Returning to God’s embrace, a soul put to rest. To the afterlife, relieved from all burdens.

Prayers, salutation, mournings, tears—

The words that XiaoLe spoke in her passing. Mixed, muddled emotions that weaved into a catacomb of pain.

Sadness for her death.

Relief that mankind’s ultimate threat had died.

Guilt that she couldn’t keep her promise.

Elation that her most hated enemy was gone.

Frustration for not being able to make up her mind.

Agony for abandoning the one she most cared for.

Her idol, her inspiration; the one who brought both joy and ruin to her life,

Hwang EunHa.

She remembered the flickering candle flames, the strong winds that howled. The entire time, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She was finally gone.

A heavy downpour drummed against the ground. Outback near the garden exit, XiaoLe remained deep in thought.

Tears traced her chin.

“Colonel Wu.”

“…?”

A voice called out to her from behind. She rubbed her eyes and turned around to meet the gaze of the man.

EunHa’s father, Lieutenant General Hwang JaeHyun.

“Thank you.”

He said with a gaze deep in respect.

“…Thank you?”

The funeral had already come to an end.

Cold blizzards and harsh winds failed to shake her… but that simple gesture of sincerity sent a chill right down her bone.

She parroted his words, but her question was met with silence.

Without adding anything more, he walked past her. Her expression hardened, his fleeting figure grew ever so blurry, melting right into the distant rain.

Thank you…? You thanked me for killing your only daughter?

Her chest tightened, shoulders heaved. She wanted to refute, but couldn’t bring herself to a justification. Gritting her clattering teeth, she held back the urge to hug her own body. Her eyes trembled, well aware of the irony which her response implied.

“My saint, are you okay?”

Following just behind EunHa’s father, Senior Chief Petty Officer Hwang JiSoo called out. EunHa’s elder brother.

“I’m… fine.”

She wasn’t.

“It’s not your sole burden to bear my saint. We all decided on this.”

“…”

JiSoo showed a bitter smile.

Even as a family, he could only do so much to stop her execution. Personal reason and political reason alike… to begin with, their relationship had never been by any means good.

“Her death was for the greater good.”

Everyone who signed the indenture convinced themselves of this very fact. And who could deny it? Even the saint herself, who knew of the future, couldn’t stop fearing for her existence.

“If it would make you feel any better, I think it wasn’t wrong that she chose this.”

Like father like son… even he expressed no sympathy. Was there even guilt? How could they be so heartless?

In the struggle to calm her thoughts, JiSoo began a narration to drive a wedge into her mess of a deliberation.

“My sister and I were born of different mothers.”

A story about their family XiaoLe hadn’t known.

“Father and I were the only ones who survived the Great Fall.”

Despite having lived twice, this was XiaoLe’s first time coming to learn of the deeper truth behind the Hwang family’s plight.

“Mother and… everyone else, father fell deeply depressed.”

The Great Fall, this historic event XiaoLe may not know very well. It happened at a time when she was just an infant.

But that didn’t mean she was unaware of the horrible events which had transpired.

“It was during this time a woman managed to seduce him, and thus… she was born.”

EunHa’s existence was but a way to cope with the loss of his late wife.

“But that woman left him as soon as my sister was conceived.”

By ‘left him’, XiaoLe’s knowledge was limited to EunHa’s mother dying soon after her birth. Could he be implying something else? A secret, perhaps?

“Ever since then, father raised her like she was his everything. Perhaps to make up for the family we lost, he never stopped looking at her. Forgetting that I even…”

He caught his rage and stopped. Then gazing out towards the hazy rain.

“…I must confess guiltily that I wished she had never been born. To cause so much pain to father, and blind him from the truth.”

No one out there can substitute for the void within each of us.

“I’m glad she can finally rest in peace, my pitiful sister.”

He said.

“It’s quite the cruel thing for a brother to say isn’t it?”

Knowing that behind his gentle words was a man who truly cursed his sister to death. XiaoLe bit her lips.

“My Saint, you have to be strong.”

Eyes sternly on her, he advised.

“Even if it was your friend that you had to kill, you did it for the sake of all humanity.”

I know. That’s why…

“… No. Even if it was family… sometimes a sacrifice is what’s necessary.”

I can’t let her down. Not after her death.

They stood in each other’s gaze for a few seconds. He turned away first, her gaze lingered only a second longer.

The rain had calmed to a drizzle.

