Moon woke up with a unfamiliar darkness for a disorienting moment, he thought the lights had gone out during the night he blinked rapidly, rubbing his small fists against his eyes, but the darkness remained absolute
"Jin? In a slow voice he called first but upon no response he called again JIN ? but this time he called out loud, his voice trembling "I can't see ! "
He heard rustling from the bed beside his, then his brother's frightened voice "Me neither, Moon..I... I went blind in my sleep "
A chill of pure terror washed over Moon Without Jin's sight, they were all helpless now all four of them, lost in darkness
"Mom! Dad!" Jin called out, his voice cracking with panic
Shuffling sounds came from the hallway, then their father's voice: "We're here, boys Stay calm"
Moon felt the edge of his bed sink as someone sat beside him. His father's hand found his shoulder, squeezing gently "It'll be okay," Sung said, though his voice lacked conviction
"The box," moon said suddenly. "The metal box is outside our door do you think it really has the cure?"
A heavy silence filled the room
"I saw it too, before... before my sight went," Jin continued..."It was just like the one that man showed on television "
"What man?" Seo asked from the doorway "What box?"
Jin explained what they had seen on the broadcast the previous night the strange man's message, his disturbing end, and the metal container he'd promised would appear at every door
"It could be poison," Sung said quietly
"....or it could be the only hope we have " seo said touching the heads of her children's
They sat in darkness, four people bound by blood and fear, weighing an impossible choice
The faint sound of their neighbor's door opening broke the silence
"Someone's in the hallway," Sung whispered
They listened intently as footsteps approached their door, paused, then retreated a door closed minutes passed in tense silence
Then, from next door, came Mrs. Kwon's voice, rising in volume and pitch "I can see! Oh heavens, I can see again ! "
Moon felt his father's grip tighten on his shoulder.
"Jin," Sung said decisively, "feel your way to the front door bring the box "
Jin moved cautiously through the apartment, bumping into furniture, guided by his father's voice when he returned, he described a small metal container, cool to the touch and seamless except for a single line where it opened
"There are four pills inside," Jin reported, his voice tight with nervousness
"They're small, and cool "
Sung took a deep breath "Mrs. Kwon took the pill, and now she can see but that man... we don't know who he was or what his intentions are..."
"We have no choice," seo said firmly. "Without sight, we'll starve eventually the world can't function if everyone is blind "
After another moment of hesitation, Sung decided "I'll take one first wait thirty minutes if there are no ill effects, then the rest of you can take yours "
"No," seo interrupted. "We do this together"
And so, guided by touch alone, each of them took one of the iridescent pills with sips of water Jin had carefully poured
Moon held the small pill between his fingers, feeling its strange smoothness and coldness before placing it on his tongue it dissolved instantly, tasting faintly of something he couldn't name like sunshine might taste, if sunshine had a flavor
The effect wasn't immediate for five minutes, they sat in darkness, questioning their decision then jin noticed something a faint grayness at the edges of his vision, growing steadily lighter
"I think something's happening," he whispered
The grayness spread, shapes emerging from the darkness fuzzy at first, then steadily sharpening colors bloomed like flowers opening, bleeding into the monochrome world until suddenly, with startling clarity, jin could see the bedroom again
"I can see!" he said in a joy
Around him, his family was experiencing the same miracle moon was staring at his hands in wonder. Their father was gazing at their mother's face as if seeing her for the first time seo had tears streaming down her cheeks
"It worked," Sung breathed heavily, looking around the room in amazement. "It actually worked ! "
Outside their window, they could hear similar exclamations of joy and disbelief from neighbors the collective relief of an entire building an entire world regaining what had been lost
---
The following weeks brought a cautious return to normality cities slowly revived as essential services resumed schools reopened, though with reduced hours Grocery stores restocked, power plants returned to full operation, and the news channels switched from emergency broadcasts to reports of global recovery
No one knew who the man in the broadcast had been
Government investigations yielded no answers about the source of either the blindness or its cure the metal boxes had appeared simultaneously at every dwelling on Earth an impossible feat that no organization claimed responsibility for the pills themselves defied analysis, breaking down into unidentifiable compounds when scientists attempted to study them
It was during the third week after taking the pill that Moon first noticed something strange
He watched Jin diligently practice his sword forms. Widely regarded as the genius of era, Jin had begun training in kendo at the age of four. Now, at just ten years old, he had already attained the 7th dan rank an extraordinary feat. Some even considered his skill equivalent to that of an 8th dan master, though official recognition was restricted by age requirements.
in their living room their father had resumed their training, determined to maintain some normalcy when he saw it a faint, bluish glow outlining his brother's body, visible only from the corner of his eye When Moon turned to look directly, the glow vanished
"Dad," Moon said hesitantly, "do you see anything weird around Jin ? "
Sung paused in his instruction, studying his older son after a moment, his brow furrowed. "Actually...He looks more handsome now..? "
" Ahha father...what about me."
