Chapter 5: Beyond the Wall
The air crackled around them as Joon and the girl sprinted toward the flickering glitch in the wall. Joon's heart pounded in his chest, his breath sharp and uneven. The closer they got, the more unstable the barrier seemed—its surface warping and shifting like a corrupted screen.
Behind them, the distant hum of enforcer drones sent shivers down Joon's spine.
They know we're here.
The girl reached the wall first, pressing her hand against the flickering section. Her fingers passed through it as if dipping into water. She turned back to Joon, her eyes wide.
"This is it," she whispered.
Joon hesitated for only a second. Then, before he could let fear hold him back, he stepped forward.
The moment his body passed through the wall, his vision blurred, his senses twisting in a way that made his stomach churn. It felt like falling through empty space—weightless, cold, and disorienting.
Then—
His feet slammed onto solid ground.
Joon gasped, his knees buckling as he stumbled forward. The girl appeared beside him, shaking off the same dizziness.
And then, slowly, Joon lifted his head to take in his surroundings.
A World Forgotten
They weren't in a city anymore.
The ground beneath them was uneven, cracked, and covered in patches of overgrown weeds. Ruined buildings stretched into the distance, their skeletal remains barely standing against the wind. The sky was different—no longer the artificial, bright blue of the city, but a deep, endless gray.
Joon took a shaky breath.
This wasn't just outside the city.
This was what came before it.
The girl crouched beside him, running her fingers over the cracked pavement. "It's real," she muttered under her breath.
Joon frowned. "What do you mean?"
She looked up at him. "The city inside the wall—it's a simulation, Joon. Everything. The light, the air, even the gravity. But out here…" She gestured around them. "This is the real world. The world the Architects abandoned."
Joon's mind struggled to process her words. He had spent barely a day in the future, and already, he felt like his entire existence had been thrown into chaos.
But one thing was certain.
If this world had been abandoned, then there had to be a reason why.
The First Sign of Life
A sudden noise made them both freeze.
A distant clatter. Metal against stone.
Joon's pulse spiked. He turned his head toward the sound, his mind instinctively reaching outward—searching.
A thought brushed against his own.
"…Someone's here."
Joon's body tensed. This wasn't like the people inside the city. Their thoughts had been empty, programmed. But this one… it was different.
It was aware.
Joon turned to the girl. "There's someone nearby."
She narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure?"
Joon nodded. "I heard them. Not with my ears—with my mind."
The girl hesitated, then slowly reached for the small knife strapped to her belt. "We need to move carefully."
Joon swallowed and followed her lead as they crept toward the ruined buildings.
Every step was slow, deliberate. The air smelled different here—dusty, heavy, alive in a way the city never had been. The silence was thick, pressing down on them like an unseen force.
Then, just as they rounded the corner of a crumbling wall—
Something moved.
Joon barely had time to react before a shadow lunged toward them.
The girl twisted, her knife flashing through the air—but in the blink of an eye, it stopped.
Floated.
Joon's eyes widened. The knife hung midair, frozen inches from its target.
Then, slowly, it began to turn.
The blade pointed back at them.
Joon's breath caught. Telekinesis.
Before the knife could fly toward them, the girl let go, stepping back. The weapon hovered for a second longer before dropping to the ground with a metallic clatter.
Joon barely had time to process what had happened before a voice rang out.
"You shouldn't be here."
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Tall. Dark hair. Piercing eyes that seemed to study Joon with unsettling intensity. His clothes were worn and dirty—nothing like the sleek, sterile uniforms of the city.
Joon's throat went dry.
This was him.
The other traveler.
The One Who Knows
Joon forced himself to speak. "You're… from the past, aren't you?"
The man's gaze didn't waver. "So are you."
Joon nodded slowly. "And you have powers."
The man said nothing, but the lingering tension in the air spoke for itself.
Joon swallowed. "I've been looking for you."
At that, the man let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "And now you've found me. Congratulations."
The girl stepped forward, her expression hard. "We need answers."
The man tilted his head. "Answers?" He took a slow step toward them. "You shouldn't be looking for answers."
Joon frowned. "Why not?"
The man's face darkened.
"Because the truth will break you."
Joon's stomach twisted.
Something about the way he said it—so absolute, so certain—sent chills down his spine.
The man glanced past them, toward the wall they had just escaped from.
"You made a mistake coming here," he murmured. "And now… there's no turning back."
Joon's mind raced with questions, but before he could ask any of them, the man turned away.
"Come with me," he said. "Before they find you."
Joon exchanged a look with the girl.
Then, without another word, they followed him into the ruins.
Something Was Watching
As they disappeared into the shadows, a flicker of red light pulsed from a nearby rooftop.
A small drone hovered silently in the air, its glowing eye tracking their movements.
Then, without a sound, it vanished into the darkness.