The Gamer's POV-Chapter 223: Prologue 3 - [The Catalyst]

King’s Paradise

——

Seo-yeon walked into her spacious room, then trudged over to the large bed which dominated the center of the space, before collapsing onto it, lying spread-eagle across the soft duvet.

After a few moments, she took out her earpieces from her inventory, connected them to her phone, and scrolled through her playlist until she found a song.

It was Kim Min-jun’s favorite song.

She squeezed her eyes shut as the music started to play, and slowly grew lost in her own thoughts and memories.

***

...

..

.

Several months ago...

A few days before the transmigration.

——

Seo-yeon had just finished a meeting with her colleagues when a message suddenly popped into her phone. She read it discreetly, and since she was with one of her colleagues at the time, she excused herself and began walking out the meeting room toward the main lobby.

The walls of the long hallway had lots of posters and digital displays featuring the game the company was making at the time, and it was definitely not Seraphim of Doom!

Instead, it was a colorful mobile RPG called "Starlight Kingdom," filled with cute, rounded characters and bright, pastoral landscapes.

Seo-yeon’s eyes were glued to her phone, until she walked out of Elysium studios, the company she worked at, and headed to the car park.

Among the many cars that were parked neatly, a luxurious black sedan stood out from the rest of the cars. Seo-yeon walked briskly to it and as she got closer, the headlights flickered twice to greet her. She opened the door and got inside the passenger seat.

There was a handsome man in his thirties wearing sunglasses and a sharp, tailored suit in the driver seat. He sat perfectly still, waiting for her to settle in before acknowledging her presence.

"Are you done with it?" Seo-yeon asked while reaching out her hand toward him.

"Yes ma’am," he replied, dipping his hand into his inner coat pocket and pulling out a game. He handed it to her with a slight nod.

Seo-yeon studied the game carefully. On the cover was the image of a boy with golden blonde hair and striking green eyes fighting against a figure who looked like an angel with massive wings on her back. On the side, the name of the game was boldly written in red: [Seraphim of Doom.]

While she was still studying it, she noticed that the man was shifting in his seat like he wanted to say something. She turned to him and asked coldly, "What is it?"

The man hesitated for a moment, adjusting his sunglasses.

"It’s just... I don’t understand. You work at a top game studio. Yet you came to us in secret and paid over ten billion won to produce this. Does your company even know about it? Also," he paused and scratched his head, "you asked us to make only one single copy. Why spend that much money for something only one person will ever play?"

Seo-yeon did not answer immediately and instead ran her thumb over the title on the box with an unreadable expression.

Eventually, she muttered in a low, quiet voice, "No. My company knows nothing about this game."

She then turned to him and fixed him with a sharp look. "And I would appreciate it if you and your company also forget that this project ever existed. I paid that much not just for the game itself, but for your confidentiality as well."

The man swallowed hard and looked away, gripped by the sudden coldness in her tone. He nodded quickly, realizing that some questions were better left unanswered.

"Of course," he said, his voice a bit more formal now. "We consider the matter closed. You have my word."

Seo-yeon looked back down at the game case. Then, she tucked the game into her bag and stepped out of the car. But just before she closed the door, she leaned back in slightly and whispered, "I hope I don’t have to see you again. Have a good day, Mr. Park."

The heavy door clicked shut, cutting off whatever response he might have had.

With that done, she pocketed one hand in the pocket of her long brown coat, adjusted the strap of her bag, and began to walk toward her company.

***

A few days later...

The day of the Transmigration...

——

Seo-yeon was seated on the edge of a residential block. She was smoking a cigarette and her legs were dangling carelessly over the narrow street below.

Below her, an ambulance was slowly maneuvering into the tight alleyway. Its flashing lights reflected off the brick walls of the nearby buildings, and she watched as it eventually came to a stop in front of one of the entrances.

"I’m sorry, Min-jun," she muttered somberly as a tear rolled down her eyes.

She dragged on the cigarette, and after exhaling a plume of smoke into the air, she added, "I’m sorry that it had to be me who killed you."

At that moment, the paramedics pulled the stretcher out of the back, and she watched as Min-jun’s corpse was wheeled toward the ambulance, completely covered by a white sheet.

"I hope that I was able to at least show you the good parts of life during the brief time we shared together."

Seo-yeon began to recall her time with Min-jun.

She recalled the first time she met him, which was on the day of his eighth birthday. They were just kids then and she met him sitting alone at the park. The memory of his tears after she wished him a happy birthday stayed with her, because it was the first time anyone had acknowledged the day. He had been so used to being ignored that the simple kindness of a stranger had overwhelmed him.

She also recalled the time they met again, after he left Seoul for Busan. He had grown taller and his face had hardened, but the loneliness in his eyes remained exactly the same. They had run into each other at a small, quiet convenience store near the harbor. He was buying a single cup of noodles for dinner, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. When their eyes met, she saw the instant recognition flicker across his face, and for a moment, the heavy tension in his shoulders seemed to vanish.

She remembered how they sat on the curb outside that night, sharing a drink while he told her about the difficult years he spent drifting between jobs. He told her that Busan felt like a fresh start, even if it was just as cold as the city he left behind. That was the night she decided she wouldn’t let him be alone anymore.

More memories flooded her mind, and by the time they faded, she sighed and looked up as a drop of rain fell on her cheek.

As the rain began to fall more steadily, she whispered into the wind. "I hope... I hope you succeed, Min-jun. I know that later on, you’ll probably wonder why the game I gave you only stopped at the second ring. You’ll also likely wonder why many things were not mentioned, like how bonds came to be, and all of that."

She exhaled and stood up slowly as her clothes began to dampen from the downpour.

"I’m sorry, but if I gave you any more knowledge, you wouldnt be able to handle it, and would have your head explode before you even awakened after transmigration."

She watched the ambulance finally turn the corner, and its lights disappeared behind the tall residential blocks.

After a moment of being in the rain, she stretched out her hands to the side, then said in a soft, steady voice, "I’ll see you again, Min-jun. I hope that I was able to pull you into good. And I hope that tragic girl, Aika, who is meant to be your absolute evil does not give you a hard time. Ah, I wonder just how deep her hatred will run when she eventually remembers her past. Will you be able to contain her, My lord?"

She sighed really deeply.

Then...

She fell gracefully off the ledge.

However, whilst in the air, her form shifted into a majestic black raven that cut through the heavy downpour with ease. Her dark wings beat against the rain as she leveled out, soaring high above the cramped alleyways and the glowing neon streets of the city. She circled once over the spot where the ambulance had been, let out a single, sharp cry that was lost in the thunder, and then turned toward the horizon to disappear into the stormy night.