“Ugh….”
Han Seori slowly opened her eyes, wincing at the throbbing pain in her head.
A pristine white ceiling.
As she gazed up at the unfamiliar sight, she mumbled faintly, her voice carrying a hint of confusion.
“…Where am I?”
At her soft mutter, Kim Cheon-soo, seated by her side with his eyes closed, abruptly snapped them open.
Seeing Han Seori relatively unharmed, Kim let out a sigh of relief.
“How do you feel?”
“Mm… Just a bit of a headache, otherwise I’m fine. And you?”
“I’m… perfectly fine. Yes.”
Seeing Kim’s unscathed state, Han Seori felt a wave of relief wash over her.
Though she had no recollection of what had transpired after losing consciousness, seeing him intact indicated everything had likely turned out well.
After all, if they were here, then 7496 – KR must not be in the Singularity anymore.
Yet, a faint memory from before she blacked out began to resurface in her mind.
A vivid red liquid obscuring her vision.
She thought she had seen 7496 – KR jumping out of the car, drenched in that same liquid.
…Was it all a dream?
She looked at Kim Cheon-soo with a slightly uneasy expression.
As if sensing her unspoken question, Kim’s face twisted with a mix of frustration and guilt.
‘…Surely not.’
A chilling suspicion began to form in Han Seori’s mind.
Had it not been a dream after all…?
“Was something wrong with 7496 – KR…?”
Though she hoped against it, the answer she received from Kim was not what she had wished for.
“It seems to have been consumed by the thing that was chasing us. It might have targeted you specifically.”
“Ugh!”
Han Seori felt a wave of dizziness, gripping her head as a sharp pain shot through it.
“I apologize, but there was nothing I could do. Your safety was far more important to me than 7496 – KR.”
“…I understand.”
Hearing Kim’s explanation, Han Seori waved her hand dismissively to comfort the visibly uneasy man beside her.
Looking at his pallid face, she knew he probably thought she would blame him for what happened.
But Han Seori held no resentment toward him.
In fact, she believed he had made the right decision.
Depending on the situation, priorities could shift, but fundamentally, human lives should always come first.
Even with her head still reeling, she understood this logic.
Still, there was an unsettling feeling deep in her heart.
Was she regretful to have lost such a valuable and benevolent Singularity?
‘…’
She tried to brush away the thought, but perhaps her attachment to 7496 – KR had been too strong.
Her mind was in disarray, tangled with complex emotions.
Taking a deep breath, Han Seori looked at Kim and asked cautiously.
“So… where is it now?”
“I’ll check immediately.”
Watching Kim leave the room, Han Seori was lost in thought.
‘Considering the size difference…’
If it wasn’t pulverized immediately upon being swallowed, there was a good chance it might still be alive inside.
It was too early to declare it dead.
‘Come to think of it…’
…He had the Sky Whale with him.
She had heard it had perished years ago, yet here it was, alive and well.
Han Seori massaged her temples, feeling a growing headache.
It seemed there were more secrets than she had initially thought.
As she pondered deeply, Kim returned with a tale.
Despite the promising news of locating their target, the destination the Sky Whale was heading toward seemed… somewhat odd.
—
Splash!
The tumor burst with a sickening pop, splashing thick, dark bl**d everywhere.
Drip-drop!
Dead bl**d that splattered on me hovered briefly before vanishing as if it had never existed.
The same happened to Sosik, though Daesik wasn’t so lucky.
Trapped within his marionette body, Daesik was drenched in the crimson liquid.
While everyone else was hit, only Daesik showed visible signs of it, his entire figure now stained red.
Looking at the horrifying sight, I couldn’t help but think he resembled a ghost from a horror game.
As I patted the soaked Daesik, a strange sensation compelled me to investigate further.
Venturing deeper into the spatial network connected to the whale’s heart, it became apparent that some traces had been intentionally left behind.
…It would take a fool not to notice.
Not only were certain regions eerily hollow, where vital organs should have been, but most of its body suffered irreparable damage, rotting from within.
I couldn’t help but wonder how it managed to remain alive in such a state.
Even as a Singularity, it still adhered to biological principles.
Given its condition, it wouldn’t be surprising if it perished at any moment.
That notion was reinforced when I returned to the heart, witnessing another tumor explode, spurting bl**d.
The sight only deepened my unease, the phrase “d*ath sentence” lingering in my mind.
Who could have done this to such a magnificent creature?
Why had it swallowed me?
Considering it abandoned the fleeing car to devour something much smaller, it seemed I was indeed the target. However, the reason eluded me, leaving me feeling frustrated.
Suddenly,
Boom!!
An immense tremor shook the area, akin to a minor earthquake.
The sensation felt like the whale was plummeting mid-flight. A bitter taste formed in the jelly within me.
The shaking continued for quite some time before subsiding.
Given the sounds, it seemed the whale had landed on solid ground rather than plunging into the sea.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Despite the ominous atmosphere indicating its inevitable end, the whale’s heart persisted, pounding on tirelessly.
It didn’t seem to know how to stop.
…Or perhaps it didn’t want to.
Strangely, I felt as if the whale wished for d*ath.
No voice spoke to me, but the intuition remained.
The whale’s enormous heart, pulsating with vitality amidst the decaying surroundings, only reinforced this notion.
…Perhaps.
Could it be that the whale swallowed me, hoping I would grant it mercy?
Though I seemed insignificant compared to its grand form, considering my unique abilities, it might have been a calculated decision.
If it had merely been hungry, surely it would have eaten the car instead of me.
Not being a doctor, I could dismiss this as mere delusion.
Nonetheless, stepping closer to the heart, I placed my hand on its rhythmic beats.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Unlike the rotting parts of the whale, the heart remained robust.
Thud! Thud!
With previous reconnaissance confirming the extent of the damage, my decision was clear.
The only thing I could do for the whale now was to grant it peace.
Scaling the immense heart, accompanied by Daesik and Sosik, I prepared for the task ahead.
Though swallowing it entirely seemed impossible, doing so incrementally seemed viable.
Thud! Thud!
With a heavy heart, I bit into the protruding parts of the whale’s heart.
With a bubbling sound, the flesh began to dissolve rapidly.
A single crack was all it took for the structure to collapse, as if it had been waiting for this moment.
Dark crimson bl**d surged into my body upon contact.
Despite my efforts, I couldn’t help but taste it.
Though the task of swallowing infinite chunks of meat had trained me, this presented no difficulty.
My initially azure form started turning a deep crimson.
The minced heart fragments floated around inside me, the splatters forcing Sosik to flail momentarily before he floated peacefully, resembling someone enjoying the ocean.
Ellis (within Daesik) had become nothing more than a shapeless crimson mass.
I continued dissolving the heart and bl**d until only faint remnants were left.
Even as it slowly disappeared, the heart continued to beat.
The sheer vitality inspired awe while simultaneously reminding me how it had suffered in its current state.
Gulp! Gulp!
How much time passed?
As I lay sprawled on the remnants of the heart, I noticed tumors that had been active earlier had finally gone still.
With the heart’s cessation, everything came to a halt.
Though I knew I should leave, I couldn’t bring myself to move.
[Whale Song!]
A mournful cry reverberated through the jelly, resonating as the whale’s final words.
Feeling the heart and bl**d within me, I sensed its emotions.
Anger. Relief. And gratitude.
…What did it all mean?
Overcome with confusion, I slumped to the ground.
Now that the heart had stopped, everything lay still.
Somewhere, a quiet peace settled over what remained of the whale.
