“It’s because of the creatures. Fighting monsters, surviving them, and repeating that horrific cycle for a century—that’s how this unjust system got cemented. A world obsessed with control, isolation, and efficiency.”
Even as he spoke with conviction, Jae-jin’s clenched fists trembled slightly. A chill crawled up his nape, and his mouth tasted metallic, as if he had bitten down on a blade.
“I don’t know if it’ll work, but let’s try flipping this over. Together.”
“…….”
“Let’s tear down the premise so that even mutants can live.”
Seo Eui-woo stared at Kwon Jae-jin, frozen like a still painting.
Those dark eyes, flashing like stars, the pallor of his cheeks, his lips that looked parched—just looking at him made Eui-woo’s head ring violently. And then, it felt as if something within him was sinking.
Seo Eui-woo was being swallowed whole by Kwon Jae-jin.
He was plunging in with no way to escape. But it wasn’t like before.
Seo Eui-woo had always been drawn to Kwon Jae-jin, but this wasn’t mere attraction anymore. He was thoroughly ensnared. Branded so deeply into his soul that he could never carve him out again.
“You regretted it too, Seo Eui-woo. That we weren’t both official Awakeners.”
“If only we had both been ordinary people instead.”
“We would have lived a normal life. Had what others take for granted.”
With each word Jae-jin pressed out, the fierce storm of his abilities gradually waned. The winds reversed their course.
As Kwon Jae-jin’s awakening burned itself into his retinas, Seo Eui-woo replied with a chill in his voice.
“……Yes, you’re right.”
Something thick and heavy dripped into the deepest pit of his heart, pooling beneath the violent emotions. Denser than affection, weightier than desire—he didn’t know what it was. But it was something he couldn’t easily put into words.
“I… I feel the same.”
Seo Eui-woo had long wanted to hammer those words into place, to shout them aloud.
“Kwon Jae-jin belongs to Seo Eui-woo. Kwon Jae-jin is Seo Eui-woo’s Guide. Kwon Jae-jin is Seo Eui-woo’s lover.”
“I want us to be unshakable, Jae-jin. I want nothing to be able to come between us.”
The resolve had long been set.
Massacring the Awakeners, abandoning everything, fleeing—such resolutions were trivial to Seo Eui-woo. Now, even more than that didn’t seem to matter.
“Really… why didn’t I realize something so obvious? Something so simple…”
Seo Eui-woo muttered as if talking to himself. His voice carried an icy finality, as though he would eliminate anything standing in their way.
Overturn the military. The laws. Common sense. Eradicate the creatures. If that was what it took to become unshakable with Kwon Jae-jin, then he would do it. He could even build a paradise solely for Jae-jin. Make this entire world his playground.
“I… I want to tear it all down and live with you, Jae-jin. Properly.”
“Yes, me too. Properly…”
“…Good. Then let’s live like that.”
The once-furious storm of abilities had settled into a gentle breeze, brushing through Jae-jin’s hair. His white forehead was exposed as his locks fluttered. Seo Eui-woo spread his arms wide and pulled Jae-jin into an embrace.
With the fallen Awakeners sprawled unconscious at their feet, Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin soared even higher. Rising toward the clouds, with the world shrinking below them like a child’s plaything.
“I will rewrite fate. For you, Jae-jin.”
***
The beloved mansion lay half-destroyed, and the armed Awakeners had been crushed like insects.
There was no identification tag on Seo Eui-woo’s neck, and no ring on the fourth finger of Kwon Jae-jin’s left hand.
It was abrupt, chaotic, and unplanned.
Everything was tangled and shattered, a mess beyond repair. It felt like being cast into a pitch-black abyss, unable to see even an inch ahead.
Kwon Jae-jin, who had spent his entire life locked away inside, was now suddenly daring to claim the whole world. It was honestly overwhelming. Dizzying. It felt so unreal, too much so. The situation itself was surreal. And yet, one thing remained clear—this path was the right one.
“As you know, Seo Eui-woo, I have regressed.”
At some point, it had been an endless ocean.
Two people alone on the water, gazing at the horizon, sharing a mirage of a conversation. Jae-jin murmured like a sigh.
“I went back exactly four years. Meaning, I know what will happen in the next four years.”
