[Main Story 17-01]
Under the dim sky, the city was covered in dark clouds.
The halo in the sky was like a raindrop ripple.
I looked down and saw under the still water,
the square decorated with colorful lights.
I saw the figure of my own,
against the light, smiling at me.
Last night’s call from Dr. Song left me uneasy. Every time I tried calling back, no one picked up.
Maybe she was just busy? First thing next morning, I got on the 330 bus and hurried to the hospital.
The bus was empty so early in the morning, and there were hardly any pedestrians due to the flu.
The driver seemed extremely impatient though, slamming the gas and brakes, making for a bumpy ride.
I sat in a seat, my heart in my throat.
We sped along, and one stop before my destination, the bus stopped.
Was there someone else out at this hour?
I peered at the entrance. A tall young guy with a skateboard and headphones walked on.
Under his hat brim, a pair of subdued eyes locked sight with mine.
The next second, he sat down in the seat next to me.
With all these seats on the bus, why did he want to sit next to me?
A little confused, I unconsciously scooted in a little.
Not seeming to care, he sat down, crossed his legs, and pulled out a black MP4 player.
Feeling curious, I surreptitiously looked over at his device.
The bottom had two extra dials, and it was all scratched up, like he’d used it a long time.
On the screen, an old song of Green Day’s was playing: Holiday.
On the quiet bus, I could faintly hear the blaring music coming out of the headphones too.
Maybe I’d snuck one too many looks. His eyebrows perked up as he shot me a sidelong glance.
??: Wanna listen?
{{MC}}: N- no.
I felt a little embarrassed and waved my hands as I turned my body away.
The bus proceeded forward, seemingly faster than before.
Suddenly, after a sudden turn, my head banged against his skateboard.
The next second, a hand was holding the board firm, and keeping me in place with it.
The guy still sat firmly in his seat, his eyes squinting in irritation.
??: Hey, not so fast, ya hear?
The words fired out of his mouth, totally opposite from his casual demeanor. It made me shiver.
Driver: This is a public…
The driver turned to argue but was cowed by the guy’s intimidating aura. He nodded and slowed down.
A hint of disdain flashed in the student’s eyes, and then he ran his fingers through his hair.
{{MC}}: Um, thanks…
He shot me a playful look, his slender brows quivering upward.
??: You bumped my skateboard.
{{MC}}: …
He spoke in a teasing tone, his eyes looking at me dead on.
My embarrassment grew, and I turned completely toward the window, just wishing we’d reach my stop.
As I impatiently leaned against the window, a sharp, familiar pain ran through my head.
A white light dissipated, and then I saw a familiar intersection. The 330 bus suddenly lost control and crashed head on into a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
A young woman laid in a puddle of blood. Pages from a file she was carrying littered the ground.
The look in her wide-open eyes impossible to describe.
Then the eyes disappeared from my sight, and I popped up my head to look out the window. Down this street, after the next turn, we were coming to that intersection!
My precognition! It’s back!
{{MC}}: Stop the bus!
With no time to think, I jumped up, holding onto the railing as I shouted at the driver.
Driver: Miss, we’re not at the stop yet.
The driver just brushed me off, not taking me too seriously.
{{MC}}: Sorry, but I suddenly remembered something urgent! Can you please pull over!
Driver: No can do! We’ll be at the stop soon. Don’t fret!
{{MC}}: But…!
The bus was about to turn. I panicked, unable to think of anything to say to convince the driver.
As I stood there racking my brains, the student watched on with great interest, arms crossed over his chest. For a moment, his eyes seemed really familiar to me.
He cranked the volume, until the intense rock was about to break the headphones.
*Ka-chaa–*
The sky outside the window seemed to turn cloudy in the blink of an eye.
Thunder accompanied lightning in an earth-splitting peel across the sky, taking up my entire vision.
Then, a torrent of rain came crashing down. For a moment, we couldn’t even see out the window.
Driver: Where’d this storm come from? The weather report said it’d be sunny today…
As the driver muttered, he slowed the bus to a halt at the side of the road.
Driver: Can’t drive in rain like this. You two hurry up and get out!
I felt thrilled and rushed excitedly off the bus into the pouring rain.
Paying no heed to the storm, I broke into a run. My precognition… please don’t let it come true!
A strong uneasy feeling leapt in my chest. A familiar figure appeared in my sight–
–the woman from my vision.
Holding an umbrella, she stepped into the crosswalk, taking firm, vigorous strides.
Then she made it across the street, took a turn, and went on her way.
The future was changed!
An unimaginable feeling of joy took over my heart.
I was drenched by the downpour, but all I could do was thank the heavens for this sudden storm.
Then just as suddenly, the rain stopped falling on me.
A transparent umbrella opened over me. The rain hit the clear surface, splashing in all directions.
The umbrella handle was shoved into my hand. I turned– it was the guy from the bus.
Feeling my gaze, he looked up slightly. A faint scent of tobacco enveloped him.
I was about to say something when he strode off, his black boots splashing water onto his pants.
??: You’re welcome.
His nonchalant tone wafted through the rain, drowning out the background patter.
{{MC}}: I wasn’t going to say thanks…
I watched wordlessly as he receded into the distance, forced to accept the kind gesture.
The storm gradually slackened and then came to a stop. Not long after, a faint rainbow hung in the sky, just like the miracle I’d just witnessed.
With my spirits lifted, I walked on to the hospital.
(MC’s moments: Change the Future)
https://mrlove.wiki.gg/wiki/MC%27s_Moments
[Main Story 17-03]
Under the affects of the flu, the hospital had turned into a place of highest risk.
The rooms may have been full of patients, but the halls and lobby were mostly empty.
I made my way to Dr. Song’s office. The door was slightly ajar, like someone forgot to pull it shut.
{{MC}}: Dr. Song?
I knocked a few times, but no one answered.
With a bad feeling, I pushed the door open. Dr. Song was nowhere to be seen.
A white coat was draped over the chair, and half a cup of tea was still on the desk. The phone hung in mid-air, making an intermittent dial tone sound.
Everything seemed to say that the person in this room left in a hurry.
I walked in confusion out of the office and found an on-duty doctor.
{{MC}}: Hi, excuse me, but do you know if Dr. Song came into work today?
Doctor: What business do you have with Dr. Song? She hasn’t been at the hospital lately.
{{MC}}: But… last night I made an appointment with her. Did she have some emergency?
Doctor: Unfortunately, late last night she was transferred together with a critically infected patient.
{{MC}}: Transferred?
Shock and unease spread through my chest. Why do these things all happen in the middle of the night?
{{MC}}: Was the patient a middle-aged construction worker?
Doctor: I’m not too sure. I just know that his condition seemed to suddenly worsen last night.
{{MC}}: Do you know where Dr. Song was transferred to?
Doctor: No. 5 Hospital in the East district. They’re taking all of these critical flu cases.
Doctor: But miss, at a time like this, I wouldn’t go running around town if I were you.
The doctor hurried off, and I returned to Dr. Song’s office.
I couldn’t find anything of use. No files, books, papers… like it was cleaned out intentionally.
And the construction worker’s hospital room was now occupied by a little girl.
What exactly happened? Why did Dr. Song get transferred together with that patient?
And it was after she contacted me. Could it be she found something out?
I called Dr. Song again, but it said right away that her phone was powered off.
Everything was shrouded in mystery, but I had a feeling that I’d bumped against the edge of truth.
No. 5 Hospital, the one taking in the critical cases, was in the city’s East district, a relatively remote location. Right now it was completely sealed off.
From what information I could find, the hospital had been around over a dozen years but had always kept a low profile. I’d never even heard of it.
I hid in the shadow of a tree, observing this hospital built on a mountainside.
It had a small footprint, and the whole building was just 5 floors high with 1 underground level.
It was a non-descript building, all right angles. Even inside, there was nothing modern about it.
Before coming, I’d saved a blueprint layout of the whole hospital. The most suspicious thing about it was an unreasonably large archive room on the top floor.
I had used my reporter credentials to get through the East district quarantine blocks, but now I put on a white lab coat and hygiene mask, along with a fake ID.
I’d never done anything like this before. My thumping chest felt like a ball of nerves.
The security guard at the door took my ID and just gave it a glance before opening the door for me. I hurried inside but wondered: what was the point of all those guards if security was that lax?
Everyone in the hospital halls was in a hurry, or else had their heads buried in their work.
