The sky was too blue.
Ji-hoon stood still on a crowded sidewalk, surrounded by a sea of strangers who laughed, talked, and hurried to their daily routines. Couples strolled with coffee. Children played in a nearby park. The scent of street food drifted past him sweet red bean buns and grilled fishcakes.
It should've been peaceful. It was, for them.
But not for him.
He knew what was coming.
Two days from now, the skies would rip open and rain monsters instead of sunshine. He would see blood where there was once laughter. Screams instead of sirens. And this city this entire continent would never recover from the first wave.
But he remembered. And this time, he was ready.
He had nothing not yet. His level was 1, his inventory empty except for a rusted tactical knife and the artifact that clung to his soul like a ghost.
The Fragment of Oblivion.
That was the only reason he still remembered the future. That cursed timeline, erased from existence by the beast's final breath, still burned behind his eyes because the artifact protected him from changes in reality. Everyone else had gone back to their normal lives, unknowingly hurtling toward death.
But Ji-hoon wasn't going to die this time.
He was going to survive.
He was going to kill every last one of them.
He started small.
The city hadn't changed yet. Shops still stood. Money still had value. Ji-hoon took out what little was left in his old bank account, spending it on essentials: food rations, rope, a collapsible water purifier, a lightweight axe, a thermal cloak, duct tape, painkillers, and surgical gloves. Then, he picked up a secondhand camping sword not much, but better than nothing.
Grudge couldn't be summoned yet. Not until the world cracked open again.
He'd carry the weight with human strength until the system recognized him once more.
That night, he returned to the abandoned gym he'd once trained in before the world changed.
The lights no longer worked. Broken glass sparkled across the floor, but the mats were still there, worn and faded, just like his memories.
Ji-hoon threw off his jacket, dropped to the floor, and started moving.
Pushups. Sit-ups. Burpees. Sprints.
He didn't stop when his arms gave out. He kept going when his knuckles bled against the mat. He fought against the weakness in his body the very weakness that once made him a useless hunter during the first gate era.
Back then, he was slow. Hesitant. Full of grief. And by the time he got strong, it was already too late.
Not this time.
"Move faster," he whispered between breaths. "Hit harder."
He trained until he couldn't lift his arms anymore.
And then, he collapsed, eyes staring at the water-stained ceiling.
In that moment, the Fragment of Oblivion stirred.
A faint, cold whisper echoed in his soul—no voice, just a feeling.
A connection.
He felt watched. No remembered. Like a presence far above the stars looked down and acknowledged him. The Constellation of Oblivion.
Ji-hoon grinned, blood on his teeth.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I remember you too."
Day One.
With only one day left before the world changed, Ji-hoon returned to the place he had avoided for years.
His grandparents' house.
His fists clenched as he stared at the gate. The wooden door he once painted with his grandfather. The garden. The small shoe rack with his childhood sandals still resting inside.
They were in there. Alive.
For now.
They had no idea what was coming.
He wanted to run in, hug them, cry, and scream that he missed them. That he could protect them this time. That he wouldn't let them die again.
But he didn't move.
He couldn't risk it.
If he saw them now, he might never be able to leave. And if he stayed too long… he wouldn't be where he needed to be when the gates opened.
So he wrote a note.
"There will be an earthquake. A disaster. You must go to Busan tomorrow and stay three days. I'll find you again. Trust me."
Ji-hoon
He left it in the mailbox.
As he walked away, he never turned back.
The Night Before.
The sky cracked once in his dream.
A glimpse. A reminder.
He saw it hundreds of monsters pouring out of a gate, fire swallowing a city whole, screams swallowed by claws and teeth.
And then darkness.
Ji-hoon woke in a cold sweat, chest heaving.
It wasn't real. Not yet.
But it would be.
He stood on the rooftop of an abandoned apartment building, gazing at the glittering skyline. It was hard to believe that in a few hours, that beauty would vanish.
He opened the system. Still Level 1. Still no stats. No skills. No quests.
Only his title: Fragment of Oblivion (Owner)
✦ Grants a permanent connection to the Constellation of Oblivion
✦ Doubles experience gained
✦ When activated, weak enemies nearby are overcome with bloodlust and charge the user
✦ Grants a 50% stat boost when facing a stronger opponent
It wasn't much. But it was more than anyone else had.
For now.
The End Begins.
The sky tore open like shattered glass.
No warning. No sirens. Just a sickening vibration in the air, like a piano string snapping inside the bones of the earth.
The first gate appeared above the Han River, shimmering like an oil spill in the sky. Monstrous shapes twisted within it, clawing and snarling, desperate to break through.
Then they did.
One by one, they dropped from the sky.
The city screamed.
Panic erupted as shadows lunged through the streets, tearing apart cars, smashing through buildings. People ran. Cameras recorded. No one understood what was happening.
Except Ji-hoon.
He didn't run.
He turned toward a gate that opened further from the chaos smaller, weaker. A perfect place to begin.
His hands trembled as the system buzzed.The first quest activated.
[System Alert]Survival Trial InitiatedObjective: Defeat one enemy within 24 hoursReward: Level Up
He stepped into the gate.
A wave of cold swept over him as the world twisted into a warped red fog.
He stood inside what looked like a ruined cathedral. Walls cracked. Floor covered in ash and bone.
A beast emerged a deformed canine with three eyes and blade like teeth. Not strong, but fast.
Ji-hoon summoned his weapon.
Grudge.
It appeared silently in his hand a dull gray sword, thin and unimpressive. But it held a terrifying truth.
It ignored all defense.
The beast charged.
Ji-hoon ducked low, sliding under its claws. The blade slipped across its belly.
No resistance.
The monster dropped, dead before it realized what happened.
[+60 EXP][2x Bonus: +60 EXP][Total: 120 EXP][Level Up! → Level 2]
Ji-hoon didn't celebrate.
He stared at the body. At the blood on his blade. At his shaking hand.
Then he smiled.
"It begins."