WAV 38

Chapter 38

Kuuuuuuung――.

The ground shook violently with a deafening roar.

I staggered, barely keeping my balance, and snapped back to my senses.

“Where… am I?”

The scenery was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.

A massive crater-like terrain, circular and deeply hollowed, surrounded by a city reduced to rubble.

The gas mask on my face felt oddly familiar.

“…The gate site? Why am I here…?”

“Dr. Yu!”

It was then that someone called out to me urgently from a distance.

“…Yu Ji-han?”

I scowled at the sight of that obnoxious face.

Right—there had been an urgent call from the military.

Seeing him reminded me why I was here.

A strange phenomenon had occurred near a gate where a “book” was recently discovered.

Normally, a special unit composed of Awakened ones would exterminate all monsters, the gate would close, and the black mist would vanish.

But now, black mist had reappeared at a gate that had already been closed and neutralized.

When requested to investigate, I hurriedly grabbed my ‘CURE-1’ and left the lab.

And, of course, the one they’d assigned as my daily bodyguard was him.

― Hey, Dr. Yu!

Yu Ji-han.

My older half-brother, the first adopted child my father took in fifteen years ago—no blood relation at all.

― What are you doing here?
― What else? I was ordered to safely escort Dr. Yu to his destination.

― Are you insane? Don’t act like we’re close.

― That’s harsh. I’m your one and only brother, rushing here for you, leaving all my busy work behind.

― Why are you my only brother?

― Out of all the siblings above and below you, I’m the only one who came. That makes me your only brother, doesn’t it, little sister?

Fragments of memories slowly resurfaced.

I had never sent him away, even though he shamelessly approached me with that smirk, because of Assistant Kim’s curious gaze.

― Oh my…! Could it be… Lieutenant Colonel Yu Ji-han?!

Regardless of his flawed character, he was an A-class Awakened whose flashy looks and formidable abilities had made him a star long ago.

Not just Yu Ji-han, but my other stepbrothers were similar.

There was no such thing as karma in this world—for me, it was all misfortune.

Then, it happened.

Kuuuuuuung, Kwang――!

The tremor was far stronger than before, shaking the ground beneath me.

“Ugh…!”

“Hey, Yu Sol! What are you standing there for?! Get over here now!”

Yu Ji-han shouted again, but as the quake hit, I fell to the ground, unable to obey him.

Whoooooosh―!

As if that wasn’t enough, a powerful gust of wind tore from behind, blurring my vision.

“…!”

Yu Ji-han, who had been rushing toward me, suddenly froze in place.

His face pale, eyes wide.

For some reason, his gaze was locked not on me, but on something behind me.

I yanked off the suffocating gas mask and forced myself to look back.

The sky had darkened ominously, swirling with storm clouds as if a tempest were about to strike.

Flash!

Lightning split the sky, bright as day.

And then…

Crack―

A fine fissure appeared in the heavens, and black smoke began billowing through it.

“Th-That… is a gate?!”

I could hardly believe my eyes.

The gate was opening.

I was witnessing firsthand what I had only ever seen through audiovisual records.

Crack, zzzzt―

The fissure widened, black mist pouring out without pause.

Once fully open, a horde of horrifying monsters would emerge.

Yet the scene somehow didn’t feel entirely real.

“H-How…?”

Was this a symptom of my profession?

I couldn’t comprehend it.

‘How could the same place have a gate appear twice?’

But there was no time to ponder this anomaly.

Whoooooosh――!

The direction of the strong wind from the fissure suddenly reversed.

“Ah…!”

For a moment I teetered as if about to fall, then my feet lifted into the air.

A gate emits tremendous energy just before opening, sucking in everything around it like a black hole.

That was why the ground nearby had caved in like a crater.

If I were pulled in, I’d die.

“Yu… Ji-han!”

I frantically turned around and reached toward him, not because I trusted him, but because he was an Awakened from the special unit and my bodyguard today.

But…

He shook his head, hesitated, and stepped back.

“I’ll… I’ll call someone for help.”

“…What?”

“J-Just hang on, Dr. Yu! We can’t both get swept away and die here. We have to call for rescue.”

“What nonsense!”

I needed him to grab me, not stand there talking!

Even as my body hovered helplessly, I was being dragged backward.

I frantically scanned my surroundings—there wasn’t a single tree to grab onto.

“…Golden time’s passed. You should have moved when I told you to.”

Yu Ji-han scolded me with his usual arrogance.

“Hey, Yu Sol. You’re smart, so if you hide well, you’ll be fine. Trust your brother, right? I’m not saying I won’t save you, okay?”

Suddenly, he spun around and quickly distanced himself from me.

He was running away—alone.

“W-Wait! Yu Ji-han!”

Ridiculous. He was telling me to hide inside a gate swarming with monsters.

‘Where exactly am I supposed to go?’

It was basically a death sentence.

“Yu… Ji-han! Wait! You crazy, no—brother! Ji-han oppa―!”

The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.

I knew he was right: even the greatest Awakened couldn’t conquer the gate alone.

But for a soldier to abandon someone facing certain death?

Especially someone who, though not blood-related, had grown up nearly ten years with him…!

“Huh…”

I stared helplessly as he fled, terrified that I’d be sucked in as well.

No plea to stay, no desperate cry to save me.

I was too shocked, too dumbfounded.

But it didn’t last long.

“Kyaaaah!”

My body was tossed about by the storm like a sheet of paper.

Rising and falling, spinning like a ride, dizziness engulfed me.

“Yu Ji-han…!”

I screamed his name, my voice straining.

“Yu Ji-han! Yu Ji-han, you damn bastard―!”

Are you even human?

Couldn’t you use that damn ability you always brag about to do something?!

My desperate cry echoed emptily across the vast land.

“Ahhhh―!”

Just as I was about to be pulled into the gate, mouth gaping like a monstrous maw,

a bright light pierced before my eyes.

And then…

.

.

.

“……Hah!”

I opened my eyes, gasping, and sat upright.

“Ah, Miss!”

“G-Your Highness. Are you alright?”

I noticed the familiar presence beside me and slowly lifted my head.

Familiar faces.

“…Ethan?”

Beside him, Nancy and my butler looked worried.

Only then did I notice my surroundings.

I was in my room at the Duke’s mansion, lying on my bed.

Sunlight poured in through the large window—it must be morning.

A strange mix of relief and unease washed over me.

“Haa…”

I exhaled deeply and washed my face quickly.

In a subdued voice, I asked:

“…How did I get here?”

“You collapsed at the palace, and Master Ethan brought you here,” my butler said with concern.

“Did you… have a nightmare, Miss?”

“…Yes.”

A truly awful dream.

I nodded and muttered, still feeling dizzy as if still spinning in that storm, my heart pounding.

I bit my lip, irritated:

‘Damn it. Why do I keep having these horrible dreams…?’

Perhaps the argument with Ethan just before I collapsed had triggered it.

Seeing memories I had desperately tried to forget come alive again…

Unfortunately, what I saw in the dream wasn’t just some silly nightmare.

It was the reality of how I had died in this damned novel.

My last memory in the real world.

The past I had truly experienced.