The Han River was really slow. The water was very thick. It was a winter sun that was shining down on it. The Han River looked very calm and peaceful in this kind of weather.
The surface of the water reflected smoke-stained clouds and the skeletal remains of Seouls riverfront. There were collapsed walkways and twisted railings everywhere. The husks of boats were dragged half onto the banks. They looked like animals. The smell of the place was always there. It was a mix of brine and oil and rot. The smell of Seouls riverfront was constant.
Ethan Cross was the person who walked point. He was the one who had to go and Ethan Cross had to make sure everything was okay, for the rest of the group. Ethan Cross took his job seriously and Ethan Cross made sure he did it right.
The ground was really soggy. Each step I took sank into the wet earth. It was so quiet that every sound I made carried far.
Marcus Hale stood behind him holding Captain Park Joon-Seok up. Captain Park Joon-Seok was really hurt. Marcus Hale was quiet his jaw was tight. He was breathing slowly. Captain Park Joon-Seoks leg was wrapped up tight. It was bleeding a lot. You could see the blood coming through the cloth.. Captain Park Joon-Seok still had a strong hold, on his rifle. He did not let it go.
Lena Park was at the back holding her pistol down. She was ready to use it. Her leg was hurting a lot more now. Lena Park did not say anything, about it.
Nobody did that.
People had learned better. They knew what to do. The people had learned better.
The ground started to shake. A vibration went through it.
Ethan just stopped there.
The feeling was not a noise it was pressure. This pressure was really subtle. It was also rhythmic. It felt like something was moving under the surface of the river. The rivers skin was like it was being pushed from underneath. The sensation of the river was really strange.
Ethan said in a voice "Down".
The people obeyed away they dropped down into the reeds and the debris as the man edged forward by himself.
The river got really wide ahead of me. Turned into a gravel bar. It was a mess with wreckage, from pleasure boats and all sorts of floating debris everywhere. For a moment the river looked empty.
The water finally got to the point where it boiled.
Something came up from under the water. The water was calm. Then something rose from beneath the surface. It was a strange thing to see something rise from, beneath the surface like that.
Not a myth.
Not a legend.
This thing has a body that's really long and coiled. It is covered in green scales. The top part of its body is of like a human it looks like a female but it is not right. Its head is weird it has things that look like tendrils growing out of it and they move around like they are alive like it is tasting the air with them. The thing has a head with these tendril- growths that are always moving it is a pretty strange thing to see the way this body moves and the tendrils, on its head writhing around as the thing tastes the air.
A naga.
And it wasn't alone.
The smaller shapes moved up beside it. These were forms that came from the shallow water. They started to uncoil and take shape. The smaller shapes were really interesting to watch as they moved and grew.
Ethans instincts were really screaming at him. They were telling him something was not right, with Ethan.
This wasn't a wandering monster.
This was a territorial predator.
The man signaled once.
Marcus slowly lowered Captain Park to the ground. Picked up a big piece of fiberglass from the broken ship. He held it like a club. Lena pulled out her pistol. Her hands were steady even though she was breathing hard.
The naga hissed. It was a scary sound. The naga hissed again. I got even more frightened. I did not like it when the naga hissed like that. The naga hissed more.
The thing moved fast and then it lunged.
The snakes coil cracked across the gravel like a whip. It smashed a tree to pieces. The baby snakes moved fast they were quicker than they appeared to be and they spread out to get all around the thing they were, after. The baby snakes were trying to surround it.
Ethan moved to a place. The thing is Ethan really moved. I am talking about Ethan. He is the one who moved. Ethan did it.
Not charging—intercepting.
He drew the power carefully letting it bleed into motion instead of something that would just look good. A faint arc of energy came out from his hand not like a whip or anything just the new power and it was just enough to throw the creature off balance. The new power was still growing and he was not using it to make a show he was using the new power to make the creature lose its balance.
The alpha recoiled it let out a loud shriek. The alpha was really scared. The alpha let out a shriek that was very loud.
