Current time in Seoul, Korea.
Inside a bustling restaurant, the clatter of dishes and the hum of conversation filled the air. Behind the counter, a woman stood with a ladle in hand, her gaze briefly catching on the TV mounted in the corner.
The news anchor's voice echoed: "Renowned Hunter Samuel Right, last survivor of the SSS+ Domain expedition, was confirmed dead two weeks ago..."
Mrs. Jang sighed, the steam from her soup pot curling around her face like a weary ghost, reflecting her uneasy heart.
One of the regulars chuckled from his seat. "You look like you just lost your lottery ticket, Mrs. Jang!"
"Oh, hush," she shot back, tying her apron tighter. "I'm just worried about the state of the world, that's all. There were ten people who survived the SSS+ Domain, and now nine of them are dead. They were humanity's symbol of strength. Seeing them disappear one after another... it's unsettling."
"Well, sure," the man replied, lifting his glass. "But you don't need to lose sleep over it. Korea alone's got more S-rank Hunters now than ever before. We're not exactly short on muscle. Didn't you see Guild Leader of Winners? Wo JiWoo... the first S- rank hunter. S-! Only in Korea, only one in the world!"
Mrs. Jang shook her head with a soft sigh. "It's not about manpower. It's the fact that all ten of them saw what was inside that Domain. They carried memories no one else could understand. And now those memories are vanishing, one by one."
A brief silence settled between the clinking cups. Then another customer, a young man with bright red hair, leaned forward from the next table, eager to join in. His unnatural coloring made it obvious that he's one of an Awakener, a Hunter.
"Not all ten, though," he said, a spark in his eyes. "There's still one left, isn't there?"
Mrs. Jang froze for a heartbeat, then offered a faint, wistful smile. "Yes," she murmured. "There's still one."
"The Coward of the Century," someone spat, slamming his cup down on the table. "What's the point of mentioning his name? While all his comrades who survived the Great Chaos went back into the Domains, fighting and dying for humanity—he just vanished."
"Hey, come on," another voice chimed in cautiously. "There were rumors he was badly injured—"
"Injured?" The man barked a laugh. "He's an S-rank Hunter! Even half-dead, someone like him should've returned to fight! Don't tell me an injury's enough excuse to abandon the world."
"What are you saying?" a younger Hunter at the next table frowned. "That we're supposed to work ourselves to death just because we awakened? That our lives don't matter once we've got power?"
"That's not what I mean!" the first man shot back, his voice rising. "But he just disappeared! Three years ago, when Hunter Song died in the S+ Domain, where was he then? Hunter Song was just an A ranker! He returned back to the domains even after the Great Chaos but he remained missing for almost a decade now! If not for Hunter Wo Ji-woo stepping in, humanity would've been wiped out! We needed him—and he was nowhere!"
"Enough!"
The sharp clang of metal rang out as Mrs. Jang slammed her ladle to the floor. The sound cut through the argument like an explosive, silencing the restaurant instantly.
Her eyes, lined with exhaustion, swept over the crowd. "That's enough," she said again, voice firm but trembling at the edges.
It wasn't the first time arguments like this had broken out whenever Hunter Won's name was mentioned—the last surviving member of the SSS+ Domain expedition, who disappeared the very day he walked out alive nine years ago.
Some still argued that he had disappeared and abandoned his duty—but Mrs. Jang and a few others never agreed with that.
They knew what it meant to step into the SSS+ Domain.
They knew what those Hunters had seen... what they had suffered.
Mrs. Jang could never bring herself to condemn him. Not when she had seen Hunter Won with her own two eyes, ten years ago.
To ask him to return to the Domains again—to fight for them after what he'd endured—felt far too shameless, even if he was one of the few S-rank Hunters left in the world.
"Delivery!"
The voice came from the door, cutting through the heavy silence that lingered in the restaurant.
A young man stepped inside, dressed in a plain black uniform. His hair was pitch-black, his round eyes the same dark hue—so deep and still they almost seemed to swallow the light around him. His skin was pale, unnaturally so, like someone who hadn't seen the sun in years, despite his work as a deliveryman.
