‘Why the hell am I still here?’

“Lee Ki-Young, you bastard.”

It was to the point that I[1] couldn’t even chuckle hollowly. I was left alone in a completely sealed world. No, to be precise, I wasn’t the only one left, but it was no different from being alone.

Those who came from the second life had returned to where they originally belonged. The only one who couldn’t return to where I was supposed to be was myself.

I was still killing time in an empty world with nothing in it.

Yes, in every sense, this world was empty. Not simply because it was dyed in the colors of the sunset, and not because the ruined Lindel was visible before me. This world had completely ceased functioning. This world had been abandoned.

Since the administrator who was supposed to be here was no longer around, calling it empty was the most fitting description. It had become a space that existed, yet didn’t exist at the same time.

‘How strange.’

How come this world still existed, even though the second life had already started, and everything was functioning normally there? There was no way I couldn’t question everything. Calling it an easter egg would be too much, so for a moment, I wondered if the system had glitched, but I soon shook my head.

Those idiots believed that everything was over, but there was still a puzzle left unsolved.

Otherwise, this phenomenon couldn’t be explained.

There was one more person left in this abandoned world. Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to move forward to calm the faint unease lingering in a corner of my heart.

‘My guess has to be right.’

The unease came from the possibility that the bastard had forgotten about leaving me here. At first, I thought it was intentional, but there was a clear anxiety inside me, saying that they could have simply forgotten about me while bringing everything to an end.

Normally, I would prefer to be forgotten, but strangely, in a situation like this, I couldn’t accept the idea that that guy had forgotten me.

I didn’t know why, but a sense of humiliation rose within me. It felt better to believe that I had been left behind as part of a joke, or because there was still something left for me to do.

‘That bastard.’

“That bastard...”

If that guy realized what I was thinking, he would probably mock me, calling me a narcissist or asking if I was afraid of being forgotten.

‘There’s no way he forgot about me.’

Yeah, there was no way he would forget me. If anything, once that guy realized that I hadn’t crossed over to this side, he'd notice that things weren’t completely finished yet.

He would realize that there was still unfinished business and would make a move to resolve it. By now, he could be searching for a way to reconnect with me.

‘But that would be impossible.’

The connection to the second life had been completely severed. The hexagram had also been blocked, leaving him with no means of contacting me.

Even if there were some way to reach me, there was no way that idiot could solve such a massive problem in such a short period of time.

In the end...

“I have to handle it myself, you idiot. Making me clean up after you to the very end," I muttered to myself in a way that didn’t really suit me. Then I walked forward again. The destination was obvious. There was still one more person here who hadn’t disappeared, so it was only natural to assume that the bastard held the key.

Of course, facing him wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was far better than remaining in this rotting place.

I deliberately made my presence known, and I saw the figure turn around against the backdrop of the sunset sky.

“What, you still haven’t left?”

First Life Lee Ki-Young.

“..."

“It doesn’t seem like you came all this way for nothing... What exactly are you doing here?” he asked.

“...”

“...”

As expected, he asked the question I was waiting for.

‘Damn it.’

“I simply thought there was still something left for me to do,” I answered.

“What could possibly be left to do in a place like this...” he mumbled.

“You’re sinking along with this abandoned world. Do you really think you would understand even if I explained it?” I mocked.

“Well, I might understand it a little. It’s not like I’m completely clueless. More importantly, I don’t get why you’re being so hostile. Our great commander from the second life...” trailed off.

“...”

“Is there some other reason you’re angry?” he asked.

“Seeing your face is enough to make my temper flare,” I answered.

“Come on, that’s not it. It might be my first time seeing you, but even a kid can tell that’s not the real reason. Could it be...” he trailed off, then asked, “Did those guys... leave you behind?”

This was exactly why I had been reluctant to meet him. I knew he was going to ask that question.

“...”

“Puh... ha... puh... hahahahaheheheheh! Seriously? They really left you behind?” He laughed. “Puh... hahahaha! Cough! Cough! No, how could they—puhuhuhahahahaha!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I told you. It's because there's still something left to do,” I replied.

“Wait, so... cough! cough! So you’re saying you weren’t forgotten, but that you, Commander Jin, graciously stayed behind to clean things up for Second Life Lee Ki-Young? Or what, did you get orders?” he questioned.

“Nonsense. There were no orders from him, and it’s not for his sake either. It’s simply that there’s something unfinished... I reached that conclusion myself...” I told him.

“Sounds like you were forgotten,” he commented.

“I said that’s not the case,” I said.

“Does it bother you that you were forgotten by Second Life Lee Ki-Young?” he asked.

“Pointless wordplay. It’s not even worth answering. Can’t you tell just by seeing that you’re still here? This story may have completely ended, but that’s separate from the fact that something unresolved still remains,” I said.

“Well... I suppose you could see it that way... To be honest, I was thinking something similar. Still, I didn’t think it had much to do with you, so I never expected you to come looking for me first, Commander Jin. No, more than that, do you know what surprised me even more?” he asked.

“...”

“The fact that in the second life, you’re working together with me. Honestly, that’s even more shocking than the pig getting married. What the hell even happened over there? Why are you and I working together? Are we on good terms? No matter how I think about it, I just can’t understand it...” he added.

“Enough of the useless chatter. I didn’t come here to ease your loneliness,” I said.

“Then why did you come? To declare the complete end of this world?” he asked.

If it had been possible, I would have declared its end a hundred times over by now, but I couldn't do that. The key wasn’t in my hands, but in that bastard’s hands.

“That’s not entirely wrong. I came to erase the lingering attachment you’re holding onto,” I answered.

