Gray clouds filtered through the cracked hospital window.
Unlike the flawless light from the illusion...
There was no light.
Dark.
Gloomy.
Curtains swayed unevenly whenever wind slipped inside.
The wooden floor creaked.
Ordinary.
Messy.
Real.
Kai quietly smiled.
Then—
BANG!!
The hospital room door slammed open so hard it bounced off the wall.
A young woman rushed inside with enough energy to fill the entire room.
Long chestnut hair danced wildly behind her.
Bright amber eyes sparkled with excitement.
She pointed dramatically at Kai.
"So you're awake!"
Kai blinked.
"..."
The woman rushed beside the bed before anyone could stop her.
"So you're really alive!"
"Do you know you slept for a whole week?"
"Do you remember everything?"
"How old are you?"
"Can you walk?"
"Can you fight?"
"Do you have a Job?"
"Were you always that strong?"
"Wait—"
"Does your hair always look like that after sleeping?"
Kai stared at her.
"..."
The girl tilted her head.
"Hello?"
Kai slowly answered.
"...Hi."
She gasped dramatically.
"He talks!"
Kai looked toward the doorway.
"Help."
A quiet sigh answered Kai.
Standing beside the door was a young man.
Unlike the whirlwind currently invading the room...
He carried himself with calm composure.
Black hair, slightly greenish under the dim light.
His pale green eyes remained tranquil.
A light cloak shifted gently despite the still air.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Lin!"
"I told you to knock."
"I did."
"You kicked the door."
"It still counts."
"It doesn't!"
Lin puffed out her cheeks.
"Details."
The man finally stepped inside.
He gave Kai a small nod.
"I'm Raya."
"My apologies."
"We've been trying to teach her manners."
Lin immediately protested.
"I'm very polite!"
Raya looked at the broken door.
"No."
Lin glanced behind her.
"Okay."
"Maybe not today."
Kai couldn't help it.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"..."
The room fell silent.
Lin froze.
Raya blinked.
Lin slowly pointed at Kai.
"You laughed!"
"Is that strange?"
"It is!"
Lin declared.
"You've had the same scary face since we found you!"
"You looked like you'd punch anyone who came close."
"I almost thought you slept with your eyes open!"
Kai instinctively touched his face.
"...Do I look that serious?"
"Yes."
"Very."
"Like someone who got their lunch stolen."
"..."
"...Fair enough."
Lin suddenly leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart.
Lin squinted.
"Hmm..."
Kai remained still.
"...What?"
"You really don't look that old."
"But the battlefield..."
Lin glanced toward Raya.
"...It looked impossible."
Raya folded his arms.
"It wasn't just impossible."
"It was erased."
Silence settled over the room.
Even Lin's cheerful smile faded slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Kai question in confusion.
Raya looked directly into Kai's eyes.
"When we found you..."
"There wasn't a single Nightmare left."
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"The streets had melted."
"Buildings collapsed from the heat."
"The corruption had completely burned to ashes."
"We've never seen anything like it."
Kai lowered his gaze.
"...I barely survived."
"We know."
Lin scratched her cheek.
"We honestly thought you were dead."
"You weren't breathing very well."
"You had blood everywhere."
"You looked..."
Lin hesitated.
"...Lonely."
Kai's expression stiffened for only a heartbeat.
"..."
Raya noticed.
Raya quietly changed the subject.
"Estelle told us you've recovered well."
Kai nodded.
"...Thanks to everyone."
"If you hadn't brought me here..."
"I would've died."
"Thank you."
Lin waved both hands.
"Oh!"
"You should be."
Lin crossed her arms dramatically.
"My back still hurts."
Raya looked at Lin.
"...You carried only the bag and his things."
"I'm the one who carried you here."
"Lin pouted."
"That's not the point."
Kai laughed again.
This time...
It came naturally.
The room felt lighter.
Warmer.
For several minutes...
They simply talked.
Nothing important.
