[Day 57 — The Long Road]
The air of early dawn was thick with ash and silence.From afar, Seoul no longer looked like a city — it looked like a wound.
Evelyn Park led the survivors through the wreckage, her steps slow but unwavering.Her cloak was frayed, her sword chipped, her mana flickering like a dying ember. But her eyes — calm, sharp, unbroken — kept the group moving forward.
Behind her, Min Jae walked heavily, the children clinging to his jacket. Every so often, he'd pause to help a limping survivor or carry one of the smaller kids on his back. His Berserker aura had faded since that night, but it's afterglow pulsed faintly beneath his skin — wild, restrained.
Around them, civilization had begun mutating into something new.
The Road to the Military Zone
For days, they followed the broken expressway toward the northern outskirts, where rumors spoke of a surviving military outpost.Every few kilometers, they found remnants of safe zones — small bubbles of green barrier now shattered and useless. Each one told a story: blood, empty cans, and weapons left behind mid-swing.
"Looks like they didn't last long," Min Jae muttered, stepping over a pile of rusted car frames.
Evelyn crouched beside a corpse wearing a faded armband.It read [Golden Chain Guild] — one of the newly emerged groups.
She frowned. "Guild members."
"Guild?" one of the older survivors asked, voice hoarse.
"Awakeners forming groups," she said. "Hoarding supplies. Controlling survivors. Trading protection for obedience."
Min Jae scowled. "So… warlords."
"Warlords with systems and rankings."Her gaze darkened. "And they're not the only ones."
The Age of Gold
They reached a small town by dusk — a place once alive with markets and children's laughter. Now, only a few makeshift tents lined the street, guarded by awakeners wearing golden necklaces.
Each passerby was forced to hand over something valuable — food, tools… or gold.
Min Jae frowned as they passed through. "They're still using gold? The world's ended."
"Money lost meaning the day monsters appeared," Evelyn replied softly. "But greed doesn't die. Gold's easy to carry, hard to destroy, and impossible to share."
They walked through quietly, eyes down, avoiding attention.One of the guards sneered as Evelyn passed. "No registration mark? You new blood?"
She met his gaze — her aura flaring just slightly. The man froze, his weapon trembling. For a moment, he saw something ancient flicker in her eyes — something divine, inhuman.
She didn't speak. She just walked past.
The Broadcast
That night, as the survivors huddled near a ruined bridge, the system chimed for the first time in days.
[Global System Update v2.03 — Guild Regulation Protocol Activated]
[Each Guild Leader's rank determines member capacity.]
[S-Rank Leader: Max 50 Members]
[A-Rank Leader: Max 20 Members]
[B-Rank Leader: Max 10 Members]
[C-Rank and Below: Restricted.]
The message repeated twice, then vanished.
For a few seconds, there was silence — then chaos erupted everywhere.
Guilds across the nation began purging their weaker members.Adventurers hunted the stronger ones, hoping to kill and override their ranks. The fragile balance between survival and slaughter vanished overnight.
Blood became the new currency.
The Journey Continues
By the second week, the survivors' numbers had dwindled — not from monsters, but from human encounters.
Evelyn stopped more than once to heal wounds from stray attacks. Each spell drained her faster than before; her regeneration still hadn't fully recovered since the second wave. Her veins glowed faintly green under her skin when she cast.
Min Jae noticed the toll it took on her. "You're pushing too hard."
She smiled faintly. "I'll rest when we get there."
He clenched his jaw. "If you fall, none of us make it."
Her eyes softened. "Then don't let me fall."
The Shadow of Command
By the time they reached the outskirts of the Northern Seoul Military Barrier, the group could see it — towering walls reinforced with mana circuits, heavy artillery on the ridges, and thousands of armed awakeners guarding the gates.
It was both breathtaking and terrifying.
Min Jae exhaled. "Finally… safety."
Evelyn didn't answer. Her heart was pounding.The air beyond that gate felt too familiar.
A soldier raised his weapon. "Halt! State your identity!"
She stepped forward, slowly lowering her hood. "Survivors. Twenty of us. Requesting medical entry."
The soldier hesitated, staring at her face. For a moment, his expression flickered — recognition? Shock?Then his commlink crackled.
[Command: Do not engage. Hold position. The commander is en route.
Her stomach turned cold.
Min Jae glanced at her. "What's wrong?"
She didn't answer.
Inside the Command Tower
General Park Hyunsung stood overlooking the northern gate feed on his monitor. The image zoomed in — his breath caught.That face. Those eyes. The way she stood even when wounded.
He clenched his fist. "...Evelyn."
An adjutant approached. "Sir, your orders?"
He stared at the screen for a long moment — torn between duty and blood. Then his voice hardened."Deny entry."
"Sir?"
"Send medical aid. Supplies. But she doesn't cross this wall."
The officer hesitated. "But she's your—"
Hyunsung's gaze turned lethal. "That girl stopped being my daughter the day she chose her own path."
At the Gates
A drone descended slowly, dropping a small crate of medical kits and energy packs. The soldiers didn't move closer. They just watched.
Evelyn looked up at the hovering machine.It emitted a faint mechanical voice:
[By command of the Supreme Commander, this is the aid allotted to your group.]
[Entry denied.]
Her heart sank — but she showed no emotion. The others were too busy cheering at the supplies to notice the pain in her eyes.
Min Jae watched her silently. "You knew them, didn't you?"
She forced a small smile. "Once. A long time ago."
A New Banner
That night, while the survivors slept, Evelyn and Min Jae sat by the dim firelight.She stared at the system menu — a new function pulsing faintly.
[Guild Creation Available.]
[Leader: Evelyn Park — Rank Unmeasured.]
[Max Members: ???]
She hesitated.
Min Jae tilted his head. "What are you thinking?"
She whispered, "If the world is going to tear itself apart over ranks and gold… then we'll build something different."
He smiled faintly. "You mean, a real guild?"
"No," she said quietly. "A home."
She pressed [Create Guild].
[Guild Name Registered: "Sanctum"]
[System Notice: Unknown error detected.]
[Guild Leader Rank: Undefined.]
[Maximum Member Limit: ∞]
The flames reflected in her eyes as the words appeared.
And far away, in the command tower, every system alarm began to ring.
[Warning: Unregistered Entity "Sanctum" Detected.]
[Classification: System Anomaly.]
[Possible Origin: Divine.]
The World in Motion
Across the globe, awakeners fought and bled for power.New orders formed:
The Golden Chain — controlling trade and gold.
The Ivory Dominion — awakening mages seeking relics.
The Church of Return — worshiping the unknown entity behind the System.
And in the shadows of a ruined Seoul, a woman with broken wings gathered the lost and the unwanted — building something the world could not measure.
The world had entered a new age.An age where gold glittered, and blood ruled.
[Countdown to Third Wave: 666 Days]
[End of Chapter 9: "The Age of Gold and Blood"]