Chapter 183

  William noticed Mi-Yung's eyes sparked again, and something new was coming.

  “This leads to one large point. Kaufman is one of those people I am talking about, and he is someone quite... persevering, and well outside of my expectations. It seems I am missing a couple of things on him, too, so I suppose visiting and having words with him sounds about right.” Her anger and disappointment were at herself, while her peers or higher-ups were different yet not so distant as well.

  “Kaufman is…”

  “Who? He is…”

  “I said I met him already.” William blurted out, wondering how much he should say, or whether he should trust Luke and Ellie about people like that. So yeah; he ended up speaking as if nobody said anything. “Twice, actually. He helped me get my citizenship work and that… thing. The division department of some sort, it was there.”

  “Was it? I departed, so he took my place like a freaking senile old man. Fuck him for that. Also, was it…. well, what did he say?”

  “He wanted me.”

  “You?” She raised her brows, and storm rose deep within her eyes. Colors deepened, and their light started to shower the room.

  “I refused him, so don’t worry about it.”

  “Makes me worry so much more. Never mind, it is far out of your touch. You don’t need to say anything anymore. I can guess the rest.”

  “Really?”

  “You speak that word far too much. Trust me, I can be trustworthy if you give me space.”

  William shrugged it off. “I didn't expect every answer anyway, Mi-Yung. Once someone goes missing Outside, they are most often than not, deader than rocks. My expectations have been low for a long time, you see, and Kaufman is kind of old and interested. I guess it is suspicious, and I did a good thing. Good.” William made a forced smile that hid many things.

  Frowning, Mi-Yung felt the same, and then, not so much.

  “Cheer up, will you!? Don't fall into the darkness.” Mi-Yung suddenly got up, leaned forward, and slapped his shoulders, which forced William out of the chair. He flew to the ground, his eyes bulged, and he bet a car hit him.

  Breathless for half a minute, Mi-Yung stood over him in worry.

  “Oh! Sorry. Sorry.” Mi-Yung comforted him.

  “What was that? I got hit by a freaking boulder. Don't lie to me...” he assumed.

  Getting hold of himself for a whole minute was the most he could bear. He was in the care of Mi-Yung's lap. Sitting straight up, he apologized for whatever happened or didn't happen, while Mi-Yung felt even more sorry than him because disappointment ran through her mind.

  Many things messed with her, and this first meeting ended up different from her goals.

  Sometimes, she didn't know her strength, and people turned into victims because of that. Even without summoning a speck of her Emblem, there was a point to call Walkers beasts in human forms.

  Finding an excuse to leave because of his lack of breath, William grabbed this chance and fled for his life to his room, leaving Mi-Yung dejected on the ground.

  In his room, William panted and gulped down mouthfuls of water from his refilled bottle. Freaking out behind a closed door, he guessed he was finally safe.

  Not like he complained too much. NO! He adamantly did complain. NO! Perhaps he looked forward to living with her? Yes? He was uncertain like his words or her ideas.

  “Forget it... I will think about everything later. Ah, dead tired,” he scowled again, tossed his clothes aside, and without a shower, fell on his bed.

  ***

  In the kitchen, Mi-Yung sat on the ground, hugging her knees, and frowning in half a smile and half anger. She didn't lie about a lot of things because this was a very personal business, but a lot of unstable words came with uncertainties. She was reminiscing about them and figured there was a point in karma.

  William wasn't as she expected, but that too was fine.

  Decades ago, in South Korea, a young girl felt dread of the Dawn that returned in one hellish desperation. It was an Incursion, if not a straight-up fracturation. It was a vast catastrophe and like a dark veil over South Korea. The night and day were over at that moment. North was long gone, with land corrupted into bits of countless crevices.

  The last stand ended up fruitless; The Flood and hordes of Jawrans spread around the sky like eternal darkness made of countless eyes and made no more tricks.

  Involved were also hundreds of various Rank 7 Darks, some even at Rank 8, and, by rumors alone, two Rank 9 Darks were also there. The Flood was one such thing, while the other was unknown. It was way later she heard of those things, but she was young, and albeit not that sheltered and pampered, she couldn’t fix the sky or her dead family.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Eventually, a man stood before her, veiled in red gushing streams of armors, coming from a huge spear over his shoulder, and he stood firm as if he could not falter amidst the incoming storm. He was immense under her little eyes, which were filled with tears and tremors.

  And he did not falter. He survived to tell the tale and escaped with numerous people that day. Mi-Yung and the vast majority of important South Korean survivors became sore losers and the last vestige of Korea.

  They did to forgive the Darks. They also did not forget that man or darkness swallowing their homes.

  At that point, casualties were innumerable, and one more blip didn't make much difference to the whole world. But to that man, it was hideous. He hoped to save more people, and Mi-Yung wished to be like him at one point.

  Broadly speaking, it was just another loss. Not worthy of tears for many people around the world.

  At least in an official capacity, Korea was no more, but there were always survivors out there, no matter where or for any reason.

