Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: KEH Isn't Bad (4)
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13th Ending.
The World Health Safety League refrained from giving official names to pollution phenomena, striving to describe them as objectively as possible without preconceptions.
They simply referred to them by alphanumeric management codes.
But human endeavors are what they are.
While investigating and researching pollutions, someone inevitably coins a nickname, and it spreads far and wide.
Among those, there are special cases. Like when the management code itself is censored, the nickname solidifies into the official designation.
The 13th Ending was exactly such a case.
A rare instance where even official documents refer to it by nickname rather than code.
That's why people encountering this pollution for the first time always speculate about the meaning behind the nickname at least once.
That's precisely why regulations mandate using the code—but what can you do when the code is classified and censored?
Some say:
13—with a number attached—means there are twelve more endings like this.
Others claim:
Just as Friday the 13th is ominous, or the 13th apostle is foreboding, this is called the 13th Ending because it's an ill-fated future where everything perishes.
On the flip side, some argue:
13 symbolizes luck or sacred order in certain cultures, so the 13th Ending might seem ominous on the surface but could actually be a fortunate warning to us. Or perhaps it's part of some greater, grander mechanism we haven't noticed yet.
And now.
Oh Ji-seong, who had entered the 13th Ending through a dream, thought:
The answer is obviously the second one. Because it's ominous.
'Luck? Some greater mechanism? That's the kind of nonsense that comes from warm office desks shuffling papers without ever seeing the site.'
The 13th Ending accessed via dream was rendered in black and white.
The sky was black and white.
Buildings were black and white.
Roads were black and white.
Objects were black and white.
However, things that were once alive but now dead appeared not in black and white, but as pitch-black silhouettes.
The landscape Oh Ji-seong faced in the 13th Ending was a mountain of those black silhouettes piled up.
"...Hoo."
Since they were mere black silhouettes, there was no blood or flesh visible, but precisely because of that—or perhaps even more so—Oh Ji-seong felt utterly overwhelmed.
All those... are dead people...?
Black silhouettes in human shapes filled the streets, piled up like mountains.
How do people have to die for their corpses to stack up like garbage heaps?
Even more horrifying was this:
Among those layered corpses, some existed in black-and-white forms distinguishable from mere silhouettes.
"Fuck..."
A curse finally escaped his lips.
It couldn't be helped.
The corpses visible enough to recognize faces—all of them belonged to people Oh Ji-seong knew.
Whether from TV, books, or actual conversations, through whatever path, people he knew.
Among them was a friend from his student days he hadn't seen in ages. At first unrecognizable, but staring intently, childhood memories flashed by, confirming it was a familiar face.
Such familiar faces were sporadically embedded amid the mountain of silhouetted corpses. Somehow, that made the scene feel even more horrific.
This really is the near future. Familiar faces prove it. Whether next year or a decade from now is uncertain—not close friends, and the black-and-white rendering makes age hard to gauge.
But definitely not twenty years ahead.
How did the world end up like this? Is this truly our future?
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."
Muttering curses under his breath, Oh Ji-seong pushed through the mountain of corpses toward his target: the building marked with the 'sign.'
"Fuck... is this it?"
Oh Ji-seong soon found the 'sign.'
Not mysterious or secretive at all—just a combination of everyday elements.
First: a triangle.
Whether a window, building shape, decoration, or sign—some triangular form on the building's exterior.
Second: a ㅌ shape.
The building name, a sign, anywhere—a ㅌ or the letter E or e.
Finally, the sum of the numbers in the address had to equal a specific value.
All three conditions met in one building constituted the 'sign.'
"This must be it..."
Of course, the world being vast, there could be unrelated buildings coincidentally matching by chance.
In that case, enter the building and check the elevator.
If correct, the elevator buttons would have a touch key.
"...It's there."
Oh Ji-seong held his neck-strapped employee ID labeled "A" to the touch key.
At that moment,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ding! The elevator, without even power, slid open smoothly.
He stepped in, and the doors closed.
Thud!
A narrow elevator sealed like a prison cell on all sides.
In the dim emergency lighting barely illuminating it, a voice echoed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Cannot ascertain your identity.] Oh Ji-seong responded as pre-instructed.
"Z Scenario occurred. Performing duties as proxy for Director A."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...Verifying. All life reactions silent. All friendly comms networks silent. Confirmed: complete extinction of humanity. ...Granting Director A's authority to visitor. Please take what you desire.] Oh Ji-seong thought:
To use the 13th Ending, one had to sign an inhuman contract subjecting them to WHSL surveillance 24/7 for life.
This must be why.
Z Scenario.
Director A.
Undoubtedly the WHSL's deepest secrets, existing even in reality.
Officially, they warn that using the 13th Ending risks the dream pollution manifesting in reality, but really, it's to control leaks of those secrets.
Clunk.
As those thoughts swirled, the elevator doors opened again.
But the revealed scene wasn't the building he'd entered.
