* * *
Six years ago, the “Hate Phenomenon” occurred.
It was an extraordinarily bizarre and supernatural event.
On that day, at the exact same moment, every single person in the world felt a powerful hatred and loathing toward someone.
Everyone began to live with hatred and disdain for another.
Hate and loathing are fundamental human emotions.
However, for an ordinary person, it’s rare to feel such intense hatred—the kind that makes your hair stand on end, your head pound, and your hands tremble uncontrollably.
And yet, that kind of overwhelming emotion—transcending gender, religion, nationality, or age—was simultaneously directed at one individual by all of humanity.
A being.
No one knew its name or appearance.
But everyone shared the same thought:
Something has just invaded our world.
It must be eliminated from this world.
That is the only way to protect our world.
An all-consuming, soul-devouring intent to kill pierced the minds of everyone.
At precisely 5:03 a.m. that morning.
Kang Yigeon strode quickly down the empty hallway.
Thirty minutes earlier, he had received an urgent call to report immediately to the Sejong Hunter Headquarters.
It was rare, but not unprecedented, for such summons to come in the dead of night.
After all, dungeons and gates didn’t conveniently appear during regular hours.
But Kang Yigeon suspected that this time, the reason for the summons wasn’t the sudden appearance of a gate.
Listening to Director Ko Hyeyeol from the Awakener Safety Department confirmed his hunch.
“You felt it too, Director?”
“Yeah. Not just the two of us—every single person in the world. Haven’t you checked the internet? People are losing their minds with rage.”
Kang Yigeon had felt an intense hatred for something earlier that morning.
He didn’t even know who or what it was, but the desire to incinerate it completely, leaving not even ashes, was overpowering.
It wasn’t as if a dungeon had exploded or a gate had materialized, so why was this unsettling, ominous hatred surging within him?
While pondering the oddity, the director had contacted him.
Learning that this hatred wasn’t unique to him but a global phenomenon was oddly reassuring.
Dealing with a lifetime of loss was already exhausting enough; if he were to harbor a hatred no one could understand, he might not have been able to endure it.
Lowering his voice, the director continued.
“That loathsome being is here.”
“…What?”
“They walked in on their own, claiming that the world will end in three years and that they are the savior destined to save it.”
“Have you confirmed the truth of their claim?”
“Our A-rank awakener verified it. It came out as true. That’s why we called you. The Minister of Awakener Safety and the Chief of the Awakener Security Bureau are already here. We need you to verify.”
The director pressed the button for the elevator to take them to the 5th basement floor.
While taking the stairs would have been faster, Kang Yigeon stepped into the elevator to hear more details about the situation.
“Is this person Korean?”
“Yes. A 26-year-old male. Name’s Seo Hwa.”
Seo Hwa.
The two syllables made Kang Yigeon flinch.
It was a name he had never heard before, yet it felt strangely familiar.
His steady heartbeat began to race as if someone had stirred it.
“They claim to be an S-rank awakener, but no match comes up in the database.”
“They must have erased the record.”
“Even so… In this day and age, it’s hard to believe someone could lack any identification—no hunter license, no resident registration, no driver’s license, no passport. Their birthplace, school, and current address all turned out to be false. Even fingerprint and iris scans couldn’t locate them in Korea. When pressed for the truth, they sighed and said this:
‘Of course, I’ll tell you the truth. But I’m tired of explaining over and over again. Bring someone with stronger mental skills—someone like Kang Yigeon. If that person verifies my claims, I’ll explain everything once and for all.’”
They had specifically mentioned Kang Yigeon.
This meant they knew he possessed mental skills.
To the world, Kang Yigeon was known as a fire-type awakener.
Although his mental abilities weren’t classified information, only a few individuals—such as the head of his guild and high-ranking officials in the Awakener Safety Bureau—were aware of it.
Yet this man, who wasn’t even registered as a Korean citizen, had spoken of his lesser-known abilities.
That alone made him highly suspicious.
“They could be a spy for the New Humanity Sect.”
“That’s one of our theories as well.”
“A theory? Couldn’t you confirm that with your mental skills?”
