But I'm Not Dead, You Guys

Showering under the warm cascade in the bathroom, I slipped into a moment of deep self-reflection.

"Hmm..."

Normally, when I'm naked and letting the hot water pour from head to toe, my mind wanders to all sorts of things—the future ahead, my current situation, ridiculous fantasies, you name it. But right now, standing under the spray, there's only one thought looping in my head.

"...What do I do about everyone's reactions?"

Before hopping in the shower, I'd brushed off the dust from my clothes at home and dove straight into research. I wanted to know the rank of those armors I'd swept away, just how dangerous they were, that sort of thing.

Mission accomplished, sort of. Their official name is Living Armor. Exactly what it sounds like—armors that move on their own. They're centered around a single core, pretty powerful too, the kind that only A-rank awakeners or higher can take on one-on-one.

'Huh, but there were tons of them in that gate I got dragged into.'

That was the problem. The gate I'd stumbled into was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crawling with Living Armors—way more than normal. There was even this massive boss-like one seeming to command the rest, but no matter how much I searched, there was zero info on anything like it.

A blatant anomaly. And the shocks didn't stop there.

The existence of mana interference devices and stabilizers. The ironclad rule that gates don't close if there's a person inside. All of it had been defied in the gate I'd entered today.

"Feels like I caused one hell of a mess."

Shhh...

Well, whatever. I'd saved people, right? Honestly, without me, everyone swept up from that café would've been dead meat. Right?

Who else but me, the world's strongest awakener chilling with coffee, could've handled dozens, hundreds of Living Armors charging in?

"..."

...Damn, thinking like this makes me sound like a total asshole, but anyway.

The key point was that all these anomalies from today were flooding the news and communities.

"...Sigh."

...And at the center of it all was me. Or more precisely, my cringey alter ego, God's Proxy.

"Oh, come on..."

I turned off the shower and swept back my wet hair. Fine, whatever about them thinking I'm dead.

But why were the quotes they preserved all those exact ones? The cool-guy lines I'd spat out for no reason. Stuff my normal self would never say, crystal clear and circulating everywhere.

"This is driving me insane..."

"Cringe" didn't even cover it. This wasn't just embarrassing—it felt like my past black history was live-streaming in real time.

'What the hell happens to me in transform mode?'

At this point, I'm seriously wondering. Does my thinking change? My speech pattern? Or does something inside me just go nuts?

"...No way, am I actually a different being?"

I thunked my head against the shower wall. That'd be even scarier. Her being me is bad enough; me being her is worse.

Anyway, after drying off, I wrapped a towel around my head, flopped onto the bed, and grabbed my phone.

And then.

"..."

It was weird. Embarrassing, mortifying, cringey—I wanted to yeet my phone across the room.

But at the same time...

'They really think I'm dead.'

That realization made my chest twinge oddly.

If I'd actually died, would these people have reacted like this? Even strangers going off like that...

"..."

Wait, why am I even thinking this? I shook my head hard. No. Don't get all sentimental. Showers just make you soft. That's all.

"Still..."

I glanced back at my phone. They all think I won't go down easy. Fair enough. I didn't.

"Okay."

Lea nodded slightly.

"That settles it."

So what if some folks think I'm dead? I know I'm alive.

...But those news headlines piss me off. Why's "No Responsibility for Building Owner?" trending with it? Way too real.

...Or is that normal? Ugh, whatever. Better for my mental health to game than wander outside.

Clack-clack.

Mirinae walked the hallway, anxiety gnawing at her. Seha trailed behind.

She'd called an emergency meeting for the execs to deliver critical intel, but only four out of fifteen showed. How could she not be on edge?

'Ah, you goddamn pig bastards...'

She and Seha, along with countless agents, had stood helpless on-site, fingers up their asses, returning with guilt and unease. Meanwhile, the execs ignored the summons and lounged around.

Creeeak—

The conference room door opened, and Mirinae and Seha entered. Only four execs sat inside, faces bored.

"So, what's the big emergency?"

The middle-aged man at the head sounded annoyed. Mirinae's brow twitched, but she swallowed her anger. Emotions weren't the priority— the report was.

"Report on the gate incident in central Seoul."

"Saw it on the news. All survivors made it out, right? Good news, no?"

Her blood boiled. She wanted to smash his skull.

