A memory of a summer day, hotter and redder than the summer heat that filled every alley, overflowing beyond the stadium.
After finishing the night shift and getting home in the morning, I slept until the afternoon before yawning and leaving my small apartment.
The soccer game was set to start later that night, and knowing the chicken shop would be flooded with orders, I went early, but there was already a long line.
When I arrived at the orphanage, carrying chicken and cola in both hands, the kids cheered and ran toward me.
I tousled their hair roughly, unsure if they were welcoming me or the chicken.
After playing with them for a while, I was on the rooftop collecting laundry when that child came up to help.
Even though the kid still looked like a little boy to me, I patted his head in appreciation, and his face turned bright red.
When I asked if something was wrong, he hesitated for a while before finally speaking, his voice as red as his face.
“Hyung.”
The youthful voice that escaped his immature lips was hotter than the summer heat that scorched everything around us.
“I know I’m young. But I’m already in middle school this year.”
It seemed he was upset about being treated like a child.
I laughed and reassured him that I wouldn’t do it anymore, but his voice only grew more intense.
So intense that I could no longer pretend not to notice.
“In just a few more years, I’ll be an adult too—just like you. So, I… I…”
The torrent of emotions overflowing from his young heart finally turned into a quiver.
His tearful voice clung to me, desperate.
The overwhelming heat blurred my vision, causing me to blink the sweat from my lashes several times.
But even so, I couldn’t clearly grasp my senses, completely enveloped by his heat.
All I could see clearly were his earnest black eyes and the cracks in the world warping around him, threatening to consume him.
Without hesitation, I reached out to him, just as I had nine years ago.
When I pushed him away, the cracks started swallowing me instead.
His eyes widened, and his lips parted to say something, but the sound of the world no longer reached me.
I felt the scenery of the world rapidly fade into the distance.
As I took in the sight of his small hand reaching out toward me one last time, I smiled.
That was my final memory on Earth.
* * *
Kim Shibaek’s eyes snapped open as he felt a hand much larger than the one he last saw gripping him.
He blinked slowly, still disoriented, before realizing.
It was a dream. With a sluggish sigh, he absentmindedly fiddled with the ring on his left middle finger.
He must have been more tired than he thought—falling asleep in the middle of a battlefield with war just around the corner.
As he massaged his stiff neck, Divine words appeared in the air before him.
[‘Death and Beauty’ gaze at their apostle with concern.]
Perhaps because of the old dream he just had, Kim Shibaek stared at the floating words with a momentary sense of unfamiliarity.
Divine words were a means to convey the will of the gods, shielding mortals from their overwhelming presence, which could obliterate both body and soul.
The phenomenon, unlike anything he experienced on Earth, was a stark reminder that this was indeed another world.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just dozed off for a bit.”
[‘Death and Beauty’ manifest before you in their avatar form.]
Before the words even finished appearing, a fluffy baby crow materialized. With short wings fluttering, the crow landed on Kim Shibaek’s head, clicking its beak.
But what emerged from its beak wasn’t a chirp—it was a human voice.
“My apostle, you seem troubled. Your god is concerned.”
“It’s just a dream, Lord Beyondoe.”
Kim Shibaek gently patted the crow, the avatar of Beyondoe, the god of Death and Beauty.
“Did you dream of Earth?”
“Sharp as ever.”
“Who knows my apostle better than I?”
With a small laugh, Kim Shibaek leaned back in his chair, causing the crow to shift its position.
“Was it that child’s dream again? Your god noticed that every time you recall that kid, your sorrow deepens.”
“Did it seem that way?”
Absentmindedly, he rubbed his face with his palm.
“Well, it was so long ago anyway.”
It had been 68 years since he was swept up by some unknown crack and crash-landed in Mach Slecht.
In the fantasy novels he used to read occasionally at rental shops or on early internet forums, the protagonist would always find a way back to Earth, but reality was not so kind.
At first, he missed home and struggled, but 68 years was enough time for even the landscapes of Earth to change seven times over.
His hometown was no longer Earth—it was Mach Slecht.
It had been 20 years since the thought of returning had faded from his mind.
