Self-Regeneration (1)
"You shouldn't be here yet, child."
"Mm..."
A voice. Neither distinctly male nor female. It pulled Eunha from sleep.
Her whole body felt languid. Like a jellyfish sinking deep into the ocean, drifting lazily with the currents. Eunha blinked, taking in her surroundings.
Thud.
Thud.
Hands—something's hands—cradled her entire body. Countless hands held her like a babe in a cradle, carrying her somewhere. She looked like a princess swept up in someone's arms. A few steps ahead, the Black Person walked with his back to her, every inch pitch black. Thud, thud.
Black suit. Black satgat hat. A stark white inverted cross dangling from it like an accessory. The space under the hat was unnaturally dark, hiding his face completely. Too shadowy to tell if that was a face or the back of his head.
Eunha blinked at the figure leading the way.
This person... not a stranger. Where had she seen him? He didn't look scary. Probably a good person.
Where... am I? I was eating dinner at home...
Thinking that far, Eunha hurriedly scanned her surroundings.
It was dark. The blackest darkness was under the Black Person's hat, but her immediate vicinity was nearly as dim. Like being lost deep in the mountains on a foggy night with no light source in sight. All she could see were the hands enveloping her and the Black Person's retreating back.
Fizzle.
Fizzle, fizzle.
Then, from the darkness, pale white will-o'-the-wisps appeared. Faint flames flickering in the air, as if they might vanish with a puff of breath. More emerged around them, one by one. One, another... They multiplied rapidly, soon filling the vast sky like a starry cluster.
Eunha stared in silent awe at the lights unfolding before her.
Fizzle, fizzle...
Fizzle.
The will-o'-the-wisps began to move. Like a river current. The countless lights became fireflies, a flock of migratory birds, a cascading waterfall—all flowing in the same direction. The opposite way from Eunha.
Drifting endlessly. The sight resembled a dazzling Milky Way...
Wondering where they were headed, Eunha turned to look back.
The hands holding her covered her eyes. A beastly growl, muffled as if wearing human skin. Then multiple hands cradled her head, turning it forward again. Cold fingers brushed her cheek.
How many hands does this thing even have?
The hand over her eyes lifted, forcing her gaze ahead. Now her head was fixed in place by countless hands, leaving her to stare blankly at the Black Person's back.
The 'something' cradling her reeked of frozen beast.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Endless walking. The Black Person ahead, his steps heavy like military boots rather than dress shoes. The 'something' following, carrying her—large beast paws crunching softly.
How much time passed? The Black Person stopped and turned to her.
Hm... still too dark to see his face. Got a flashlight?
"...Next time you come, be prepared with something."
"Child, cherish the Black Book. Even without it, 'we' will find you."
The hands covered her eyes again.
And the darkness, as always...
Was nothing.
….
"Cough! Cough cough! Urk!!"
Eunha writhed like a stomped earthworm, vomiting her guts out again and again. Crimson blood pooled from her lungs, staining the bathroom. The sour, metallic stench numbed her nose.
Her body ached. Like a deep-sea fish dragged unwillingly to the surface.
"Kek! Guh...! Cough!"
Her stalled heart pounded wildly, circulating blood. Her shredded lungs greedily sucked in fresh oxygen. Forcing out the blood clogging her throat tore at her insides.
Eunha pried open her heavy eyelids, gasping ragged breaths.
"Hic...! Heuk...!"
The bathroom, scarred by the Red Woman, was a bloodbath. Everything red. Blood splattered to the ceiling dripped down, soaking her hair dark crimson. Shredded flesh clogged the drain, leaving the floor slick with gore. Eunha thrashed in the pooling blood, hugging herself with both arms.
The Red Woman, drenched in blood. Memories flooded back like trauma: grabbed by 'it', chest and gut stabbed with a kitchen knife, limbs sawed with a rusty saw.
That rusty saw lacked bite, so bones didn't sever cleanly—she endured repeated strokes. The grating against bone... like the bone-deep chill of a cavity drill. Unforgettable.
