Swiss Alps – Two Hours After Emergence
The creature walked barefoot through the snow.
Its body—tall, humanoid, elegant in shape—left no footprints. No steam rose from its flesh, despite the temperature. Mountains trembled slightly beneath its steps, as if nature itself sensed that it did not belong.
Birds stopped singing.
Wolves went silent.
Even the clouds above refused to drift past the summit.
The creature paused at the edge of a cliff. It looked down toward the valley of lights below, where villages glowed like flickering candles in the dark.
> "Too early," it whispered in a voice not made for this world.
"But he's here."
It tilted its head.
> "The Crimson One."
---
Suwon, South Korea – That Same Night
Ha-Joon opened his eyes.
He hadn't been asleep.
He didn't sleep like others anymore. His mind rested in pulses. Awareness always stayed partially active—like a second consciousness watching from within.
And now… it felt something.
Not just the gate echoes.
Not just interdimensional rifts.
It felt hunger.
Not his own.
But another's.
Something old.
Something broken.
Something that should have remained buried in the timeless dust of forgotten galaxies.
He stood from his rooftop seat, pulling his hoodie tighter.
> "One followed me."
> "Or maybe… it was always looking for me."
---
Hunter Association – Emergency Council, Seoul
A hidden room beneath the Association headquarters flickered with red alert lights.
On the main screen, an emergency gate had been logged—unmapped, unscanned, and immediately vanished after emergence.
Only one surveillance satellite caught it.
The image was shaky.
Pixelated.
But the entity was clear.
> "That's not a beast."
> "That's not a hunter."
> "Then what is it?"
No one had answers.
One director whispered:
> "Have we awakened something we weren't supposed to?"
The woman in silver, standing at the rear, narrowed her eyes.
She knew.
And she had a name now.
> "Jung Ha-Joon."
---
Morning – Ha-Joon's Room
The sun hadn't risen yet, but Ha-Joon was already dressed.
He stared at himself in the mirror, slowly pulling the crimson contact lenses from his eyes—he didn't need to wear them anymore. The glow of his irises had dimmed on their own lately, but only when he willed it.
He saw his reflection—just like always.
Same hair. Same calm face.
But beneath it, something infinite stirred.
> "What came through… was watching me from that world all along," he whispered.
> "Sixty trillion years wasn't long enough to lose it."
---
Suwon High School – That Day
Classes resumed.
Homework was assigned.
Baek Seo-Yeon noticed the shift again. Ha-Joon was still quiet, still composed—but there was a sharper edge to him now. His movements were faster. His gaze colder.
> "Is he preparing for something?" she murmured.
In the middle of class, she passed him a note.
> "Are you okay?"
He looked at it.
Folded it.
And wrote back:
> "No. But I'm handling it."
She didn't ask again.
---
Later – Secluded Mountainside Gate (Tier-4)
Elsewhere, in the hills outside Busan, a dormant gate began to thrum.
It wasn't scheduled for activation.
It wasn't on any radar.
Inside, shadows twitched.
And a low voice echoed:
> "Crimson…"
> "He returned."
> "Bring… him… home…"
---
That Night – Suwon Rooftop
Ha-Joon stood under the night sky again.
The stars were out.
But they weren't right.
Some had moved.
A few were gone.
The sky was no longer Earth's alone.
He stared upward, his crimson eyes glowing faintly.
> "I don't want to fight anymore."
> "But if they come for me—"
He closed his hand.
Power—silent, endless, and pure—swirled briefly between his fingers.
He looked down at it, frowning.
> "...Then I'll remind them why I survived."
---
Across the Ocean – U.S. Classified Research Division
A different council now gathered.
Top-level awakened scientists. Military strategists. Guild masters. They sat in fear around a single photograph.
A creature with burning white veins.
No eyes.
No mouth.
But it stood above corpses… untouched.
One general muttered:
> "That thing… wiped out the Omega-Class strike team in less than a minute."
The scientist shook his head.
> "They weren't even attacked."
> "They just… collapsed. Like something erased their existence from inside."
> "And it spoke one word."
He held up the recorder.
The sound played.
Low.
Distorted.
But clear.
> "Joon…"
---
Back in Suwon – Final Scene
Ha-Joon returned to his room, drawing the curtains shut. He stared at his desk for a long while—at the family photo taped to the wall.
He reached out.
Touched it gently.
> "I have peace now."
> "Don't take it from me."
He closed his eyes.
For just a moment, it was quiet.
And then—
A whisper inside his mind.
Not from this world.
Not even from himself.
> "Crimson vessel… We've found you."
---