Though the time in this new world had become more vivid, there was still a lingering sense of longing that had not dulled over time.
Kim Shibaek channeled divine energy into the ring he had been toying with.
A hologram floated up, projecting a scanned image.
It was one of the two photos he had in his wallet when he crash-landed in Mach Slecht.
One photo was of him with his close siblings at the orphanage, and the other was of him with that child on the day of his elementary school graduation.
Despite the wear and tear on his earthly possessions, these photos had endured, becoming long-held tokens of his lingering memories.
“Do you still think of your siblings?”
“I’ve given up on going back, but that doesn’t mean I can erase the longing.”
His siblings, preserved in his memory as children, must have grown up a lot.
Imagining them growing up had become both a source of joy and pain for him.
As the years passed, those memories remained as cherished recollections that occasionally brought a smile to his face.
Yet, there was one memory that left his chest aching every time he revisited it.
“Hyung.”
The black eyes that always followed him.
If there was anything left on Earth that could be considered his attachment, it was that child.
Kim Shibaek ran his hand through his hair, trying to push away thoughts of the boy. He would never see him again.
All he could do was believe that the child was doing well without him.
With an air of forced lightness, he changed the subject.
“So, once this war is over, I’d really love to host a World Cup here in Mach Slecht.”
[‘Death and Beauty’ sighs, tired of hearing about the World Cup round of 16.]
Beyondoe complained through divine words without even bothering to open its beak.
But despite the god’s annoyance, Kim Shibaek’s regret at missing Korea’s historic advance to the round of 16 before being whisked away to another world had not faded, even after 68 years.
Wouldn’t there have been some miracle, with home advantage, that allowed them to win?
“No, but seriously. Do you know what the round of 16 means…”
[‘Death and beauty’ grow tiresome.]
Over time, Kim Shibaek began speaking at length about his memories of the World Cup, as if to forget the constant, searing presence of the child who seemed to always chase after him.
It became second nature, and eventually, it turned into a genuine desire.
Once the war ended, Kim Shibaek intended to persuade the emperor to host an international soccer match.
“How peaceful it would be, a friendly match between nations instead of war.”
“Yeah, and after hosting that international whatever, what do you plan to do next?”
“After that… I’ll rest, without a single thought.”
After surviving countless hardships in a foreign world for decades, it was about time for him to take a break.
Kim Shibaek smiled, thinking about the peaceful life that awaited him. The idea of a life free from the stench of blood was deeply satisfying.
Not long after, a holy knight arrived. The moment Beyondoe sensed the presence of the Great Warrior who served him, the divine creature clicked its beak.
“Your Holiness, it is time for the battle. Would you like to don your armor?”
“Not now. This is not a battlefield where someone like me, a mere priest, needs to wield a sword.”
Kim Shibaek rose from his seat and followed the towering Great Warrior.
Beyond the horizon, rows of soldiers lined up, forming a formidable formation.
It was the allied forces led by the Atrebattum Empire.
The emperor’s speech echoed loudly across the encampment, raising the soldiers’ morale.
Afterward, apostles from various religious orders, capable of bestowing effective blessings on the battlefield, began their prayers with the assistance of the high priests.
Holy light descended upon the allied forces, layer upon layer of blessings.
Unbreakable courage enhanced their weapons, noble faith fortified their resolve, and overflowing vitality accelerated their healing.
It was now the turn of Kim Shibaek, apostle of Beyondoe, the god of death and beauty.
Unlike the other apostles who needed the assistance of the high priests, Kim Shibaek ascended alone.
Though there were apostles who had been under divine protection longer than him, none possessed purer holy power than he did.
“Fear death, but do not yield to it.”
[‘Death and beauty’ watch over the allied forces.]
God answered the apostle’s prayer, granting blessings.
Holy energy surged through the ranks of the allied forces, the aura of the god of death sweeping over them.
This was no reckless bravado but a righteous courage that took root in the hearts of the soldiers.
This marked the beginning of the final holy war of the era, aimed at subjugating Edocus, the chaotic Great Warrior who sought to plunge the world into destruction.
On that day, as the core of Edocus was destroyed, one apostle disappeared from the world of Mach Slecht.
Comment