"It'll be over soon here, too."
"Well, there's not much time left. Doesn't it feel relieving?"
Hong Ye-seong spread his hands. Instead of answering, Lee Sa-young took a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket and opened it. There were only two cigarettes inside. The pack belonged to Cha Eui-jae. Why would a man in such poor health want to smoke? Tsk, Lee Sa-young clicked his tongue softly, put a crumpled cigarette in his mouth, and asked the figure walking away in front of him.
"How are the preparations going?"
"It's finished. What do you take me for?!"
Hong Ye-seong gestured for him to follow. Light steps led him down a secluded, deserted path. After passing through the bushes, a rickety shed came into view. Rusted by the sea breeze, it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.
"Let's see if it stays put…"
Creak. With a squeak, the old door opened with a dull sound. In contrast to its shabby exterior, large iron bars stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Lee Sa-young slowly walked into the darkness. Clank, clank, the chains rattled violently. Grrr. The sounds of growling and scratching could be heard. Lee Sa-young nodded.
"Turn on the lights. It won't know if we turned them on or not anyway."
"You're very right! Just a minute."
Soon, the lights came on. A giant monster behind the iron bars sniffed. Lee Sa-young observed the monster calmly. It was a four-legged, eyeless monster. Its large mouth was tightly bound with pitch-black iron chains. The monster shook its head and banged against the chains several times, but the chains showed no signs of loosening. Pure white saliva dripped from between its tightly closed mouth and teeth.
Hong Ye-seong chuckled.
"An ordinary gag wouldn't work at all. Thank goodness the civil servant left the chains behind."
"Can you unchain it?"
"Hmm~ I don't recommend it. If you unchain it, it'll gnaw through the iron bars. You do know that, right? It devours anything, whether people or buildings."
"It doesn't matter."
Lee Sa-young rubbed the corner of his mouth. A chilling smile rose on his languid face.
"I'm going to get eaten anyway."
***
With Lee Sa-young's retreating figure as his last sight, Cha Eui-jae was thrown into an unknown void. It was very similar to what he had seen when he opened the door in the memorial dungeon. It was black, silent, and devoid of anything.
Yet, strangely, he didn't feel anxious. Instead, he felt calm. It was as if he had arrived where he was meant to be. Cha Eui-jae curled up into a ball. His eyes slowly closed, and his mind became hazy.
'Staying like this is also…'
No, what was he talking about? Cha Eui-jae shook his head hastily. He couldn't die trapped in an unknown void. Surely, Student Yoon Ga-eul would save him. Probably. But…
'I can't just wait indefinitely.'
Cha Eui-jae spun around, sat cross-legged in the void, and rubbed his chin. The only thing he could do in a place like this was organize his thoughts.
For now, attempts to extract clues from Lee Sa-young's memories have failed. Something unknown was keeping him away. So, what about his own memories? The other Cha Eui-jae had clearly faced the end of the world. Could there be clues in his subconscious that he couldn't recall…?
At that moment, he felt a sensation like gentle waves rocking his body. Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes. He heard murmuring voices coming from his right. Without hesitation, he headed toward the sound. Unable to walk, he swam as if swimming.
Finally, upon reaching the source of the sound, the void that had once been nothing but darkness began to reshape. Yellow walls were erected, scattered junk appeared, and the savory aroma of baked clay and chewy beef jerky began to waft through the air.
…'Cha Eui-jae' chewed on the dried jerky. It was jerky made from monster meat dried until it hardened, to the point that his jaw ached. Hong Ye-seong's studio was even messier than what he remembered, and the studio owner's hair had grown much longer. He looked like a wreck. The man muttered as he paced around the studio.
"Revenge, that's good. Revenge is great. I like it. Everything's fine. I support you, my friend. But…"
"…"
"How are we supposed to get to the White Hole? We can't deploy a ladder, and airplanes or helicopters would definitely be attacked. Spaceships?"
"For your information, drones have been shot down countless times."
"That's why I didn't even include drones in the list of candidates!"
Hong Ye-seong retorted sharply. 'Cha Eui-jae' raised both hands as if to tell him to calm down. Turning back time after facing the source of the apocalypse was the right decision. However…
The problem was that there was no way to actually reach the White Hole in the sky. How could one attack an enemy that was out of reach? Hong Ye-seong screamed and tore his hair wildly, then began muttering in a low voice.
