Swen's breathing was still uneven.But her eyes… were stubborn.
"Did you really think everything ended when you destroyed the golden barrier?""All you did… was bring your planet's death closer. You don't understand anything."
Shinju's brows furrowed.Koharu stepped forward.
"Shinju… wait.""Let's hear her out."
Shinju snapped back:
"Why? She's threatening us."
Koharu didn't take her eyes off Swen.
"Did you forget?""I can see the essence of people's hearts.""Her heart… is good. There's no trace of deceit."
Shinju glanced at Koharu for a moment.The black bindings did not loosen.
"Being good… doesn't mean she's telling the truth."
Swen cut in, hurried:
"First, I need to know something.""How did you obtain the Eye of Darkness?""I won't tell you anything until you answer that."
A brief pause.
"If you have any connection to the Lord of Darkness… kill me.""I don't have any other option anyway."
Shinju narrowed his eyes.
"…Tch.""Are you bargaining with me?"
Koharu softened the tension:
"What she knows… concerns all of us."
Silence.
Shinju tilted his head slightly.The black lines loosened just enough around Swen's chest for her to breathe—but they did not disappear.
"…Fine.""I'll talk."
His gaze hardened.
"But you will too.""Everything. No lies."
Swen nodded.
Silence fell.
Shinju lowered his eyes.
Then he spoke.
"…I need to start from the beginning.""We… are the people who were left outside the golden dome."
Koharu's expression shifted.Swen went quiet.
"For them… that dome was protection.""For us… it was a curse."
A short pause.
"Before it appeared… the world was full of life.""After it rose… everything outside it began to die."
The wind passed between them.
"As long as that dome existed… we were never going to be saved."
"Nesiller boyunca… dışarıda kaldık.""With hunger. With fear."
His voice was calm.But heavy.
"Yet… we lived.""Because we held onto each other."
Silence.
"Many tried to destroy that dome.""None succeeded."
He shook his head slightly.
"Over time… most of them died.""In the end… only a handful of us remained."
Swen's gaze hardened.
Shinju continued:
"There are creatures out there… mutated by the pressure of the Void.""If you want to survive among them… you must be strong."
He clenched his fist.
"So we learned how to use that pressure.""To cultivate it."
Swen muttered:
"…Your energy source."
"Yes."
"At first… it worked.""We grew stronger."
A brief pause.
"But that power had a limit."
Silence deepened.
"Those who crossed that limit… lost themselves."
Koharu's breathing subtly shifted.
"They lose their minds…""And what remains… is a monster."
Swen whispered:
"…So the transformation is inevitable."
"Yes."
Silence.
Then Shinju's voice changed.
"We were few.""A handful of people, clinging to each other at the edge of darkness.""Sometimes… we even laughed. Despite the hunger."
A pause.
"My uncle…"
"…was the leader of our group."
"The strongest among us."
"Everyone trusted him."
"But as time passed…we started to disappear."
"Monster attacks…hunger…cold…"
"One by one… we were gone."
"And with every loss…his shoulders sank a little more."
"He stopped eating.""He stopped sleeping."
"He stayed awake at night… staring into the fire."
"And every day… he became weaker."
"But still…he tried to keep us alive."
One day—
"He said he was going hunting."
"And he left."
Silence.
"But when he came back…"
"…he wasn't the same."
Black smoke surrounded him.
And his eyes…
…were empty.
Suddenly—
he screamed:
"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!""WHY ARE WE SUFFERING THROUGH THIS MISERABLE LIFE?!"
No one spoke.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE?!""JUST ANTS WAITING TO BE EATEN!"
My father stepped forward.
Calm… but firm.
"Brother…""As long as we have each other… nothing else matters."
My uncle laughed.
But it wasn't a normal laugh.
It sounded… broken.
"This is life?!""Hunger…""Fear…""Watching each other disappear every day…"
His eyes darkened.
"I'll save you."
Silence.
"Instead of rotting away slowly…""It ends now."
My father shouted:
"DON'T!""As long as there is life, there is hope!"
Silence.
Then—
my uncle…
laughed.
"STILL TALKING ABOUT HOPE…"
And then—
his hand changed.
His fingers stretched.
Sharpened.
Like a blade.
No hesitation.
One motion.
My father's head…
fell.
"…There.""I saved you…"
Shinju's voice trembles.
"My dear brother."
Everything—
collapsed.
People screamed.
They tried to run.
But—
he was no longer human.
That speed…
couldn't be followed.
He touched someone—they fell.
He stepped—someone died.
And he was crying.
"I saved you too…""You too…"
Tears streamed from his eyes.
But he didn't stop.
Then—
he looked at me.
"Your turn…"
"I'll free you from this suffering… my nephew."
He rushed at me.
So fast—
I knew I was going to die.
Deep in my bones.
But then—
My mother stepped in front of me.
Without hesitation.
His hand—
pierced through her chest.
And came out from her back.
Time stopped.
She looked at me.
Her eyes trembling.
"Shinju…"
Blood spilled from her mouth.
"Run…"
"As long as there is life… there is hope…"
"Live well…"
My knees gave out.
I couldn't move.
My uncle…
kicked her away.
She flew.
"A bug…""Talking big for prey!"
He laughed.
That laughter…
"…kept echoing in my head."
"Over and over…"
Something snapped.
Fear—
disappeared.
And in its place…
came rage.
"This… has to end."
"I have to stop him."
And in that moment—
I removed the limit I had kept for years.
The limit that stopped me from surrendering to the Void.
I let go.
The dark aura around me…
erupted.
Denser than his.
That vile energy flooded through my body.
Uncontrolled.
But powerful.
My body filled with strength.
I attacked.
He dodged.
He struck.
But now—
I could see him.
Then—
I matched him.
Then—
I surpassed him.
And then…
I started enjoying it.
Destroying something…
taking a life…
could it really feel this good?
My mind blurred.
I wanted to destroy everything.
Everyone.
Everything.
He attacked again.
I broke his blade-arm.
Forced him to his knees.
And then—
I drove it…
into his chest.
Silence.
He looked at me.
A bloodied smile.
"Well done…"
"You're no longer prey…"
"You're a predator now."
"…My nephew."
"Don't blame me…"
"Blame that dome…"
And in that moment—
I came back.
My mother…My father…My uncle…
All of them…
gone.
And I…
was becoming the same thing he was.
A monster.
"…I won't become him."
At that moment—
the essence of the Void was taking over my mind.
I had to choose.
Become it…
or disappear.
The moment I tried to kill myself—
something changed.
My dantians opened.
I could control it.
Just a little.
That darkness…
I circulated it through my dantians.
Guided it.
Condensed it.
And then—
I sealed it…
into my right eye.
Silence.
My mind…
was clear.
For the first time.
That energy was no longer controlling me.
I was controlling it.
And that day—
I chose my purpose.
"To destroy that dome."
"Two hundred years…"
"I stopped counting the days."
"Time… lost its meaning."
"I lived only for that."
Without rest.
Without stopping.
And in the end—
Shinju raised his head.
"…I did it."
Silence.
"I told you everything."
His eyes locked onto Swen.
"Now it's your turn."