Isaac

Chapter 203

“Ah…”

Yoo-rah panickedly looked at her surroundings. What happened? She had been hesitant till the end, unable to muster the strength to push a tiny b.u.t.ton. 

Her mind was plagued with doubt. Was this the right thing to do? But when she looked at the CCTV, it showed Joon-young and his soldiers laughing as they prepared for their final battle beyond the steel door. She made her decision.

Yoo-rah couldn’t understand them. Why were they laughing? Did they not fear death? And most important of all, she was jealous. If only she could be there, laughing alongside them in their final moments. Joon-young and the soldiers charged at their enemy with bare hands, their guns littering the ground. But seeing that, Yoo-rah pressed the b.u.t.ton without a second thought. 

As bright light enveloped her body, Yoo-rah closed her eyes with relief that she felt no pain. But when she heard the quiet rustle of the wind, she opened her eyes. She found herself stranded in the middle of a forest. Confusion set in.

“What happened?”

She muttered. But she wouldn’t find the answer.

How long could a present-day human survive in a forest without any equipment or food? Yoo-rah stumbled through the forest with bags under her eyes. Unlike the well-maintained forest parks in cities, a wild forest was akin to a jungle.

She could barely sleep at night, balled up on the ground and shivering, waking at the slightest rustle. During the day, she would wander without direction in search of water or a road. Because of the warm climate, she didn’t freeze to death at night, and in the morning, she would lick the morning dew off the leaves. 

But she was at her limit now. The hunger, the thirst, but most importantly, this forest of absolute stillness. 

A forest as dense as this must have had birds or small animals and insects to sustain these predators. But she had yet to see a single living animal.

“This must be h.e.l.l…”

Yoo-rah muttered to herself bitterly, sitting down on a small patch of clearing, the sun shining through the canopy of leaves. 

How terrifying a forest without animals was. Yet the scholar inside her couldn’t help but ponder about how this forest was maintaining itself—no, flourishing. 

Was she going to die here? Or would she start wandering again? Yoo-rah sighed weakly and looked up into the skies.

The bushes near her rustled. Yoo-rah quickly turned her head to see, and her eyes opened wide. There stood a wolf, just as surprised as she was as it c.o.c.ked its head.

A wolf. A predator that even a fit man would find a difficult foe. And that beast was standing on two legs like a human.

“Kyaaaa!”

Yoo-rah screamed with almost incredible vitality before pa.s.sing out. 

“Amazing. To think those foolish humans could achieve such a civilization.”

“I am simply in awe. Yet it is so fragile.”

“This is progress that far surpa.s.ses our expectations. It may even threaten us.”

“That is why we must investigate. How did contact with the rulers of the other world’s human go?”

“They are complete. We barely had to tinker with their minds before they caved; clearly, they have no resistance to any form of mental magic.”

“So all we need to do is give them the opportunity.”

A world where only humans lived was an interesting phenomenon, even to the non-humans. The humans of this world couldn’t even look an inch beyond their feet, but the other world’s humans had achieved a grand civilization even the elder races of this world were impressed by. 

Communications technology that allowed a person to talk with another across the planet. The tools to observe the universe beyond the skies. And the Internet, which far surpa.s.sed that of the largest libraries. It was a cradle of wisdom and knowledge that was openly and easily accessible. 

It was a world that would certainly divert the interest of angels and demons. Yet what worried them was that their civilization was built not on peace but by blood and atop corpses. 

That was why they needed to study this world, the strength of their weapons, and humanity’s strength as a whole. Like the saying went, treasure becomes poison when held by the weak. Among the few nations that were adequately strong but still no match against the greatest nations of their world, the elder races had selected a nation to host their Gate. But the elder races underestimated the humans.

“How devastating.”

“So foolish. Without rhyme nor reason.”

“That too is especially human.”

A war between humans was expected. After the clash, they a.s.sumed humanity would share the control over the Gate as a whole. That’s what the elder races led those humans to do. But a select few humans residing in the designated location continued to resist. The non-humans couldn’t understand them.

Their continued resistance in the face of certain defeat, culminating in their leader’s surrender, piqued the non-humans’ interest. 

“But this is the end.”

The non-humans saw the ten or so soldiers gathered at the end of the man-made tunnel, preparing for their last moment. Beyond them were humans who knew nothing of combat, so they were the last warriors.

“They are the last warriors. Let us salute and watch their final moments.”

The warriors charged forward, discarding their weapons at the wayside, and their opponents strangely began running in panic.

“What the?”

The non-humans c.o.c.ked their heads curiously, when bright light poured through their Gate.

Then came Calamity.

“This is the price of our arrogance. Even if it means the extinction of our kind, we must repent.”

“… An elf?”

Yoo-rah had been a workaholic all her life, but even she knew of the stereotype that long ears meant an elf.

The elf smiled at Yoo-rah.

“Welcome, outsider.”

“… How?”

Yoo-rah looked at the elf, unable to conceal her surprise. She never expected to hear her native language from here of all places, by an elf no less.

“Have some tea and calm yourself.”

Yoo-rah sat on the chair as the elf offered and took a sip of the tea, her mind still spinning.

Just as the tea’s fragrance wafted into her nose and began to clear her mind, the elf continued. 

“I understand you are confused. In fact, we are just as confused as you are.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m sure you have many questions. But rest well for today. I will lead you to someone who will answer all of your questions. It will tell you everything you wish to know… And even truths that you don’t want to hear.”

“Hiik!”

Yoorah thought that she had no fear of heights, but all of it changed. What seemed like a bunch of planks haphazardly strewn into a shape of basket began rumbling, slowly descending into utter darkness.

‘This is just an elevator, there’s nothing to fear.’

Yoo-rah thought to herself, even hypnotising herself for two hours, praying for the descent to finish. When her feet finally touched solid ground, she let out a sigh of relief.

“This is…”

Yoo-rah looked about in awe. In this cave descending straight down to utter darkness, its walls sparkled with small gems of light embedded within like one was walking through the Milky Way. It was strange and magical. 

Although the journey was perilous, she thought this view has made it all worth it.

“This way.”

The elf allowed Yoo-rah some time to immerse herself in the view before politely leading Yoorah. Yoo-rah followed behind the elf into a corridor among the walls. When she reached the end of the corridor and saw the giant plaza, Yoo-rah’s jaws dropped.

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