No one was chit-chatting, and they even all walked softly. It was way too quiet for a hospital.
Past the lobby, I started pretending to casually look through windows into each sick room.
The small rooms only had one or two beds, set up pretty much like any other hospital.
I quickly discovered to my shock that not one of a dozen rooms had a single patient in them!
They said this place had taken in a massive amount of critical patients, so why didn’t I see any?!
The loose security, the lack of patients, the eerie silence…
…all these strange things swirled in my brain, seeming to lead to a terrifying conclusion–
The light over my head suddenly swayed. My heart jumped, and my legs started to feel weak.
On the second floor, windows blocked by trees let in dim sunlight. A group was walking toward me.
I forced myself to stay calm, steadied my breathing and walked at an even pace, closing in on them.
With my head slightly lowered, I tried to get a look at each of them from the corner of my eye.
Suddenly, at the end of the group, I saw Dr. Song!
Her face was pale, and her eyes flashed with shock upon seeing me. She immediately gave me a stern look to keep me from showing any reaction.
Then, she looked silently away, only opening her mouth to silently tell me:
–Go now.
My palms broke out in a cold sweat. I forced my eyes forward and kept walking calmly down the hall.
When I turned a corner, I quickly looked back to see Dr. Song walking away.
A chilling sensation rose like floodwater from the depths of my heart, about to swallow me up.
After Dr. Song’s warning, I didn’t dare go wandering around anymore.
I hid in a breakroom and looked out a window, with a view right on the hospital’s main entrance.
Since I’d entered, the entire hospital had been completely locked down.
In out-of-the-way places stood quite a few inconspicuous people, but their mannerisms didn’t seem like that of ordinary people.
I’d missed my opportunity to escape, and I couldn’t go looking for Dr. Song either.
Now all I could do was wait for dark, check out the hospital’s archive room, then get out of here.
In a dark room, dozens of screens covered a wall, showing in cold hues everything in the hospital.
White light illuminated a man sitting alone in the room. Behind a pair of glasses, his eyes lit up with a treacherous glare.
[Main Story 17-05]
Finally it was dark outside. While I waited, not a single person had come into the breakroom. Several ambulances had driven up to the hospital, but I don’t know where the people inside were taken to.
The hallway was empty. Keeping my nerves in check, I followed the route I’d mapped out.
The hospital at night was even quieter. The only sound was the hum of the central AC.
On the cracked ceiling, pale white lightbulbs flickered, causing my heart to skip a beat each time.
This time went smoothly. I didn’t encounter a single person the whole way.
At each floor, all the way to the fifth floor, I also didn’t find a single patient.
The hem of my clothes were damp from the nervous tugging of my sweaty palms. I stopped at the end of a hallway that was lit by only a single lightbulb.
The floor in front of the door was thick with dust, like no one had come this way in a long time.
Since reaching the 5th floor, my heart had been in my throat, but now it seemed to jump even higher.
I eased open the door. The slight creaking noise may as well have been a scream in that silence.
{{MC}}: Ahem, ahem.
A few steps inside, I was choking on the oppressive air, the staleness even coming through my mask. This archives room was even bigger than I’d imagined: two floors of tightly-packed shelves, all filled with portfolios. In the dark, it looked ghastly and terrifying.
Using the light from my phone’s screen, I walked past shelf after packed shelf organized by year. Strangely enough, starting two years ago, all the records were completely missing.
Two years ago… the year of Dad’s accident, the year Black Swan became active again…
Why would this obscure little hospital have a connection to that particular year?
A tangle of information swirled in my brain. I couldn’t make head or tail of it.
Among a stack of portfolios of varying thickness, I saw an out-of-place, worn old notebook.
Without thinking about it, I stood on my tiptoes and took it down.
It seemed to have a lot of years on it. The brown leather cover was peeling off in big scraps, and the yellowed pages would crumble with the slightest force.
Most of the handwriting was now blurred, but on the last page, a strange sentence caught my eye:
When you see a night lit up by an unknown light, you will know its a hint he left for you.
What does that mean?
I seemed to have hit upon something, but at the same time it seemed like absurd nonsense.
I ran my finger over it. Whoever wrote it did so with some force, leaving deep grooves on the page.
I took out my phone to take a picture of it so I could look into it some more back home.
??: Hey.
The silence was suddenly broken by the sound of another voice.
I wheeled my head around to see a man on the second floor, leaning over the railing.
I couldn’t see his face in the dark. I found my eyes drawn to his distinct, silver hair.
??: Give that book to me.
His tone was moderate, but there was an air of a command in it.
{{MC}}: Who are you? Why should I give it to you?
Afraid of attracting unnecessary attention, I whispered a response, but he didn’t answer.
Now that someone else had shown up, I was dead set on getting out of here as quickly as possible. I lowered my head, quickly opened my camera app, and took a picture of the page.
*Ka-chick*
I suddenly got a bad feeling, and then I was blinded by white light.
My heart froze mid-beat, and only one thought was in my mind:
Game over.
Lights flicked on in quick succession. The whole archive room, even the hallway outside, was lit up.
Hurried footsteps sounded outside, drawing closer, as if waiting to pounce on their prey, me.
The more desperate things became, the blanker my mind went. I just clutched my phone in panic.
Wh- …what am I gonna do?!
??: Stand back.
My head spun around at the sound of that steely voice, just in time to see the man at the railing push off with one arm–
–his black form whirled like a cyclone over the railing as he leapt down from the second floor.
For a split-second, I seemed to see him as someone else, but under the lights, his shiny silver hair dispelled that vision.
{{MC}}: You…
He landed in front of me, a black shadow covering the lower half of his face, exposing only the fierce, cold line of his brow.
He reached out right away and took the notebook from me, flipped through a few pages, then shut it.
??: Let’s go.
{{MC}}: Wait, go where?
I stared blankly. He hadn’t been exactly friendly, but I had a feeling that he wouldn’t hurt me.
??: In exchange.
His eyes were cold and grey, with an occasional flash of golden light that gave off some emotion.
Without any more explanation, he led me to a corner of the room. There was a small door here.
??: Go out this way. It’s safe.
With those few words, he turned and left.
Watching him go, on an impulse, I reached out to grab him, but he sidestepped it.
{{MC}}: What about you?
??: Don’t get in the way.
He spat the words at me, then he went around a shelf and was gone.
{{MC}}: Thanks.
I said it with a whisper then ran off in the direction he had pointed me.
[Main Story 17-06]
My phone’s light swayed in the dim passage as I descended down a narrow staircase.
The thumping of footsteps faded in the distance, leaving only my hurried breathing and racing heart.
Five floors went by quickly, and I closed in on a light showing a 1F sign right in front of me!
Finally… I’d reached the exit!
I felt thrilled, but I didn’t want to slow down. The exit drew closer–
Those indifferent eyes flashed again in front of me. The light flickered out, and all I could see was a black figure standing in the exit.
Oh no!
I clenched my fists, and without time to think, I drew back a few steps and prepared to hide.
A cold hard object pressed against the back of my head.
Man in Black: You’d best not move.
It was a gun.
A trace scent of gunpowder permeated the air from the warm muzzle of the gun.
I closed my eyes and tried to compose myself.
{{MC}}: Who are you? What do you want?
I tried my best to speak loudly, like I wasn’t intimidated.
Man in Black: Come with us.
{{MC}}: My associate will be here to save me soon. You’d better let me go.
Man in Black: Shut her up!
My mouth was taped shut. I couldn’t make a sound.
A black cloth covered my eyes. The world went pitch black.
The cold touch on the back of my head intensified, and I was forced forward by the man.
What are armed people doing here? Are they connected with Black Swan? And who was that guy just now?
All kinds of questions spun ceaselessly in my mind.
It seemed I’d walked down a long hall, followed by a feeling of descending, lasting a long time.
Man in Black: Get out, quick.
I staggered from a push, almost falling to the ground.
Disinfectant mixed with the faint smell blood hit my nose, along with a gag-inducing rotting odor.
The temperature was much colder, and the air was dry, the perfect environment for preserving things.
A hand ripped the tape off my mouth. I gasped in pain.
*Tap, tap, tap* Light, yet steady footsteps sounded all around me, sounding somehow menacing.
My chin was suddenly lifted up as sharp, bony fingers dug into it.
Man in Black: Where is the notebook?
{{MC}}: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
After a long, cold pause, my whole body was lifted off the ground.