“Do you need me to guide you back to the office?”

He asked.

“I’m not returning yet. There’s some business I have to take care of…”

“In your current attire?”

“This would be my last time wearing it anyway.”

“It’s a beautiful dress… a pity to ruin it, isn’t it?”

“…”

Knowing the person he was, she remained silent.

“I was being insensitive, my apologies.”

He apologised. She shook her head, dismissing it. He turned around.

“…In the end, her fiance never showed up. Why?”

“…No comment.”

“Pass him my condolences.”

“Yes—”

“That woman couldn’t have brought him happiness anyway.”

His final words rang out in her ears as light raindrops traced the roof edges.

It fell and created a splash.

╙⊠ ▢╨⌷⊳⚙⊲╙⊠▰

Ring.

The bell rang to her entry into the cafe.

Shaking off the water from the black umbrella, she hung it on the umbrella holder and looked around.

“Pst, here!”

A girl with raven-black hair and a pair of ocean-blue eyes waved.

Cho LiSeo.

The daughter of Cho Group’s president.

The Cho Group is a conglomerate of companies that has an outreach in many important industries. From pharmaceuticals and food resources to infrastructure and weapon technology. They were a major corporation actively supporting humanity’s fight in the war.

While it has yet to be decided who would inherit the Cho Group in the future, Cho LiSeo had, in ownership, a few small companies of her own.

And such a business talent was accompanying Matsushita Kenji as he slept on the table.

“Do you want something to drink?”

LiSeo asked.

“…How many cups did he drink?”

Seeing 5 empty ceramic cups, XiaoLe thought she was hallucinating.

“Three. As for the other two, one was me, the other was Hee JingKai who dropped by but… left just a while ago.”

“And he could still sleep after all that?”

“Well… I suppose.”

Cho LiSeo stretched her body across the table. Her fingers lightly twirled his hair while looking at him with a gaze that XiaoLe felt slightly irked by—affection.

XiaoLe wasn’t the only girl who held feelings for Kenji. In this life, and the one she had before, it had always been this way.

In truth, LiSeo’s presence in their current timeline was a unique variable. She and Kenji never met in XiaoLe’s previous life.

“The funeral… did everything turn out alright?”

LiSeo asked.

“I don’t know how to properly answer that question.”

“I’m not close to his ex-fiance, so I can’t really say I know what kind of eulogy you gave for her life.”

“The eulogy… huh…”

Floral speech, decorative accolades… a false, embellished exaggeration of the girl whom XiaoLe knew as EunHa.

“Don’t you want to take a seat?”

“It’s alright. I don’t want to disturb him.”

“Grr. Seriously though, he’s disturbing me and my time. I have work to do after this and he’s just going to sleep on me.”

“Give him a break…”

“He’s already gotten a break. You two went to the First Stratum alone without telling me anything.”

LiSeo said with puffed-up cheeks. Strangely enough, seeing her act this way reminded XiaoLe of someone. Wonder turned into curiosity.

“…LiSeo-nim, are you the only child in your family?”

“Me? No. I have a lot of brothers, sisters and cousins. 32 siblings in total including myself. I don’t even know who half of them even are.”

Ah, right. XiaoLe realised she had phrased her question wrong.

This was the result of polygamy and the desire to expand the Cho Group to its limits. XiaoLe thought it was best if she left the explanations about her unusual family tree to the appropriate journalists.

“Why do you ask?”

“I was just thinking how you resemble…”

Suddenly, something inside her warned that if she spoke the name, the future’s trajectory would change again. XiaoLe bit her lips and stopped her sentence there.

“…No, nevermind. It’s nothing.”

“You mean to ask how I resemble Kenji? Or how if Kenji and his fiance Ms. Hwang had a child I’d look like their daughter? Well, either way, if you’re not going to tell me, I won’t bother. If you’re not going to sit here and chill, what are you going to do now?”

Her nonchalance really did resemble her…

“I think I’ll go back to the office, since Kenji is under your care currently.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind me watching over him?”

LiSeo asked with a concerned look.

“I… need some space to process my emotions. So it’s alright.”

XiaoLe only wanted to make sure Kenji was alright. And since LiSeo was already here to take care of him, for many reasons concerned, XiaoLe thought perhaps she should leave before he woke up.

“…Okay. Take care of yourself, XiaoLe.”

“You too. Thank you LiSeo-nim.”

XiaoLe left the cafe without buying any coffee.

