Chapter:3 The Ones Who Bulit This World
Joon's breath felt heavy in his chest, like a stone sinking deeper into dark water. The girl's words echoed in his mind.
"They erase us."
He wasn't sure what terrified him more—the fact that he was being hunted, or the fact that he still didn't even know why.
The girl turned away from him, pacing the room like she was debating something in her head. Her sharp eyes darted toward the shattered windows, scanning the empty street outside.
Joon swallowed hard. "Who are they?" he asked.
She let out a slow breath. "The Architects."
The word sent a chill down his spine.
"They built this world," she continued, her voice low. "They control everything—the food, the air, the light. Even time itself."
Joon frowned. "Time?"
She nodded. "There's no real sun here. No real seasons. It's all artificial. Everything is monitored, controlled. Even the people."
Joon thought back to the blank-eyed citizens, glued to their screens, repeating the same advertisements in their heads. He had already seen it—the eerie stillness, the way no one reacted, no one thought.
It wasn't just brainwashing. It was programming.
Joon clenched his fists. "Then why am I here? Why did they bring me?"
The girl studied him carefully. "They didn't."
His body tensed.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "If you're really from the past, then you weren't supposed to be here. That means something went wrong. Something… that even the Architects didn't predict."
Joon's stomach twisted. He had fallen asleep in his village, in a world that barely had enough food to survive, and woken up here, in a future that felt more like a prison.
If the Architects hadn't brought him… then who did?
Or worse—what if he had ended up here by accident?
Before he could process his thoughts, the girl's head snapped toward the door. She grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the shadows.
"Stay quiet," she whispered.
Joon barely had time to react before a familiar mechanical hum filled the air.
The drone.
It hovered outside the broken building, its glowing red eye scanning the area. Joon held his breath, pressing himself deeper into the shadows.
The girl's fingers dug into his wrist. "Don't move."
The drone hesitated, its light sweeping over the ruins. Then, after a long moment, it drifted away.
Joon exhaled shakily.
The girl released his wrist, her jaw tight. "We don't have much time."
Joon nodded, his mind racing.
He needed answers. He needed to find the other traveler. And most importantly…
He needed to find a way out of this world before it was too late.