I was dragged onto a metal platform. The frigid surface raised goosebumps all down my back.
A mechanical hiss sounded, and several cuffs locked my entire body to the surface.
With no idea what was going to happen, I finally started to crack with fear. Forgetting that gun pointed at me, I started to struggle forcefully.
{{MC}}: What are you going to do?! Let me go! Let me go!
But my struggle was completely useless. Even more cuffs tied me down until I couldn’t move an inch.
*ZZzzz–*
An intense dread rushed over me. A clock seemed to be tolling in my ear.
Chime after chime, with precise regularity, counting down my terror.
A sharp object suddenly pierced my arm.
It was a needle.
Cold fluid entered my vein. My hand twitched helplessly.
{{MC}}: Let me go…
Seconds later, blood flowed out of my arm, and my limbs went cold.
Feeble and losing consciousness, I could feel my spirit slowly slipping from my body.
It seemed like a hole opened in my heart, and something leaked out bit by bit, stripping away an old disguise and unmasking a face underneath.
In the darkness, I saw a scene that was strangely familiar–
A white wall, an empty laboratory, a ice-cold operating table…
…and a face contorted in pain of a golden-haired little boy.
Beside him, so still she seemed unconscious, was a brown-haired girl.
…Is that me?
I watched blood drip incessantly from a dropper, and tears ran quietly down past my ears.
Kiro…
It turns out, our lives were bound together long ago.
But where are you at this moment?
My body grew chill. I didn’t want to watch, but right before closing my eyes, I saw a familiar face.
The procedure was a success.
His lips parted, and he spat out those cold words.
The girl’s face was almost transparent, and the little boy slowly opened his blue eyes.
Then he stretched out his hand and clasped the girl’s hand in his.
[Main Story 17-08]
I couldn’t help thinking of the last time I’d seen his golden eyes and resolute smile.
Kiro: You’ll be okay. I said before, I will definitely succeed this time. I will always protect you.
Kiro: Miss Chips, wait for me!
I’m sorry, this time, I can’t wait any longer…
I was like a beached fish, gasping helplessly for its last breath of oxygen.
Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out so vividly beside me that my spirit stopped drifting.
A warm hand drew near my frozen cheek, the only speck of sentiment in this pale memory.
{{MC}}: Don’t go…
The black cloth over my face was untied, and light entered my world once again. I opened my eyes in a daze. A face was right next to me, with a pair of familiar eyes.
This instant, I seemed see the person I remembered, standing smilingly before me once again.
I seemed to feel his warm embrace again, and that resolute heart from the last time we parted. Countless times I’d dreamed of it: my hero, his body covered in scars, standing in the sunlight and saying to me–
I’ve come back, Miss Chips.
{{MC}}: …Kiro?
I wanted to reach out and touch his eyes, but the restraints binding me snapped me back to reality.
??: Who is Kiro?
The person before me looked away disinterestedly, his indifference completely bursting my illusion.
??: Take this.
A capsule was placed in my mouth, not bitter, and even a little sweet.
A muddled awareness slowly returned to my brain.
Then he lifted his hand, and the whole operation table shook according to his motions.
After some loud sounds, my body was free again. I sat up and looked at the person before me.
A huge light lit up the room. This familiar yet strange person stood there, looking sideways at me.
He held a silver box in his left hand, and his right was in his pocket in a very relaxed pose.
But his narrowed eyes and shifty gaze showed how on guard he really was.
The blank tank top he had accentuated the lines of his powerful back and waist.
His bare right arm was tattooed, and black cargo pants fell over black leather boots.
It was the polar opposite of how Kiro dressed.
{{MC}}: And you are…
??: Whatever you’re gonna say right now, just shut it.
His eyes swept coldly over me, and then suddenly grew fierce.
Before I could react, he had yanked me away. I was caught off guard and almost fell over.
In the place where I was just standing, there were two bullet holes in the metal floor.
??: Stay outta the way.
Before I’d recovered from my fright, I saw a black streak of a person rush forward.
Out of thin air, a towering man in black emerged from a corner.
I could hear metal clashing, along with some sparks, but it was hard to see the men themselves.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Man in Black: Helios, give up. This matter doesn’t concern you.
??: It just so happens, I’m making it my concern.
His vicious tone and cold laugh were like that of a back alley thug.
Man in Black: Dead men should stay dead. Don’t you know that?
??: Those who know too much should stay dead too.
{{MC}}: Ah!
I yelped. A bullet hit next to me, and fragments of some shattered thing crashed by my foot.
Then, I was pulled into an embrace that was cold with sweat.
My nose hit painfully against a hard, sturdy chest. I saw stars, and all I could do was keep moving and spinning along with man whose arms I was in.
He wasn’t gentle at all, and the hand hooked around my waist pressed hard, not holding back a bit.
My arm accidentally hit a lamp, but he didn’t care at all and didn’t slow down a bit because of it.
After another sound of a body thudding against the floor, all movement finally stopped. He released his hand, and since my legs had turned to jello, I sank to the floor.
[Main Story 17-09]
Dim emergency lights lit up. The man in black on the ground didn’t seem to be breathing.
??: Here.
He held up a metal briefcase that had been placed in a corner and threw it into my arms. Then he picked up a piece of electric cord and bound the man in black’s limbs.
{{MC}}: What’s this?
The briefcase in my hand wasn’t thick and didn’t seem important, but I remembered when this man had first appeared, he wasn’t carrying it.
??: A virus.
{{MC}}: What?!
I thought I must’ve heard wrong. The man, who till now had kept such a cool expression, now perked up his mouth in a sarcastic grin.
??: It’s just the thing in your mind.
{{MC}}: This… this is really…
??: Make sure you’ve got a good grip. Wouldn’t want to drop it. Or else, we’ll all die.
His expression became stern, but his tone was even more sarcastic.
The briefcase in my arms seemed like a bomb now. Not knowing what to do, I just nodded.
{{MC}}: I’ll keep a tight grip…
??: It’s a joke.
He threw up his hands, and his flat tone made it even more evident that I was overreacting.
{{MC}}: J- joke?
??: You’re too easy to fool.
The briefcase was suddenly lifted from my arms. He walked to a screen on the wall and fiddled for a couple minutes. A door then opened up in a tightly-sealed wall.
??: What’re you waiting for? Quick.
He walked first onto an elevator behind the door and motioned with his eyes for me to follow.
{{MC}}: Oh… oh.
I confusedly got up and got onto the elevator, my eyes still drawn to that plain-looking briefcase.
The elevator doors closed, and we started quickly ascending.
The number “-113m” on the screen rapidly counted down, confirming for me that I was not in the hospital, but rather a hundred meters below it.
My gaze returned again to the person before me. He watched the screen, seemingly deep in thought.
I got that familiar feeling from him again. Clearly his look, attitude, and mannerisms were different, but he really did resemble Kiro.
Could there really be two people in the world who look so alike?
{{MC}}: Kiro?
I tried calling his name, but he showed reaction. He just moved his eyes from the screen to me.
{{MC}}: Are you Kiro?
??: How many more times are you gonna get that wrong?
His tone was flat, not mean, but I still felt an instant of unease.
{{MC}}: I…
I looked at him. Every line on his face was so similar, and yet different.
{{MC}}: I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone else.
I lowered my head, not wishing to see that alien expression on a face so similar to Kiro’s. A bitter sadness welled up in my chest.
The elevator was still going up, and at a certain height, I suddenly heard a ticking sound.
It was like a clock, the second hand sweeping forward with the inexorable passage of time.
{{MC}}: What is that noise?
I instinctually felt uneasy, but the man just wrinkled his brow and didn’t answer me.
Finally, the elevator reached the surface.
The instant the door opened, the ticking sound stopped and a long, shrill *beeep–* sounded.
I suddenly realized what the sound was. My foot paused in mid-stride, and my heart seemed to stop, waiting for an explosion to come.
One second, two seconds, three… Time stretched on, the sound stopped, but nothing at all happened.
The man stepped out of the elevator first, and all I could do was set aside my worry and follow him.
I don’t know what happened while I was underground, but there was no one in the hospital now.
All around was perfect silence, with only the sound of our footsteps to be heard.
{{MC}}: Do you know what happened here?
??: Can’t you see? There’s no one in the hospital now.
{{MC}}: But, why?
??: You’ll know soon enough.
Not about to explain any more, the man kicked open the locked door with a forceful kick.
