I knew he was a good guy. He introduced me to his companions, the shadow soldiers, they're officially called. He told me that they were the shadows of his former enemies, now shadow allies.
What a grim prospect...
Jin Woo Sung...
Imagine having an enemy that won't let you rest after your death. An eternal servitude where your enemy will make the most of your abilities.
I asked him how he turned up here, and it was rather grim. Apparently, he was attending a hunter's funeral. He has my condolences. Then, as he was about to meet someone, he suddenly phased through the floor and found himself in this place.
He has been here for two weeks. He thanked his luck that he had some rations to spare. Anyway, we had quite an interesting conversation.
Apparently, he hails from a country called Korea. I've never heard of that. In his world, some gates would pop up everywhere, and it was a hunter's job to close a gate.
Because inside a gate were vicious monsters or sadistic beings that would massacre a lot of people if they weren't stopped. What a ruthless world. No wonder he's always on his guard; he can't afford to rest.
I told him I was from Lugunica, and he instead raised a brow. I told him that in my world, there weren't any overtly monstrous threats, although they do exist. When I told him that my enemies were mainly crazy cult people, he hummed.
A part of him didn't want to believe it. I can tell from those expressions that he still doubts me. After some quiet enumeration, he told me that he had an idea.
He said that we are from different but close realities, and that whoever has plucked us out from our realities must be someone so strong or beyond our comprehension.
I can tell that much. Even with all my protections, it'd be a very difficult fight.
"Do you perhaps own any rabbits?" The man asked, putting away his daggers. The daggers disappeared into the air. What an interesting kind of magic...
"I don't own any cute cottontails, Mr. Sung," I answered with a smile.
"What made you ask that?"
"I've spotted some nearby. I can tell that they weren't local to this place. I thought you had something to do with it." The man said, walking forward.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I had nothing to do with those strange rabbits," I answered as he walked away.
"Don't try to follow me. I'll look for the way out on my own. Besides, you're capable enough to handle yourself." Mr. Sung said with a dismissive tone.
"Wouldn't it be better for us to work together and share information?" I pleaded that teamwork was better in this case, and besides. No man is an island.
"I may have some clues that can help you. There's a research institute called Async here; they might help us if we can find them."
"I already know about them, and besides, I work alone..." The walls darkened and rippled like water as soon as he said that he worked alone. There were shadows all around me. At this point, I wasn't surrounded; I was suffocated.
There must be thousands of them. When he mentioned working alone, it probably meant that my help wasn't necessary because he already had plenty of soldiers at his disposal.
I watched in silence as Mr. Sung disappeared into a narrow hallway, but it was a dead-end. He appeared again and headed into a different hallway. Even someone like him could get lost in this kind of place, huh?
What a shame. I opened a door on my left, revealing a spacious room with several different doors. With a heavy sigh, I marched forward and opened the door nearest to me. It was another long day of monotonous exploration.
....
....
....
Nighttime. It must be nighttime right now back in Lugunica. I wonder how Felt is doing? I am confident that she's a capable woman, but she still lacks guidance. It would be quite a disaster if I could not find the exit as soon as possible.
I wonder if she'll even accept my perfect apology at this point.
I opened another door, and it was another dead end. There was a huge pitfall at the end of the room. I approached it and gazed into the void. There was nothing below it.
No sign of this Async.
I felt the whole room shake. No, it was like the whole place was shaking. I've witnessed these several times over the course of my stay here, but they're mostly negligible. However, this time, it wasn't something small.
The walls glowed in a green hue, as if the whole place was trying to change. I don't know what this shaking meant, but I do know that this place was kinda changing, albeit in small increments. I continued my exploration as the shaking stopped.
Another door, another hallway, and a random chair in the middle. However, there was something at the end of a wide hallway.
A thin, narrow line with yellow and black colors was implanted into the floor. It then popped into my head that this wasn't natural; someone must've placed this here.
I sprinted forward, stopping at the thin, narrow line.
"I knew it..."
The word 'caution' was written on the line. I felt a small pull in the hallway to my left; it was a familiar pull. A pull that said that this was the right way. I smiled and entered the hallway.
An odd device was propped atop the ceiling. It had a small circular lens with a red blinking light beside it. I don't know what this was, but I do know that it was functioning and was connected to something else.
There was a very long, thin black thread behind the device, neatly taped along the sickening yellow wall.
I followed it, leading me to a place with a very wide metallic gate. There were several chairs, tables, and other furniture strewn on the floor. The metallic gate suffered some scratches and dings.
Whoever did this was trying to leave or enter...
"Ah, you..." A voice, coming from behind. It was Mr. Jin Woo Sung.