LiSeo pressed her entire face down on the table.

“Seriously, what can I do to help?”

She tilted her head slightly and glanced at Kenji’s eyelashes just beyond the shadow of his hair.

“…I wonder what dream you’re having right now?”

║⪡▰╖⪄⌺⪄╨▩⪡_.

,⪡ Matsushita Kenji╖’⊠

⪄ Origin Year 134, 20th of GuYu.

[DETAILS:▽NEARBY UNITS> Chen Ayumi - DEAD [00:02:43]>>Hints: Nil

…

She held the corpse of her squad mate tightly in her arms.

“She’s dead.”

Her frigid voice, a forced suppression of the great storm of turmoil crushing her heart. Even though EunHa risked everything to save her… in the end, we were the only ones who survived.

⊳╙⊠’╨

The jeep crested a small hill before entering a descent. I witness for a brief moment the scenery past the leaf coverings, beyond the boundaries of the world.

A sea of skies.

Various clouds sailing.

Small islands hanging afloat in the air, flying warships that should’ve been part of the seas.

At the base of the mountain was a small city. Wire fences, spotlight scout towers, modern infrastructure, military tents, vehicle hangers, ship docks…

Coral plants were growing among the forestry. In the air, fish and crustaceans hovered.

And, the surreal evening hue that painted the world.

Taking it all in was heavy.

“An interdimensional foreigner huh? So what kind of world did you live in before?”

Private Tian asked, breaking the silence.

A foreigner. I suppose that’s what the people here call people like me. Likely, I’m not the first victim. And as callous as it was, I had hoped I wasn’t the only one.

“…A world similar to this. Except, we don’t have to fight the demons, and things don’t float.”

“What a lucky world that sounds.”

Lucky.

Yes. I was incredibly lucky.

The fact that I made it out of such a bastard introduction alive.

Even if this was meant to be a cliche dropped-in-the-middle-of-the-forest isekai, couldn’t whatever God have not set me right in front of some demon…

“Shii—!”

The vehicle almost flipped as Sergeant Tian rolled the steering. A rocketing shadow passed in a blink, and we almost collided.

“Private Hwa…!”

A single bang erupted.

Before Sergeant Tian finished saying anything, the demon had already died. White smoke came from the barrel of her gun.

“…Wow I’ll be.”

Sergeant Tian exclaimed. I didn’t even know what demon fish that was, but it seemed EunHa got her target.

My gaze shifted from the gun muzzle to her face; her blonde hair waving to the wind.

In one hand, she held the gun, in the other, she cradled the corpse of her friend wrapped in a body bag.

Her soulless eyes met mine for a brief moment.

And then she turned away.

╓▰╨╖⊳⚙⊲╓⊠╥╖

[DETAILS:▽MISSION BOARD> MISSION RESULTS(1/2)

>[FAILED] MISSION TITLE: SAVE CADET WANG AYUMI

>SYSTEM REMARKS:

>>Nil

…

[DETAILS:▽MISSION BOARD> MISSION RESULTS(2/2)

>[SUCCESS] MISSION TITLE: SURVIVE

>SYSTEM REMARKS:

>>Clear Rewards: +2GUGP,

>>Beginner Clear Rewards: +10GUGP

>>Unlocked Progression: A New World

…

The jeep arrived at the hangar. There were soldiers and what looked to be runners busily moving about supplies.

“I welcome your safe return, Private Hwang, Private Tian.”

A soldier who was decked with badges approached us, then saluted.

“Major, did something happen?”

EunHa saluted, then asked.

“Preparations are currently underway for immediate Hive extermination interventions, hence the mess you see here.”

“I see.”

The person who EunHa called Major looked at me.

“Who is he?”

“Just someone I picked up along the way.”

“He’s a foreigner. That kind of foreigner.”

Sergeant Tian followed up with a suspicious inflection to the way he addressed me. The Major scanned me head to toe. I remained stiffly silent.

He then turned to a following entourage to his side.

“Ensign Tanaka, take him into custody.”

What?

“Understood sir.”

The man Tanaka tapped on my shoulders and prompted me to follow him.

“Private Hwang, could you follow me?”

Meanwhile, the Major continued talking to EunHa.

“Yes sir. But I have one request.”

“What is it?”

“I ask that my friend’s body be returned to her family as soon as possible, and receive a proper burial.”

“That’s a given.”

Their voices faded further and further away.