In the hospital courtyard, all parked cars were gone, leaving only the shadows of trees on the red bricks. Under the still moonlight, it seemed like a different world.
??: Now get outta here, and don’t ever come back.
He pointed to the road leading outside, seemingly not planning to go with me.
{{MC}}: And you? You’re not leaving with me?
??: I still have things to do.
{{MC}}: But it’s dangerous in there…
??: That doesn’t concern you.
I reflexively grabbed his wrist, and my heart filled with panic. I don’t know why I did it, but I didn’t want to just let him go.
{{MC}}: You are Kiro, aren’t you? You’re Kiro…
{{MC}}: Why are you pretending not to recognize me? Didn’t you tell me to wait for you?
Everything weighing on me came spilling out at once.
??: I already told you, I’m not that person.
As he pulled his wrist from my grip, I couldn’t hold back the tears quivering in my eyes any longer.
The man receded into the distance until he entered the high walls of the hospital and disappeared.
In a room shrouded in darkness, dozens of identical screens displayed the same scene.
In a huge blast, the hospital collapsed in seconds, fire and smoke billowing in every direction.
The eyes of the man in front of the screen glowed red from the fire. He cackled in vicious delight and then strode out of the room.
[Main Story 17-11]
On my way back home, after calming down, I revisited all of the things I’d overlooked in my panic.
Helios was a name that didn’t really mean much to me.
But it made me think of the name those men in black called Lucien– Ares.
Was he a member of Black Swan too? Then why did he show up at that hospital? And why did he save me?
Was he really not Kiro? Why did he go back into the hospital?
The uneasy feeling in my chest spread, causing me to slow my pace and then come to halt.
Sure enough, I couldn’t let go of the idea that he was Kiro.
Even if he vehemently denied it. Even if they weren’t anything alike.
Still, this feeling I got every time I saw him made me think that my intuition wasn’t so crazy.
Just the possibility made it impossible for me to focus on anything else.
Turning back the way I came, I ran off quickly toward the hospital.
{{MC}}: No… I have to find out… I won’t let him scare me off this time…
I quickened my pace. I was almost at the gate–
*Boom* A blast rumbled and the ground shook.
The intense swaying knocked me off my feet.
{{MC}}: What’s going on? Is it an earthquake?
In seconds, a huge rift opened up in the ground under me, and I saw the hospital start to collapse.
{{MC}}: Kiro!!
Thinking he was still in the hospital, my whole mind went blank, with no thought for my own safety.
{{MC}}: Kiro! Where are you? Are you here?
From out of the crumbling ground floor lobby, a familiar figure appeared in my view.
Running and leaping at a dead sprint, jumping off of a falling stone block, he came diving out.
Behind him, the whole building had sunk underground with a huge crash in a matter of seconds.
Standing dumbstruck, I rubbed my eyes, trying to confirm that it really was him.
After hitting the ground, he sprang back up and was before me in a few steps, emanating anger.
??: What are you doing here?!
His wide eyes were filled with fury. Dust and tiny scratches stood out clearly on his face.
{{MC}}: I was worried…
Before I could finish, he was dragging me away at a run and shoved me into a black SUV.
The car peeled off at full throttle, barreling through a flower bed and racing away from the still-collapsing ground behind.
When we finally got out of range of the hospital, I looked back and saw that the little mountain had sunken down to half its original height.
The car pulled over. The man opened the windows, and the cool night air rushed into the interior.
{{MC}}: Why did it just collapse all of a sudden? Are you okay?
??: It’s nothing. I was set up.
He was looking out the window, a tough look on his face.
Soon, a stream of police cars and firetrucks flew past us, heading towards the hospital.
Even from so far away, we could see the raging conflagration, turning half the sky red.
I looked at the man. His long eyelashes quivered as he blinked, giving an illusion of fragility.
??: Don’t ask.
I had opened my mouth, but before I’d said anything, he stopped me.
??: I’m not going to answer any more questions like that.
Stuffing that question back down, I chose another one:
{{MC}}: You’re Helios?
??: Do you know what Helios means?
That sneering look had returned to his face.
He suddenly propped his left hand on my window, trapping me between his arm and the seat back.
His eyes bore down on me, seeming to be looking for even the slightest of wavering in my face, at which he’d then tell me to stay away from him.
{{MC}}: Yes.
My voice trembled. I smelled the faint scent of his sweat mixed with the smell of blood. It didn’t smell good, but I still found myself drawn to it.
{{MC}}: It’s the god of the sun in ancient Greek myth…
??: I don’t like that name.
His eyes contracted unnaturally, and then he took back his hand, his voice now even, as if I’d imagined that outburst just now.
{{MC}}: Why… did you save me?
??: I was just passing through.
He spoke casually, as if saying, believe it or not, I wasn’t going to get anything else out of him.
I still couldn’t understand, if the danger for me was coming from Black Swan, which he was a part of, then why did he still save me?
{{MC}}: So what should I call you?
He let out a laugh. With his hand dangled over the steering wheel, he looked perfectly at ease.
??: Don’t worry about it.
??: This is the last time we’ll see each other.
He raised his eyebrows at me, his expression quite cheerful. But unlike his expression, his words were cold, making my heart tremble.
??: Take this.
A streak of metal arced through the air, and he placed in my hand a small, curved blade.
??: It’s good enough for self-defense.
{{MC}}: Is this a gift? Or…
??: If you won’t use it, give it back.
I hastily drew back my arm and shoved it down into a pocket.
{{MC}}: Thank you…
??: Where to? I’ll take you.
{{MC}}: Oh, it’s okay, I’ll just…
??: Come on.
Seeing his impatience, I thought a moment and then told him an address nearby my place.
Without any signs of doubt, he started driving.
I guess… he’s not Kiro after all?
For awhile we were both silent. The inside of the car became peaceful and still.
The wind streamed in from the half-open window, clearing my head.
His scent, a chillness mixed with gun smoke and blood, was totally opposite from the sweet smell I remembered.
??: Don’t stare at me. It’s distracting.
He spoke suddenly. Caught in the act, I hastily turned away and looked at the street ahead.
{{MC}}: Do you follow entertainment news? You… Kiro is this amazing superstar.
??: I don’t keep up with stuff like that.
{{MC}}: Then, do you like sweets?
??: Not in particular. Are you doing a survey?
He shot me a glance, a bantering tone in his voice.
{{MC}}: Do you know about quantum password transmission?
??: No clue.
{{MC}}: It’s a computational…
??: I just stick to guns.
He cut me off abruptly, and the car descended into silence again.
{{MC}}: When did you dye your hair?
??: Who said it was dyed?
{{MC}}: It’s not? Then does that mean…
His hair was pure silver, not a strand off-color. The way it radiated under the light was gorgeous.
It didn’t seem dyed at all, and it also didn’t seem brought on by an illness.
??: No, it doesn’t. Don’t get any ideas in your head.
With that, he burst my little bubble.
??: I’m not the person you’re looking for.
??: And if you want to keep asking questions, you can get out now.
The car entered a tunnel. The loud noises of the cars inside easily drowned out his voice.
His indifferent, emotionless voice.
But I still heard clearly.
[Main Story 17-13]
I turned my head and looked out the window, not wanting to let him see my red eyes.
The vibrating of a phone broke the silence. I hastily took out my phone, surprised at who it was.
{{MC}}: Hello, Uncle John?
It was Dad’s old classmate, a biology professor at Loveland University. Ever since Dad passed, he’d looked out for me. He even introduced me to Lucien.
These few years he’s been out of the country on a research project, and we haven’t been in touch for a long time. Why is he suddenly calling me?
John: {{mc}}, are you free right now?
{{MC}}: What is it, Uncle John?
John: I just got back to Loveland City this evening. Do you have time to come out and meet me?
{{MC}}: Now? Is it something important?
I got a strange feeling as I heard his strained voice come through on the other end.
John: It’s about your father.
{{MC}}: My dad?
John: I found something out, perhaps related to your father’s death.
{{MC}}: What?!
My voice cracked in agitation, drawing a look from the person driving the car.
I never imagined the clue to Dad’s death that I’d searched for so long would suddenly appear now.
John: Yes. So, come over. I wouldn’t feel safe not giving it to you in person.
After hanging up, I didn’t have the ability to think of anything else. I looked out the window. This was very close to the place at which Uncle John and I had arranged to meet.
{{MC}}: Actually, you can just let me out here.
Without saying anything or asking anything, he pulled the car over.
