The warehouse was filled with a heavy silence.
The massive body of the Hound Brute lay motionless on the concrete floor. Black blood slowly spread outward like a dark stain across the ground.
Soldiers stood frozen.
Some stared at the monster.
Others stared at the young man who had just walked into the battlefield and calmly instructed a hunter how to kill it.
Arin Veyron.
To them, he looked like an ordinary civilian.
Average height.
Dark coat.
No weapon.
No visible power.
Yet somehow…
He had known exactly where to strike.
Darius Kane slowly pulled his sword out of the monster's neck. The blade dripped with black blood as he turned toward Arin.
His eyes were filled with suspicion.
"…You."
Arin looked back at him calmly.
Darius walked closer.
"How did you know its weak point?"
The surrounding soldiers leaned in slightly.
They wanted to hear the answer too.
Arin had already expected this question.
He had prepared an answer.
"Observation," he said simply.
Darius frowned.
"Observation?"
Arin pointed at the monster's corpse.
"The knee joint bends differently from the rest of its body. Less muscle density. More flexibility."
The soldiers exchanged confused looks.
One of them muttered, "You noticed that while it was trying to kill us?"
Arin shrugged lightly.
"When you're about to die, you pay attention."
Darius studied him carefully.
Something about this guy felt strange.
Too calm.
Too composed.
Most civilians would be shaking after witnessing something like this.
But Arin looked like he had just finished watching a boring movie.
"Who are you?" Darius asked again.
"Arin."
"Just Arin?"
"Yes."
One of the soldiers spoke up.
"Sir, we should secure the area."
Darius nodded but kept his eyes on Arin.
"Don't leave yet."
Arin didn't argue.
He simply walked toward the dead monster and examined it.
The Hound Brute's body was massive up close.
Its claws were long enough to tear through steel.
But what concerned Arin more was the Gate behind it.
The swirling vortex still floated in the center of the warehouse.
Still open.
Still active.
That wasn't normal.
Darius noticed Arin staring at it.
"You know something about that thing too?"
Arin replied without turning.
"It's called a Gate."
The soldiers looked confused.
"A Gate?" one repeated.
"Yes."
"A gateway between dimensions."
Darius raised an eyebrow.
"And how exactly do you know that?"
Arin finally turned around.
"Because that monster didn't come from our world."
Silence followed his words.
The idea sounded insane.
Another dimension?
Monsters invading through portals?
But everyone in that warehouse had just witnessed something impossible.
So no one laughed.
Darius crossed his arms.
"Let's say I believe you."
"Then answer this."
"Why is it still open?"
Arin looked back at the swirling darkness.
"That's a good question."
In the original timeline, Gates usually closed after a certain amount of time or after all monsters inside were killed.
But this one…
It felt unstable.
Like something was pushing from the other side.
Arin's instincts screamed at him.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The air around the Gate began vibrating again.
The soldiers noticed it too.
"Uh… sir?"
Darius stepped forward.
The vortex pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then it suddenly expanded.
A shockwave blasted outward, knocking several soldiers off their feet.
The lights inside the warehouse flickered violently.
"What the hell is happening?!" someone shouted.
Arin's eyes widened slightly.
"This… wasn't supposed to happen."
Inside the Gate, shadows moved.
Not one.
Not two.
Several.
Darius gripped his sword tightly.
"You're telling me there are more of those things?"
Arin didn't answer immediately.
He was calculating.
Thinking.
If multiple monsters came out now, the soldiers wouldn't survive.
Even Darius might die.
And if Darius died…
The timeline would change drastically.
Darius Kane was supposed to become one of humanity's strongest fighters in the future.
He couldn't die here.
Not tonight.
Arin stepped forward.
"We need to close the Gate."
Darius looked at him.
"And how do we do that?"
Arin stared at the vortex.
"I'm not sure yet."
That was the truth.
In the early days of the apocalypse, humanity had no method to close Gates.
They only learned much later.
Which meant Arin was facing a situation that even his future knowledge couldn't solve directly.
The shadows inside the Gate grew clearer.
Large shapes.
Moving fast.
Darius cursed under his breath.
"Everyone prepare for combat!"
The soldiers raised their weapons again.
But fear was obvious on their faces.
They had barely survived the last monster.
Now there were more coming.
Arin's mind raced.
Think.
There has to be a way.
Then suddenly—
He remembered something.
A detail from the future.
In the earliest Gate studies, scientists discovered that Gates were unstable energy structures.
Destroying certain objects inside the Gate could sometimes cause them to collapse.
But entering the Gate was extremely dangerous.
Most people who tried never returned.
Arin looked at the swirling darkness again.
Then he made a decision.
"I'm going inside."
Darius stared at him like he was insane.
"You're what?"
Arin stepped toward the Gate.
"If we don't close it, more monsters will keep coming."
"That doesn't mean you jump into it!"
Arin stopped near the vortex.
Cold air poured out from the other side.
It smelled like iron and death.
He could feel the energy pressing against his skin.
Darius grabbed his shoulder.
"You'll die."
Arin looked at him calmly.
"Maybe."
"Then why do it?"
Arin glanced back at the soldiers.
At the terrified reporters outside.
At the city beyond the warehouse walls.
"Because someone has to."
Darius clenched his teeth.
This guy was either incredibly brave…
Or completely insane.
The Gate pulsed again.
The shadows inside were getting closer.
Arin stepped forward.
The swirling darkness touched his coat.
Cold energy wrapped around him.
Darius shouted, "Wait!"
But Arin was already moving.
His body disappeared into the Gate.
The vortex swallowed him completely.
The soldiers stared in shock.
"He… actually went in."
Darius slowly lowered his hand.
His mind struggled to process what just happened.
A normal civilian had just walked into a dimensional portal full of monsters.
And somehow…
Darius had the strange feeling that the young man knew exactly what he was doing.
Inside the Gate, Arin Veyron opened his eyes.
The world had changed.
Dark skies.
Twisted landscapes.
Strange floating rocks surrounded him.
This was the other side.
The monster world.
And somewhere inside this alien dimension…
Was the key to closing the Gate.
Arin looked ahead calmly.
"Let's see how much the future has really changed."