Uncomfortable Threads and the Black Sky Prophecy
Yoo Haneul twisted and squirmed like a puppy trying on clothes for the first time. She'd always lounged around in just a single baggy t-shirt, so slipping into underwear top and bottom, a fitted tee, and shorts naturally elicited this reaction.
"This is uncomfortable. It's stuffy. I can't breathe. I wanna take it off. Can't I at least ditch the underwear? My chest is small—why do I even need this?"
"H-Haneul... You still gotta wear it, though. It suits you. Uh, you look super pretty! So just bear with it a little?"
"Yeah, hang in there. You'll get used to it."
Baek Seungcheol spoke with a satisfied expression, then suddenly grimaced and continued.
"But why dress like that with a face like yours? Clean up your look, and you'd get endless idol or actor offers without even hunting. Plus, as an Awakener, your stamina's way above average. You could handle a talent's grueling schedule no problem."
"Whoa, a talent? You sound like such an old fogey, boss."
"I am old. I'll be pushing fifty next year."
"You're still in your prime. Full of youth, total spring chicken."
Even in the midst of this, Haneul flapped at her chest area, tugged at the panties clinging to her butt... basically expressing her discomfort with her whole body.
"If I'm youthful, then so are you. So live it up properly, like a real youth."
Baek Seungcheol said this without even glancing her way.
"Bet Baek Hye-seo Hunter's gotten tons of offers too. She even did some ads back in the day."
"Yes, public service announcements... I did those."
It had been one about eradicating school violence. Having experienced it herself in the past, she'd passed on everything else but insisted on that one.
"Right, school violence. After she filmed that PSA, stats showed a sharp drop—and it's held steady to some extent."
"...That's a relief."
"So you could do PSAs too, Yoo Haneul. Or heck, film a pork belly ad and eat it free for life."
"Can't I already eat it free for life with the money you gave me?"
"...Probably not for life."
"Then I'll just earn more as a Hunter."
"Hm."
Unable to deny it, Baek Seungcheol shut his mouth. The cash Haneul had planned to launder was in the tens of billions of won. Even after legal conversion, the sheer amount wouldn't change. Meaning she'd raked in tens of billions in just four days as a Hunter. Sure, considering her upcoming C-rank promotion, it wasn't that outrageous—but four days?
She'd been lucky beyond belief and insanely talented, no two ways about it.
"Get insurance, no exceptions."
"Life insurance? Can Hunters even get that? But I'm an orphan—no one's to leave it to."
Baek Seungcheol faltered for a moment before forcing out, "There's property damage insurance too. Covers if you break anything by accident."
"That sounds fine."
"And besides."
Having bought a moment, Baek Seungcheol puffed up proudly.
"You'll marry someday, make a family. Gotta leave something for a husband or kids. More the better. Want me to hook you up with an insurer?"
"I'm not getting married."
"Everyone says that at your age. But after some Hunter work, you end up marrying out of necessity."
"Did you?"
"I did."
"Ooh."
Haneul tilted her head at Baek Seungcheol with a surprised look.
"Ooh?" Did? Past tense?
"Gasp, don't tell me widowed?"
"...Not widowed. Just divorced."
"Why'd you divorce?"
Baek Seungcheol licked his parched lips and said, "W-Well... things got busy."
"Ehh, then I definitely won't marry."
"You ever even plan to?"
"Nope. Better to just kick the bucket than marry."
"Kick the bucket? What's that?"
"Did it 625 billion years ago."
Haneul twisted around from her seat to eye Baek Hye-seo in the back.
"What about you, Hye-seo? You gonna marry?"
"M-Me? No."
"Why not?"
"...Regular folks can't understand a Hunter's life, and Hunters... aren't exactly normal?"
Apostle Hunters took on traits like their Constellations—and the stronger they got, the more alike they became. Non-apostle Hunters? Nine out of ten were nuts somewhere. No one could repeatedly brush death in gates daily and stay sane.
Of course, normal ones existed among both types. But hunting one down for marriage? Better off single.
Luckily, Baek Hye-seo had drawn the short straw there. The King of Wisdom was a human-origin Constellation famed for inherent sagacity. In truth, he'd been gentle with her... treating his sole apostle like a daughter. That's why she'd grown into a stable Hunter, unhinged and whole. No wonder Korea treated her like top priority.
"Great. If you stay single till thirty, live with me."
"Uh, o-okay...?"
"What? Don't wanna?"
I'll be thirty next year. Even so, Baek Hye-seo nodded as if entranced.
"S-Sure...!"
"Awesome. I'll earn the cash—you handle meals, laundry, cleaning. No breakfast? I'm out that day. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Constellation King of Wisdom Who Handles 72 Demons gazes at his apostle with worried eyes.