{{MC}}: Thank you.
Thanks for saving me, and for the ride home.
Whether you’re Kiro or not, thanks all the same.
Even if I did think he was inextricably tied to Black Swan, I couldn’t feel malice towards him.
Perhaps it was because I didn’t feel a hint of evil from him personally.
??: Like I said, just passing through.
He spoke with that same indifference, and without a look or a wave, he sped off into the night.
After parting with the girl, Helios came alone to a dark alley.
In the shadows, Helios’ face and eyes were even colder and stiller than the lightless alley.
*Tap, tap, tap*
The sound of unhurried footsteps came from deep within.
Helios got out of the car and came to the end of the alley. An SUV pulled up to the curb.
He put on a pair of sunglasses and jumped in the car.
??: I got what you wanted.
A vial filled with red blood dropped into Helios’ hand.
Helios: Thanks.
He grew quiet and placed the vial in his pocket.
Helios: How is Hades’ plan going?
??: The virus is spreading and Reset Plan is going smoothly. In a week,the first infected will evolve.
Helios: Got it. Keep monitoring Hades.
With that, he started up the car and took off, as if he had never been there.
(Breaking News: Alert! Massive Explosion at the Lazaretto! Terrorist Attack Suspected!)
[Main Story 17-14]
Uncle John and I agreed to meet at a run-down cafe tucked away on some obscure street corner.
A sign reading “CLOSED” hung in the door, but inside the lights were still on.
I walked in. There was no one at the counter, but I saw a middle-aged man sitting by a window.
It had been a long time since I’d seen Uncle John. He hadn’t changed much. He wore a pair of metal-rimmed glasses, his face warm and smiling.
John: {{mc}}, I can’t believe it’s been two years. How’ve you been?
{{MC}}: Yeah, I’ve been good. The company’s been good too.
John: Sorry, I’ve been out of the country all this time and haven’t been able to take care of you.
{{MC}}: I wouldn’t say that. You helped out with the show before, after all.
After a little small talk, I was itching to get to the main reason why we were meeting.
{{MC}}: Uncle John, you said you have something related to the death of my dad?
John: I hesitated for a long time about whether or not to tell you…
Still hesitant, he folded his hands together on the table, a serious look on his face.
{{MC}}: No matter what it is, I want to know. It’s really important to me…
John: I can confirm that your dad’s car crash was no accident.
Then he paused, looking at my expression.
Although I’d speculated it countless times, hearing it in this moment with my own ears, I froze.
An indescribable grief welled up in my chest.
Dad’s passing… If it wasn’t an accident, then what was it?
John: The other driver who caused it and your father both died on the scene, and the police attributed it to driver fatigue. But there was always one point of doubt.
{{MC}}: What was it?
John: The actual time of death of the driver.
John: I’ve investigated it for a long time, and only recently have I gotten enough evidence. It shows that the driver’s death occurred 40 minutes before the accident.
As he spoke, Uncle John handed me a copy of the driver’s death certificate.
My tears had already started silently falling.
With the so-called truth finally in front of me, that feeling of loss that had slowly healed over two years once again struck at my heart.
I thought I could face it, but I really couldn’t. It hurt too much.
The faint light of dawn spilled onto the table. Such nice weather. I should be together with Dad…
I gripped the document. I broke down in sobs seeing the certified time of death entered upon it.
What was the reason? What was the truth behind it that needed to be hidden?!
Uncle John handed me a napkin and reached out to take the document back from me.
For an instant, our fingers touched, and I suddenly saw Uncle John grinning strangely at me. My heart seized up, and then the image disappeared.
{{MC}}: Uncle John, do you think I could hang on to this for a while? I’d like to make a few inquiries…
John: You already know something, don’t you, {{mc}}?
{{MC}}: I…
I hesitated, not sure if I should get Uncle John wrapped up in the Black Swan conspiracy.
John: {{mc}}, look at me.
I looked at Uncle John. He took off his glasses and started kindly at me.
Suddenly, this face without glasses looked oddly familiar to me, like I’d seen it somewhere…
The reflections from the cafe lights overhead seemed to ripple in his eyes, ring upon ring.
My fingers gradually loosened, and I fell to the table.
A black shadow flickered past without a sound.
The bells on the door jingled. Nothing was left on the table but one cup of steaming coffee.
[Main Story 17-16]
I dreamed of a black lake, stretching on without end, taking up the entire world.
A red bead of liquid dripped down, setting off black ripples across the lake’s surface.
A howling wind whistled in my ear, as well as a few familiar-sounding growls.
I hazily opened my eyes and discovered I was no longer in the cafe. Where is this…
From the ceiling, a giant circular lamp hung down, casting brilliant golden light. Shelves on either side extended all the way up, making a circular wall of books.
Pushing myself up, I saw that one wall was all-glass, with a design of circles and lines on it.
Two familiar people appeared in front of me.
How could it be them?!
{{MC}}: Stop… stop right now!
The man in the shadows turned his head, golden light catching his cold face and bone-chilling eyes.
He was choking the other man with his right hand, lifting him up past his eye line.
The face of the person being strangled was pale and terrified as he grunted out a few words.
John: Help… help me…
His face on the brink of death made my skin crawl.
What is that man doing here? Why is he… going to kill Uncle John?!
Without time to unravel these mysteries, I sprang up and ran to them.
{{MC}}: What are you doing? Let go now!
I grabbed the man’s arm, and in a flash, it was like a vision appeared before me.
Fragmented, chaotic, flashing into view and then vanishing, impossible to make a coherent picture.
The incoherent scene dissipated. From so close, I couldn’t mistake the complex look of concern in the man’s eye seeing me freeze up.
It was a look I seemed to have seen countless times, and yet somehow never.
Then he looked away first, and while I was distracted, he hurried off with Uncle John in his grasp to a door in the glass wall.
The door split into two half-doors.
I ran to catch up–
{{MC}}: Who are you? Let go of Uncle John!
His grip on the neck tightened. I didn’t dare approach any closer.
??: I have my reasons. Get out of here now. Don’t make me put you out myself.
He turned away from me to look at the door.
{{MC}}: Release him and I’ll go!
I looked at his indifferent, lightless eyes and could feel my heart tightening.
{{MC}}: You wouldn’t do this…
??: Why not?
His eyes grew sharp, and a biting sneer seemed to mock my naiveté.
??: Since you know my identity, what hope do you still hold for me?
I kept shaking my head, not wanting to hear these words.
{{MC}}: Kiro would never do something like this…
Something seemed to flash through his unflappable eyes, and in that moment, the person in his grasp wrenched himself free, coughing in pain.
{{MC}}: Uncle John–
Before I could finish, Uncle John lifted his head and shot me a hateful glare!
Terror rapidly came over me. As I stumbled backward, he brought a cold, sharp weapon up to my neck.
The right hand of the man in front of me was clenched, and a look of panic spread on his face, as if a mask was slowly slipping away.
It was the first time I’d seen the true him since we’d met.
John: Don’t struggle, {{mc}}.
That voice that was always so warm and kind now spoke coldly in my ear.
[Main Story 17-17]
{{MC}}: …Uncle John?
{{MC}}: What are you doing?
My voice quivered, not understanding how things had ended up like this.
John: {{mc}}, you must know, it was me who referred Ares to you.
He just said… he just said Ares!
Hearing that name from his lips, my whole heart plummeted.
Seeing me speechless, his eyes flickered intensely, like there was something he wanted to tell me.
I saw him loosen his finger and curl a finger up in an arc.
An idea flashed in my mind, but the blade at my neck prevented me from moving.
John: You clearly saw me holding such a crucial object, but you took not the slightest bit of precaution. Both you and your father are too naive.
I blinked, and tears streamed down my face. The object at my neck pressed down harder, not even giving me room to breathe.
{{MC}}: Was my father’s car accident orchestrated by you too?
John: Is there any point in admitting that now?
{{MC}}: Yes!
I cried out the words, and the blade at my neck instantly sliced open the skin.
{{MC}}: That was my dad!
John: You’re both too foolish, whether it’s 2 years ago, or 17.
{{MC}}: You’re despicable! I won’t forgive you… For every harm you’ve done to him…
In my hand, I gripped the curved, golden blade I’d hid in my pocket, trembling uncontrollably.
??: What do you want?
The man’s voice sounded a bit urgent and tense.
John: We’re all standing here, and you still don’t know what it is I want?
