The surface greeted them not just with cold, but with the breath of death itself. A chill wind, reeking of decay and damp earth, wrapped around them, seeping beneath their clothes. Kim Min-jun, rifle at the ready, scanned the ruins of the city, where collapsed buildings jutted out like the bones of a corpse, and rusted car frames stood like the skeletons of prehistoric beasts. Every step echoed heavily down the empty streets, and Min-jun's muscles tensed, ready for any threat. This world was alien, but his body remembered danger.
Lee So-hyun, clad in a protective suit, carried a sample container; his glasses fogged with strain. Somewhere in the shadows, zombies scraped and clawed, their low wails burrowing into the bones, making his hair stand on end. So-hyun glanced at Min-jun — this man reminded him far too much of the one he had lost, yet he was alive, real. A dangerous mix of hope and pain beat in his chest like a bird trapped in a cage.
"Stay close," Min-jun said, his voice sharp but laced with concern. So-hyun nodded, his fingers clutching the Stella ring, glowing faintly in the dim light. The shadows of the past faded near this man — he was an anchor, unexpected, yet tangible.
They moved carefully through the rubble. So-hyun knelt to collect soil samples, his hands trembling. "We need to understand how the virus spreads," he muttered, forcing himself to focus. But his thoughts slipped back to the past, where another Min-jun had been by his side, and his eyes filled once more with memories.
Then Min-jun noticed a glimmer among the wreckage — a Stella crystal, shining like a small star in this dead world. He picked it up, and the bracelet on his wrist, engraved with M & S, instantly grew warm, as if awakening the memories it had long preserved.