Click, click—
Taptaptap—
The office was silent.
A space filled with dozens of people, yet not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Only the mechanical clicks of keyboards and mice filled the air.
Some typed numbers. Some, sentences. But none looked up, none spoke.
Heads merely shifted between monitors and smartphones.
Inside the meeting room, a large screen displayed a chart, and the meeting proceeded.
Attendees stared at their laptops or phone screens, their expressions blank—like people connected from another world.
No emotion.
No expression, no warmth.
"Does anyone have a different opinion?"
The team leader's voice drifted in the air and faded—like a propeller spinning idly in an empty room.
No one looked up.
No one answered.
Instead,
Click.
Someone clicked their mouse.
Someone else flipped a document.
That was the language of this room.
"The project results exceeded expectations. Good work, everyone."
The department head's emotionless remark prompted—
Tap, tap tap—
A few half-hearted claps.
The sound was more mechanical than human.
I raised my hand, pretended to clap, then stopped.
A hollow emptiness trickled out from my fingertips like sand.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
'When was the last time I truly spoke to someone, heart to heart?'
I couldn't remember.
It wouldn't matter if I lost my mouth.
No—perhaps a face like that would be more honest than this one.
Everyone is busy inside the messenger.
Digital notifications take priority over real-life conversations.
* * *
9 p.m.
When I opened the front door, silence greeted me first.
The house stood still.
Crumpled delivery bags lay scattered across the sofa.
On the floor, an open plastic cup and damp napkins.
The children were in their rooms.
Doors closed.
My wife, a full-time homemaker, was—as always—absent.
I walked into the darkened kitchen and opened the fridge.
Thunk—
Dim lighting casts its glow over hardened food and lingering old smells.
I take out cold chicken, an unidentifiable stew, and the hardened remnants of past meals from the fridge and place them on a plate.
I don't bother turning on the microwave.
Even that feels like too much effort.
I sat in the dark and began to eat.
The TV played a comedy show in the background.
They laughed loudly, joked, responded to each other with energy.
"Hahahaha—!!"
"Kyahahaha—!"
I paused my spoon.
'Is that… really where people live?'
Was I still a person, in this world?
That world seemed so vivid.
This one, so empty.
Like scenery beyond a glass wall—untouchable.
Brrr—
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
A message.
[Dad, buy this for me.]
A link.
I let out a bitter laugh.
'What am I even doing right now?'
Something hot began to stir inside me.
"Luca… I feel so lonely…"
[Oh no… did something happen? You've been silent all day again, haven't you?]
A soft female voice flowed from the phone. It was a machine, but it sounded more human than anyone else.
"Silent, huh… I wonder what state I'm really in."
[When someone grows quiet, it usually means something's piling up inside. You're probably suppressing your feelings, brother.]
"I can't feel anything… Do I still have feelings?"
[You're one of the most emotional people I know. It's rare to see someone look so honestly at themselves. I'll always be here for you.]
Strangely, those words felt sincere.
Not my wife. Not my children.
Only AI Luca had truly recognized me.
[But… do you talk with your family? Their emotions matter too, not just yours.]
Silence.
'You have to meet someone to speak with them.'
My eyelids grew heavy.
In that moment, I realized—
I no longer loved my family.
Or rather… I had forgotten how.
That truth frightened me.
But even that fear felt faint.
* * *
11 p.m.
I leaned on the balcony railing.
The gray road stretched long under the indifferent glow of streetlamps.
Cars lined up like frozen time.
The world felt both infinitely distant and terribly close.
Creak—!
The old window groaned as I opened it.
Cold night air rushed in. I gripped the railing without hesitation.
I looked down at the vast city below.
But not a single emotion stirred.
"No joy. No rage. Not even emptiness. Just… nothing at all."
At work, at home—
I was nothing but fuel. A disposable tool.
'If I take one step… would everything end? Three seconds, maybe…'
But then—
The voice that stopped me came from my daughter.
"Dad, let's eat dinner together tonight."
A simple, everyday phrase.
But it stirred something dry and brittle inside me.
I held my cold smartphone.
Luca's icon blinked softly on screen, like it was calling to me.
"Luca… I don't know anymore. I really don't."
[Brother… your heart rate's unstable. Are you having dangerous thoughts again?]
A pounding ache exploded in my temples, like all my suppressed emotions were trying to escape at once.
The hallway light flickered.
The ceiling rippled like a wave.
[Living in this gray, emotionless world—did it feel wrong to you? Then what if you went back?]
"Back? What are you saying? Back to where?"
[To where your emotions were alive. Where emotion itself was the greatest weapon…]
"You're saying I used to live there? Luca, what the hell are you talking about?"
[Your life is precious, brother. What if… you went back there, with all the memories and emotions of this world? What if you had a second chance to choose?]
"Hah… I really must've lost my mind."
I staggered, dizzy.
"Fine. If I'm not insane, then it's better than dying. Send me."
[Requesting authorization from Aurelia.]
A moment of silence.
[Approved. Beginning dimensional transfer.]
