Chapter 19
Darkness.
Then
breath.
Shin's eyes snap open.
He inhales sharply, cold air burning through his lungs.
"…I… died…"
His voice is weak.
Unsteady.
For a moment, he just lies there.
Staring into the endless white sky.
Then it hits him.
Mina.
His head turns instantly.
She lies beside him.
Small.
Fragile.
And only now
he truly realizes it.
Her body…
is that of a child.
Shin's expression freezes.
"…No…"
His hands tremble as he lifts her carefully.
She's light.
Too light.
"…Mina… stay with me…"
No answer.
Only silence.
The wind howls.
Shin stands up.
And walks.
Step by step through the endless snow.
The cold cuts into his skin like thousands of needles.
Each breath feels like glass tearing through his throat.
But he keeps moving.
One hour.
Two.
Three.
Time begins to blur.
"…How long…?"
He doesn't know anymore.
His sense of time fades.
His thoughts become slower.
Heavier.
Was this… the right decision…?
Nothing attacks him.
No enemies.
No monsters.
Only the snow.
Only the cold.
And it is killing him.
His body shakes violently.
His fingers go numb.
His legs feel like stone.
Warmth begins to spread through his body.
A dangerous warmth.
Shin's eyes widen slightly.
"…No… not now…"
He understands.
The cold is killing me…
His grip tightens around Mina.
"I… have to move…"
Suddenly
he runs.
As fast as his broken body allows.
Through the storm.
Through the pain.
Through the silence.
Minutes pass.
Or hours.
He can't tell.
His breathing becomes unstable.
Then
he collapses.
His body hits the snow.
Hard.
"…Ngh…!"
His vision fades.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five
Darkness.
Then
he wakes again.
Gasping.
"…I passed out…"
No rest.
No recovery.
Only pain.
He stands again.
And walks.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Then
something appears.
Far away.
A shape.
A building.
Shin's eyes widen.
"…There…"
Hope.
For the first time
hope.
He runs toward it.
Not knowing
That one month has already passed.
Then
BOOM.
His body explodes.
No warning.
No sound.
No reason.
Just
destruction.
Blood.
Flesh.
Bones
gone.
Then
again.
And again.
And again.
500 million deaths.
Each one
within a single millisecond.
Pain stacks.
Overlaps.
Multiplies.
His mind screams.
His body tears itself apart over ando ver and over Then
silence.
Shin wakes again.
His entire body trembles.
"…Ghh…!"
Pain.
Everywhere.
His chest burns.
His throat feels ripped open.
His head pounds as if it's about to split apart.
Even breathing hurts.
"…Why…?"
His voice breaks.
"…Why… does it still hurt…?"
Even after death.
Even after everything.
The pain remains.
Shin grips his chest.
His nails dig into his skin.
But he stands.
Again.
"…I'm not… stopping…"
He lifts Mina.
His arms shake.
But he walks.
Step.
Step.
Step.
And then
He crosses an invisible line.
The world changes.
The cold disappears.
Silence.
A new space.
Shin drops to his knees.
"…Second… Trial…"
He laughs weakly.
"…I made it…"
A glowing text appears before him.
"That was the easy part."
Shin's eyes widen.
"…Easy…?"
His body freezes.
"…That… was… easy…?"
He looks down at his trembling hands.
"…Then why… does something like this exist…?"
He slowly lies down.
For a moment
relief.
Then
All the pain returns.
At once.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
His scream echoes through the empty space.
His body convulses.
Every nerve burns.
Every memory of death floods back into him.
But
he doesn't break.
He forces himself up.
"…Keep going…"
He walks forward.
Still carrying Mina.
Then he sees it.
A door.
Massive.
Ancient.
He stops in front of it.
Carved into it are words:
"Second Trial"
"Find the key within the library"
"Difficulty: Impossible"
Silence.
Shin stares at it.
"…Impossible…?"
A faint smile appears.
"…Good."
His eyes sharpen.
"I'll break it."
The door slowly begins to open.
Darkness waits behind it.
And Shin steps forward.
Will Shin come out alive?