" You...you are my cute little bear " hugging him tightly sung said
That evening, the news reported the phenomenon scientists around the world had detected an unusual energy signature emanating from human beings from every human being who had taken the pill
"The energy appears to be completely harmless," the news anchor reported, a faint blue energy visibly surrounding her own body. "Preliminary studies show no radiation effects or health concerns However, the source and purpose of this energy remain unknown "
In the days that followed, the glow became more pronounced people learned to see it directly a gentle luminescence that outlined every human like a living aura children made games of it, waving their arms to create trails of light in darkened rooms Artists incorporated the phenomenon into new works celebrating humanity's survival of the blindness epidemic
Scientists named it "Relic Energy," theorizing it might be a side effect of the pill's interaction with human biology they confirmed it was harmless but couldn't explain why it had appeared or what purpose it might serve
Life adapted around this new reality the world had survived catastrophe, and compared to the terror of global blindness, a little harmless glowing seemed a small price to pay.
---
Months passed the energy phenomenon stabilized, becoming an accepted part of human existence society rebuilt itself, though changed in subtle ways people spoke more openly about metaphysical possibilities, about the thin line between science and the unexplainable the mysterious broadcast and the man who had died on live television became the subject of documentaries, conspiracy theories, and religious interpretations
Moon's sixth birthday came and went. Jin turned eleven their parents returned to work, though Sung had changed jobs, taking a position that required less travel and allowed more time with his family the experience had changed them all, drawing them closer together, making them acutely aware of how quickly the ordinary could become extraordinary
One warm evening, nearly a year after the pill, the family sat down to dinner together. Seo had prepared Moon's favorite meal to celebrate his completion of kindergarten. The conversation flowed easily school achievements, work stories, plans for the weekend
"Jin says I have a compitition in few days Moon said proudly, mimicking a stance his brother had taught him
Looking at moon sung smiled "Maybe this weekend we can practice together, all three of us "
The energy that surrounded them had become so familiar they hardly noticed it anymore—the gentle glow that outlined each family member, pulsing slightly with their heartbeats, flaring with their emotions.
"Pass the rice, please," seo said, extending her hand toward Jin
It was a perfectly ordinary moment in their new ordinary life and then Moon glanced out the window.
The sky, which had been darkening with the approach of evening, was suddenly bright—too bright. Not with sunlight, but with a strange, rippling radiance that resembled the energy that surrounded human bodies, but magnified a thousandfold
"Look!" Mom
The energy that was getting released from there body was now flowing towards sky
The entire family turned toward the window and looked outside, the energy in the atmosphere was visibly gathering, coalescing into swirling patterns that stretched across the horizon. The multi colour glow intensified, then shifted through the spectrum blue to purple to a color Moon had no name for
Instantly their dinner was forgotten, they rushed to the window from other apartments sounds of alarm came and on the street below, people were emerging from buildings, all faces turned to sky
"What's happening?" Jin whispered, pressing his hands against the glass
The energy that surrounded their bodies in respond started to flow towards sky, brightening and rippling in synchronization with the atmospheric phenomenon moon looked down at his small hands, fascinated by the way the light danced across his skin, then flowing through the window outside
"It's beautiful," seo said with a fascinated look on her face
Sung put his arm around her shoulders, his expression a mixture of fascinated and a apprehension. "But what is it ? "
Before anyone could speculate further, the energy in the sky glowed once more a single time then a massive wave of light that spread from horizon to horizon then, with shocking suddenness, it contracted toward a single point directly above the city center, condensing into a sphere of blindingly brilliant energy
For one suspended moment, everyone eyes were wide with fascination
The sphere exploded outward with a silent flash that engulfed everything moon felt a strange sensation as if his body was simultaneously dissolving and solidifying, being unmade and remade in the same instant, moon was not the only one who was feeling it all human kind was having this same feeling
The last thing he saw was his father reaching for him, his father's face distorted by the wave of energy washing over them ,the last thing he felt was his brother's hand closing protectively over his shoulder The last thing he heard was his mother's voice