Currently, we were in Jungnang-gu. Gwangjin-gu was located to the south of Jungnang-gu and Seongdong-gu at Southwest.

We slowly made our way towards the Seongsu Bridge. But when we finally reached our destination...

Um, well... what am I supposed to say? This could be classified as misfortune, right?

The Seongsu Bridge had already collapsed. I looked at the Han River with Angelica. Moving shadows could be seen along with ominous sounds beneath the swirling water. As I had feared, the Han River was already filled to the brim with the Grade 7 'Sea Serpents'. They weren't a problem if I raised my stats, but they were too many of them to handle at once.

Most likely, It would take around a week or so to get rid of them.

I sighed. "It seems we have no choice, but to head towards Gwangjin-gu."

Unlike Seongdong-gu, we didn't need to cross the Han River to reach Gwangjin-gu. In fact, we would be able to get there if we walked.

Thus, we made our way towards Gwangjin-gu.

After what felt like an eternity of cautious movement, we finally reached the edge of Gwangjin-gu. The area was still, save for the occasional flutter of debris carried by the wind. I was relieved to see that some damaged buildings were still standing in place.

"Where do you want to start looking?" Angelica asked, glancing at the dilapidated structures.

"Let's check the nearby buildings first. If anyone's here, they're likely to be hiding."

We approached a nearby building and opened the creaking door. Once inside, the faint smell of mold and dust entered my nose. I pulled out my flashlight and flicked it on.

Since there was nothing on the ground floor, we ascended to the top floor of the building using the stairwell and entered a dim hallway.

"Nothing here but debris." Angelica remarked as she kicked a piece of rubble aside.

"Let's try another shelter."

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We continued to search from building to building in hopes of finding something or someone, even places we thought survivors might be hiding. But we found nothing each time we looked.

The further we ventured into Gwangjin-gu, the more damaged the buildings became. Some had completely collapsed, while others leaned dangerously as if a single gust of wind would bring them down. I thought it was strange that the entire place was deserted.

After hours of searching, we came across what looked like an old warehouse. Perhaps It was abandoned a long time ago, but unlike the other buildings, this one seemed relatively intact with its large metal doors shut tight.

I muttered, "This looks promising."

"Are you sure people would be inside?"

"I think so. This is the only building that's somewhat intact. Either way, we have to check."

I slipped my revolver out from the pocket of my dimension coat. There could be survivors in the warehouse, but that didn't guarantee they were friendly. Whether they were good or bad, it was best to be ready for anything.

With that in mind, I moved forward and pushed the warehouse door, but It didn't bulge. It seems to be locked from the inside. In other words...

"There are people inside. Angell, give me a hand here."

"You can't open it? Are your stats low?"

"It's something similar."

How am I supposed to tell her all my stats were below Lv. 10? Of course, I couldn't do it. In fact, I didn't need to act.

Angelica stats were high enough to take on a Disaster head-to-head without being overwhelmed, so getting through a metal door should be a piece of cake for someone like her.

Angelica looked at me for a while before she approached the door.

Screeeeeech!

She forcefully tore it apart with her hands as if It was made of paper. It was terrifying, really. How high is her overall stats?

The broken metal door fell onto the ground with a thud, exposing the darkness within.

The light from my flashlight cut through the dark interior, revealing a huddled group of survivors crouched behind some crates. Their faces were gaunt, covered in dirt and fear, and their eyes blinked rapidly as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. A few of them instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces, while others simply stared, unsure of what to do.

One of the survivors, a man, slowly rose to his feet. His ragged clothes were torn in several places, and he gripped a rusty pipe, holding it like a makeshift weapon.

"Who are you?"

Angelica took a step forward, but I held her back with a raised hand. As I slid the revolver back into my pocket, I spoke with a steady, measured voice.

"We're coming from Jungnang-gu. We're looking for survivors."

"Survivors?"

"That's right. My crew members seperated because of the Fable, and I've been looking for them ever since."

"How can I trust that you're telling the truth?"

"You don't have to. But we just tore that door down and didn't shoot. That should count for something, Yes?"

"T-That..."

The man swallowed his dry saliva and lowered the pipe slightly. I scanned the faces of the survivors one by one. Those dull eyes? They were eyes filled with hopelessness as if waiting for the next disaster to fall upon them.

Before I could speak, Angelica asked, "How long have you been hiding here?"

"Two days. We barely managed to make it here from the north."

"So you also came from Jungnang-gu?"

"Yes. Though we were safe for a while, our supplies are running low. We weren't sure if we'd last much longer."

