Chapter 27 : Silent screams

The silence that followed was heavier than the battle. Ji-Wan’s blood still steamed against Sang-Ho’s chest. The basketball was gone. So was the killer. And for a moment, no one moved. The world felt hollow. Then— [System Message: Level Up] The cold voice broke through the grief like a crack of thunder in a funeral. All party members have gained +1 Level. Sang-woo: Level 10 Ye-Jun: Level 18 Seo-Yeon: Level 16 Mi-Sun: Level 18 Ye-Rin: Level 18 In-Ji: Level 15 It continued, uncaring: [Alert: Goblins now hold 2 of 3 Memory Anchors. ][Condition: Their confidence is rising.] [Result: They have issued a challenge to all survivors in the region.] [You now have 3 days to stop the goblins from acquiring the final Memory Anchor: Memory 3 – The Sword of Kim Joon-Shik] Suddenly a map appeared in front of us. A flashing red dot—moving. Not static like the others. The sword was being transported, in real-time.The sword was moving through Buk-gu, ulson. But no one looked at the screen. Because Sang-woo was still kneeling, clutching Ji-Wan’s body. We gave him space. Even Volt, still hovering with flickering thunderous-light wings, kept his heads bowed and turned away. I looked down at Ji-Wan’s blank eyes, still frozen in shock. Still warm. That made it worse. Sang-woo’s voice cracked. "He didn’t even scream." His hands trembled, tightening around his friend’s jacket. "He was just holding it. Holding the damn basketball." Ye-Rin slowly stepped beside him, blood smeared down her temple. "Sang-woo... we’re gonna—" "Don’t," he snapped. His voice was rough. Shredded. "Don’t say we’re gonna be okay. Don’t say he died a hero. He died holding something that was already gone." "I wasn’t....." Ye-Rin clenched her jaws, wanting to say something but the words didn’t came out. It wasn’t her first time seeing someone die but it was still painful to watch. He finally looked up, eyes blazing with grief. "I promised his sister I’d bring him back. I promised." No one spoke. Seo-Yeon stood frozen. Her eyes weren’t on Sang-woo or Ji-Wan—but something behind them. Somewhere else entirely. Her body was trembling. "In-Ji," she whispered, voice hollow. He turned quickly. "What? What’s wrong?" "I can’t... breathe." She sank to her knees, gripping her chest. "I— I can’t— I smell it again. The blood. The metal. The burning hair—" Her words tumbled out, cracked and rapid, like a child recalling a nightmare. In-Ji dropped beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "It’s not him. You’re safe. Seo-Yeon, it’s not Sang-Woo. You’re not there anymore." But she didn’t hear him. She was trapped. In the memory. Watching her manager get eaten alive again. Those memories were flowing through her mind. Mother walked forward slowly, her movements sluggish with fatigue, and placed a single hand on Seo-Yeon’s forehead. Her voice was quiet and steady. "Curse of senseless". Except for her vision, everything else numbed. A soft spell, like a sedative wind, rippled out from her fingertips. Seo-Yeon’s breathing began to slow. Her fingers loosened from her jacket. Her tears still fell—but now in silence. Mother turned back to the group. Her eyes, usually gentle, were tight with resolve. "We have time," she said softly. "We need to bury him." The group moved in somber coordination. They carried Ji-Wan back across the broken cityscape, back to the outer neighborhoods where Ji-Wan had once mentioned his family’s home. It took hours. The house was ruined—its door ripped off, windows shattered, and claw marks streaked the walls. Inside, blood had dried to a brown crust across the floor. But the backyard... the backyard still held peace. Two graves were already there. Old, marked with weather-faded wood. Ji-Wan’s parents. Sang-woo stepped forward, picked up a broken shovel, and began to dig. He did not speak. His arms trembled with exhaustion, but he didn’t stop. Not once. Not until the earth opened enough for a resting place. They placed Ji-Wan between his mother and father. Suddenly a memory rushed in his mind. The memory of the first day when reality of Earth changed. Ji-wan’s sister Ryu So-Eun lost her life saving him. [ Flashback ] It was chaos. Sang-Woo was pinned behind a collapsed wall, blood leaking from a wound in his leg. He could barely see through the smoke. Ji-Wan was already up ahead, shouting something—too far, too loud, too late. Then a growl behind him. The monster was fast—too fast for him to get up in time. But someone else did. A blur. So-Eun. She threw herself between him and the beast, a knife in one hand, her other arm shielding him. The monster’s claws ripped into her side. But she shoved the knives right in the wolves head, killing it in the instant. "No—So-Eun!" Sang-woo screamed. She gasped, eyes wide with pain but steady. "You’re okay...?" He nodded, shaking. "I—I didn’t.....w-why— you Stu stupid " She smiled faintly, blood already soaking her shirt. "Good." Her hand gripped his. "Keep yourself alive... and keep my brother safe. He is the only one left" She leaned close, breath shivering. "I love you." Then she collapsed in his arms. "That was so mean. No. So-Eun. You can’t do this to me. Please." [End of flashback] "I’m sorry." He falls down on his knees and just starts crying his eyes out. Mi-Sun whispered a prayer. Ye-Rin pressed one of Ji-Wan’s old lenses onto the headstone. Seo-Yeon remained quiet, sitting on a sofa inside the hall, her fingers dug into In-ji’s sleeve like she was holding onto herself. In-ji is trying his best to hold on to seo-yeon. I stepped back, looking at the freshly packed grave. My hand clenched around the Junior’s hands— it could feel my sadness and was trying to comfort me. It runs its face around mine. "This is the third," I whispered. Ye-Rin turned to me. "What?" "The third time I’ve watched someone die right in front of me." my voice was flat. "First was Sang-Woo. Then those three in the parking lot during the rabbit fight. Now Ji-Wan." Ye-Rin opened her mouth. Closed it. I kept speaking. "He was the reason we didn’t lose more. He was tracking targets. Saving Mi-Sun. Calling plays. And in the end, he was the one holding the damn objective. Of course he’d die." I looked up, jaw clenched. "And the worst part?" I looked at Graves in front of me. "I’m not even surprised anymore." We left Ji-Wan there. Beside his family. In the only part of Seoul that still held a hint of peace. I came outside the house. To catch some breadth. The sun was about to fall as well. When suddenly, A sound. Small. Soft. Footsteps. I turned. Across the street, under a falling signpost and beside a shattered swing set, a little girl walked barefoot along the pavement. She couldn’t have been more than eight. Her hair was matted. Her clothes are torn. Her legs bruised and scraped. But it was her eyes that struck me still. There was nothing in them. No light. No fear. No curiosity. Just blank survival. Her arms dangled by her sides like she didn’t even remember what they were for. She kept walking. Straight toward Ji-Wan’s house. Straight toward me. I felt something freeze in my chest. "Hey," I said quietly. "Little one?". I hid Junior in my hoodie again. Not trying to scare her away. She stopped. But she didn’t reply. Her lip trembled. Then her knees buckled—and she collapsed forward, into my arms. I caught her. Slowly, gently. I looked down, my hands still trembling, my clothes matted with blood and this tiny thing curled against me like she belonged there. She was shaking. But she didn’t cry. Not even once. She only muttered one thing. "Grandpa.....Grandpa is .....they ...." Then I realized that she is the same girl in the picture that was assigned as the first memory. Realizing this, I held her tighter.