That was all the opening they needed to take things to the level, with the project the opening that the team had been waiting for and now the project was finally going to move forward with that opening.
Marcus hit a person really hard with both hands and he kept going after he did it. Lena shot her gun two times she was very careful and calm. Another one fell down when it stood up to her. Marcus and Lena were. They were doing what they had to do. Marcus swung his arms with a lot of force. Lena shot her gun again and again trying to stop them.
Captain Park fired bursts from the rifle. This made the alpha twist around. Now the alpha was. Captain Park could see the pale underside of the alphas coil. Captain Park kept shooting at the alpha with the rifle. The alpha was really big. It had a big coil. Captain Park was trying to hurt the alpha with the rifle.
The man said "Now" in a voice.
Ethan took a step forward. He really moved quickly. Ethan was, in a hurry. He surged forward.
He went under the body that was moving around a lot and stuck his knife into the belly scales of the creature. The knife went in deep into the soft belly scales.
The naga let out a scream.
The sound was really bad. It felt like someone was poking me with needles, behind my eyes. The sound was awful.
The thing bucked hard throwing Ethan into the shallow water. But he did not let go of it. He turned the blade around. Then he pulled it.
The creature shook hard and it convulsed. The creature had a convulsion.
The blue light broke loose in bursts. It poured into Ethan fast. This rush took his breath away. It also hurt his nerves badly. The blue light was very powerful. It affected Ethan a lot. The blue light just kept pouring into him.
He fell down to one knee as the naga just stopped moving. The naga went still. He was, on one knee now looking at the naga.
The remaining juveniles ran away they went back into the river. Disappeared under the water. The juveniles slipped under the surface of the river fast that they were gone in no time. The juveniles were, in the river. Then they were not it was like they vanished into thin air or rather the river water.
Then there was silence.
Ethan stayed down for a long time he was breathing very hard his head was bowed down.
Marcus walked up to the person carefully. He asked "Are you okay?"
Ethan nodded once. He said "Give me a second."
The power settled. It was heavy. The power was. Restrained. The power just felt really heavy. Stuck in one place. The power was, like that.
No miracle healing.
No sudden ascension.
Just potential.
They got back together fast. There was no time, for celebrating. They did not waste any time all. They just kept going with the Football Team. The Football Team was their focus.
The floodlights were shining ahead. They kept flickering on and off through all the haze.
Chain-link fences. Razor wire. Sandbagged checkpoints.
Yongsan Garrison.
A banner was flapping above the gate. It was all. Had a lot of soot on it. The banner looked like it had been through a lot. The gate had a banner, above it that was torn and soot-stained.
The safe zone is where the Awakeners go to get processed. This is what the Awakeners do when they are in the zone. The safe zone is a place for the Awakeners to report and get things done. The Awakeners report to the zone, for their processing.
People were standing near the entrance and soldiers were guarding them.. Ethans eyes were looking at the dark areas beyond the fence. At the way people were standing really close to each other whispering to one another and watching everything that was happening. The civilians were being very quiet. Ethan noticed that the people in the shadows the people, beyond the wire were the ones who really had his attention.
Not relief.
Expectation.
Lena said that something is wrong. She said it very softly.
Marcus held the club tight. He said "Yeah".
Captain Park let out a breath. He said "Safe zones are never really safe."
The gate started to open. It was really opening now. The gate was opening.
The light came out. Covered them. It was, like a wave of light that spilled outward and washed over the people covering them completely. The light just kept coming spreading out everywhere. It washed over them.
Ethan felt something, inside of him wake up. It was not because he was hungry and it was not because he was scared. The mark that was inside of Ethan started to stir.
Recognition.
Something was waiting for him behind those fences. It already knew that he was, on his way. The thing that waited inside those fences was aware that he was coming.
For the first time since the world broke Ethan finally understood what the truth really was, about the world that had broken. The truth was something Ethan had been trying to figure out for a time. Ethan thought about the world. How it had broken. Now Ethan understood the truth.
Monsters weren't the endgame.
They were just the opening act.