"And the rest of your group?" I asked, though I already suspected the answer.

The man's face darkened. "Gone. Most didn't make it past the first night. Those that did... some went looking for help, but they never came back."

So the situation here was like this?

These people were hanging by a thread. They wouldn't survive to see tomorrow if they were left by themselves.

Angelica and I exchanged glances. Perhaps both of us were thinking about the same thing. Angelica approached the survivors while removing meat from her backpack.

The survivors' eyes widened at the sight of the food. It was a simple gesture, but in times like this, even a small piece of dried meat could mean the difference between life and death. Angelica tossed a strip to the man who had spoken, and after a brief hesitation, he grabbed it hungrily.

There was hesitation at first, but in the end, the survivors began to approach Angelica one by one and she evenly distributed the food among the people. Some felt sorry and showed their gratitude.

I approached the survivors while pulling out some food. Everybody were 'players' but not everyone could become 'hunters'. In fact, life has always been like this.

How long did we stay like this? The final person received the food and showed their gratitude.

"T-Thank you... Let me pay you for the food."

"There's no need for that. Besides, these are just leftovers. Use your coins for something important."

"Ah! Thank you."

The man bowed his head and retreated somewhere. Sometimes, It was good to be good.

[The constellations that likes good deeds are impressed by your actions.]

[A few constellations are questioning the motive behind your actions.]

[The constellation, Architect of Destruction remarks that your actions are an excellent strategy for accumulating coins.]

The constellations must have seen me as a very heartless fellow. But was that really the case? I'm also human, you know.

Regardless, I wasn't in a hurry to fix the misunderstanding.

"Um... excuse me, mister."

I felt a tug on the sleeve of my coat. Turning my head, I saw two teenagers standing at my side.

"How can I help you?"

"Thank you."

The teenagers who bowed were twins with a Western look and delicate features, perhaps around 16 or 17 years old. Weren't they rather good?

I said. "You're welcome I suppose. What are your names?"

The girl with a messy hair spoke. "I'm Yoo Rin. This is my brother, Yoo Jin-sung."

"Are you two alone? Where are your parents?"

"Over there."

I followed the boy's finger to a woman sitting against the wall. She was clutching her knees to her chest, staring blankly at the ground.

"Is she okay?"

"She hasn't been herself since Dad went out," Yoo Rin's voice seemed like a whisper. "That was a while ago."

"Do you know when he went exactly?"

"It was two days ago. He said he would come back, but he never did." The boy answered.

... The father had been gone for two days? I could only consider two possible scenarios: either he had abandoned his wife and children, or he had likely died.

But there was no way I could say something like that to this children. They must already know that something was wrong but still believed he would return to them.

How could I completely crush that hope?

As if noticing the situation, Angelica moved this way towards the twins. "Have you guys eaten anything?"

They shook their heads, their eyes downcast.

"How about we get your mother some food? Maybe it will help her," she suggested gently.

The twins nodded their heads and guided Angelica to their mother. I watched everything from a distance. Everything was good so far and there was still time before the next Fable.

Even so....

Why can't I shake this feeling that something bad was going to happen?

Wait.... Those twins and the Mother.

The moment I used the Omniscient Wall, an holographic system message appeared infront of me. It was Aurora.

[Hey, everyone! I hope you're all doing well! The last Fable was an incredible experience, and the constellations were buzzing with excitement. However, we now have to move on to the Fifth Fable for reasons I can't disclose.]

Of course, It didn't take long before the survivors began to panic.

"What the fuck? I thought we still had time."

"Damnit! Fuck!!"

"I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. "I can't do this anymore."

The atmosphere shifted from cautious hope to utter despair. These people had only survived because they were lucky. Would they be able to survive another Fable? I seriously doubt it.

Aurora continued speaking regardless of their despair. In fact, she was not speaking to us only, but all survivors in the ruined Seoul.

[Unlike the previous Fables, this one will be rather different. I won't go into detail, but everything will be clarified once you arrive there. Also, make sure to perform properly, Okay?]

As expected of Aurora, she didn't explain things properly and made the situation worse than it already was.

In the next moment, the survivors glowed and begun disappearing one by one. From the one that spoke earlier, to the people who collected food and even the twins disappeared.

Angelica looked at me as my body began to glow and rushed towards me.

"Jakga!"

"It's okay. I'll see you soon."

My body was completely enveloped in light as the surrounding space warped and twisted. The transportation mechanism had already activated, and soon everyone in Seoul would be transported to a different story.