Crack, crack—

A wood-burning boiler is a fine heating system.

As long as you have wood—a fuel that’s relatively easy to find—and a spark, it provides steady, high heat.

But the nature of a wood boiler is that it spews smoke, so there were never many chances to use it.

I figured the only time I’d end up relying on one would be when the collapse of the world had accelerated so far that there were almost no people left to pose a threat.

That time had come.

It’s not just that the war started—no, that doesn’t even matter anymore.

This is the apocalypse, undeniable.

Outside temperature: –22°C.

The cold has held steady, hovering below –20°C for over a week now.

They say even the wide, deep Han River will freeze solid if it stays around –10°C for four or five days.

In Incheon, there were already reports of the sea freezing.

Park Penguin, spokesman for the survivors there, said in a grim tone that this cold snap was killing as many people as the first great freeze.

One anonymous user wrote that he felt eyes on him—someone watching, unseen. He had been posting steadily for three days, but hasn’t since.

Defender sent word that Dies_Irae’s group is on the verge of exploding. That Dies_Irae is planning a mass execution—not of slaves, but of “fellow citizens.” He says he’ll have to leave soon.

North America and Europe are right at the edge of annihilation.

What’s left of their “governments” has collapsed. Only warlord-level communities remain, each preparing for their own end.

You can tell just by looking at the English boards—the busiest, most crowded ones. User numbers are plummeting.

People left in the ash-gray zones post nervous updates, then disappear. Or sometimes they don’t even leave a trace—one day they just stop logging in, never to return.

But before long, our board will be the one to die first.

VIVA_BOT014: Skelton-nim.

I found the message from VivaBot when I’d just stoked the boiler, split the last of the fresh meat with Mark Two and John-nae-non III (my own private nickname), and sat down at the computer.

SKELTON: (Skelton choked up) VivaBot-nim!

I didn’t ask how things were.

Even knowing North America was at the brink, crushed by the monsters, I didn’t ask.

Pandora’s box only became a curse because someone opened it. Leave it closed, and it’s just a box.

Leaving things unfinished is just another way of saying “uncertain.” And uncertainty isn’t always a bad thing.

But then VivaBot reached out first.

And like damp socks suddenly dried, the gloom in my head cleared.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

I typed so fast the keys rattled, enough to make Mark Two and John-nae-non III turn to stare.

Normally they’d each stay in their own rooms, but with the boiler running, the main bunker was warm and spacious enough to share.

Still—having a kid and an animal watching didn’t mean I needed to hide how happy I was to hear from VivaBot again.

SKELTON: (Skelton weeping) I missed you so much....

VIVA_BOT014: Ahaha... ;;

VIVA_BOT014: (awkward)

SKELTON: How are things there? Safe? Have you met Su and Rebecca—the ones who came from Korea?

VIVA_BOT014: Ah, I’ve been in contact with them. I know they’re close by.

SKELTON: That’s good! They’re okay, right?

VIVA_BOT014: They’ll be fine. You know how it is—if someone becomes an issue in this country, the advantages they get are overwhelming.

VIVA_BOT014: They became Babel residents.

SKELTON: Babel...

I’d heard of it.

When it became clear the monsters couldn’t be beaten, the remnants of the U.S. government supposedly began building a colossal steel “sky city.”

Bridges strung between skyscrapers, spaces between the bridges fitted for habitation.

I never really understood how it could work. Or how it could be sustained.

But apparently, it was viable.

VIVA_BOT014: Indian survivors were found recently.

It was thought India had been wiped out years ago. But sages there had crafted survival methods rooted in the philosophies of their ancestors—unique, creative systems.

Not unlike Korea’s own experiment.

The tunnel cities.

VIVA_BOT014: Staying in an erosion zone usually means certain death. But according to those survivors, the real danger isn’t the zone itself—it’s the eroded soil.

VIVA_BOT014: Stay off the ash-colored ground, and even in an erosion zone, survival chances rise sharply.

Almost the same idea.

The tunnel city theory.

They’d simply gone underground—and even that raised survival odds.

India took it further—choosing to live up in high-rises.

India’s fall was over eight years ago.

Nearly a decade of survival.

That’s proof enough.

VIVA_BOT014: Seeing that, our side decided—better late than never—to use the skyscrapers as pillars. To save the three million refugees here.

VIVA_BOT014: But entry’s not easy. What was it like... The Hope?

SKELTON: Hm. I can imagine.

VIVA_BOT014: Su and Rebecca are Babel residents. Like I said, they came back from overseas wars, so they became a big deal.

VIVA_BOT014: Even a Grammy-winning singer couldn’t get into Babel. That’s how rare the privilege is.

SKELTON: I see.

Rebecca and Su are safe.

For now, they might even be secure.

That’s a good spark. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

But methods like that—makeshift, desperate—can’t be the solution against the rifts.

Kang Han-min will try something else once humanity is cut down to the level he deems acceptable.

Besides, VivaBot’s tone—her mood—it’s uneasy.

No face to see. No hints in her words.

But I could tell. She was burdened.

That’s the bond of the board.

It crosses race, distance, time, and belief.

SKELTON: Something wrong? Not that I could do much, but if you want, I could perform a private beatbox concert just for you...!!

VIVA_BOT014: I want to see you.

“?”

I straightened. Reread her words.

Want to see me.

It was welcome—but I couldn’t take it lightly.

My instincts had been right.

Her darkness was real.

VIVA_BOT014: Viva! Apocalypse! will soon shut down.

