The Oldest Change

Have you ever heard of a princess of dark flare?

She's a humanoid monster that appears deep in the darkness beyond the gate. She's quick like a cat and as pale as a vampire.

I've heard that she has a strange charm which you can't forget. A certain hunter, who was distracted by her appearance, was just standing still and then suddenly, his eyes were plucked out with the top of her parasol.

If you see her, run away.

—If you can escape her black flame.

***

It was late summer after a terribly long rainy season.

As she was walking down the street, Eunha couldn't stand it anymore and looked at the paper in her hand once again.

<Quinlish College>

Test Number: 9782136

Name: Cha Eunha

Note: Passed the Pet Grooming Department

It was already the twenty-sixth time Eunha checked the acceptance letter and put it back in her bag. Even after repeating the process twenty-six times, it remained a clear letter of acceptance.

She was finally able to study dog grooming at a famous university in the United States, something she's always dreamed of.

Across the road where the smell of rain did not reach, she could see an empty bus stop. Eunha raised her head and looked up at the sky. It had stopped raining, but the heavy clouds could still be seen.

Once again, Eunha looked at the acceptance letter and hurried. It was a twenty minute walk from school to her home. However, the street she's used to walking down everyday felt longer than usual.

Not far away was a telephone box. Eunha wanted to inform her mother about the acceptance letter as soon as possible. Her mother would surely be delighted.

Riiing—

Her heart was beating like crazy as the ringing tone continued.

At last, the ringing stopped and a familiar friendly voice came over the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Mom, It's Eunha."

Eunha spoke as calmly as possible, not forgetting to swallow her saliva.

"I don't have a hundred won, so I'll tell you quickly. You know, mom—"

But Eunha couldn't finish her words.

Tock—

The telephone fell helplessly.

Duuuung—

Suddenly, the sky cried loudly and dozens of red lightning bolts fell all over Seoul. The asphalt split and the atmosphere vibrated. As the surrounding buildings collapsed like dominoes, people began to run away as if they were running out of a collapsed ant house.

"Hello? Eun…Ha…."

The rain which began to fall again at some point was pounding on the payphone box, leaving black tear marks behind.

'What the hell is this? What's going on?'

It was too vivid to be called a dream, and it was unbelievably terrifying to be called reality.

A car crashed through the cracked asphalt, and the street lamp tangled with electric wires shook like crazy.

The person on the signboard of the shopping mall that flew from somewhere was crushed as if they were a boiled potato.

As Eunha watched the scene blankly, she felt like something heavy had fallen onto the payphone box.

"Aaah…!"

Eunha heard her mom screaming over the phone. She quickly snapped out of her daze and reached back to grab the phone.

"Mom? Mom!"

There was no answer no matter how many times she called out.

I have a bad feeling.

And bad forebodings were always right.

Eunha immediately started running home. As she ran, she held the acceptance letter tightly in her hand. She couldn't remember exactly how she got home at that time. She just ran and ran in the opposite direction of those who ran past her frantically.

Eventually, when she turned the corner and arrived at the familiar gate, Eunha dropped the acceptance letter she was holding.

The wind mixed with someone's distant screams carried the acceptance letter that had been rolling on the floor, eventually flying away.

***

September 1997.

The world had changed.

The red thunderbolts that fell from the sky left huge traces all over the country. The various cracks on the ground exuded a suspicious and gloomy energy, but it didn't cause anything special.

Red thunderstorms occurred all over the world and the cracks that remained like traces were later called 'gates'.

Then one day, an incident occured in which researchers investigating cracks in the metropolitan area were killed in droves. Out of dozens, only one returned alive.

'There was a cicada bigger than a car or a bus! I lost my arm to it!'

The world treated him like a maniac. However, it was soon revealed that his words were true.

October 1997.

Horrible monsters escaped the gates and appeared out in the world.

It was a disaster.

Starved monsters devoured passersby at random, regardless of age or gender.

The government deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to various gates across the country, but none of the weapons developed by modern humans worked against them.

