"Let Gerry attend to you," Isabella said, her voice dropping into a tone of absolute, stubborn finality. She didn't ask; she commanded. Her leadership was instinctive, a sharp edge that even the exhaustion of the battle couldn't dull.
I wanted to wave her off, to tell her that I was fine, but I caught the flash of genuine fear in her eyes. I let a youth named Gerry approach. He moved with the tentative, precise hands of someone who had spent more time in lecture halls than battlefields.
"Don't worry, Hye. I'm a medical student," Gerry murmured, his hands shaking as he pulled a clean piece of fabric from his bag. "I'm only in my first year, but I can at least control this bleeding. You've lost a lot of blood."
I watched him work in silence. I wasn't truly worried about the state of my flesh. My eyes were fixed on the sky, counting the seconds. I knew that the wounds I carried—the fractured ribs, the deep lacerations, the likely internal haemorrhaging—were nothing more than temporary data points.
To object now would only arouse suspicion, making me look like a suicidal lunatic rather than a calculated survivor. So, I sat still, a phantom of the future trapped in a broken body, waiting for the celestial clock to strike zero.
Then, it happened. The air didn't just vibrate; it hummed with a frequency that resonated within the marrow of my bones.
[Congratulations! You have proven yourself worthy.][The first part of the first quest is over. A System is now being bound to your soul and genes.]
The blue-tinted screen flickered into existence before my eyes, mirrored by the gasps of the survivors around me. I stared at the words "gene binding" with a bitterness that felt like poison. I knew exactly what that implied. The System wasn't just a HUD or a set of game mechanics; it was a rewrite of the human blueprint.
In my past life, scholars had debated the morality of this moment for decades. The gene binding meant that every attribute, every skill, and every level gained would be etched into our DNA.
For the strong, it was a legacy—a way to ensure their offspring were born as demigods. But for the weak, the fearful, and the unlucky, it was a genetic death sentence.
Those who failed to secure a powerful Class or high base stats today were effectively dooming their children and grandchildren to be the permanent underclass of the new world.
This was the moment the "Great Divide" began, and looking at the pale, exhausted faces of my group, I realised how many of them were already walking on the edge of the abyss.
'They should appear any moment now,' I thought, my gaze shifting back to the starless, purple-black sky.
In the original timeline—the one recorded in the sanitised history books—the Guides appeared at the very start of the chaos. But my interference had split the first quest into two distinct phases. This shift in the timeline had delayed their arrival, and I was anxious to see if they were still the "benevolent protectors" the world once believed them to be.
Blink!
The darkness of the park was suddenly shattered. It wasn't the messy, flickering light of my gasoline fire, but a singular, blinding point of radiance high above. It descended with the grace of a falling star, growing larger and more magnificent until the entire baseball diamond was bathed in a light so white it felt holy.
From the centre of the brilliance, three figures emerged. They were giants, nearly three meters tall, their bodies draped in flowing, ivory robes that seemed to be woven from starlight itself. Massive wings, feathered and shimmering, folded behind them.
They were the Angels—the Guides. To the records of my time, they were the saviours of humanity. To the old man who had sent me back, they were the butchers of our species.
"Poor humans," one of the angels spoke. The voice didn't come from his throat; it resonated in our very minds, a melodic, soothing frequency that seemed to wash away fear. "Heavens have listened to your prayers and sympathised with your pains and sufferings."
I stood up, pushing Gerry's hands aside. My heart hammered against my ribs—not with fear, but with a cold, focused hatred. I recognised these three. They were the "Three Guides" of the New York sector. Everyone else in my group was huddled together, staring upward with a mix of awe and terror.
"Who... Who are you?" one of the youths asked, his voice trembling so violently he could barely form the words.
"It is the time of a great challenge, human boy," the lead angel replied, his face a mask of serene, porcelain beauty. He gestured to his companions. "We have descended to support and guide you through this long and arduous journey. You are no longer alone."
Whispers broke out among the survivors. In the face of monsters and the collapse of civilisation, the sight of a "divine" saviour was a powerful narcotic. I saw the scepticism in their eyes begin to melt, replaced by a desperate, pathetic hope.
Isabella, however, was made of sterner stuff. She stepped forward, her clothes torn and stained with blood, pointing a shaking finger at the piles of dead students and smouldering monster carcasses.