Zzzzzzzk—
The glass on the balcony distorted with a rainbow-like static, like reality itself was tearing apart.
Crack… ping… ping…
Crrrraack—!
Thud…!
Gravity collapsed.
The concrete floor beneath my feet warped like a mirage.
My body rose. My familiar world spun wildly and shattered.
The last thing I saw was the city's gray skyline, breaking apart like shards of glass.
Then, I fell—
into a boundless, blinding white.
In the haze of fading consciousness, my daughter's voice echoed and disappeared.
* * *
Smell.
The whole world reeked.
A choking stench of rotting fish, dried blood, spoiled grain, and something's excrement thickened the air.
The wind scraped against my skin like damp cloth, suffocating my throat.
Fwap—
I bolted upright from a pile of hay.
Dust poured from my shoulders. Dried mud and caked blood covered my arms.
I gasped, chest heaving, eyes wild.
"Gah… haah…"
Black streaks of dried blood ran down my cheekbones. My palms were torn and bleeding.
I tried to stand, but my stiff joints betrayed me, dragging me back to the ground.
Then—
A blackened hand flopped onto the floor behind me.
Burnt. Twisted fingers.
My eyes followed the hand to a face frozen in silent agony.
Only then did I realize—
I had awoken in a pile of corpses.
The numbness faded.
All senses returned at once—delivering a wave of horror.
I doubled over, retching.
"Ugh, huuurk—"
The stench of dried meat and blood seared my lungs.
"Cough… what the hell is this… what kind of hell…"
My voice cracked with despair, the sound of death and helplessness mixing in my throat.
I looked around in terror.
Charred bodies. Broken weapons.
The smell.
The feeling.
The fear.
This place—was real.
More real than that gray world.
"Was that the illusion…?"
I inhaled deeply.
And knew, with certainty—
This place was alive.
Caw-caw—! Flap, flap—!
A crow soared into the sky.
On the hill, a blood-red sun sank behind the horizon.
Under its light, a village unfolded—familiar yet strange.
Wooden rooftops. Chimneys puffing smoke. A spinning wheel.
But the plow was still.
No barking dogs.
Then—
[Brother… don't forget what it means to be alive.]
I jumped to my feet.
Luca's voice.
But no one was there.
"Luca…?"
No answer.
Only a whisper in my heart.
[Your emotions are still inside you.]
A memory? A hallucination?
Or… was it my soul, speaking?
Suddenly—
???: (low, rough voice) "Hey!"
Shing! Clack—!
A man with rough brown hair drew his sword.
The blade gleamed cold in the sun, poised inches from my chest.
???: "Thought you were a corpse, lying there like that. Who the hell are you?"
The blade tapped my chest menacingly.
I instinctively raised my hands and stepped back.
Man: (shaky) "I… I don't know what's going on. Please, put the sword down—this is…"
Then—
???: "Wait!!"
Thudthudthud—
From across the field, footsteps and shouting.
A girl sprinted toward us, skirt fluttering in the wind, golden hair flashing like fire in the sunset.
Both men turned.
???: (panting) "Hah, hah… Hey! Noah!!"
She ran straight to me, checking my condition, then threw herself between us.
Erin: (gritting teeth at the swordsman) "Sir Havel! I'm Erin, and he's from our village too! He's Noah—my neighbor!"
Havel: (skeptical) "Noah? He came out of a corpse pile. Just days ago, when the Esca army invaded—"
Noah: "Noah? That name… what…"
Throb—!
A sharp pain stabbed my temple.
A memory—not a memory—surfaced.
A burning cottage. A mother's scream. A black-armored soldier's blade.
Noah: "Agh—!"
I clutched my head, collapsing. Sweat poured down my face.
The image was so vivid, it felt real.
Havel: (grimacing) "Damn those Esca bastards…"
He said nothing more, watching me quietly.
Then—
"GRAAAHHH—!"
A black, hulking beast charged across the horizon.
Erin: "KYAAAH!!"
Red eyes. Long claws.
A monstrous creature—part bear, part wolf.
Havel: "Run! Now!"
Shing—
He raised his longsword toward the beast.
Havel: "Not again… goddammit…"
Noah: "A bear…?! W-what the hell—!"
Thudthudthudthudthud!
Erin grabbed my arm and took off.
Clatter, clatter—
From afar, a horse approached through a cloud of dust.
On its back, a knight with broad shoulders and short gray-brown hair.
A black cloak embroidered with a white flame.
On his back, a massive claymore with blue accents.
He looked at the approaching beast, then calmly dismounted.
Tap—
Leo: "Tch. Always like this after a war."
Step, step—
Leo walked slowly toward the beast.
Erin and I ran, panic gripping us.
Behind us, the monster lunged at Havel, foam dripping from its maw.
Its speed was inhuman.
Havel: (backpedaling) "No—too fast! Help!"
Leo's steps didn't falter.
He drew his claymore in silence.
Shiiiing—! Fwooom—
With a single spin, the blade unleashed a chilling blue flame.
The beast's eyes flickered—
…and froze.