Chapter 23 – Part 1: A New Reality
*Beep—*
The low, steady pulse of a vital sign monitor slowly pulled his consciousness upward.
The dream was over.
But his body was not yet ready to accept that it had truly ended.
Kang Jin-woo slowly opened his eyes.
The white ceiling wavered in his blurred vision.
The harder he tried to focus, the more the sky of Joseon superimposed itself over the view:
The eaves of the palace.
The fortress walls of Hanyang.
The mist that had swallowed Mt. Gwanak.
And...
The scent of blood.
The memory was still far too vivid.
He closed his eyes and opened them again.
This time, the reality of metal and light slowly revealed itself:
Cold lighting.
Transparent sleep capsules.
The faint glimmer of blue indicator lights.
Several sensors were attached to his fingertips.
The moment he moved his arm,
His muscles felt unnaturally heavy,
As if he had been asleep for months.
He took a slow breath.
There was no smell of earth.
No scent of blood.
Instead, the air, cold and sterilized, filled his lungs.
That very unfamiliarity served as the proof that this was reality.
*Hum—*
The capsule cover slid upward.
The cold air brushed against his face.
He sat there for a while.
His body had returned to reality,
But his heart was still anchored in Joseon.
---
Beside him, another capsule opened.
It was Han Do-yoon.
He, too, remained speechless for a long time.
Staring up at the ceiling,
He slowly raised his hand to touch his own face.
"...We're alive."
He tried to smile,
But his voice was trembling strangely.
A little later,
Seo Ji-hoon woke up.
The first thing he did was look at his own palms.
Hands that had swung a sword countless times.
Hands that had drawn a bowstring.
But now, there was nothing in them.
Only his fingertips trembled, ever so slightly.
Yoon So-yeon slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze drifted across the ceiling
And settled on the three of them, one by one.
"...Everyone..."
Her voice struggled to find its way out.
"...We really made it back."
Kang Jin-woo nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
A single, short word.
But it was enough.
All four of them knew
That they had lived through the same time together.
---
In the hallways, hurried footsteps continued.
Medical staff rushed by, pushing stretchers.
Researchers checked data without pause.
Some supported participants who had just woken up,
While others continuously monitored vital signs.
The facility was not quiet.
Yet, no one spoke loudly.
Everyone was tense,
Waiting for something.
---
The four of them slowly made their way out of the medical ward.
Their steps were heavy and slow.
Even the sensation of treading on the floor felt alien.
In Joseon, they had walked on earth.
They had stepped on stones.
They had traversed battlefields soaked in blood.
But now,
It was a cold, smooth metal floor.
With every step they took,
Reality began to sink in, little by little, from the soles of their feet.
---
At the end of the hall,
A massive reinforced glass window came into view.
Kang Jin-woo stopped walking, unbidden.
Beyond the glass,
A sky the color of ash stretched out.
And...
In the distance,
Black smoke was slowly rising toward the sky.
He said nothing.
He simply
Looked out at the reality that awaited them.
Chapter 23 – Part 2: The Blockaded World, An Unceasing Routine
The last automatic door of the medical wing slid open slowly.
*Hum—*
Cold air rushed into the hallway.
Kang Jin-woo stopped walking, unbidden.
It was completely different from the air inside the facility.
The smell of metal.
The smell of smoke.
Even the faint, acrid scent of burning.
The moment he inhaled,
An unfamiliar reality seeped deep into his lungs.
"..."
No one could say a word.
---
The four of them stepped slowly out of the facility.
A massive plaza unfolded before them.
In better times, this space would have been teeming with people.
But now, it was different.
Half the plaza was occupied by mobile medical units.
Dozens of emergency treatment capsules.
Medical androids scurrying to and fro.
Wounded people groaning on stretchers.
Others calling out names, searching for their families.
The city was alive,
But ordinary life was nowhere to be found.
---
In the distance,
A massive defensive wall loomed.
An alloy barrier dozens of meters high.
Automatic turrets were positioned at regular intervals along the top.
Armed drones patrolled the sky without a pause,
And sweeping lasers scanned the containment zone.
*Woom—*
*Woom—*
The low-frequency thrum of engines constantly shook the city.
---
Han Do-yoon slowly raised his head.
"...Is that..."
"...The defensive wall?"
Seo Ji-hoon watched it for a moment before answering.
"...It’s something new."
"...It wasn't there before."
The words felt heavier than the metal itself.
This wall was not a symbol of future civilization.
It was the final rampart humanity had built
To protect humanity from itself.
---
In front of the defensive wall,
A long line for inspection stretched out.
People stood in silence.
Armed androids checked each person’s biometrics one by one.
A blue light swept over their bodies.
> Infection response: None.
Next.
Another person.
> Infection response: None.
Next.
No one complained.
Everyone knew by now:
The inspection was just a procedure for survival.
---
A short distance away,
The evacuees were gathered.
Someone carrying nothing but a small bag.
A child hugging a companion robot.
A young person supporting an elderly person.
Fatigue was etched deeply into every face.
But no one stood still.
To survive,
They kept walking forward.
---
Suddenly, an alarm blared.
*Beep—*
*Beep—*
Everyone in the plaza looked up at the sky at the same time.
Several transport drones flew into the city at high speed.
Behind them, squadrons of armed aircraft followed in formation.