"Not good news."

The room chilled. Mirinae set her tablet on the table.

Beep—

A quick tap brought up a screen.

"Heart of the city. Area with full mana interference stabilizers. An estimated S+ rank gate opened there."

The execs' faces hardened.

"Survivor testimonies say dozens of Living Armors inside."

"...What?"

"Regular civilians survived nearly two hours and were all rescued."

"Sounds great?"

"The problem... is elsewhere."

Mirinae gritted her teeth. "All survivors unanimously mentioned one entity. A mysterious woman with golden wings. She called herself God's Proxy."

"...That media hype?"

"Yes."

"Sounds like bullshit."

One exec scoffed, but Seha swiped the tablet. A graph appeared: mana wave changes post-gate opening. Gentle at first, then spiking wildly mid-way, ending in erratic shakes before cutting off.

"What's this?"

"Internal gate mana reaction," Seha said calmly. "Not a normal closure pattern. And..."

She paused, voice dropping. "Right before closure, we estimate one more life signal inside."

Silence blanketed the room. One exec scowled.

"What does that mean?"

Mirinae spoke up. "Someone alive was left inside, and the gate closed."

"...Impossible."

"I agree."

"But it did?"

"Yes."

Brief silence. No one spoke easily now. If their common knowledge held, this couldn't happen. But it did.

Mirinae continued softly. "This isn't a simple gate accident."

"Either gate theory is wrong, or..."

Her eyes narrowed. "That entity inside died... or wasn't human."

One exec let out a hollow laugh. "So, your conclusion? You think she's alive?"

"Yes."

No hesitation.

"At least, that's what I think."

"Evidence?"

"Gut feeling."

"Ha."

Scoffing erupted, but Mirinae pressed on.

"Logically, it makes no sense. Yet the most illogical thing so far has been that woman."

"..."

"So it's more reasonable to assume she's alive."

Quiet again. Heavier this time. Seha seized the moment, pulling up the final data.

"And one more thing."

The screen shifted: mana interference stabilizer logs around the incident. Steady normally, but a brief total collapse during the event.

"This?"

"Stabilizer error log."

"Device failure?"

"Not failure... more like..."

Seha swallowed. "It was forcibly disabled. Just for that window."

"What???"

Mind-blowing info. Someone had manually shut off the stabilizers, spawning an S+ gate in the city center.

The execs' eyes sharpened. Finally.

"...Any suspects?"

Seha clamped her mouth. All eyes converged. No need to name it.

On the wall: a massive red seal of two crossed swords, blades reversed.

Ragnarok.

Mirinae was certain. 'No one else would pull this shit.'

And that certainty didn't waver.

Meanwhile.

"Oh, please..."

Lea, towel-drying her hair, plopped on the bed and checked her phone, then facepalmed.

"...I'm fine and alive."

Infuriating. Sure, being misunderstood sucked, but the real issue was bigger.

Lea slowly set down her phone. Buried her face in the pillow.

"Urghaaaaah!"

Them thinking I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dead was secondary. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Why'd they catch that line perfectly?

After thrashing into the pillow, she finally lifted her head.

"But..."

A sudden thought hit. Common knowledge: gates don't close if someone's alive inside.

I was alive. It closed. I came home.

"..."

Lea's eyes narrowed.

"So my house..."

Not just linked to the gate. Maybe completely outside, an independent space?

Not a convenient safehouse, but truly dimensionally isolated?

'Whoa.'

Lea muttered unconsciously.

"My house is way more badass than I thought?"

A bit scary. A bit amazing. And a bit...

"Nice."

Home was the best. Soft bed, hot showers, self-running washer, stocked fridge. Order takeout occasionally?

Even if the world thinks I'm dead, with this house, I'm good, right?

"Nah, no."

She shook her head. That's that, this is this.

The world thinking I'm dead was super unfair. Like, really unfair.

"I'm right here alive, why kill me off..."

Mumbling, she grabbed her phone again. Another breaking news alert popped up.

'...Huh.'

Lea's face stiffened oddly.

"...No way."

For some reason. Just a hunch. That meeting was about me.

And hunches like that were usually spot on.

"Gotta behave tomorrow for real."

Mumbling, Lea burrowed into the covers.

Of course.

She had no idea that resolve wouldn't last a day.