Ash woke up in a bed, his breath rough and his eyes started darting around the room. The familiar cracked ceiling greeted him, and the smell of concrete clung to the air.
He was in his old house again, that ugly little box he had called home in Seoul.
"What… why am I here?" he muttered, his voice trembling as he touched the walls and floor, half-expecting them to vanish.
It couldn't be. Had it all been a dream? The fights, the powers, the boulder, his mother, it felt too real.
But the peeling paint and the buzzing light bulb above him told a different story. He staggered to his feet and forced himself outside.
The city was as it always had been: rich men in suits drove their exotic cars without sparing a glance at the ones walking on foot, while piles of trash rotted at the street corners.
The stink was the same, the noise was the same, and the people were the same. So… it really was a dream.
He picked up his cart and returned to his routine. Bags of garbage, broken bottles, plastic scraps, he dragged them with numb hands, trying to convince himself this was reality.
"Ash!" a voice called out.
It was Marley, his fellow trash collector. "You look different today. What happened to you?"
Ash blinked at him and gave a small smile that felt strange even to himself. "Nothing, Marley. Just… thinking about life."
Marley laughed. "Thinking about life? That's not you. You're usually cursing the world or complaining about pay. Did you hit your head or something?"
But Ash only chuckled softly.
His words came slower than before, his tone calm, almost gentle. "Maybe I used to waste too much energy being angry. The world won't change just because I complain, so maybe I should just try to change myself. No matter how ugly life is, there's still a way to carry it with dignity."
Marley stared at him, blinking in surprise. "What the hell… You sound like some wise old man. Since when did you start talking like that?"
Ash's eyes drifted toward the sky, dull with smog yet streaked faintly with sunlight.
His chest ached as though he had lived through decades in just a single night.
Ash and Marley kept hauling bags along the road.
Marley scratched his head and said, "Did you hear? Seoul's been in chaos again. Rent rising, another protest downtown, and those big corporations still gobbling everything up. It doesn't matter how hard people work anymore, they just keep pushing us lower."
Ash nodded slowly, his hands tightening on the cart handle. "Yeah. It's always been like that here. The rich get richer, the poor keep crawling."
But as Marley talked, Ash's mind drifted away.
His thoughts dragged him back, years ago, to a younger version of himself.
He had two younger brothers. One had become a banker, the other a manager in some firm. Meanwhile, he had stayed at the bottom, dragging himself through life as if punishment was all he deserved.
He remembered school. Back then, he had been cruel, a bully who shoved others around just to hide his own insecurities.
He had laughed when weaker kids cried, acted tough so no one would see how empty he really was.
But now, staring at the man he had become, he knew he had carved this path himself.
I caused this. All of this… I did this to myself.
Tears blurred his vision.
His chest shook as the weight of years collapsed inside him, and he dropped to his knees by the pile of trash, crying like a child.
And then, in the middle of that breakdown, he felt a warm, familiar touch on his back.
He turned, his tears falling freely, and there she was.
His mother.
Not the mother from that fantasy world, but his real mother here on Earth.
His voice broke as he reached for her. "Mom… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. Mom, I'm sorry back when I screamed at you that day… when I burned my apartment. Mom, I'm sorry back when I ignored you and said you didn't understand me."
"Mom, I'm sorry back when I threw my life away while my brothers succeeded. Mom, I'm sorry back when I chose anger over you, back when I pushed you away even though you never stopped caring."
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry for all of it."
His words spilled out, confession after confession, as if he was trying to pour out every ounce of regret lodged in his soul.
His mother bent down, her hands steady on his shoulders, her face tired yet gentle.
"It's okay," she said softly. "You're my son after all. Just continue in life. Don't carry everything as punishment. Remember to be happy, and be kind."
Her words pierced him deeper than anything else.
He wept harder, clutching her as if he feared she would vanish if he let go.
Ash's throat burned as the words slipped out, ragged and hoarse. "Everyone in my life, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I caused everyone this. I'm just an evil bastard."
His chest felt heavy, like all the years of guilt were pressing down on him.