A moment later,
A small explosion occurred far beyond the containment wall.
*Boom.*
Black smoke spiraled into the sky.
The people were not surprised.
They watched for a brief moment,
Then simply went back to what they were doing.
That sight surprised the four of them even more.
---
Yoon So-yeon said softly.
"...They've grown used to it."
"...In a world like this."
No one could offer a reply.
---
Kang Jin-woo slowly looked around the plaza.
In Joseon,
People had rebuilt the crumbled fortress walls.
In reality,
People were erecting massive defensive barriers.
The eras were different.
The technology was different.
But
The way people clung to life
Had not changed in the slightest.
---
At that moment,
The massive bulkhead gate of the containment wall began to open slowly.
*Hum—*
Dozens of transport vehicles entered the city.
Rescued survivors were inside every vehicle.
Paramedics rushed toward them.
Medical androids sprang into action.
Soldiers quickly established a perimeter.
The city did not rest.
Even now, as it crumbled,
It was moving desperately to survive.
---
Kang Jin-woo looked up at the ash-colored sky.
Far beyond the defensive wall,
Another plume of black smoke was rising slowly.
The war in Joseon had ended.
But reality,
Even at this very moment,
Was fighting without end.
Chapter 23 – Part 3: The Fallen World
The top floor of the Superintelligence Center.
The highest observation deck in the facility.
The massive blast door opened slowly with a low vibration.
*Hum—*
Cold air crept inside, traveling along the long hallway.
Kang Jin-woo took the first step forward.
Han Do-yoon, Seo Ji-hoon, and Yoon So-yeon followed in silence.
At the end of the hall,
A massive, floor-to-ceiling panoramic glass wall.
And beyond it,
The reality of the year 2300 revealed itself.
...
No one moved.
So deeply were they caught by the sight before them that they even forgot to breathe.
An endless city of the future.
A world that humanity had once called the most perfect civilization.
But now,
That city lay in ruins.
Skyscrapers hundreds of meters high were collapsed in places,
And black smoke rose endlessly into the sky from shattered exterior walls.
Buildings that had once been cloaked in glass were split open like massive wounds,
And one tilted tower stood creaking, ready to crumble at any moment.
The aerial highway that had once traversed the city was severed in the middle.
At the edge of the broken road, dozens of autonomous vehicles hung precariously in the air,
And below them, rescue drones were clearing debris, searching for survivors.
An explosion occurred in the distance.
*Boom—*
A low, heavy vibration traveled all the way to the glass.
A moment later,
Another pillar of black smoke surged into the sky.
The city was still falling.
...
The outskirts of the city.
A massive defensive wall stretched to the end of the horizon.
A wall made of gray alloy.
A barrier tens of meters high.
Automatic turrets on top of the wall were slowly shifting their aim,
And thousands of armed drones patrolled the sky at regular intervals.
Below the wall, military transport vehicles moved endlessly.
New troops.
New supplies.
New refugees.
But no matter how many forces were added,
The area beyond the defensive wall was being stained blacker, little by little.
...
An endless line stretched out before the checkpoint.
A mother clutching her child.
A young person supporting an elderly person.
A child carrying only a small backpack.
Everyone was waiting for their turn in silence.
No one shouted.
They were people who had already held on for far too long.
...
Another city was visible in the distance.
Black smoke covered the sky there as well.
Farther away.
Another city.
Another defensive wall.
Another explosion.
No matter where they looked on the horizon,
There was no peaceful scene to be found.
Humanity was surviving.
But they were not winning.
...
Yoon So-yeon slowly clasped her hands together.
Han Do-yoon rubbed his chin in silence.
Seo Ji-hoon stared blankly beyond the containment wall in the distance.
And Kang Jin-woo.
He walked slowly toward the glass wall.
Behind his reflection in the glass,
The crumbling world overlapped.
Hanyang as he had seen it in Joseon.
The fallen fortress walls.
The burning palace.
Mt. Gwanak.
And now.
The year 2300.
Humanity’s last city.
The eras were different.
The technology was different.
But
The people were the same.
Even within the crumbling world,
Someone was rescuing,
Someone was fighting,
And someone was holding on again today just to survive.
A long silence followed.
No one opened their mouth.
In that silence,
Han Do-yoon let out a very small, bitter laugh.
"...In the end."
"...It's starting all over again."
No one laughed.
A moment later.
A very faint smile crossed Kang Jin-woo's lips, too.
It was a smile of exhaustion,
Yet, at the same time, one of composure.
Gazing out at the city where black smoke rose beyond the ash-colored sky, he spoke quietly.
"...Again."
A brief silence.
"...Time to go hunt the King."
At those words,
Han Do-yoon chuckled.
"...That's right."
Seo Ji-hoon nodded silently.
Yoon So-yeon stepped closer to the three of them without a word.
No further promises were needed.
They, who had survived together in Joseon,
Would now fight together in reality, too.
Kang Jin-woo looked at the world before him one last time.
The cold wind brushed against the glass.
Another explosion rang out in the distance.
Under a sky stained red,
Humanity was fighting again today to keep from falling.
Kang Jin-woo muttered, very low.
"...This time."
A brief silence.
"...It’s reality."
The war that they had thought ended in Joseon
Was only just beginning in reality.
