Since it was still cold outside, the children who weren’t sensitive to the temperature occupied the sunbeds while the adults were spread throughout the subsidiary facilities equipped with heating. My parents were having grilled pork belly with relatives.
Aunt Jung-Hee was sitting next to my mother, and I could vividly remember her face. She had not only pulled me out into the world when I was born, but we had also wandered around the ruins after the Day of Advent searching for her in my past life. My mother was the most attached to her as my maternal grandparents had passed away before I was born. Aunt Jung-Hee had taken care of Mother like a parent when she was young.
I quietly left my seat. One area of the resort had been taken up by the people my parents had invited, but there were quite a lot of other guests in different areas. The families of the members in Revolucion and Tomorrow had arrived here first. All of the Destiny researchers, our group’s important figures who weren’t supposed to die away from home, and others who were directly or indirectly involved with my empire were also here.
Everyone was enjoying their unexpected vacation, but those with rigid expressions on their faces were gathered in the building which would be used as the headquarters of the World Awakened Association in the future. Seeing that they had been quiet so far, I could let go of my concerns. The pre-Awakened of Revolucion and Tomorrow were becoming familiar with each other while they were discussing the security of the resort before the Stage of Advent was set up. They were also pledging to cooperate with each other after entering the stage.
Woo Yeon-Hee texted me.
「Where should we meet up?」
***
“Thank you,” Woo Yeon-Hee said with a sincere look in her eyes.
I could smell grilled meat and soju[1] coming off of her, and she looked relieved. However, it didn’t last long as she started crying. It had been awhile since I had last seen in such an emotional state like this, and her shoulders heaved as she sobbed.
“Why are you crying? It’s only the beginning,” I said.
“We… we will be able to see each other again, right?” Her voice shook.
I nodded. “As long as you are not swayed by the people in there. I think you are ready.”
She sniffed. “If… if I don’t manage to survive, please take care of my family.”
I wanted to tell her to stop saying such awful things. However, a reprimand wasn’t what she needed as she knew the difficulty of ‘The Last Stage.’ I wrapped my hand around her neck and pulled her towards my chest.
“We will meet again,” I said calmly in her ear, hoping that my unflappable feelings would be conveyed to her. We stayed in that position for a few minutes. However, Woo Yeon-Hee didn’t calm down, and I suddenly realized why. She was concerned about me and thought I wouldn’t be able to come back.
I reassured her, “Even if I’m going through the second round, I start with an overwhelming advantage compared to the ordinary Awakened. My abilities are more outstanding than the majority of them even without items.”
I didn’t tell her that we would only be able to start together if we were lucky.
“Are you a hundred percent sure you can trust the people from Revolucion and Tomorrow? What if you run into them?” she asked.
I shrugged. “There’s only a slim chance that would happen. Even if I run into them, I would have restored my previous abilities by then. It’s not the time for you to worry about me. Based on how you’re acting, should I be asking you to take care of my family?”
“Are you sure?” she argued.
I nodded. “Yeah. Don’t be swayed by clumsy novices. What did I tell you to do when you think someone is your enemy?”
“…”
I continued, “Remove them before they grow big. The same way as I did to the Suzuki sisters. You can do it.”
Woo Yeon-Hee nodded, and we headed to the parking lot where her car was. The Stage of Advent didn’t open immediately. Instead, it opened on the Day of Advent after the gates all over the world opened and humanity went through several alien invasions.
The U.S. was where Woo Yeon-Hee would stay until the stage opened. We had revised the U.S. military strategies multiple times under the assumption of an alien attack and blocked the use of nuclear weapons with the Jeon-il Club’s resolution. However, the club’s influence would become nothing if the supreme commander-in-chief changed his mind when faced with the apocalypse. Therefore, Woo Yeon-Hee had to keep her eyes on him.
If the commander-in-chief tried to do something crazy… Then, no surveillance system of the current civilization would be able to detect her. Everyone there would be dead by then, so she wouldn’t need to use Isis’s Gaze. Woo Yeon-Hee was the last bastion of our human civilization.
‘See you again.’
‘We will for sure meet again. Definitely.’
We exchanged looks through the window, and she left.
***
I stayed in the room for three days after Woo Yeon-Hee left. My father looked at the documents piled up all over the place and became astonished.
“Take it easy. There is nothing more important than maintaining good health.”
In the past, he would have given me advice, but he left the room instantly after giving me some snacks. I opened the window of a program on the computer that I had previously closed. Jonathan and Gillian were waiting for my response on two different video chatting screens.