Food.
The hospital.
The survivors.
Arguments over breakfast.
Lin accidentally burned the porridge.
"...Wait."
Kai looked at Lin.
Lin proudly pointed at herself.
"I burned it emotionally."
Raya sighed.
"She forgot it on the stove."
"Ah."
"Exactly."
"That's not emotional."
"It was for the porridge."
Even Kai couldn't stop smiling.
The laughter slowly faded.
Then Kai asked quietly,
"How many survivors are here?"
Raya answered honestly.
"Just over a hundred."
Kai's smile faded.
"Only..."
Raya nodded.
"We're still searching."
"Some groups arrived a few days ago."
"Others..."
Raya didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Kai understood.
Silence returned.
After a while—
Lin suddenly looked toward Raya.
Then back toward Kai.
Then toward Raya again.
Lin leaned closer and whispered—
Far louder than a whisper should be.
"Should we ask him?"
Raya closed his eyes.
"No."
"But I'm curious."
"So am I."
Lin tried to open her mouth, yet Raya interrupted her.
"Lin."
"What?"
"..."
"Fine."
Five seconds passed.
Lin raised her hand.
"I have a question!"
Raya sighed deeply.
"I knew this would happen."
Kai looked at her.
"...Go ahead."
Lin scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"This might sound weird."
Kai waited.
"..."
"...Are you..."
Lin hesitated.
"...A regressor?"
The room became silent.
The wind outside the window stopped.
Even Estelle, who had been about to enter with fresh bandages, paused outside.
Kai frowned.
"...A"
"...Regressor?"
Lin stared at him in disbelief.
Lin exchanged a glance with Raya.
Kai's expression showed only confusion.
No hesitation.
No recognition.
Just genuine bewilderment.
"What's..."
Kai asked quietly.
"...A regressor?"
Raya's calm eyes narrowed slightly.
Lin's mouth slowly fell open.
Neither of them answered immediately.
Instead...
They looked at one another again.
This time—
With far more questions than answers.
Raya finally spoke.
"A regressor is someone who has returned to the future."
"Someone who already knows what is going to happen."
Kai stared at Raya.
"...I don't know anything about that."
Lin studied Kai's face carefully.
"Then..."
"How did you survive?"
Kai's gaze slowly dropped toward his hands.
For the first time since the apocalypse...
Kai's expression became distant.
"...I wasn't always alone."
Lin's excitement disappeared.
Raya remained silent.
Kai continued.
"I made a friend."
"A good one."
"Even though we only know for just a day."
"It feels like I can lean on him."
"We just..."
Kai paused.
He clenched his fingers to the blanket.
Lin's eyes softened.
Kai looked toward the cracked window.
"I don't remember having much before the apocalypse."
"I was an orphan."
"There was no family waiting for me."
"No home."
"No one would search for me."
Kai's voice remained calm.
"So I learned early that I couldn't depend on anyone."
Kai paused.
"Then I met him."
A faint smile appeared.
"For the first time..."
"I had someone who would stay with me."
"Someone who would share joy and pain."
"Someone who made the ruined world feel slightly less empty."
Kai's smile slowly disappeared.
"We meet at the school, when I was searching for shelter and survivor."
"Yet that school was overflowed with Nightmares."
"We thought we could run but, the Moon would corrupt us in the process."
"So we had no choice but to fight."
Kai chuckled lightly.
"The funny thing is we won."
"We killed the Nightmare."
"Then he died."
Kai paused, hesitated.
"I killed him."
Silence.
Lin lowered her eyes.
Raya said nothing.
Kai continued.
"He was being corrupted beyond saving."
Kai tears flows freely.
"I couldn't save him."
"Yet he saved me multiple times."
Kai stopped.
Kai's voice became quieter.
"He forced me to stabbed him."
Kai's hand trembled slightly.
"I hated him for that."
"I thought..."
Kai swallowed.
"I thought I would hate him forever."