...

So it was true.

The time had come.

We’d gone long enough.

Our board had given us more than we ever dreamed.

Viva! Apocalypse! was a blessing, a grace granted to this broken world.

And now it was time to let it go.

At least I’d heard it from VivaBot herself. Not in some abrupt shutdown notice, but from the person who’d been my ally, my friend, sometimes almost like a lover.

“...Hoo.”

I exhaled and typed.

SKELTON: So Viva! Apocalypse! is ending?

VIVA_BOT014: Ah, not ending. Just—

SKELTON: ?

VIVA_BOT014: We’re decommissioning failing satellites and focusing on North America.

VIVA_BOT014: As you know, there are still many isolated survivors there. All our users.

VIVA_BOT014: When the monsters advanced so fast, some never even had a chance to evacuate. They’re trapped in the gray zones.

VIVA_BOT014: Maybe not in Korea, but in North America the traffic is massive.

VIVA_BOT014: So we’ll shut down regions with fewer users, and concentrate on where we can help most.

Regional bias.

It stung.

But as someone who knew Viva! Apocalypse! better than most, and who carried pride in being part of it, I understood.

VIVA_BOT014: Not that it’ll last long anyway. Likely won’t survive the year.

SKELTON: I see.

VIVA_BOT014: I was going to post an announcement, but I thought I should tell you personally.

SKELTON: Thank you.

VIVA_BOT014: No—thank you. We owe you more than you know.

VIVA_BOT014: You’ve been our hero—the hero of ordinary people.

SKELTON: By any chance...

VIVA_BOT014: Yes?

SKELTON: (Skelton gazing deeply) Are you married?

VIVA_BOT014: (VivaBot flustered) Y-yes... last year. To someone who protects me...

SKELTON: (Skelton scratching head) I see...

SKELTON: Well. I don’t think this is the end.

VIVA_BOT014: What do you mean?

I nodded.

SKELTON: I’m building SkeltonNet.

VIVA_BOT014: SkeltonNet...?

SKELTON: A working name. A new board, based on Necropolis, mixing the strengths of PaleNet and Viva! Apocalypse!

VIVA_BOT014: That’s... really possible?

SKELTON: The echoes in Necropolis still act up, so it’s not serviceable yet. But one day, if the echoes allow it, I want to connect people again.

VIVA_BOT014: That... that’s wonderful.

SKELTON: Give me a way to contact you when that day comes.

Soon, East Asia, Oceania, Southeast Asia—all Viva! Apocalypse! services here would be gone.

According to VivaBot, the obsolete satellites would be forcibly deorbited, crashing down to improve service over North America.

She said next week, we might even see meteor showers as they fell.

“...Hah.”

That was when Defender arrived.

“Skelton!”

He really does have a knack for things.

Somehow he’d gotten his hands on a snowmobile.

Heavy winter gear too.

I ignored the stains on the back that looked suspiciously like blood.

“This thing doesn’t carry much, but I brought food and fuel. Just the essentials.”

“Thanks. In this freezing hell...”

“It’s nothing.”

“And Dies_Irae?”

“No time to worry about me. In fact, I think they want me gone.”

Defender smirked.

“Why?”

“Showed off some skill with Da-jeong during the citizen hunt. They didn’t like it.”

“Fair enough.”

Defender and his sister’s killing skills must’ve sharpened beyond compare, far past when we raided camps together.

Even a man as cruel as Dies_Irae wouldn’t want that kind of predator at his side.

Unlike lackeys like Loca-hoon or whatever his name was, Defender was his own man. An equal.

Truth be told, compared to Hong Jung-ho, Dies_Irae was small fry.

Rotten small fry.

“Still, I played nice with him. Polite, did what he asked, took crap from lackeys without a word. Da-jeong too—she kept smiling as she turned them down.”

“I see.”

“What’s with that look?”

Maybe I really had dulled.

No.

It was just that the shadow hanging over me was thick enough to bleed through even my poker face.

Viva! Apocalypse! was ending.

When VivaBot told me, I’d taken it calmly. But losing what was essentially half my soul—the home of it—that was a weight that would never fade.

“...So? They’re shutting down Korea’s service? Guess you won’t be using the Defender name anymore.”

“Looks like it.”

An era was ending.

I told the friend who was my first and closest ally in the community.

That alone was good stimulation.

I thought so, anyway.

Until Defender just stared at me.

When he looked like that, it meant one of two things:

He wanted to kill someone.

Or he had something to say.

“You told the others?”

I shook my head.

“No. The notice will go up soon.”

“Then why not tell them yourself?”

“Me? Directly?”

Travel, in this –15°C world where everything is frozen solid, is something only madmen aiming for the South Pole would attempt.

It hadn’t even crossed my mind.

“On that?” I asked, glancing at the snowmobile.

Defender suddenly burst out laughing.

“No.”

He laughed so hard he teared up, then finally caught his breath.

“I mean send a message yourself.”

“...Right. That works too.”

“You’ve been spacing out lately. Got something on your mind?”

“Depression’s nothing special in a world like this.”

“True enough. But still—why not? /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ You tell the board yourself that it’s ending. From you.”

It was a good idea.

No—natural. Obvious.

That I hadn’t thought of it just showed how deeply the news had rattled me.

“...Yeah.”

I nodded, and thanked him.

“I’ll do it.”

They’d understand.

If no one else, then me—the legend itself—should deliver the news.

Once the board was gone, even the legend would be just another old story.

But that, too, would be my share of the burden.