Chapter 1: The Boy Who Never Woke Up
Kim Joon died the moment he closed his eyes.
At least… that was what it felt like.
Darkness swallowed everything.
No sound.
No light.
No warmth.
Only a suffocating void that crushed his senses until even the idea of “self” began to fade.
Then—
A scream.
Not his.
Something else.
Something inhuman.
His eyes snapped open.
But what he saw… wasn’t his room.
The soft blue walls, his bed, the familiar ceiling—all gone.
Instead, the sky above him burned crimson.
The air was thick, suffocating, laced with a metallic stench that clung to his lungs like poison. The ground beneath him was black and cracked, like a world long abandoned by life itself.
And the silence…
It wasn’t peaceful.
It was the kind of silence that came before something terrible.
“What… is this…?”
His voice came out hoarse, unfamiliar.
Kim Joon pushed himself up slowly, his body trembling. His heart pounded violently against his chest, as if trying to escape.
This wasn’t a dream.
Every instinct in him screamed that.
A low growl echoed behind him.
Joon froze.
That single sound carried something primal—something that his body understood before his mind could.
Danger.
He turned slowly.
And then—
His breath stopped.
It stood there, towering over him.
A creature that should not exist.
Its skin was charred black, cracked like molten rock. Its limbs were twisted, unnaturally long, ending in claws that looked capable of tearing steel apart. Its eyes burned like dying embers, locked onto him with a hunger that sent chills down his spine.
Drool—thick and dark—dripped from its jagged mouth.
A demon.
Joon’s legs refused to move.
His brain screamed at him to run—but his body wouldn’t listen.
The demon tilted its head, observing him like prey already claimed.
Then it stepped forward.
BOOM.
The ground cracked beneath its weight.
“Move… MOVE!”
Joon forced his body to react.
He stumbled back, nearly falling as panic surged through him. His breathing became erratic, his vision blurring as fear took control.
This was impossible.
Demons didn’t exist.
None of this made sense.
The demon lunged.
Time slowed.
Joon saw it clearly—the claws, the speed, the inevitability of death.
I’m going to die…
Something inside him snapped.
He rolled instinctively.
The claws missed him by mere inches, tearing into the ground with a deafening crash.
Shock flooded his system.
He… dodged?
No time to think.
The demon roared and swung again.
Joon scrambled backward, barely avoiding another strike. His heart felt like it would burst.
He had no weapon.
No strength.
No idea where he was.
“I can’t… I can’t die here…”
The words slipped out unconsciously.
But the world didn’t care.
The demon charged.
This time, faster.
Deadlier.
Joon’s body moved on pure instinct.
He grabbed a jagged rock from the ground and swung it wildly.
CRACK.
The rock shattered.
The demon didn’t even flinch.
A claw tore through his side.
“AAAAAAHHHH—!”
Pain exploded through his body.
Hot. Sharp. Unbearable.
He crashed to the ground, blood pooling beneath him as his vision flickered.
So this was it.
This was how he died.
Alone.
Confused.
Powerless.
The demon raised its claw again.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As if savoring the moment.
Joon stared at it.
Fear.
Despair.
Regret.
All of it flooded his mind.
I don’t want to die…
Something changed.
The world trembled.
The demon paused.
Its glowing eyes narrowed.
Joon’s vision sharpened.
The pain… was still there.
But something else had appeared.
Something deeper.
Darker.
A whisper echoed in his mind.
Not a voice.
A feeling.
Survive.
His hand twitched.
Then tightened.
The fear… began to fade.
Not because the situation changed—
But because something inside him did.
The demon attacked.
This time—
Joon didn’t panic.
He moved.
His body twisted at the last second, avoiding the fatal blow. He grabbed onto the demon’s arm—not out of strength, but desperation—and used its momentum to pull himself forward.
Closer.
Too close.
The demon snarled, caught off guard.
Joon didn’t stop.
He grabbed a sharp bone fragment lodged in the ground—
And drove it forward.
THUD.
The bone pierced into the demon’s neck.
Not deep.
Not enough.
But enough.
The demon roared in fury, thrashing violently.
Joon was thrown back, his body slamming into the ground.
Everything hurt.
Everything screamed.
But he was still alive.
The demon staggered.
Black blood poured from its wound.
Its movements slowed.
Joon forced himself up.
Step by step.
Shaking.
Bleeding.
Broken.
But standing.
“I… won’t die…”
His voice was no longer trembling.
The demon charged again.
Weaker.
Slower.
But still deadly.
Joon ran forward.
Not away.
Toward it.
At the last moment—
He ducked under its claws, grabbed the bone still lodged in its neck—
And twisted.
CRACK.
The demon froze.
Then collapsed.
Silence.
Joon stood there, staring at the corpse.
His chest rose and fell violently.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
He did it.
He actually…
Killed it.
A weak laugh escaped his lips.
“I… survived…”
But the world didn’t give him time to celebrate.
Another growl echoed in the distance.
Then another.
And another.
Joon’s smile slowly faded.
From the darkness beyond the cracked horizon—
Shapes began to emerge.
Dozens.
No…
Hundreds.
Demons.
Watching.
Waiting.
His grip tightened around the blood-covered bone.
His body screamed in pain.
His mind screamed in fear.
But his eyes…
Had already changed.
The boy who was afraid moments ago—
Was gone.
In his place stood something else.
Something that had taken its first step into hell…
And survived.
Joon exhaled slowly.
“Then come.”
His voice was quiet.
Cold.
“I’ll kill every single one of you.”
The demons moved.
And the nightmare…
Had only just begun.
