Seal of the Night - Chapter 2: Eyes Behind the Glass
I was almost home.
I was tired from running, but I couldn't stop. My breath was uneven, my chest heaving, my throat dry. My feet ached, my muscles trembled. But there was only one thing in my mind: my family. I had to reach them. The night was growing darker and darker; the moon stared down at me like a red eye in the sky.
5 minutes until the Monster Wave!
The message suddenly appeared before my eyes. Not like a flickering hologram, but sharp, jarring, chilling. It wasn't an alarm—it felt like fate itself was counting down.
As I turned the corner of the street, I whispered to myself, "Once I turn here, I'm there." My heart felt like it was going to explode, but my hope still held. "Just a bit more..."
3 minutes until the Monster Wave! 2 minutes!
Time seemed to bend. I kept running, trying to keep track of how long had passed, while also watching the numbers flicker on my status screen. My gaze locked on one spot, and then—I saw the corner of my home.
"There it is...!" I said to myself.
And finally—I had made it. The distance I would normally cover by bus, I had completed on foot, nonstop. My legs trembled, knees ready to give out, but a strange satisfaction bloomed inside me. A sense of accomplishment... something I rarely felt in real life.
Then another message appeared:
Congratulations! You have earned the title "Runner" for running non-stop for 1 hour! Title: Runner — Agility +2
Despite my exhaustion, I smiled for a moment. This system... strange, yet fair. You get what you give. If only life were like this. If someone had seen my effort. Praised me. Maybe just said, "Well done." But that life was behind me now. A different reality stood before me. This world was different. This system... was different.
1 minute until the Monster Wave!
The message pulled me back down. My heart picked up again. Just a few steps from the door. My breath was short, but my instincts were sharp.
I reached the door.
The light wasn't on. Time stopped.
Fear? Yes. But above all, a vast emptiness.
I hurriedly opened the door and stepped inside. "Mom? Dad?" I called. No reply. I searched every corner. Beds were made, slippers neatly placed. But no sign of life.
It felt like this house was just a set, its residents erased.
And in that moment... something collapsed inside me. I dropped to my knees. My breath caught in my throat. Tears began to fall, unbidden.
When was the last time I cried like this? I couldn't remember. I had lived by suppressing my emotions. But now, I couldn't hold them back.
I covered my face with my hands. My shoulders trembled. This loneliness... This uncertainty... And this feeling: loss.
Then...
THE MONSTER WAVE HAS BEGUN. We wish you luck.
The message appeared before my eyes. Cold, mechanical. But it echoed in my chest, squeezing my heart.
Success? What was this the start of? I was standing at the edge of not success, but catastrophe. And there was no turning back.
Night had begun. And I was no longer alone.
The ground shook. But it wasn't an earthquake. It felt like the earth was splitting from the surface, not from beneath. Stones shifted in the streets, windows rattled violently. Fine dust fell from the walls; the ground groaned.
Panic rose within me, but curiosity overtook fear. With trembling hands, I walked to the window. Each step made my heart pound harder. I pulled aside the curtains and looked outside.
And then I saw them. Words aren't enough, but I'll try.
Something... tore open in the middle of the street. Like a crack in the air, as if an invisible hand had split reality. At the point where sky met earth, an oval portal shimmered—surrounded by purplish and deep blue lights. A static hum rang out—not natural, not technological, but like the echo of another world.
And then... they emerged.
About half as tall as a human, maybe slightly taller. Their skin came in various shades of green—some moss-dark, others like rusty metal. Their skin was rough, some areas scaly like dried bark. They carried rusty knives, daggers, strange metal clubs. Their teeth jutted out, drool dripped from their jaws. And their eyes...
Those eyes.
They froze the soul. Not empty, not mindless. There was something in them... rage? hunger? pleasure? But most of all, a conscious hatred. As if they had been storing it for years; as if they came not to destroy us, but to humiliate us.
When our eyes met, time stopped. One of them turned its head—and looked directly at me. Its pupils locked, focused. It didn't feel like I was behind the glass; it felt like it was right next to me. The air in my lungs froze. My feet rooted in place. My eyes couldn't turn away. My instincts screamed run, but my body didn't listen. I just stared.
Then a message appeared—not visually, but as if carved into my brain. Like a rip in reality had leaked this message into me.
FIRST MISSION Type: Survival Difficulty: D Objective: Stay alive until dawn! Failure: Death
My breath caught. A survival mission. Until dawn. Just make it to morning. But it wasn't that simple. D rank might seem low, but what stood before me... was no D rank. It was a nightmare.
A thought echoed in my head: "The apocalypse is here." But I'd used that word so casually over the years. "Apocalyptic day." "Exam apocalypse." "My world is ending." The real meaning... now stood before me. And words fell short.
I wasn't a fighter. I avoided fights. To hurt someone? No, I'd have to deal with the consequences. Legal or not, it didn't matter. Hurting someone made me feel guilty. But now?
The system had given me legal permission. Kill, or be killed.
Taking a life and giving one—presented side by side. The thought made me sick. Fear rose like acid from my stomach, burning inside.
Unconsciously, I was still staring through the glass. I should've looked away. But I must've stared too long... because they saw me.
The first goblin looked up. Paused. Then another turned its head. And then... a third.
Three goblins. Three pairs of eyes. Three different hatreds.
But a single focus: Me.
Their gazes weren't random. It was like they knew me. Like my existence stirred the darkness within them. One of them grinned—its teeth yellow, crooked, sharp. Another raised its blade and began walking toward the window.
There was something in their eyes that spoke: "Where you hide won't save you."
And I realized then. This was the turning point of my story. Running, hiding, praying—it only worked for so long... Now, I would either survive—or become one of the first victims of this world.
And dawn was still far away.
The goblins started running toward the open door. Their footsteps echoed on the stone ground, each step bringing them closer to my home. I cursed myself inside. "Why didn't you shut that door, Riven?!" I might pay the price now.
My mind kicked into overdrive. Something sharp... something to defend... Like a trembling child, I stumbled toward the kitchen. Barely keeping my balance, I leaned against the counter. And there I saw it.
An iron pot. And a long machete-shaped kitchen knife.
Despite my fear, my hands gripped those two items. Crude and clunky—but they were all I had.
Just then, another system window popped up:
🛡️ Sturdy Iron Pot Type: Defense Grade: D
🔪 Sturdy Long Machete Type: Weapon Grade: C
I didn't care about grades. I held the pot in my left hand, the machete in my right. My whole body was tingling. I was amazed I was even standing.
And then—
CRASH! Glass shattered.
A spear flew from the yard and shattered the front window. I turned my head—everything went dark for a second. The door had been smashed. The wooden frame shattered, the glass in pieces. With a beam of yellow light, three figures became clear.
Three goblins.
They stood on the stone walkway of the yard, motionless, staring at me. But it wasn't just a stare—it was judgment.
They were mocking. They were merciless. In their eyes was the amusement of a being watching the downfall of a civilization it scorned.