He pressed his palms against his face, wishing everything would disappear, wishing he could start over from the very beginning.
But then, he blinked.
"Ash!"
"Ash! What do we do?!"
Voices reached him, faint at first, then clearer. His surroundings shifted like a curtain being pulled away.
When he looked up, he was no longer kneeling in the alleys of Seoul. He was crouched in the forest, hidden beneath a mess of leaves and roots.
And next to him was Marine. Her breath came fast. Her face was pale and her eyes darting in every direction like a cornered animal.
"Ash!" she hissed. "What should we do after what we caused? Look at this, Ash!" Her voice cracked with panic.
Ash followed her gaze. Through the gaps of the trees, he saw the village below.
His heart almost stopped. What had once been rows of homes was now flattened earth and broken wood.
Smoke curled into the air, fires smoldered, and faint cries echoed in the distance. What little had survived was barely standing.
His lips trembled. This… this happened because of me, because of my greed, because I wanted more, because I dragged them all into this. This is my fault.
He could hardly breathe as the truth clawed through his chest.
Marine gripped his arm. "Perro and Robertson disappeared, Ash! I don't know where they went, I don't even know if they're alive, so what are we going to do?! Everyone will blame us! They'll kill us if they find out!"
Ash turned to her. He wanted to scream, to break apart, but instead the words tumbled from his mouth, words even he didn't expect.
"I'm sorry."
Marine blinked, stunned, her fear breaking into confusion.
She stared at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. "What… what did you just say? You, you're apologizing? You? After blackmailing me? After threatening me? What's wrong with you!?"
Ash lowered his head.
The man who had once barked commands, who had schemed and cornered others, now looked hollow and raw.
"I'm sorry, Marine." His voice cracked.
"I didn't mean for it to go this far. I thought I could handle it, I thought I could twist things for myself… but I destroyed everything."
Marine's lips parted, but no words came out. She was too shocked.
Then, Ash raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, but inside them, a small light of desperation, determination, something that hadn't been there before sparked.
"I—I have an idea. So that you can live once again free."
She frowned, clutching her chest. "What are you saying? What do you mean?"
Ash drew in a sharp breath, his thoughts racing. "All this time… I chained you with my threats. I made you live like a prisoner under me. But maybe—maybe I can change that. I'll find a way to make you free, Marine."
Ash sat there, his fingers gripping the dirt as he tried to steady himself.
His voice came low, but every word was deliberate.
"Marine… listen. You'll tell them that I kidnapped you and that everything that happened was because of me, Ash Valeender."
"You'll say you were dragged into this against your will, and to prove it… I buried Robert and Lamine, along with two others somewhere in the part of the forest that was burned in fire. Meanwhile, I'll just leave this village like no one will ever see me ever again. I'll fled into another kingdom maybe, and make sure they won't catch me."
Marine's eyes widened, horror flooding her face as he continued.
"You'll mess up your hair, smear mud on your arms and face. Make sure to look like someone who was trapped. That's how they'll believe you. You'll be safe. No one will doubt you."
Her hands trembled, then tightened into fists. Rage boiled up until it finally burst out of her throat.
"ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU WANT ME TO LIE, TO THROW IT ALL ON YOU WHILE I WALK AWAY LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED?!"
"ASH, YOU KILLED ALL OF THESE PEOPLE AND YOU'LL JUST RUN AWAY WHILE I GET RISKED?!"
Ash lifted his head. His face was worn, his eyes heavy with guilt, but then he did something she didn't expect.
He smiled.
Not his old mocking grin, not the sly smile of someone cornering her, but a warm, almost gentle smile.
"Marine… living with the guilt, knowing I killed all of these people, it isn't enough. I can't stay here and keep rotting. I need to help people, not hurt them. I want to tell them a story, a story I used to make when I was a child."
Marine's lips trembled, but her anger refused to fade.
"WHAT STORY IS THAT, HUH?! WHAT KIND OF STORY FIXES THIS, ASH?!"
Ash's smile lingered, soft, almost fragile.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then whispered, "The tale of a failure."