<Seon-Hu: If ten years wasn’t enough, we wouldn’t be able to do it even if more time was given. I think we did our best to prepare for this. What do you guys…>
<Jonathan: I agree. Wall Street will never shut down. I swear on my life.>
<Gillian: Same for the City.>
<Seon-Hu: Then all we have to do is wait.>
I wasn’t tired at all as the gates all over the world would soon begin to open.
Thud. Thud.
My heart was pounding already, and the faces of the two guys on the screen also looked very nervous. This tension reminded me of the first time I entered the stage in the past. Gillian was drinking more water as if his mouth was drying up, and Jonathan started wandering around his office. After a bit, Jonathan put his face close to the screen and started talking.
<Jonathan: We should set the mood in advance.>
If the person only had guys without soldiers to use them, he or she basically lost the war from the beginning. The same happened when the plane hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center. Wall Street’s traders were busy running to their kids’ school while abandoning their work.
Perhaps the result of the years from the moment I returned the time depended on Jonathan and Gillian’s leadership. Gillian also walked away from the screen. All that was left on the video conference call was my stiffening expression in a small box in the corner of the screen.
My cousins and nephew were laughing outside. In the past, I couldn’t even see them as it had been easier to count the number of people who survived than those who had gone missing. Therefore, it was true that I was worried whenever I heard their laughter.
The preparations were thorough, and everything had to go as planned without any mistakes. The moment something slipped out of our hands, the future I had drawn was likely to vanish in one second. We had to endure the inevitable Bank Run[2]. The stock market had to remain solid enough to instill faith in the people. It was inevitable that things would deteriorate in countries with dictatorships such as China and Russia, but at least those within my reach needed to function as before.
Thud. Thud. Thud, thud, thud…
I started breathing faster.
Huff. Huff.
I felt the air from my nostrils whooshing past my philtrum.
Tik Tok. Tik Tok.
The second hand moved quickly.
Tik.
The hour hand had moved on to the next compartment with the minute hand. Soon, they stopped on that specific historical time of the past.
Disasters had come quietly all of a sudden. The gates were opening worldwide, but the kids were still laughing outside and my room was quiet without any problems. An event that marked a pivotal moment in human history had begun, but it didn’t mean that the resort suites would collapse, leading the scent of blood to pour out in the air.
Then…
<Jonathan: It started!>
Jonathan suddenly appeared on the screen and disappeared after screaming once. I had placed the world economic markets on the monitor, and I was looking outside the window. The laughter outside suddenly changed to their parents frantically calling their names. Then, I heard the sound of the scolded children whining that they didn’t want to sleep.
“Seon-Hu! Oh, gosh! Honey! He is here!”
The door flung open.
“The monsters are everywhere!”
My father and mother had their eyes wide open, and it seemed like monsters would pop out at any moment as my mother shouted. While I was hugging my trembling mother’s shoulders and helping her sit on the couch, my father looked for the television remote first. When Mother showed me the news article on her phone, I couldn’t see the screen properly as her hands were shaking so hard.
「[Ministry of National Defense] The areas 13 km northeast of Seoul, 9 km southwest of Hwasung, 25 km north of Tongyeong in Gyeongsangnam-do, and 4 km southeast of Gimje in Jeollabuk-do. A number of unidentified creatures have appeared. Please return home immediately, look to your own safety, and follow military and police orders.」
“It’s okay, Mother. Everything will be fine.”
I held her hand tightly and heard the television that my dad had turned on. Although it was a Korean channel, the video data it was playing had been taken from North America. The biped creatures with bent waists were definitely Decal Corps. Everyone was shaking including my mother’s hand, my father’s eyes watching TV, and the camera filming the Declan Corps pouring out of the gate.
“Father.”
He looked back at me in silence.
I said in a calm voice, “You must be very bewildered now, but you should trust me and take care of Mother. This is the safest place on earth.”
Then, I heard a loud noise from outside, and my father ran toward the window.
“Foreigners are outside holding weapons in their hands! We shouldn’t just stay here and watch.”
I shook my head. “No, Father! Those are the ones who will protect us. I don’t have time to explain everything now. Please follow their commands. Soon, our country’s soldiers will arrive.”
“The world is panicking out there, and it’s not your time to work!” Father raised his voice.
I insisted, “That’s why I have to do this. I have lots to do at this moment. So please, Father.”
“Who the hell are those foreigners…”
Father saw my desperate eyes and stopped what he was going to say. Then, he hugged my mother and grabbed my hand on her shoulder.
“Okay, do what you have to, Son. Don’t worry about your mother.”
Even then, my mother’s smartphone was ringing busily.
「[Ministry of National Defense] The area 12 km west of Seoul, a number of unidentified creatures have appeared.」
1. Korean alcoholic beverage that is clear and colorless. ☜
2. Mass withdrawals from panicking consumers. ☜