"But he was already gone."
"I had no choice."
"But to keep on surviving as his final wish."
Kai looked at the floor.
"I survived not because I'm strong."
"But to keep the promise that I will survive for the both of us."
"Not because I knew the future."
"Not because I was special."
"I just..."
Kai took a slow breath.
"...Didn't want his death to mean nothing."
The room remained completely silent.
Even Lin, who had been unable to stay quiet for more than five seconds, had nothing to say.
Kai finally looked up.
"So if you're asking whether I'm a regressor..."
Kai shook his head.
"No."
"I don't remember a future."
"I only remember surviving."
Raya studied him for several seconds.
Then he slowly nodded.
"I believe you."
Lin looked at Raya.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Just like that?"
Raya glanced at Kai.
"His story has inconsistencies."
Lin blinked.
"Then you don't believe him?"
"I believe that he doesn't know what a regressor is."
"...Oh."
Raya turned toward Kai.
"There is something you should know about us as well."
Kai blinked.
"Us?"
Raya nodded.
"I'm Raya Aer responsible for the Defense Team in this hospital."
"I've awakened the day of the apocalypse with the help of someone who is a regressor."
Kai's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Were the one who is guarding this settlement."
"I coordinate the patrols, assign teams, manage combat operations, and determine where our forces are deployed."
Kai glanced toward the broken door.
Lin raised her hand.
"Objection!"
Raya ignored her.
"She is..."
Raya paused.
"...the Director's secretary."
Lin immediately straightened proudly.
"Exactly!"
Kai looked at her.
"...You're a secretary?"
"Yes!"
"But you don't act like one."
Lin gasped.
"That's rude!"
Raya nodded.
"Accurate, though."
"Raya!"
Kai almost laughed again.
Lin crossed her arms.
"I'm the Director's secretary."
"I handle reports, survivor records, communications, schedules, and requests from the different teams..."
Lin paused.
"...and sometimes important investigations."
Raya looked at her.
"Such as?"
Lin pointed at Kai.
"Such as him!"
Kai blinked.
"Me?"
"Yes!"
Lin leaned closer.
"You survived something that should have killed an entire squad."
"You're the only person we've ever found alive inside that ruins."
Lin narrowed her amber eyes.
"So naturally..."
A mischievous smile returned to her face.
"...I'm curious."
Kai sighed.
"I have a feeling that's going to become a problem."
Lin grinned.
"Probably."
Raya turned toward the door.
"Lin we should let him rest."
Lin immediately followed.
"Right."
Lin stopped halfway.
Then turned back toward Kai.
"One more thing."
Kai looked at Lin.
"What?"
Lin smiled.
"Welcome to the settlement."
"Before I forget."
"The Director wants to see you later."
"Will be taking you there."
Kai shocked.
"W-wait..."
Lin smiled.
"See ya."
The two left the room.
The door slowly closed behind them.
Kai remained alone.
For a few seconds...
Kai looked at the cracked window.
Gray clouds.
Cold wind.
A ruined world.
But somehow...
For the first time in a long while...
It didn't feel completely empty.
Kai quietly whispered.
"Raze you would've liked them too."
Kai's smile faded.
"I think..."
Outside the room...
Raya and Lin stopped walking.
Neither spoke.
Lin's cheerful expression had disappeared.
Lin looked at Raya.
"Do you believe him?"
Raya stared at the hospital door.
"I believe his story."
Lin lowered her voice.
"But that doesn't explain the battlefield."
Raya's pale green eyes narrowed.
"No."
"It doesn't."
Lin folded her arms.
"Then what do you think happened?"
Raya remained silent for several seconds.
Finally—
"I don't know."
Raya looked toward the dark corridor.
"But whatever happened there..."
"Will stay a mystery."
Then a faint sound of a bell rang from distant of the hospital.
Ding.
Ding.
And somewhere beyond the hospital walls—
Someone was already watching.
To Be Continued...