The club's strike slammed into the ground just inches from his body, but the shockwave was enough to send Hyunwoo flying again. He coughed violently, blood gushing from his mouth.
"No... I can't..." he thought, his consciousness fading, his vision blurring.
The wolves lunged at him simultaneously, their fangs sinking into his arms and legs. He screamed in agony, trying to fight back, but his strength was gone. The wyverns and ogres joined in, mercilessly tearing his body apart.
His ribs shattered, his breath came in ragged gasps. His eyes were blinded by the blood streaming from his head.
"My siblings... I'm sorry..." he thought, tears mixing with the blood on his face.
He gave up. He surrendered. All his efforts had been in vain.
Darkness.
Silence.
Hyunwoo didn't know where he was. After so much blood had been spilled, after the pain had devoured his body, now there was nothing. He felt nothing. No cold, no warmth, not even the presence of his own body. He only knew one thing—everything was empty.
In this void, he felt his body drifting, tossed around in an endless abyss of darkness. There was no direction, no boundary. Time seemed to stand still. The monstrous roars that once filled his ears had faded, replaced by an absolute, all-consuming silence.
"What is this?" he thought, though his lips couldn't move. Even his own thoughts trembled in this emptiness. Something far greater than him was watching—an unseen, colossal presence that felt undeniably real.
Then, in the endless darkness, a faint glow appeared. It was not blinding but pulsed softly, as if alive, as if calling him. He tried to move toward it, but his body did not respond. His very essence felt as if it were being lifted, drawn toward something beyond his understanding.
A deep, resonant voice echoed around him, filling the emptiness. The voice had no form, yet each word sent tremors through the void, as if even the universe bowed before it.
"Cur... homo tam fragilis... tamen voluntatem immutabilem ostendit..."
("Why... do humans, so fragile... display such unwavering will...?")
And then, everything went silent.
—
When Hyunwoo opened his eyes, blinding white light greeted him. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled the air. He was in a hospital. His body felt heavy, as if it had been crushed a thousand times over. But he was alive. How? That question lingered in his mind.
He tried to move, but pain immediately shot through every nerve in his body. Even so, this pain was nothing compared to what he had felt before.
"Hyunwoo-oppa! You're awake!" Seyeon's voice rang faintly in his ears. He felt someone gripping his hand tightly.
"Where... am I...?" His voice was hoarse, barely audible.
"You're in the hospital," Seyeon answered, tears streaming down her face. "A hunter on patrol found you unconscious near an alley. What happened, oppa?!"
Hyunwoo remained silent, his mind in turmoil. Everything he had experienced in the Void felt like a nightmare, yet the wounds on his body proved that it had been real.
He turned his gaze upward, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes. A deep unease filled his heart.
The steady beeping of the heart monitor echoed softly in the room, in sync with his labored breathing. His body felt stiff, as if he had just escaped the grip of something unseen.
"Seyeon..." Hyunwoo finally broke the silence, though his voice was barely above a whisper. "How long... have I been here?"
"Three days, oppa," Seyeon said, her voice trembling. "The doctors said you were severely exhausted. You... you almost died. What really happened?"
Hyunwoo looked at his sister but couldn't answer. How could he explain something that even he struggled to believe? The Void... the monsters... the voice that spoke in the emptiness. It all felt like a dream, but his battered body was proof that it had been real.
He weakly squeezed Seyeon's hand, trying to offer some reassurance despite his own turmoil. "I just... got lost," he said briefly, avoiding further questions.
But Seyeon wasn't satisfied. "Lost? Oppa, your body is covered in wounds, and there are claw marks that no normal animal could have made. Were you attacked by another hunter? Or..." Her voice faltered, her face filled with worry. "Or did you enter a Void?"
That word—Void—made Hyunwoo freeze. He didn't want to acknowledge what had happened, but the truth was undeniable. He had been there, inside the Void, facing darkness and death.
"I don't know," he finally said, shaking his head slightly. "I just remember walking home... then suddenly everything turned into chaos. Darkness. Monsters..."
"Monsters?" Seyeon frowned, confused. "Oppa, are you sure? How could you survive if you entered a Void?"
Hyunwoo had no answer to that. He himself didn't know how he was still alive. All he knew was the void, the voice that spoke to him, and… the strange feeling now flowing through his body. Something had changed. Something was no longer the same.
He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. "Maybe I was just lucky. Maybe... someone saved me." That was the best answer he could give for now.
"Alright, oppa. But promise me... don't do something like this again. Don't leave me and Minjoon alone," Seyeon pleaded, her eyes still red from crying.
Hyunwoo squeezed her hand a little tighter, even though his body felt weak. "I promise," he said softly, though deep inside, he knew that promise would be hard to keep. The world had changed. The Void was everywhere, and humanity was never truly safe.
When Seyeon finally left the room to buy food, Hyunwoo was left alone with his thoughts.
He slowly raised his right hand, staring at the scars left by bites and claws. His breathing was heavy, but he was still alive—that alone was enough. His body felt weak, every movement draining what little strength he had left. He struggled to piece together how he had survived that nightmare, but his mind was blank, too exhausted to process it all.
As his gaze drifted toward the window, hazy memories of the Void flashed through his mind. The pain, the fear, and the monstrous roars still felt real, as if he had just escaped from hell. But he pushed it all aside. It no longer mattered.
Whatever had happened, the only thing that mattered was that he was still breathing.
When Seyeon returned with food, Hyunwoo lowered his head, trying to hide his inner turmoil. He had no idea what to say. Everything felt surreal, like a nightmare he didn't want to remember.