John: Helios, you’ve come back at just the right time.
The voice of the person standing behind me cracked with frenzy, so unlike the man I thought I knew.
John: We’ve already got the Queen’s gene. Once added to the virus, humanity’s evolution will be complete!
John: But before the new world dawns, I still needed the final piece of the puzzle.
??: Fool.
He spat the word out coldly and then turned his gaze to me.
He motioned with his curved finger.
John: Quickly! Give me the passage key!
??: How did you know about that?
An undisguised look of ferocity appeared in his eyes.
John: Discovering that took me 20 years time, but luckily it wasn’t too late. No matter what Hades or Ares could do, it is I who will have the last laugh!
With that, his body shook with laughter, the blade in his hand leaving my neck ever so slightly.
Now’s the time!
I took out my knife and stabbed it behind me into his chest!
His arm tensed up in place, and I used all my might to duck under it.
??: {{mc}}, stand back and close your eyes.
The next second, a golden color slowly suffused his irises–
??: I command you–
!!
My heart seemed to stop beating. I didn’t dare open my eyes, scared it was all a hallucination.
But even more scared… to face that person I’d thought of for so long in a situation like this.
After all, I had just stopped him, still didn’t trust him, still…
I finally opened my eyes and was looking into a pair of golden eyes. Emanating pure power and brilliance, they looked even more glorious under the golden overhead lighting.
{{MC}}: K-…Kiro?
{{MC}}: Kiro…
{{MC}}: Kiro!!
My world seemed to light up, and all the lies and denials crumbled in that moment.
He really was Kiro! He was okay! He came back!
I just stared at him dumbstruck, not knowing what to say or do.
{{MC}}: You came back…
Kiro: Yes, I came back.
That tender, familiar tone, like he’d never gone away.
Without speaking, I stretched out my arms and hugged Kiro tight.
He had an unfamiliar scent about him. No hint of sweetness, not as fresh, but there was still that old safe feeling in his arms.
No matter how he’d changed, he was still my hero.
His right hand patted my shoulder, and then the next moment, I was wrapped up in his strong embrace.
The tightness of his embrace left no distance between us and left me almost breathless.
My racing heart finally came to rest in that moment.
I knew, as long as he was by my side, I had no reason to fear or worry.
Kiro: {{mc}}?
{{MC}}: Yeah?
I lifted my head from his chest, and his golden eyes gazed at me, etching me into his eyes.
At last, he let out a bright, shining smile like the Kiro I knew.
My heart fluttered. I wanted to lock this timeless smile away in my memory too.
Kiro: I’m sorry.
Kiro smiled as he spoke to me, and his eyes sparkled.
I shook my head. I had so much I wanted to say, but I realized I couldn’t make a sound.
Kiro: I command you.
His voice was soft, and his gaze upon me was tinged with sorrow, but more so with a kind of determination that I couldn’t fathom.
History was repeating itself again. I opened my eyes wide and a look of despair seeped out.
I wanted to open my mouth and ask “Why,” but all I could do was stare and listen to his every word.
Kiro: …Forget everything that just happened. Forget me.
Kiro: Remember, Helios is only Helios.
Something seemed to be fading from my mind, scattering, and melting into nothingness.
Kiro’s face slowly blurred. His smile, his eyes, his warmth– it all evaporated into a fog.
I tried to grab his arm and get closer to him with all my might, but it was only in vain.
In a sky filled with fragments, Kiro walked up a long staircase, a golden light blurring all around him, making him stand out even more.
The higher he climbed, the closer he got, the more blurred he was, as if being devoured by light.
Finally, he disappeared behind a door.
Kiro…
In the end, that name that I was holding on to so tightly evaporated into a white nothingness too.
Before me, all that was left was a barren wasteland.
Seeing the girl peacefully close her eyes in his arms, the gold in Kiro’s eyes receded.
Kiro: I’m sorry…
He apologized again, tenderly, his eyes clouded over with gloom.
Kiro: I’ll take your place in the search for the truth. You won’t have to bear that pain all by yourself.
Kiro: I will return to you, but not right now.
Kiro: Don’t remember me as the bad guy. In your eyes, I’ll always be Kiro.
Kiro: I’ll fix everything, and then we’ll go back to the way things were. This time, you won’t wait long.
In the giant, circular room, the design on the glass wall started flowing like water, and the golden light flickered out.
From the moment the girl closed her eyes, the door that was half open now slowly closed on its dark side as shouts and cries faded behind it.
With several knocks, the door on the other side let out a white light.
A silver-haired man stood in the light. His tenderness melted into indifference as he looked back.
??: Helios, welcome back.
[Main Story 17-20]
When I awoke, it was already daytime.
I don’t know what kind of dream I had, but my face was damp, along with my pillow.
My heart seemed to have something missing, like it was hollow. I felt dazed for a minute, and then sunk into a sorrow that I couldn’t shake.
I remembered going to the hospital yesterday to find Dr. Song, and then it exploded and collapsed. Then I was taken home by that black-clad man named Helios.
He looked very similar to Kiro, but he wasn’t the Kiro from my memory.
With nothing else to go on, I picked up the jacket I was wearing yesterday and emptied its contents. As I did, my finger bumped something hard.
{{MC}}: When did I put this in my pocket?
A little candy lay in my palm, wrapped in cellophane that glittered in the sunlight.
I couldn’t remember when I’d gotten it. I unwrapped it, putting the green fruit candy into my mouth.
{{MC}}: Mm, green apple flavor…
Very sweet, the kind of flavor Kiro would like.
Maybe sweets really can make people happy, or maybe not, but my gloomy spirits did start to lift.
Turning on the TV, the news was still all about the new virus.
But unlike the constant reports of a worsening outbreak before, today the news was all about patients taking a turn for the better. The TV host was even sounding quite chipper.
The report said that a way had been found to control the virus, and a major breakthrough was made toward a vaccine, with a press conference about the results expected to be held soon.
In response, the annual celebration event that had originally been cancelled was being held again.
From the window, I could see the city square in the distance was a sea of flowers and jubilation.
The parade hadn’t officially begun, but the celebration seemingly had already started.
Even from so far away, I could feel the joy in their hearts, casting off a long-standing gloom.
*ZZzzz* The sundial watch on the table did a quarter turn and let out a faint sound.
It had been several days since the last time Victor had contacted me. Who knows how he’s doing.
I hurried over and picked up the watch from the table.
{{MC}}: Victor? Victor? Come in, Victor?
After waiting awhile with no response from Victor, I could only put it back down disappointedly.
{{MC}}: Maybe I misheard…
Victor: I’m here.
Just then, Victor’s deep voice sounded in my ear like before.
{{MC}}: Then why didn’t you say anything just now?
Victor: I didn’t want to answer you.
Even across space and time, I seemed to be able to hear the disdain in his curt response.
{{MC}}: Have you been well lately?
Victor: Yes, good.
Nothing unexpected about that answer. For him, there seemed to be no circumstances under which he would ever respond “No, not good”.
{{MC}}: The news said this new flu is under control now, and the celebration is back on.
{{MC}}: It’s really been so long since I’ve heard good news like this!
Victor: So that’s why you’re so happy today?
{{MC}}: And another thing, yesterday I found out that the future can change!
Victor: Can change?
Hearing Victor surprised like this was extremely rare. I felt like I had achieved something.
I told him all about how yesterday that bus pulled over and saved a girl from her early demise.
Victor: You did it.
{{MC}}: Yes! When I watched her safely cross the street, I was so happy!
{{MC}}: I thought the things I foresaw couldn’t be changed, but thankfully, someone told me that it could.
A determination crept into my voice, and the hesitation and wavering in my heart dissipated.
{{MC}}: Now, everything’s looking up. Maybe before you get back, it’ll all be over!
Victor: One can only hope.
Seemingly infected by my own optimism, Victor’s voice started to perk up too.
{{MC}}: Did you confirm that important thing from before? When can you come back?
Victor: I still need some time.
{{MC}}: That long? Then you look after yourself in the future.
Victor: Of course. Who do you think I am, you?
{{MC}}: If you don’t come back, I’ll forget how you even look!
I quickly got over my initial disappointment and teased him a bit.
This time, Victor didn’t reply with his usual “Idiot”. After a moment of silence, he responded.
Victor: You do hope that I come back?
{{MC}}: Of course…
Before I could respond, the watch once again emitted a static sound of interference.