  Humans were versatile and resilient. By patience, brutality, or just sheer desperation, the flow of time and pain couldn't break them all. Like ants, flies, or cockroaches, their apex rank was short-lived, but what was a mere millennium in the grand scheme of things? What was even a decade? Their history was only a drop in the ocean of time and true power.

  There were uncountable species that survived for millions or tens of millions of years. Humanity was young, almost insignificant so, yet they were also so shrewd that they have achieved unimaginable things in so little time.

  It was basic work of numbers and time. History won't forget it, albeit it could be lost, forged, or overwritten. Humans were overpowered in their insignificant speck of time, but no more.

  A droplet of hundreds of thousands of years of what could be considered a remotely human wasn't everything, for the end could come anytime. It wasn’t a flood. It wasn’t a meteorite. Nevertheless, it was still a striking disaster.

  Like any other, the cataclysm and threat from within or from far away ended one minor era.

  If one glanced at history or hadn't gotten used to the vast past, the amount of progress humanity had made was shocking. However, this planet as a whole was much more than that, and it was both great and menacing.

  Such ideas were almost lost due to less-than-important consequences. It was present that dictated terms and survivors wanted to survive. They hoped for a nearby future, detested the past, or hoped the present would ease up a little.

  They turned into animals on the verge of extinction, but even those went on in their lives, before eventually meeting their demise, or rare options to continue living.

  Or evolve.

  Finding some sort of paradise or change, nature was a fickle thing, often fair or stable.

  Most knowledge kept catching dust since no one cared for it, no one found it, or someone did even within this madness. There was no need for everyone to know such bits. It could be obscure and bad to waste such time in such bullshits.

  Mi-Yung placed Viktor as her savior regardless of anything. It was more than right because she lost her father, mother, and most uncles, and that darkness almost ate her too. She fought back and survived.

  Song Family used to be powerful and dangerous all over Asia. It fell short and into the hands of the Federation, like many other fallen.

  Understanding that point was inevitable, and the Federation was strong and assertive until it became a bastion of humanity. Perhaps it wouldn’t go that smoothly if it weren't for the remains of the Songs.

  But not many would trust that remark, for there was still a pride left in their origin, power, and control, while this sick world was still around them, while some of it was still theirs.

  Eventually, it will get much higher, swallow others, or help the rest. There was a point in numbers and deep staying quality.

  Mi-Yung hoped she would be a savior for William and become his protector, if not a weird step-mother. The last thing was unlikely to happen, but that was fine. She honestly hoped William would go for one true freedom and follow different paths from his parents.

  It was devoid of logic for now because she had no idea what his Emblem and life buried deep or at his surface. There were secrets for sure; there was no way to see it otherwise.

  It could be called her problem, which she meant to see with all of her heart. William's discovery was like luck coming out of nowhere. Because of this timing, miss Anderson, and the general idea about his age and notes scattered around numerous papers, it got out.

  The Federation took note of most potential Walker candidates, and in chaotic ways, it was a very attentive action. Under every single camp, there were people for that sort of work since a lot of obscurity Outside hid and solved many Walkers on its own.

  However, some youths would rather hide like rats, or they were fine with what was Outside.

  Notes were mostly about colors, noteworthy notes, names, or even families or acts of their Emblems, which might be less obscure, or not clear at all. Written, described, or sketched up was the usual practice since their appearance hardly changed and mattered at this stage.

  Most of those Walkers had a folder in various archives, but it was by no means digital. That was mostly about it unless there was more to tell. Finding William was like trying to catch a needle in the mountainous haystack that was the Outside.

  Most of his folders were even destroyed, and he had none before a certain point, thanks to his parents. His information was inaccessible, like most of his life, face, and Emblem. He was an invisible dot in the vast land.

  That changed later on, as he couldn't hide what he didn't know was worth hiding, or there was no further point in ignoring his future. His news came to Mi-Yung, and thanks to Miss Anderson, no one else paid it much attention.

  Both of his parents were far from the picture, even if they were responsible for what happened to William. Mi-Yung never questioned them. She questioned the others. The ones who forced his parents onto this shitty path. Many dubious factors might have forced things into awful consequences.

  Hate. Jealousy. Simple power. They crashed against Viktor, and Mi-Yung was unable to change anything. She was weak. Not even Rank 5 at that time, she had no way to change the status quo. She wasn't even allowed anywhere near that Incursion, let alone charge at already exoded Viktor and his wife.

  She detested this approach and certain people ever since.

  After that, she never gave up on that grudge and those feelings. She hid her ideas and hoped for a change until it arrived. Now, who was laughing? Well, perhaps many others besides her, since his parents were still gone and never returned.

  Mi-Yung recalled people from the Assembly, the Academy, and other organizations.

  She might not push her limits far, but she will gladly do William a different kind of justice just because it feels right. Even if it would pain her, mess with her position, or trouble the Assembly, she didn’t give a fuck.

  She already had William, so she didn't plan to turn him away.