Those things were good.

Mother's funeral home.

Due to the circumstances, it was only long after Eunha's mother passed away that she could rent a small funeral home.

"What? We don't have a house. We have three children, three!"

"What if I take care of her? If she's older than eight, she can stay!"

Eunha stood motionless in front of her mother's portrait. She had no place to go.

It had already been an hour since the relatives who only knew each other's faces used Eunha as a gossip subject.

"I don't know, I don't know. Where's her father? We can leave her to her dad."

"Oh, do it yourself! I don't know!"

"Shh! She's coming!"

…I can hear everything.

After all her tears had dried up, Eunha touched the bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist.

That bracelet was all she had left from her mother after the house they used to live in collapsed and turned to dust.

"Eunha, you'll be an adult soon so you're going to be old enough to live by yourself."

"Yes."

"I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone, but you know I have three kids. You understand?"

"Yes, I know."

"The state will provide you a temporary home and disaster relief funds, so you'll be fine. If you're still struggling, contact me."

"Yes."

Eventually, Eunha was left alone.

The house provided by the state was made of boards and tents, but Eunha wasn't in a position to ask for more, so she was thankful for that. Since then, she's been spending her days with disaster support and free meals.

"Did you hear that? Ma Dongsik seems to have awakened."

"What? Really?"

"I haven't seen him since yesterday. It seems he was taken to the training centre."

"Please, I hope it won't be me… If I'm drafted, I would have to live a life when I could die at any moment."

"Me too. Fighting monsters like that… I'd rather be stuck in this rotten shack."

The atmosphere inside the free cafeteria was more chaotic that day. It had already been quite some time since extraordinary superpowers began to appear all over the country, or even all over the world.

Eunha thought that was none of her business.

Until that day.

***

[Starting Identification.]

[Name: Cha Eunha]

[——Loading——]

[Unique ability has been activated.]

[Connecting to the new channel.]

'…What is this?'

As she stretched out her fingers with a confused face, it seemed as if an electric current was flowing from the tips of her fingers.

No, it wasn't an electric current.

'Fire…?'

The flames spread like embers from her fingertips. It lit up the old and dark shack and no matter how much Eunha tried, the flames wouldn't go out until dawn.

And a few days later.

Someone from the state arrived.

How did they know?

They introduced themselves as a member of the National Security Agency and told Eunha to pack up her things.

Eunha calmly followed their guidance and boarded the bus. There were around forty other people besides her.

She only learned a few hours later that they all had also 'awakened' with superpowers like Eunha's.

Finally, the place they arrived at was a training camp.

"Because of the unprecedented national disaster, you have been given the opportunity to devote yourself to the country."

The voice that rang through the microphone was heard by everyone gathered at the training camp.

"Keep in mind that thousands or even tens of thousands of lives are at stake for each and every single one of you gathered here."

The training camp was quiet as if someone had poured cold water over everyone. However, Eunha could hear sobs from time to time.

The cracks, or gates, at various parts of the country are said to be filled with horrible and ferocious monsters. Eunha had also heard about it from the news.

'Are you telling us to deal with them?'

Eunha looked down at her trembling hands. Although she had awakened, she had no idea how to use her ability to fight monsters. Yet, there was only one thing she knew.

They killed her mother.

They took away Eunha's home, her dreams, and her life.

The cruel monsters did not wait for an unprepared awakened to appear. Even at that moment, the monsters were running wild and someone's family was dying.

In a situation where every minute was precious, the hunters' training was shortened to only three months. It was a rather long time for Eunha.

There was no reason for her to enter college, and she had no money left anyway.

Eunha, who had lost everything, was braver than those who had everything.

Her unique ability, 'fire', was optimized for combat. Her flame was very strong, aggressive, and unstoppable.

April 1998.

After completing the minimum training of three months, the hunters were immediately thrown at the gate. All they had was a dog tag hanging around their necks and a very heavy burden of 'mankind's last hope' on their shoulders.

Cha Eunha.

She had just turned twenty.