The next second, a crack opened up in the watch right across the face, as if it couldn’t hold up under its own weight. I got a foreboding feeling.
{{MC}}: Victor?
No one answered.
{{MC}}: Victor? Can you hear me? Answer me.
There was no voice, and no response whatsoever.
This lifeline to Victor now seemed like the most ordinary of watches, laying still in my hand.
Just when everything was looking up, a pall was cast over my cheery heart once again.
{{MC}}: Of course I hope for your return.
I finished saying this to the cracked watch, even if Victor couldn’t hear it on the other side.
I wrapped the watch and placed it in my bag, on the off-chance I’d get to talk to Victor again.
When I finished that, I noticed a white letter on the table, as if it had been there all along.
{{MC}}: Who’s there?!
I looked around alertly, but there was no trace of anybody.
I opened the letter. Inside, on a pure black piece of paper was one simple sentence:
At 14:20, in the center where the crowds gather, I will give my most sincere blessing.
The letter wasn’t signed with an abbreviated “A” anymore, but with “Queen”.
{{MC}}: Queen…
That’s the name Black Swan has been calling me. Just what is it supposed to mean? And what does this letter have to do with them?
{{MC}}: Where the crowds gather…
I looked out the window, and the sound of people celebrating in the distance wafted to my ears.
[Main Story 17-22]
I arrived at the site of the celebration. The parade hadn’t formally started, but the barricaded-off streets were packed on both sides with spectators.
The festivities had shaken off the shadow of the flu. All around things were bright and cheerful.
Tens of thousands of people were in the streets, and each face radiated with a smile.
The buildings were hung with streamers and balloons, and flowers and ribbons festooned every corner. The parade floats were waiting at the entrance for the celebration to begin.
I followed the flow of the crowds to the central square of the celebration. There was already a stage set up there, and images of the floats appeared on a giant screen.
At the sound of a bell, the parade began. Far and wide, a succession of cheers was heard, but I wasn’t able to really immerse myself into the festive spirit.
Parade floats had congregated around the four sides of the square, and an MC was taking the stage.
On the big screen, a camera slowly panned the crowd in the square. Then, I saw a familiar figure.
{{MC}}: It was her.
The woman whose future I had changed. She looked about 27 or 28, very prim and proper as she elegantly ascended the stage.
Host: Now, let’s welcome the representative for the organizers, Nurse Wells, to give a speech!
Woman: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon…
The woman stood with perfect ease on the stage before tens of thousands, her smooth delivery drawing the attention of everyone onto her.
I never imagined the woman I’d save would be one of the event organizers. What a coincidence!
{{MC}}: Good thing nothing happened to her…
I muttered to myself in the crowd.
Woman: As Loveland City has developed steadily and rapidly, I’m confident that our future will be–
Her rousing voice abruptly cut off. My heart jumped along with it.
One second, two, three… the speech still hadn’t continued on.
The woman standing on the high platform lowered her head so that you couldn’t see her face.
Crowd Member A: What’s going on?
Crowd Member B: Why isn’t she talking? Did the mic cut out?
As the chatter continued, the woman on stage finally raised her head and stared into the camera.
On the big screen set up for the celebration, her face was magnified immensely, with every minute expression showing clear as day.
She stiffly cocked her head to the side, and her pale face slowly started to contort.
Lightless eyes looked into the camera, and then came a laugh that made my hair stand on end.
Her mouth was grinning as wide as it could go, and from it, suddenly a man’s shrill voice came out.
Woman: Heh, heh… before the final moment comes…
Woman: Let’s all have one last big hurrah!!
The crazed, piercing voice boomed over the square, drowning out the music, crowds, and traffic.
A deathly still fell over the square. Everyone stared at each other in confusion.
A foreboding feeling spread in my chest like a ashen vine.
{{MC}}: Sorry! Excuse me, trying to get through!
*Tick* The minute hand of the giant clock behind the square swung to “IV”.
{{MC}}: Excuse me! Coming through!
I squirmed my way through the crowd, trying to get to the stage.
Gotta hurry! Faster! I must stop this from happening!
Young Woman: Aaahh–!!
A cry rang out from somewhere. I looked up, and what I saw on the screen stopped me in my tracks.
From that young, pretty face– from the woman’s dead, sunken eyes– oozed two streams of blood. It instantly stained her lips and turned her white blouse red.
She even had that strange smile plastered to her face.
Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, she tumbled forward, knocking the microphone to the ground with a heavy thud.
*Bang* — A confetti ball prepared ahead of time burst, and the colored confetti rained down.
Raining down on the disheveled hair and body of the woman sprawled on the stage.
On the far away stage, the person lay still, seeming to have stopped breathing.
Crowd Member: She’s dead!!
Cries of fear rang out. The square descended into chaos, like an “unpause” button was just pressed.
The crowd finally started to realize what just happened, and terror swept over them.
I stood in a daze, facing the stage, about to be knocked over by the pressing crowd.
??: You thought you’d succeeded in changing the future?
A voice penetrated through all the noise, sounding right by my ear.
{{MC}}: Who are you?
I turned around, but there was no one there. The people all just wanted to get away from this place of unknown danger. No one was looking at me.
??: You will never change the future.
{{MC}}: Who *are* you?!
No one answered. Everyone was fleeing, their rumbling footsteps like the harbinger of Death.
The woman on stage still lay there, smiling ghoulishly at the demise that finally caught up to her.
A more brutal demise.
I thought I had changed the future, but everything came to pass again along a different path.
{{MC}}: Did I screw up…
I was being pulled along like a marionette in the crowds, farther and farther from the stage.
Balloons loosed from their bindings dotted the sky. If one couldn’t see the chaos below, it must’ve looked like a very festive scene.
Just like it was supposed to be in the first place.
Suddenly, the force that had been pushing me slackened, and cries of terror around me slowly ceased.
I stopped in a daze as people around me fell unconscious to the ground in twos and threes.
In a moment, the entire square of people fell in waves like a tide, aside from an extremely few people left standing like myself.
{{MC}}: What… is going on?
{{MC}}: What’s wrong with everyone?
A wave of fear overcame me. With no one answering me, I could only run from the scene and find help.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I didn’t have the energy to wipe them away.
*Beep-beep–* The sound of tires on pavement came screeching through the air.
Through blurry vision, I saw an out-of-control tour bus careening toward me. The driver was splayed out unconscious over the steering wheel.
I froze in my tracks.
Everyone around me was passed out. I couldn’t get away.
[Main Story 17-23]
I wearily closed my eyes, but the bus never did hit me.
Countless flashing white scenes appeared before me, projecting like a slide show. It seemed to be warning me of something, but every image was cast in white fog, preventing me from seeing clearly.
Is this one of my precognitions?
Then that’s how it’ll be. Dying in the middle of a precognition isn’t such a terrible way to go…
I truly didn’t want to face this cruel, unalterable future anymore.
I felt a gentle breeze, but the impact I was bracing for never came.
In front of me, the bus was stopped by some invisible force two meters away from me, unable to move forward another inch.
A man in front of the vehicle staggered up, and another person struggled to get up too.
I instinctively stepped backwards, and suddenly, an icy hand grabbed my ankle.
!!
I wrenched myself free and turned around. The person behind me had now tottered to his feet.
His face was tinged with an unnatural red, and his eyes were still closed. He shuffled towards me as if under the control of something.
A booming sound swept in from afar, the huge roar drawing the attention of everyone still upright.
I looked up and saw a helicopter in the air between the buildings.
It quickly closed in and loomed large. The dark green camo exterior and red logo drew a few cheers.
As it hovered in mid-air, the door of the helicopter opened. Against the light, a man in military uniform squatted down, one hand grabbing the door, ready to jump at any moment.
As if we shared a telepathic connection, I looked up at him.
The next second, I saw a pair of amber eyes, shining firm and steadfast like brilliant stars.
{{MC}}: Gavin!
Can you hear me? Can you see me? See my heart pounding again at the sight of you.
An enormous joy filled my chest, and the dangers around me all melted away.
As I looked on high, Gavin leaped down from the helicopter.
As he drew closer, all the wind seemed to circle around him into invisible wings.
With a take-no-prisoners air about him, just like that he appeared before me.
How many times now has he flown down and landed in front of me?
Honestly, too many to count.
But every time, he enveloped me in so much safety and warmth, taking the life that I’d already decided to give up on and clasping it tight.
His eyes glowed bright with a passionate flame.