“We asked if they were affiliated with the sect, and they said no. The response came out as truthful. We also checked their blood sample and found no trace of MSB.”
As the hunter industry grew, government influence had weakened.
However, the mental skills of an A-rank awakener from the Awakener Management Bureau failing to crack a cultist’s mind was nearly impossible.
Unless the person was S-rank…
Or telling the truth.
Or both.
Either way, they weren’t someone to be taken lightly.
The elevator arrived at the 5th basement floor, a level so deeply secured it might as well have been 50 floors underground.
Access was strictly restricted to this area of the Sejong Hunter Headquarters, where dangerous research and experiments on anomalies were conducted in secret.
Urban legends even suggested aliens were imprisoned here.
Of course, in reality, it was just a regular government office with endless white hallways.
Kang Yigeon strode purposefully down the corridor.
He already knew where the interrogation room was without needing directions.
Now the deputy guild leader of the Danbaek Guild, he had once worked as an agent for the Awakener Security Bureau.
He had often interrogated traitors trying to smuggle state-protected items abroad or spies stealing critical domestic technologies.
But three years ago, he had left the bureau for…
‘…’
He had taken the Danbaek Guild leader’s offer, though the exact moment was blurry.
Some memories of the past felt like they were shrouded in fog, muddled by a persistent, inexplicable sense of loss that had haunted him for as long as he could remember.
“Are you alright? Something on your mind?”
“Give me a moment.”
Kang Yigeon pulled out a familiar pill bottle and dry-swallowed a dose.
The director paused and gave him a look of quiet sympathy before they resumed walking.
As they rounded a corner past the research labs, they reached an area bustling with people.
Senior officials, including the Minister of Awakener Safety and the Chief of the Awakener Security Bureau, stood in the hallway with grim expressions outside the interrogation room.
“Good morning.”
“Hunter Kang Yigeon. You’re here quickly.”
“Why are you all gathered in the hallway?”
“Well… it’s hard to explain,” the chief said, avoiding eye contact.
Not only the minister and vice minister, both once-renowned hunters, but even veteran public officials still active in their roles stood with their backs to the interrogation room, their faces uneasy and deeply troubled.
Perplexed, Kang Yigeon glanced at the director, who sighed heavily.
“They don’t want to face him. They can’t bear to be in the same room. Honestly, that’s why I came to meet you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Go inside. You’ll understand when you see him.”
The director clenched his fists, visibly struggling to maintain composure.
Kang Yigeon had never seen them this rattled before.
To be fair, he, too, felt a throbbing headache from the overwhelming hatred toward this being.
Yet, as a seasoned awakener, he could suppress it.
So why were these veteran hunters and experienced politicians so shaken?
Because of the claim that the world would end in three years?
That was baseless nonsense—not enough to cause such a stir.
Kang Yigeon briefly entertained the thought that the being he was about to face might appear grotesque or monstrous but dismissed it, thinking it a childish notion.
Yet, when he entered the interrogation room and faced it across the bulletproof glass, he found himself thinking it might have been better if it had looked grotesque or monstrous.
Instead, it was a young man with a neat appearance.
He looked younger than the twenty-six years old he claimed to be, though judging by appearance alone was futile—high-level Awakened beings no longer aged physically.
Many Awakened experienced unique transformations in their hair and eye color, and this youth was no exception.
His hair was a striking white, wavy, and fell to his shoulders, while his eyes were a piercing gold.
Visible scratches adorned his cheeks, neck, and the backs of his hands.
Blood seeped faintly through the bandages wrapped around his wrists.
His clothes were a mess, stained with blood and dirt, and torn in several places.
Dust clung to his hair, giving him the look of someone who had just emerged from a fierce battle.
His expression was that of someone abandoned in a cold, desolate place.
Beneath his lowered eyelids, his exhaustion was unmistakable, and his pallor suggested he might collapse with the slightest nudge.
Even with just his outward appearance, countless questions arose.
But when the youth slowly lifted his eyelids and their eyes met, all those questions evaporated in an instant.
* * *