Seo Eui-woo’s mansion had a TV, and naturally, the news was on.
Kwon Jae-jin never stepped foot outside, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant of the world. In fact, he was well-versed in major events. The more confined he was, the more his curiosity about the outside grew, almost like a side effect.
Of course, he also knew the faces of the government’s high-ranking officials. Including the military personnel.
“There was a major incident where nearly half of the military’s top brass was wiped out. A mass wave of dishonorable discharges and personnel replacements followed.”
It was the result of the research department’s repeated disaster warnings being ignored for years. A catastrophic event unfolded.
The damage that year was devastating, leading to the shutdown of three frontier districts and one civilian residential zone.
“Creature Wave.”
It was also called the Monster Wave.
“A periodic phenomenon where rampaging monsters go berserk. Not only the commonly known β-Creatures, but even the original α-Creatures that reside exclusively inside the gates spill out and attack humans.”
According to research, it occurred precisely every 34 years and 2 months. Since the first Gate Impact had happened a century ago, the Creature Wave had only taken place twice before. This would be the third.
“Hmm… Never heard of it.”
Seo Eui-woo lazily tilted his head. Even after wiping out all the Awakeners who had been tracking Kwon Jae-jin, completely neutralizing them, he hadn’t relaxed in the slightest. He was still holding Jae-jin tightly within his arms, securing him as though he would vanish if let go.
His arms constricted firmly around Jae-jin’s chest, and his whole body pressed in, shielding him like an unyielding barrier. On top of that, an invisible force field enveloped Jae-jin—solid and impenetrable as an unbreakable wall.
And yet, Eui-woo’s pulse pounded fiercely, the veins on his neck standing taut. Jae-jin hesitated before gently soothing the tension in his back.
“It’s only natural you haven’t heard of it. The military high command is currently suppressing the information. Back then, no one seriously believed the warnings either. No one imagined such a disaster could actually happen…”
It was only after the Creature Wave erupted that the world was shaken to its core. A few civilian researchers had exposed the truth through the media, and as public outrage grew, the government—concerned about approval ratings—pinned the blame on the military leadership.
As a result, high-ranking officers were ousted one after another.
‘Though, they all probably walked away with hefty payouts, living out luxurious retirements.’
Regardless, the important fact remained—another Wave was imminent. And Kwon Jae-jin knew it was coming.
“From my memory, the military high command should be divided into two factions right now. One that disregards the Wave, and another that at least tries to prepare for it. If we can skillfully exploit that division, we’ll have a chance.”
To counter the Wave, even the uncontrollable power of Awakeners would become necessary. They wouldn’t have the luxury to be picky. Instead of eliminating mutants, they would likely seek to use them.
Kwon Jae-jin was an S-Class Guide. Seo Eui-woo was an S-Class Esper. The two of them together would be indispensable.
“…I don’t know about that.”
Seo Eui-woo, who had been silently listening, gave a faint smile.
It was a smile that felt like shedding a layer of skin—deeper, more serious than yesterday. It made him seem more mature. And, at the same time, more dangerous.
“I don’t think that’s going to work.”
His sharp gaze met Kwon Jae-jin’s.
His long, monolid eyes curled in their usual charming way, yet a foreign glint made the change strikingly obvious.
Intelligent. Persistent. Ruthless.
Like the eyes of a predator sinking its fangs into an enemy’s throat.
“Who would believe it? That you’ve regressed, that you know the future. How are you planning to earn their trust? Are you going to hand over your mind and memories the way you did with me?”
“Ah, that…”
“No. Even if you wanted to, I wouldn’t allow it. You think I’d let someone else pry into your mind? No way. I won’t stand for it.”
“…….”
“And even if the higher-ups do believe in the Creature Wave, there’s no guarantee they’ll accept the mutants.”
Seo Eui-woo cut off the idea in one decisive strike. The thought of Kwon Jae-jin offering his mind to someone else was unthinkable.
“That… is true.”
When the Creature Wave hit, Seo Eui-woo’s natural-born power would be a tremendous asset. Just now, he had annihilated those Awakeners so spectacularly that even the Center wouldn’t be able to ignore him. And Kwon Jae-jin, as the only one capable of guiding him, would be just as critical.
“Haha, rather than all that—why don’t we just flip the board completely?”
