CHAPTER 83: CHAPTER 82 : MY FIRST MEETING

The golden light of Helios faded, but his words still hammered in my skull.

" Gods. Actual Gods. Pulling strings like we’re nothing but ants in their terrarium." Young Da-e screamed from the top of her lungs.

A flash. The world flipped. My boots hit dirt again—our base.

For a heartbeat, silence ruled.

Then Young Da-e whispered, voice hollow.

"Th-that was... a God. We... we’ve been toys of the Gods this whole time?"

"Yeah, kid. Welcome to the nightmare." Hyun-tae said as he looked at his shotgun.

Boom-Boom hasn’t spoken anything since that battle and it was worrying Hyun-tae.

Hana Lee clutched Min-jae closer, rocking him in those tired arms of hers. Her eyes weren’t on him though. They were sharp, burning holes into the empty sky where Helios had stood.

"So it wasn’t just monsters. Not some disease. Not even an apocalypse." Her voice trembled, then hardened. "This whole time... it was entertainment. A show. And we’re the performers."

The way she said performers—like it tasted rotten in her mouth—made my stomach turn.

I swallowed hard and found Mom.

She was sitting quietly, patching Ye-Rin’s torn jacket by hand, like we hadn’t just been told the universe was laughing at us.

Ye-Rin herself was sharpening her axe, expression unreadable.

I let the words hang in my throat before forcing them out.

"Mom. Ye-Rin."

Both looked up.

"I’m heading to Seoul."

The air stilled. Mom’s hands froze mid-stitch. Ye-Rin’s brow furrowed, a question in her eyes.

"To find her," I said, softer this time. "Han Ji-a. If she’s alive out there... I can’t just sit here pretending it doesn’t matter. I’ll be back before the month is up. I swear it."

I braced for impact. The lecture. The fury. But... Ye-Rin leaned back, exhaling through her nose.

"Fine by me. Go get her, Brother. We can handle things here."

I blinked.

" That easy?" I paused and then continued, "Aren’t you guys worried that something may happen to me?"

Mom gave a faint smile—gentle, but heavy with the kind of weight only mothers carry. "Just don’t vanish without a trace again. That’s all I ask."

"God." That hurt more than any claw, " I didn’t mean to repeat my lines".

Before I could answer, Seo-yeon stepped forward, In-ji stood behind her, gun always in his hands, like his fingers forgot what it felt like to rest.

"We’re leaving too," Seo-yeon said. Her voice was trembling, but her eyes were steady. "Gangnam. My mother... I need to find her."

In-ji nodded, quiet as ever. "Together."

And then Mom did something impossible again. Her hands shimmered faintly, and suddenly she was holding... three walkie-talkies?

She pressed one into my hand, one into Seo-yeon’s, and kept the last.

"If you need anything—anything at all—call me through this."

We just... stared at her.

"Mom, how the hell did you—"

"Shop feature," she cut me off, a little smug, like she’d just nailed a coupon sale.

I couldn’t even be mad. My mom, who wouldn’t but a new phone or dresses for herself , was buying survival gear from a cosmic app. Adapting better than most of us.

I turned to Hyun-tae.

"You’re the wall now. Watch over them."

His jaw tightened, but his nod was iron. "You have my word."

That was it.

No dramatic goodbyes, no tears. Just grim practicality. We left Mom, Ye-Rin, Hana, her baby, Young Da-e, Bak-U, Eun-ha, and the twins Soo-min and Jin-ha behind.

Seo-yeon, In-ji and myself with the help if mini-map on the System UI in front of us, walked towards train icon.

The so-called cosmic train station?

Nothing cosmic about it. Just the Ulson Metro, underground.

Stale air. Flickering lights. The only difference were the robots standing at the gates, hollow eyes scanning us. Tickets dispensed. Points deducted.

I, Seo-yeon, and In-ji boarded. Sat down in that sterile carriage. The doors hissed shut. Wheels screeched. We moved.

For a while, it was normal.

"Let’s keep in touch after we left separate ways and don’t hesitate to call for help. I will definitely come to help you guys as soon as I can." I said to both of them and they silently nodded their heads.

Then the air warped. Metal groaned. Doors I swore weren’t there moments ago split the carriage in two. A whole new train emerged, swallowing Seo-yeon and In-ji in glowing light.

Their silhouettes flickered—and vanished. Different tracks. Different destinies.

"Wait—!" My voice cracked, useless.

I was alone.

Then the drowsiness hit. Heavy. Relentless. Like poison in my veins. My body slumped despite every ounce of will.

The train dissolved.

I opened my eyes to... a subway again. But not the one I’d just left. This was older. Stained tiles. Cheaper ads plastered on the walls.

And there he was. Me. Younger me.

Slouched in the priority seat, one leg bouncing lazily. Face swollen, knuckles bloody, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. I wanted to punch him. Or maybe hug him. Hard to tell.

And then—her.

A girl stood before him. Fierce, sharp-tongued, fire in her eyes. She wasn’t pretty in a delicate way—she was striking. Demanding the room notice her.

Her brows knitted, lips curled in irritation.

"Get up," she snapped, pointing to the frail old man standing nearby. "Can’t you see he needs the seat?"

My younger self tilted his head back, smirking through swollen lips. He rolled his tongue against his teeth, a punk move, itching for a fight.

"Tch. Who the hell are you to order me around?" he muttered, voice rough.

The girl’s eyes blazed hotter.

"Someone with more manners than you."

A hush fell over the train. Passengers watched but stayed silent. The old man shifted uncomfortably.

Younger me clicked his tongue. "Lady, I got here first. You don’t like it? Sit on the floor."

Her fists clenched. She looked ready to punch me—him—across the face.

"I said get up. He’s an elder. If you’ve got even a shred of decency left, you’ll move."

The present me, floating above like a useless ghost, felt his chest tighten. Because I knew that fire. That righteous stubbornness.

Han Ji-a.

The first time we met.

And I could only watch the memory unfold, powerless, as my heart stuttered between past and present.