It hadn’t been long at all since last we parted, but it seemed like an age had passed.
The people that had crawled up and surrounded me all went down like dominoes, as if pressed down by something, but they all still reached out their hands to me.
Wait for me.
Gavin spoke to me with a look from the other side of the pile of bodies.
The roaring sound in the sky grew louder as dozens of military helicopters appeared before us all.
Countless special forces personnel descended from them, like rays of hope. Following Gavin’s orders, they quickly dispersed, saving the people on the ground.
Survivor: It’s the army–!!
Survivor: The army’s here! We’re saved!
The survivors’ cheers came pouring out, and in the center of it all was Gavin, standing tall and directing everything, like an unshakable monument.
The rescue proceeded in orderly fashion, and Loveland City’s local forces also entered the square. Between the two of forces, they brought the apocalyptic scene under control.
Hope could once again spring anew in my heart. I sat exhausted on the ground, up until a pair of black boots appear before me.
{{MC}}: It’s okay, I’m fine. Just need to sit awhile…
I thought it was another rescue soldier, but when I looked up, there was Gavin’s inscrutable face.
Gavin stood before me, decked out in a dark uniform and black leather gloves, radiating an aura like a deadly weapon.
Some sweat still clung to his bangs, and his lips were pressed tight, revealing no emotion.
In my eyes, he wasn’t really any different than before we parted, but still something felt alien.
{{MC}}: Gavin…
As soon as I started talking, I felt choked up.
Gavin: Yes, it’s me. I’m gonna get you out of here.
I grabbed Gavin’s outstretched hand and was scooped up in his arms.
A heavy wind twined around us. His Evol seemed to have recovered, even more powerful than before.
My mind wandered as I looked into his thin, determined face, and my hand bumped into Gavin’s.
The scene before me disappeared in an instant, and then everything was endless darkness. Aside from this, I could sense nothing.
I stared blankly at Gavin, but that dense blackness still clung to my retinas.
What could have happened to him during this time?
{{MC}}: Since you’ve been gone… has something happened?
Gavin regarded me and fell silent for a moment, but didn’t dodge the question.
Gavin: I went in for healing, as well as some other things that I can’t tell you right now.
He spoke frankly, and then looked deeply into my eyes, as if there was so much he wanted to tell me.
Gavin: Have you… been well?
He’d never have said those words before. What exactly happened?
I couldn’t hold back my tears again and could only nod my head.
{{MC}}: I- I’ve been fine. You don’t need to worry… but I’m worried about you, just leaving like that…
Gavin: I would never leave without saying goodbye. Not before, not ever.
A tender wind brushed away my tears. I couldn’t help but stop crying and smile.
Gavin held my hand and didn’t let go.
From mid-air, Gavin looked back in a certain direction over the square.
Following his gaze, I could hazily make out the outline of a person leave the square and duck into a narrow, shady alley between two tall buildings.
(Gossip Spotlight: Anchor’s Sudden Death with Bloody Tears! Destiny or Devil’s Curse?)
[Main Story 17-25]
After returning home safe and sound, my heart finally settled back down.
Gavin told me that the situation was even more terrifying than I imagined. Things had expanded out of control in an extremely short time.
Gavin: Outbreaks are always more terrifying after a brief lull.
My mind jumped to those unexpected letters. Why were they so accurate about the unfolding of events?
After reading the letter, Gavin’s face clouded over even more, without a hint of sunshine.
{{MC}}: What is it?
Gavin: The person who wrote this knows a lot about you.
I nodded, but what Gavin said next sent my heart pounding once again.
Gavin: Not just how you act, but how you think. These letters seem designed to break you down emotionally, but there’s another, bigger objective:
Gavin looked up and locked eyes with me.
Gavin: To lure and summon.
A cold sweat ran down my back. I had never felt such terror like I did at that moment.
Gavin: Stay in your home, don’t go out. I’ll make sure it’s safe here.
I nodded emphatically.
{{MC}}: Okay, and you too. You better keep yourself safe!
Before leaving, Gavin deployed two agents to protect me, while also firmly forbidding me from getting involved in this matter again.
Lying in bed, in the silent darkness, I thought again of Gavin’s hunch about those letters–
To lure and summon.
To lure me into going to those places? To summon me to witness my failures and uselessness?
What was the point of it?
As I dozed, I sensed a white glow arising around me, lifting me up so I was floating in mid-air.
Was this… another dream?
Everything spun, and I fell into a spacious, black room. It was completely empty inside.
In the distance, there was a point of light.
I went in that direction. The source of the light was a mirror the same height as me. It was inlaid in a black wall and seemed perfectly ordinary.
I reached out and placed a hand on its surface, and the black light rippled like water. Then my image appeared in the empty mirror.
I smiled at myself in the mirror, and she gave me the same smile too.
Mirror Image: We finally meet.
The “me” in the mirror slowly opened her mouth and gently spoke.
{{MC}}: What?
I looked curiously at my mirror self. That was a deeper black than anything in all this darkness.
A pure black dress, brown hair, and tender eyes without a shred of animosity.
Is this me?
{{MC}}: Why do you want to meet me?
Mirror Image: Life’s been tiring lately. Precognitions that you can’t change, unexpected betrayals, people lost…
{{MC}}: How do you know about those?
Mirror Image: Because I’m you! I know all your thoughts. I feel everything that you do.
Mirror Image: But there’s no getting all that back now.
{{MC}}: You know something, don’t you? Tell me now!
Mirror Image: Humanity must also meet its end. All that you cherish and love– will disappear.
She said the most frightful things with that soft and gentle tone, like a feather fluttering down upon my heart and setting off ripples.
{{MC}}: What… are you saying?!
Mirror Image: If I was you, then all of this could still be saved.
{{MC}}: Saved how?
Mirror Image: Well… by self-sacrifice.
I took a step back.
{{MC}}: That’s too absurd…
Why wouldn’t this strange dream come to an end?
The person in the mirror reached out through it, and her glowing white left hand grabbed hold of me.
Mirror Image: You think things will always work out, that the future will be as beautiful as you picture it?
{{MC}}: I don’t want to hear this!
Mirror Image: Calamity has begun to take shape. Civilization must meet its end.
Mirror Image: Sacrifice doesn’t have to mean death, but new life.
{{MC}}: No, I don’t understand…
I struggled against her feebly, but it was no use.
Mirror Image: In this world, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.
Mirror Image: And the Queen’s gene is the last piece in the evolution puzzle.
{{MC}}: The Queen…
Mirror Image: You are the Queen. And you are also me.
Mirror Image: The Queen’s destiny and duty has long been laid before you.
I stared blankly at that face leaning toward me, identical, but with something cruel in her eyes.
Mirror Image: Perhaps you think that all the unseen darkness is being held back by others outside the light.
Mirror Image: Humanity does not have much time left.
Mirror Image: Will you sacrifice yourself, or sacrifice them?
With that, the image in the mirror dissolved into a white light and scattered into the darkness.
I opened my eyes and found myself somehow on a big street.
There was no one around, just me standing all alone in the city, as if in a barren wasteland.
When the virus completely broke out, half of the city’s population fell into comas. The other half lived on in a hopeless dread.
When the first of the fatal cases became public, the long-lurking virus finally showed its fangs.
As the comas wore on, the life force of the infected gradually weakened.
None of them woke up. The only thing waiting for them was death.
A heaviness shrouded these ordinary, utterly defenseless people.
There was nothing people could do but lament the coming doom and await judgement to befall them.
If Victor told me the future was fine…
If the virus disappeared, and the people didn’t face extinction, but went on to a beautiful tomorrow instead, then what was the key to their salvation?
Was it really like my dream said? Was it me?
I seemed to see myself in a high-walled maze, with countless forks in the road ahead, heading to the exit, to the unknown, or to dead ends.
I wanted to find the way out, but no one could truly help me.
I took out my phone, scrolling through name after name, but none of the ones I dialed answered.
Suddenly, I remembered there was still one place that might be able to tell me a final decision.
I ran off in that direction. The sundial watch in my pocket had stopped at a certain time.
Victor looked as the time on the sundial watch in his hand started spinning rapidly, finally stopping at a certain time.
19:17.
Victor: Can it not be changed after all?
Despite his strong resistance, he still got drawn into the rift against his will.
He closed his eyes. At the end of the long corridor of time, there was a familiar scent.
*Crack* A hole split open in the center of the watch, and the needle broke.