Baek Seungcheol's eyes in the rearview mirror brimmed with similar worry. Baek Hye-seo's vibe screamed "perfect for getting smacked around as a wife"...
Soon, Baek Seungcheol's car pulled up to Haneul's place. The safe zone designation wasn't for show—this neighborhood was serene and peaceful.
At least the area's safe. With that thought, Baek Seungcheol unlocked the auto-locked doors.
"We're here. Rest up—we'll meet again soon."
"Why soon?"
"Gotta see the Association Chief when he arrives."
"Oh right. C-rank license."
"Yeah. Go on."
Baek Seungcheol waved her off wearily.
The moment they entered Haneul's home, Baek Hye-seo started cleaning. Five years abandoned, plus Haneul's quick visit sans tidying—it was a mess. She unleashed three summons to handle it. Luckily, her summons excelled at chores. Hye-seo herself hated cleaning, so they'd adapted. The place was tiny anyway; done in under ten minutes.
Next, they ordered pizza, pasta, and pork neck steak from Hye-seo's favorite spot—feasting heartily. Cheap and humble for an S-rank money-maker, but delicious; Haneul's eyes went wide.
Post-meal showers later, the two perched on the bed.
"So, what now?"
"Uh, y-yeah... Should've brought my tablet."
Movies or dramas on TV would've been ideal, but no TV here. Just a cheap corner PC.
"We can just chat. Got something I've been wondering."
Rarely, Haneul's eyes sharpened cleverly. Moonlight wasn't that bright—what was it? Kitchen light reflecting in her amethyst eyes? Baek Hye-seo nodded, struck anew by their beauty.
"Sure, ask away. I'll tell you everything I can..."
"What happens if you close a gate?"
Baek Hye-seo's flushed face stiffened.
"...Cl-Closing gates is illegal."
"I know it's illegal."
"Then?"
"Curious what happens if you do. Has anyone succeeded?"
Not rambling, speech measured—unlike the Haneul she'd known. Baek Hye-seo tensed unconsciously.
"...Some have."
"Who?"
"A Master."
"Rank above S?"
"Masters... aren't defined by ranks anymore."
"What happened after?"
Recalling last year's incident, Baek Hye-seo shook her head.
"...Nothing. Masters only fight other Masters, and the others had no interest."
"So Masters can close gates scot-free?"
"...Y-You aiming for Master, Haneul?"
"Yeah."
Could Haneul reach Master? Honestly, no. Humans couldn't transcend by their own power. Born to die, they couldn't dream of transcendence without Constellations—ancient gods, not ascended humans. And not just any; only apostles of the truly exalted.
But Haneul wasn't an apostle. As Remegiton-bearer, Hye-seo could tell. No matter her talent, no Constellation aid meant no transcendence.
"Even as Master... closing all gates? Tough. Other Masters rose via gates as apostles... It's risky thinking."
"Gates kill tons of people."
"...That's."
Choosing words carefully, Baek Hye-seo consulted her Constellation. She knew why gates existed. As a beloved apostle, she had secrets the world lacked. Was it okay to share?
Constellation King of Wisdom Who Handles 72 Demons says it might be good to tell her—there's something to gain from that child.
"Gates... are the Constellations' arrangement to save the world."
"Save? Not destroy?"
"Y-Yeah... There's a prophecy."
Haneul's eyes blinked slowly. Meeting them squarely, Baek Hye-seo recited what she'd heard.
When heaven and earth are remade, the primordial Black Sky that devours all creation shall descend.
Myriad arts and laws shall be consumed by that end, vanishing away. The fading supreme gods open passages to realms on this land, tempering the final mortals with relics of perished worlds.
The monstrous powers and chaotic divinities you face are fragments of the long-destroyed Six Realms—the last bastion against this colossal calamity.
O awakened to fate, unite with resolve unto death and safeguard heaven's mandate.
On the day the Black Sky engulfs all under heaven, your indomitable spirits alone shall be the sole beacon.
"—That's the prophecy. A-Any tough words? I can explain."
Haneul scratched her cheek, pondering. 625 billion years ago, she'd have dismissed it as bullshit. But hanging with weirdos had taught her jargon. Decoding this prophecy wasn't hard.
Realm passages: gates. Monstrous powers: monsters. Six Realms: the whole world... So monsters were pieced from past doomed worlds—a trial to grow humans. For what? To block an impending end times.
What end? The Black Sky devouring all creation. "All creation" meant the world—and its creator gods themselves. A black sky swallowing divinities...
Phew, good thing I'm a white sky.
At least it didn't seem to be about her.