Oof, that hurt. How'd I survive?
She glanced at her trembling hands. All fingers gone except the index—stark stubs. No, more like ripped off. The jagged stumps were too ragged for a saw.
They butchered it ugly. Guess I'm down to pointing from now on.
The thought was fleeting. The bleeding stumps bubbled like boiling water.
Crack! Pop!
Pristine white bone protruded from the cuts. Thin muscle strands wrapped it like thread, pink flesh overlaying. Flesh swelled rapidly, shaping...
New fingers formed. Nails, fingerprints intact. Skin slightly translucent, being fresh. Flexing them experimentally, they moved flawlessly.
...Self-Regeneration.
Eunha stared blankly at her restored hands, letting out a hollow laugh.
Self-Regeneration. Her skill. It reset wounds and even basic body changes to original state—maddeningly thorough.
Why she kept failing the hunter promotion exam? This skill. Muscles gained from training reverted in hours. No off-switch known. Clinics and the Hunter Association just wanted blood and tissue samples for "rare cases."
Still, perks: no weight gain, quick healing. Honestly, she didn't need food or sleep. Mental stress lingered, though—hunger and fatigue hit like anyone else's. She satisfied basics unless neuro collapse loomed.
Didn't know it could handle a ripped-out heart. This strong?
Minutes later, feeling her legs regenerate, Eunha staggered up. New legs wobbly. Body felt lighter overall. Squishier? Chest and hips oddly heavier. Imagination?
Grabbing the sink, she hauled herself upright.
"Hoo... Huh? What? Who're you?"
Peering into the mirror to check her face, a half-naked woman resembling her stared back wide-eyed in shock.
….
Leaning on the sink, Eunha scowled. The mirror woman mirrored it. A slimmer face would look just like that.
Staring blankly a moment, a chill hit. She clamped her mouth shut, looking down at her body.
"Hm... Well, I'm alive, so whatever."
Is this right? Am I finally nuts? But she thought positive. Revived from death—body changes minor.
...Deal with that later. Wounds first.
Tabling the obvious issue, she inspected herself. Mirror-Eunha was red. Like the Red Woman. Covered head-to-toe in blood. Difference: the woman's was someone else's; this was 100% hers.
Self-Regeneration active, but not fully healed—stumps scarred and sunken. Clear signs of dismemberment nauseated her.
Chest and abdomen shredded beyond scars. Staring evoked the agony. Yet awe too.
Whoa, didn't die from that? Tough stuff.
Self-Regeneration was overpowered. That lame F-rank skill? She'd never tested limits—too painful. Thought it just healed ten times faster...
Not like this.
"Hoo... haa... hurts..."
Thinking of the Red Woman quickened her breath. Enduring phantom pains like trauma, she staggered to the tub.
Blood made her skin crawl. She stripped off her shredded, bloody clothes, collapsing into the tub. Kicking the faucet showered warm water.
"Haa... Ah, ah... voice got a bit higher too."
Wounds stung under water but bearable. Washing blood away, she forced a drowsy smile. Hands shook uncontrollably, lips stiff... but she smiled.
Everything, positively...
It hurt. Asphyxiation. Hemorrhage. Dizziness, shock, vertigo. Gutted chest felt world-ending, like 'self' vanishing forever—couldn't breathe.
The Red Woman terrified her. That ghastly grin dangling her heart, the malice in clumsy sawing—eternal trauma gnawing her mind.
"Positively... yeah. Survived—that's what matters."
Still hurt, still scared. But positive spin: the Red Woman failed to kill her, fled. Who else survived 'it'? Who glimpsed their own pretty heart?
Her: perennial F-rank hunter. Exam ghost. Euncheon-gu's Soft Fist. Self-Regeneration owner.
Didn't die? Call it a unique experience. Not so bad.
People should live positive.
"Hoo... Alright. Moping over!"
Revived, she rose from the tub. Splashed her face, surveyed the blood-soaked bathroom, scratching her head.
Blood everywhere. Drain clogged with meat chunks. Cleaning that? Sleep tonight? No chance.