"No, calm down, Hong Ye-seong. You can do this. You're the world's greatest genius… Let's start from the beginning. The order of the apocalypse… The first to appear is the big-mouthed monster…"
"That's right."
'Cha Eui-jae' nodded in agreement. Hong Ye-seong pushed everything on the table to the floor. Bang! White dust flew up. Despite this, he began carving something on the wooden table with a carving knife.
"What a waste of a table."
"Shut up, friend."
The words were carved roughly.
[Phase 1 of the Apocalypse. Big-mouthed monsters appears → Disappears on its own]
"They appeared suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly… what was their purpose? It couldn't have sent them as tasters."
'Cha Eui-jae' also rose from his chair and walked to Hong Ye-seong's side. His calloused hands twirled a carving knife. Hong Ye-seong muttered, lost in thought.
"Swallowing whatever enters your mouth without knowing what you're eating. That's their instinct. Why do these monsters exist? Aren't they too stupid?"
"You mean why? They must have been created to kill everyone."
"No, they could have created something more sophisticated. Like the ones that have appeared recently. Then there would be no need to waste time, just immediate world destruction! Done!"
"The monsters that have appeared recently are just humans transformed into monsters. There must be a limit. I guess stupid ones are more cost-effective."
When 'Cha Eui-jae' blurted out whatever came to mind, he was met with a look of exasperation.
"Please, friend. You're seriously the worst debate opponent."
"I don't want to hear that from you."
After a few punches were thrown, Hong Ye-seong leaned back against the table, panting.
"Not everything in this world has a reason, but the laws of the system are different. Everything has to have a reason. There must be a reason why those monsters appeared first at the beginning of the apocalypse…"
Reason. 'Cha Eui-jae' rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, then something came to mind. Come to think of it…
"The Doctor opened up one of the monsters before. He said the stomach was completely empty."
"…Empty?"
"Yes. He opened it up, but apparently there wasn't a single organ, let alone a person who had been eaten or even a piece of a building. He said it was pitch black inside. Like a completely black void… why?"
"…Why are you telling me this now?!"
Hong Ye-seong grabbed 'Cha Eui-jae's' shoulders and shook him wildly back and forth. 'Cha Eui-jae' asked back with a confused expression on his face.
"What? What is it? Is it important?"
"Of course it's important, you idiot! Void! You said it was a black void!"
Golden patterns appeared in Hong Ye-seong's eyes. The pattern rotated quickly. He let go of the shoulders he had been holding and walked back and forth in the studio with zigzag steps.
"So that's how it is… The monsters' mouths are like a portal. Everything it eats travels to another dimension through its mouth and stomach!"
"…Huh?"
"There's no way it needs eyes. It must indiscriminately swallow everything. That's the only way it can verify the components of this world… right! Those monsters are the advance party and the investigation team!"
Hong Ye-seong stretched both arms firmly toward the ceiling. He looked dazzling, like a soccer player who had just scored a goal. 'Cha Eui-jae' threw a piece of beef jerky into his mouth and asked.
"It's good that you realize this, but try to explain it in a way that's easy to understand. Don't just keep it to yourself."
"Okay, I'll explain it in a way that even an elementary school student can understand. That's the quality of a good educator."
Hong Ye-seong hooted, brushed back his long hair, and carved something on the table with a carving knife. It was an eyeless, large-mouthed monster. Its appearance resembled the monster commonly known as 'Big Mouth'.
"If you're eaten by the monster, you might reach the source of the apocalypse!"
"…"
"What do you think? Let's try it right now!"
"…"
A long silence followed. Hong Ye-seong asked with a confused expression.
"Why are you reacting like this? This is a major discovery, you know? If there were a Nobel Prize in the monster world, this would definitely be a Nobel Prize-winning discovery."
Instead of answering, 'Cha Eui-jae' grabbed Hong Ye-seong by the collar.
"In the end, you're paying back the favor with hostility!"
Aaaargh…! Hong Ye-seong's screams and 'Cha Eui-jae's' shouts slowly faded into the distance.
At the same time, Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes.