Eyes in the Black Moon's Shadow

If I wasn't confident, over the past three days I'd scoured every large mart and commercial district.

"...Not much time left until June 1st."

I muttered lowly as I checked the calendar. The Black Moon event that hit every 1st of the month in Another World. Even back in the game days, countless players had given up on it—the most infamous disaster of all.

For one full day, every light in the world vanished. Sunlight, moonlight, even artificial lights. Like the singularity of a black hole, the Black Moon swallowed all light whole.

Yoon Seoyeon's face hardened. She looked at me with eyes full of unease.

"That thing... it's pretty dangerous, right?"

I took a moment to steady my breath, then nodded calmly.

"Zombies keep moving even when you can't see shit... so yeah, basically a one-sided massacre."

I'd died dozens of times to that event in the game. Resistance in the darkness was futile.

But it wasn't hopeless. No way out at all? Nah. That's why I was busting my ass right up to this moment, scrambling for a solution.

Time until the Black Moon was running out. I had to get the Zombie's Eye trait.

The only way to secure vision in pitch blackness.

The problem? Rune stones. Even with drop rates boosted 10x, we were still way short.

"But what's a rune stone?"

Yoon Seoyeon asked cautiously as she followed behind me.

"Stones that hold traits. Use one, and you get a random trait."

"Different from magic stones, right?"

I nodded and kept explaining.

"And keep this in mind—rune stones can be traded before use. But once activated and a trait pops, it binds to you. You'll have to choose: slot it or ditch it. Be careful when you crack 'em open."

She nodded at the end of my explanation. We dove right back into serious hunting.

We burned through our stockpiled magic stones, sweeping small outer commercial strips and residential areas, methodically clearing zombies.

"Kim Geon! Over there... zombie horde."

Yoon Seoyeon pointed toward the building entrance. About a dozen zombies shambled, blocking the way.

I readjusted my grip on the baseball bat and nodded.

"Good. Lure 'em one by one and take 'em down."

Behind me, Yoon Seoyeon prepped her Breath of Corruption. Black energy welled up from her body.

Day three. We were clearing zombies inside a commercial building. Spots everywhere looked looted already, turned into a slaughterhouse.

Then—

Hahaha!

Kieeeek!

A strange laugh erupted from the entrance. Not zombie howls soaked in blood—it was definitely human.

I instinctively gripped my bat tight. Yoon Seoyeon's face stiffened.

"...People?"

But that laugh reeked of murder.

Several men were rampaging through the shop. Their arms overflowed with food and junk; the floor was a mess of blood and shattered goods. Nearby, an injured man lay bleeding out.

And—torn clothes, a naked woman stained with white fluids, slumped against the wall, trembling weakly. Her eyes weren't those of the living anymore. Deeply etched with despair and terror.

Our eyes met in that instant. The air froze.

Their gazes weren't human—beastly. Madness and lust gleamed in them.

A tense standoff. I was ready to charge anytime.

But they turned away first.

"...Heh heh heh."

The buzzcut leader—probably their boss—let out a slimy chuckle like he was chewing it down. His eyes raked over Yoon Seoyeon's curves one last time.

After that day, we kept bumping into them oddly often. Like they knew our route, shadowing us everywhere we went.

"Fancy meeting you again."

The buzzcut spoke first, his voice dripping with sleaze.

"Feels like we keep crossing paths... you live around here?"

I didn't answer, just locked eyes. He kept talking anyway.

"Another World player, right? We've got guys with over 100 hours on our side. Could team up."

Questions kept coming, but his gaze endlessly ogled Yoon Seoyeon. Her shoulder twitched at the filthy stare.

I thought to myself, Rune stones are tight enough without tangling with these assholes...

But Yoon Seoyeon? Not so much.

"Fuck off, you piece of shit."

Her middle finger shot up cold and straight.

The leader's lip twisted. Then he grinned sleazily.

"Feisty bitch, huh. Feisty ones taste the best in bed."

"...?"

I nodded without thinking, then got smacked in the back of the head.

"What the hell are you nodding for, you psycho?!"

"No point dragging this out."

The leader's voice dropped lower.

"Hand over the girl, and we'll let the guy live."

I sighed. Figured it'd come to this. Sigh...

As I braced for a fight—

Yoon Seoyeon's mouth fired first.

"Go fuck yourselves! I'd rather get zombie-fucked, bite my tongue, and die!"

She flipped them off again, bold as ever.

Yeah, that was Yoon Seoyeon.

Then, middle fingers still up at the villains, she yelled at me.

"Kim Geon, sic 'em!"

For a second, me, the villains—everyone stared at her dumbfounded.

Villain A stepped up, grinding his teeth.

"These fucking assholes are treating us like dogs. Let's end 'em now."

But the leader raised a hand to stop him.

"...Boss?"

Villain A looked puzzled, but the leader just smirked.

"Hahaha... alright, playing hardball, huh? Got it. Sorry for the rudeness. Catch you later."

As they turned to leave—the leader's forehead vein bulged. Teeth grinding leaked through his gritted jaws.

"What? They're just bailing?"

Yoon Seoyeon pouted, deflated.

I glanced at her and tossed out a line.

"...You seem weirdly pumped?"

"Watching fights is the best."

"Sigh. What if we lose?"

"I've seen you fight. If you really tried, those four punks? Under a minute. With my debuff? Even faster."

I smirked inwardly. ...Sharp one.

I shook my head outwardly.

"Still. Like you said, lives on the line."

She narrowed her eyes and spat low.

"Scum like that? Kill 'em a hundred times over and they'd still deserve it. You saw those people they left dying—pure evil."

I looked her straight in the eye for a moment.

...She's adapting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faster than me.

"You're right—they're trash that'd need killing multiple times. But have we taken direct damage?"

"Well..."

Yoon Seoyeon trailed off. Our "harm" was just threats and her getting leered at—pissing us off.

"Tough call. To cut off future trouble like you say, wiping 'em now might be best. But think about it. Kill everyone who pisses you off... what makes us different from them? And most importantly, we're not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ready."

"...Ready? For what?"

"To kill people."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Her eyes widened at my words. I continued calmly.

"You thought 'gotta kill 'em' too. Same here. But your body freezes up. You need justification. A solid 'these bastards must die' reason. We're not there yet, so we let 'em go. Honestly, you wouldn't want me going full psycho, popping eyes and slaughtering everyone, right?"

She hesitated, then bowed her head.

"...Sorry. Didn't think that deep. But... can we really just let them walk?"

I chuckled and shrugged.

"Don't worry. If I'd judged 'em dangerous, justification or not—they'd be dead already. I'm just not confident."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Anyway, ignore 'em. If they're real trouble, we hunker down till ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Black Moon passes... and what was that earlier?"

I shot her a side-eye.

"'Kim Geon, sic 'em'? Yeah, no. You're going dog-mode? Time for retraining."

"...!"

At "retraining," her cheeks flushed red instantly. Her body twitched, a tiny breath escaping her lips.

"...♥"

Meanwhile, in a dark alley. Reeking of blood and garbage, the villains huddled.

"Boss, why let 'em go? We could've smoked 'em right then."

Villain A spat his gripe through gritted teeth. The leader smirked like snuffing a cig and shook his head.

"Nah. Wait for the right time. They're off-guard now. Make it fun. Make it sure."

His eyes gleamed sinisterly. Black blood-like aura shadowed his face.

"...Get the boys ready?"

The leader's lip curled up slowly.

"Prep the 'toss.' We'll finish 'em clean."

The surrounding villains started giggling. Madness echoed through the alley.

"Heh... fucking that chick in front of her boyfriend? Gold."

"Hahaha! Nice. Her screams are already playing in my head."

The leader chuckled wetly, muttering last.

"Yeah. Despair... gotta savor the show."

In the shadows, their vile plan took shape.

Back at the studio apartment, we laid out the rune stones from the hunt on the table. The darkness-infused rocks exuded an oddly oppressive presence in the tiny room.

"Alright, let's crack 'em."

I picked up the first rune stone.

I shook my head.

"...No."

Second one.

"No."

Rejections became habit. One by one... dozens of times.

Two left. I steadied my breath and crushed one hard.

"...Oh."

I hit expand without hesitation.

Seeing "No Effect" on this Black Moon essential made me feel betrayed by the game devs. Legendary grade. Mixed feelings.

Even in game days, Zombie's Eye stayed the same no matter the rank. It only opened vision during Black Moon.

I handed the last one to Yoon Seoyeon.

"Your turn."

She cracked it nervously. A window popped.

Her face lit up.

"Whoa! I got Zombie's Eye too!"

"...!"

"But... Common grade? No effect? This right?"

I nodded reassuringly.

"Yep. Just open a slot and equip. It'll let you see during Black Moon."

She nodded with a smile.

Meanwhile, I held the rank-up scroll. Biggest dilemma time.

...Never saw Transcendent Zombie's Eye even in game. If effect stays the same... total waste.

I closed my eyes, opened them, convincing myself.

But... in this world, a gamble like this now and then? Fine.

I used the scroll.

"...."

The description got vague. A chill ran up my spine.

...Gamble failed?

Yoon Seoyeon approached worriedly, then gasped.

"Gasp...! Y-your eyes...!"

I blinked. What she saw: endless cosmic darkness. Tiny starlights twinkling behind.

"What? See something?"

I glanced at her casually.

Then—

It floated. Clear as day, right in front of me.

"...What the hell?"

"Makes the unseen seen." Its meaning—

Not just "vision in darkness."

I could now pierce and read others' info.