"See for yourself what has happened!" she cried, her voice echoing with the authority of a woman who had planned to lead nations. "Look at the mess we are in. Look at the deaths. If you are here to help, tell me—where were you when the screaming started? What are you going to do about the people we've lost?"
I watched her, a surge of pride tempering my anger. She was a courageous girl, every bit the leader I remembered from the legends. But she was fighting a war of words with beings who had spent aeons perfecting the art of the lie.
"We did not come here to levitate the burden from your shoulders," the angel said, his tone dripping with a fake, paternal warmth. "The test is yours to pass. We are here only to ensure you have the tools to survive the times to come."
"A test?" Isabella challenged. "What is happening here?"
"It is a clash between humans and monsters," the angel said, spreading his arms wide. "A selection process to prove your worthiness to join the greater cosmos."
Liar, I thought, my jaw tightening until it ached. This wasn't a test; it was a planetary merger. Earth was being consumed and integrated into a multi-dimensional empire where we were nothing but raw materials. I forced myself to walk forward, masking my loathing behind a facade of weary curiosity.
"Then what shall we do now?" I asked.
The lead angel turned his gaze toward me. For a fraction of a second, the mask slipped. Beneath the "holy" white light of his eyes, I saw a flicker of something ancient and predatory—a flash of bloodlust and genuine hatred. He recognised that I wasn't looking at him with the same wide-eyed devotion as the others.
"You are going to have your System activated," the angel said, focusing back on the group. "Then, the second part of this test will begin. Succeeding will grant you a great opportunity—a chance to be blessed by a Reverend Being. A chance to acquire strength beyond your imagination."
Another lie. I knew the truth about the "Blessings." They were soul-contracts, parasitic links that allowed higher beings to siphon the potential of human warriors in exchange for a temporary boost in power.
If my group listened to these "Guides," they would be shackled for the rest of their lives. But I remained silent. I couldn't expose the truth yet; I didn't have the status or the proof, and the next quest was already looming.
"We have little time," the angel urged. "The System will bind to you now. Stay alive in the next quest so we can truly begin our journey together."
He flicked his fingers, a gesture of effortless power.
[System Binding: 0%... 50%... 100%][Binding Complete. Congratulations, User.]
A faint, white light erupted from the ground beneath us. It was a pale, weak glow—the lowest tier of System integration—but it carried the "Reset" function.
As the light washed over me, the sensation was indescribable. It was as if every cell in my body was being scrubbed clean. The agonising fire in my ribs vanished. The blood on my skin dissolved.
My torn ligaments snapped back into place with a satisfying pop. Even the bone-deep fatigue that had been threatening to shut down my organs was replaced by a surging, electric vitality.
[All injuries healed.][Fatigue cleansed.][Attributes Unlocked.]
I felt it then—the gush of true strength. The stats I had fought so hard to earn through my actions in the first hour were finally live.
"Please, have your rest," the angel said, his voice fading as the three of them began to dissolve into pillars of light. "You have one hour before the start of the next quest. Good luck to you all."
And just like that, they were gone. The park was plunged back into a natural darkness, save for the dying embers of the generator shed.
"Damn!" Isabella kicked a piece of debris, her frustration boiling over. "Why did they leave so soon? I have a thousand questions! We still don't know what these monsters are or what 'Part Two' even means!"
She turned to the group, many of whom were now standing up, laughing and crying as they realised their wounds had vanished. The wounded who had been near death were now standing tall, their bodies restored. It was a moment of pure, unadulterated joy in the middle of a graveyard.
I stood apart from them, watching the celebration with a heavy heart. I remembered the old man's raspy voice, warning me that the angels' "restoration" was just a way to keep the cattle healthy for the next slaughter.
"What should we do now?" one of the survivors asked, his voice filled with a new, dangerous confidence.
Isabella ignored him. She walked over to me, her eyes searching mine. The scepticism I had seen earlier was still there, but it was now tempered by something deeper.
"I don't know who those things were," she whispered so only I could hear. "And I don't think I believe a word they said. But I trust you, Hye. Whatever you do next, I'm following. You're the only thing that's felt real tonight."
She offered me her hand, a pledge of loyalty that meant more than any System blessing. I took it, feeling the warmth of her palm against mine, and finally allowed a small, genuine smile to touch my lips.