Chapter – 03
When I felt that we had finally reached level ground, I realized that I was lying on top of the man.
Trembling all over, I slowly lifted my closed eyelids.
The dark, dirt-covered ground, piles of rocks, and scattered trees gradually came into view through my tilted field of vision.
And the pain I had felt earlier……
“…….”
It was gone.
Strangely enough, there was no pain at all.
What? Why doesn’t it hurt?
Could something have gone wrong when we fell, leaving me numb?
……And what about the man?
The person who had wrapped himself around me while falling should have been more seriously injured than I was!
The moment I hurriedly lifted my head to check his condition, the words I had been about to say—Are you okay?—disappeared from my mind.
“…….”
The man lying underneath me looked completely fine.
The only thing covering his jumpsuit was dirt from the rolling.
There wasn’t a single injured or broken part of his body.
Not even a scratch.
And it wasn’t just him.
I was also completely unharmed.
I blankly turned my head and looked up at the place where we had fallen.
At the distant end of the slope, the guardrail we had smashed through was hanging precariously.
……How?
“Are you okay?”
“Gasp.”
Only then did I come to my senses.
I hurriedly climbed off the man’s body.
Still sitting on the ground, I glanced at him and gave a short nod.
“That’s a relief.”
He slowly stood up and extended his hand toward me.
“Get up now. We still have to keep moving.”
I looked at the large hand he held out.
Then at his sturdy military-style boots.
His navy-blue jumpsuit.
The unfamiliar emblem embroidered near his left forearm.
And finally, his black skull mask.
He was still an unidentified being, but there was one thing I could be certain of.
I won’t die. And you won’t get hurt either. I promise.
At least the man had told me the truth.
I carefully took his offered hand.
A strong force pulled me to my feet.
And that was how we began walking between the trees.
“Watch where you’re stepping.”
I walked through the maze-like trees alongside the man.
It was dark all around us because it was nighttime, but thanks to the man walking ahead of me, I didn’t trip or bump into anything.
He was obviously tall.
His legs were especially long, and his stride was nearly twice the length of mine.
However, because he walked slowly, it was easy enough for me to keep up.
While the man carefully surveyed our surroundings as he walked, I followed behind him, lost in thought.
What on earth is happening?
When am I going to wake up from this dream?
But was this really a dream?
If it wasn’t a dream, then what was it?
“……Possession?”
I muttered the word under my breath.
The man walking ahead turned around.
“Yes?”
“……I was talking to myself. Ignore me.”
He immediately turned back around and continued walking, keeping watch over his surroundings.
I stared at the back of his head and quietly swallowed a sigh.
What the hell is happening?
Is this really reality?
No, wait.
If this really was some kind of possession situation, wouldn’t that make it even more unfair?
If I were going to possess another world, shouldn’t it have been a world filled with adorable cats?!
Why did I end up in a world where I was being chased by a man wearing a skull mask?!
I huffed angrily before my shoulders eventually drooped.
Step. Step.
As the silence, broken only by the sound of our footsteps, began to feel uncomfortable, I cautiously spoke to the man’s back.
“Excuse me.”
“Go ahead.”
His voice clearly carried a hint of annoyance.
At least he answers my questions well.
Even so, I stubbornly continued.
“So…… you’re not actually a police officer, are you?”
“No.”
He didn’t seem interested in lying outright.
Or perhaps he simply didn’t see any reason to hide it.
“Then that car earlier…….”
The man thought for a few seconds before answering.
“I borrowed it for a while.”
“…….”
It was obvious.
He stole it.
Still, one good thing was that he answered my questions more readily than I’d expected.
His suspicious first appearance and the fact that he had casually suggested we jump out of a speeding car were concerning, but either way, this was fortunate for me.
Because I had a lot of questions right now.
“Then tell me now.”
At my words, the man stopped walking completely and turned toward me.
Perhaps it was because he was wearing a skull mask against such a gloomy backdrop.
If he were holding a giant scythe, he could have passed for the Grim Reaper himself.
“I mean what you said earlier. You said you’d explain after we jumped.”
Earlier, the man had made a promise on the condition that I jump out of the car with him.
He had promised to tell me where we were and who the people chasing us were.
As though he had just remembered, he nodded.
“I’ll explain while we walk.”
I followed behind him, ears perked up as I listened carefully.
“This place is called Lachajert.”
“Lachajert?”
My confusion was quickly cleared up by his next explanation.
“That’s the name of the city where souls live.”
“…….”
I couldn’t even bring myself to ask whether he was joking.
His tone was far too serious.
“Lachajert is a space different from reality, but at the same time, it is closely connected to it. That’s why there are countless passages leading to Lachajert scattered throughout the real world. Of course, only the eyes of souls can see them. Ordinary people cannot.”
I followed behind the slowly walking man, listening to his explanation.
According to him, there were many different ways to travel from the real world to Lachajert.
You could follow a road sign pointing toward Lachajert.
You could enter a building with a Lachajert sign on it.
Or you could board a bus heading to Lachajert.
Of course, these things could only be seen by the eyes of souls.
Souls didn’t know where Lachajert was, but they instinctively used these passages as though something were drawing them toward the city.
Without suspicion.
Without resistance.
And that was how they entered this city.
Almost as though they had been enchanted by it.
“This city welcomes souls. It’s a place created for souls, and it can only exist as long as souls are here. Ordinary souls settle here after receiving the city’s welcome.”
The man continued speaking.
“And during that process, all of their memories are erased.”
Their memories were erased?
“……All of them?”
“Except for the memories necessary for living in Lachajert.”
“Why…… why?”
He answered my question as though it were obvious.
“Because memories from before death aren’t necessary in Lachajert.”
Ah……
I understood what he meant.
If souls retained all their memories from when they were alive, they would continue living in Lachajert while longing for the people and places they had left behind.
Some might even try to return.
That probably wouldn’t be a very welcome situation for a city of souls.
A world of souls?
At first glance, it didn’t seem much different from reality.
Aside from the slight sense of unfamiliarity, it looked just like an ordinary street in Korea……
“…….”
It was when I reached that thought that a chill suddenly ran down my spine.
Because of what the man had just told me about this city.
So……
If that ridiculous explanation was really true……
“……Then.”
I opened my mouth, trying my best not to let my voice tremble.
“Could it be that I…… am…… dead?”
Come to think of it, the man had promised earlier that I wouldn’t get hurt or die even if I jumped.
His words had been true.
But in a way, they were also an obvious statement.
If I were a soul, I wouldn’t be able to get hurt or die again.
Just as I was about to fall into shock, the man spoke.
“No. Of course you’re not dead.”
“……Really?”
When I asked again, the man answered in a tone that sounded almost incredulous.
“I believe I told you earlier. That I would take you home.”
Wow…….
My legs almost gave out from under me.
“But if I’m not dead, then why am I here?”
After thinking for a moment, he answered.
“I think it might be because of the timing……”
“The timing?”
The man nodded.
“For three days each year, the boundary separating reality and Lachajert becomes blurred. From October 31st, the last day of October, through November 2nd. During this period, the two worlds directly influence one another. That’s why, during this time, there are occasionally souls who cross the boundary without using a passage.”
He paused.
“It is an extremely rare occurrence, though.”
As he finished explaining, the man glanced back at me.
“In other words, Ms. Myung Sena, you’re one of those rare cases.”
Ah.
So……
Normally, the world I lived in and this place were separated.
But unfortunately, during the period when that boundary became blurred, my soul somehow ended up here.
Without passing through a proper passage.
Directly.
I’ve never won a random draw even once in my entire life.
And somehow, this is what I end up randomly getting.