"This is headquarters..."
The WHSL headquarters, its location shrouded in utmost secrecy.
With Director A's employee ID, one could come straight here—if they found the marked building and touch-key elevator.
Another vital secret, no doubt.
Tense as ever, Oh Ji-seong stepped out.
"Even here..."
Piles of black silhouetted corpses stretched endlessly inside too.
Looking closely, some wore researcher lab coats, others gripped rifles.
Such corpses jumbled chaotically, not even the floor visible beneath.
Oh Ji-seong trudged forward over the squishy masses, following the memorized headquarters map to the central database.
Then, before the database room, he froze.
"...Why the hell is that here...?"
There lay a single black-and-white bear doll.
Torn to shreds, stuffing spilling everywhere, its ever-present silver dagger snapped in half nearby.
Seeing the unusually dense corpses around it, Oh Ji-seong thought:
"...Did it raid this place? Targeting the database?"
Rash guesses weren't wise.
But it meant this world's downfall—at least the WHSL's collapse—was linked to this Responding Bear Doll somehow.
"In the end... KEH is involved here too."
Grinding his teeth, Oh Ji-seong kicked the door open and entered.
Activating the database with Director A's ID, he searched immediately.
"KEH"
Lips bitten in anxiety at the flickering, sluggish database—power issues, no doubt—Oh Ji-seong waited.
There had to be some record.
Even trivial details. Just an ARPS code would help immensely.
Hostile, so starts with H.
World-scale impact, definitely W.
The key was urgency: Caution (C)? Or Alert (A) demanding immediate resolution?
ARPS-HWC?
Or ARPS-HWA?
⚔ STATUS ⚔ <KEH> #ARPS-GOD-⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ "Huh?"
Oh Ji-seong's eyes widened.
GOD?
He'd never heard of such an ARPS code...
"A secret classification unknown to the public?"
Seemed plausible... but still odd.
"HWA is already world-ending pollution: hostile, global impact, catastrophe if not resolved immediately... So is there a deadlier grade? Or different criteria?"
It nagged at him curiously.
Using GOD—meaning god—in the code, of all things.
"Can't make out the numbers after. As expected—no specifics on this future's timeline..."
Oh Ji-seong turned back to the screen.
The code was baffling for now, but details would clarify.
Classified code meant its atrocities ahead were all logged.
Knowing them preemptively meant isolating and eliminating it early.
Expectations swelling.
He scrolled down.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Kim I-han (⬛⬛ years old) Male. Birth: Seoul, Republic of Korea. Text accompanying a mugshot.
Oh Ji-seong's eyes bulged.
"What...? A person...?"
People becoming ARPS was common.
But a person becoming an ARPS Maker?
Stunned by the unforeseen twist, he leaned closer, scrolling frantically.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Kim I-han is a ⬛⬛⬛ of the World Health Safety League ⬛ ⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛ ⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛ "Wh-what."
Suddenly, the text became unreadable.
He rubbed his eyes.
But.
⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛
⬛ ⬛ ⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛
Just endless rows of squares.
Scrolling up yielded the same.
Even prior readable info was now gone.
"What the hell is this...?"
Why suddenly...?
No, at least he knew KEH was a person... right?
'Wait. Was it a person? No? Earlier the photo was of an object... wasn't it?'
Hold on.
Why is my memory...
What was it? KEH.
Something shocking... what was...
What did I just see?
ARPS code was kinda... unusual?
Just HWC? No, HWA maybe?
My memory...
"My memory... won't come."
Frantically scrolling up and down, opening and closing pages repeatedly, Oh Ji-seong collapsed into his seat.
"I can't remember..."
He'd accepted lifelong WHSL surveillance for this.
Solely to catch KEH.
Solely to bring back Team Leader Shin Na.
Yet,
Right before his eyes,
Everything he sought crumbled away.
As if.
Deliberately mocking him.
"Why me... why go this far... why..."
A horrific sense of defeat, like being toyed with in someone's palm, sticky helplessness.
Slumping turned to sprawling on the floor.
For a long time.
He couldn't stand again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Breaking the Mirror to escape gazes seeking me.
The method tried to evade WHSL tracking.
Worked spectacularly!
So much so that even spam texts, voice phishing calls, and loan solicitations that plagued me constantly dried up.
They couldn't find me anymore.
But as expected of a ghost story.
There was a massive side effect.
"No. You said delivery was on the way earlier."
- S-sorry. The rider can't find the address...
"What? What does that mean?"
- I-I don't know either. He just keeps saying he can't find the address.
"Come on, warn me ahead if there's an issue. I've been waiting an hour already."
- Sorry. I actually tried calling thirty minutes ago, but... couldn't find your phone number.
"What? What the hell does that—"
Mid-sentence, I shut my mouth.
Huh?
Can't find it? My address? Phone number too?
Huh?
...No way?
...
...
...
Indeed.
I had.
From 'all' things seeking me.
Completely.
Liberated.
Fuck.