“Attachment?”

“That’s right. The fact that you’re still here should be enough of an answer,” I said.

“...”

“...”

“This continent is a world being managed by Second Life Lee Ki-Young, but that doesn’t mean your will hasn't manifested at all. You are him, and he is you. The fact that your fragment still remains here means you still have a lingering attachment to this place,” I explained.

“...”

“...”

“Do you really think so?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t you know the answer better than I would?” I asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know either,” he answered.

“What?”

“I mean, I don’t know if I exist because of some lingering attachments, or if because there’s still unresolved business. Can I be honest?” he asked.

“About what?”

“Even I find it strange, but I don’t think I have any lingering attachments,” he said.

“...”

“I used to think that surviving no matter what was what mattered most. But now, I don’t feel like I have any attachment left. And what’s even funnier is...” he trailed off before revealing. “I don’t even know why. I'm not sure if it's because I’m just a fragment of thoughts, or if I’ve grown too tired of life, but I’ve been unknowingly equating myself with my first and second life selves... Isn’t that ridiculous?

"To be honest, I used to think people who had no attachment to life were idiots. For example, people like you, Commander Jin. Ah, in case you don’t know, in the first life, you lost a woman at a debutante ball. After that... it was like you were trying to die...”

“Enough. I told you I didn’t come here to talk about myself,” I said.

“Well, anyway, that’s how it is. Even if you try to erase my attachment, there isn’t really anything left. Maybe it’s because I’m satisfied with this ending,” he added.

“Satisfied?”

“Yes. It’s not perfect, but I think I reached an ending that’s satisfying in its own way. To be honest, when I first came here, no, while I was living here without that pig, this place felt like hell. I kept wondering why something so shitty happened to me and why Altanus had dragged me into a place like this.

"Of course, I knew it couldn’t be helped... but don’t you think a person needs at least something to resent?” he questioned.

“...”

“But... now...” he trailed off before adding, “I’m grateful to her."

“That doesn’t suit you,” I commented.

“That’s how I feel, too, so I can only imagine what you think, Commander Jin. It definitely doesn’t suit me, but honestly, saying that I have no regrets about my life here would be a lie. Still, I’m grateful to her. I’m thankful that I got to meet that pig, Lee Ji-Hye, and Kasugano Yuno. In the end, I gave them a good ending,” he said.

“...”

“Looks like I’m saying all sorts of things now that the end is near,” he commented.

“Hmph... ridiculous. To think I’d hear something like that come out of your mouth. Are you serious?” I complained.

“...”

“...”

“Of course, it’s all bullshit,” he said.

“What?”

“Puh... heheheheheh! You actually believed that?” he laughed.

“...”

“...”

“Grateful, my ass. She’s ruined my life! Damn it! I came to this rotten continent and suffered like hell the whole time... Grateful, my ass...” he mumbled.

‘This crazy bastard.’

“But well... a little... just a little, I think I’m grateful to her. Either way, without her, there wouldn’t be a second life, right? That’s probably the proper course of events. Not like now, where Second Life Lee Ki-Young and Second Life Kim Hyun-Sung split in half to start the second life,” he said.

“...”

“Commander Jin," he said, “To be honest, I know what unresolved business remains in this world,” he said.

I almost asked if he was serious, but I swallowed the words. It was obvious that he would just laugh and say that it was a lie again. Still... I ended up speaking anyway.

“Is that true?” I asked.

“No, it’s a lie,” he replied.

‘You bastard. Damn it.’

“There was never any unresolved business to begin with. Soon, this world will close, and you’ll return to the second life,” he said.

“...”

“The continent has already hit the reset button. The only reason this world is still being maintained is nothing more than a slight delay during the system reboot process. Don’t ask how I can be so sure. I just know it. Instinctively,” he added.

“...”

“I didn’t expect you to be here with me at the end, Commander Jin... But still, at the very end, I get to leave laughing. Ah, but you did get one thing right—I still have some lingering attachments,” he said.

“...”

“Of course, even that will be resolved soon,” he added.

“...”

“When the world ends, I’m going to tell Altanus thank you,” he said.

“Why?” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“Why else? I just want to mess things up for Second Life Lee Ki-Young. Honestly, that bastard is annoying, isn’t he?” he asked.

I found myself nodding without realizing it.

“You knew everything before coming here, didn’t you? It’s obvious that in the early part of the second life, you’d get a glimpse of the first life through Kasugano Yuno... Yeah, I don’t know if the world she shows him is the main timeline, this one, or both, but since he’ll only see fragments, I had to set this up at least.

"It’s insurance. Once he gets here and realizes that Altanus isn’t around, he’ll probably freak out. Actually, he did freak out, didn’t he?” he explained.

“...”

“It’s all over now, anyway, but I’m telling you, he’s going to have a rough time. No, he already had a rough time because of this. I was seriously worried that Kim Hyun-Sung would end up completely broken,” he said.

I saw him smiling. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant expression, but for something on Lee Ki-Young’s face, it looked fairly decent. In truth, it seemed less like he wanted to mess with Lee Ki-Young and more like he genuinely wanted to thank her, but there was no way to know for sure.

He was the kind of guy who could deceive even himself, so even he wouldn’t know the answer to that question.

“Anyway, it was fun while it lasted, Commander Jin. This will be a secret, alright?” First Ki-Young said.

“...”

“...”

He looked up at the sky and said, “Thanks, Altanus.”

After saying that, he looked this way, placed his index finger over his lips, and gave a wink. Without realizing it, I thought to myself—it was... a very fitting way for him to go.

1. Commander Jin’s POV ☜