"Oh, my delivery's finally here!" Mrs. Jang exclaimed, quickly setting her ladle aside as if eager to sweep away the tension in the air. "It's from my daughter, isn't it? Your service is always so fast!"
She smiled warmly at the young man, her tone brightening. "Tell your father how grateful I am for everything he's done for this neighborhood, young man. Ah—what was your name again?"
"Lee TaeWon," the man answered. Lifting his bright orange hat, his smile appeared wide across his lips despite the fact of how exhausted he seemed, "Thank you for your continuous support to Sunshine Delivery!"
"He's a coward!" Someone snapped again.
"Even if he left, he's still the world's savior! Don't you understand that?!" someone shouted from the table near the counter. "Hey, delivery guy! What about you—do you think Hunter Won is a savior or a coward?"
Lee Tae-won blinked, raising an eyebrow.
It was the first time someone had ever asked him that question directly—to his face, no less.
He could see Mrs. Jang beside him trembling in fury, her knuckles white around the ladle as if she were preparing to whack someone again.
And yet, with a cheerful grin, he said, "A coward, of course."
The restaurant went silent.
"What?" Mrs. Jang snapped, turning sharply toward him. "How could you say that!?"
"Well, he's been gone for ten years, hasn't he?" someone laughed, seizing the moment. "See? Even the delivery boy gets it!"
"Nine years," Mrs. Jang corrected hotly. "And let him rest if he wants to! We should give that man peace for once. Korea's gone too far, trying to drag him back when he clearly doesn't want to return!"
"As I said, he's an S-rank Hunter!" the first man shot back. "What kind of 'break' does an S-ranker need? That's unacceptable for a Hunter!"
Mrs. Jang's eyes narrowed dangerously. She turned toward Lee Tae-won again, gripping her ladle like a weapon of divine justice.
"Delivery boy," she said sternly, "I've always thought you were a bright young man. So tell me again—do you really think Hunter Won is a coward?"
Oh no.
Lee Tae-won swallowed hard. His instincts screamed that he was standing on the edge of a battlefield far more dangerous than any Domain. He'd never been lucky with gambling—and judging by the glint in Mrs. Jang's eyes, if he gave the wrong answer, that ladle might actually meet the back of his head.
"I thin—"
Lee Tae-won's words cut off abruptly. His head snapped toward the window with a sharpness that made Mrs. Jang flinch. For the briefest second, she could have sworn his eyes—normally a deep, ordinary black—flared into violet.
"What's the matte—"
Before she could finish, Lee Tae-won moved. He shoved her behind him just as the world outside turned white—blinding, searing white—and then black.
A thunderous crack followed. The sound of something tearing open, like the sky itself had been split in half and a following cry from the sky as if rupture had came.
Then came the collapse.
Tables, glass, and concrete trembled as if the restaurant was about to folded in on itself.
Damn it!
Lee Tae-won swore silently, his pulse pounding in his ears.
Just this morning, he had looked up at the clear, cloudless sky and thought how blue it was.
Just this morning, he had found ten thousand won lying by his stairs and called it the world's mercy towards him.
Just this morning, he had actually dared to think, after nine long years, that maybe, just maybe, today would be his lucky day.
Apparently, all that luck had been saving itself for this.
A faint chime echoed in the air—ding.
A translucent screen flickered to life before his violet eyes.
[S- Domain has opened]
[You have entered S- Domain]
[Due to your last entrance to the domain, penalties will be activated]
[Penalty activated]
[Penalty activated]
[Penalty activated]
[Penalty activated]
"Shut up," Lee TaeWon covered his ears in annoyance.
He slowly pushed himself upright, the world spinning for a moment before settling into a dull ache behind his temples. The pounding in his head wasn't from the building collapsing— no, that would've been too simple. The restaurant was still perfectly intact, thanks to the barrier he had thrown up the instant the rupture began. The shimmering field had wrapped the entire building in an instant, shielding everyone inside from the explosion outside.
No, the headache came from something else entirely.
He turned toward the glass door, his jaw tightening as his gaze lifted to the sky.
The blue that had once been so peaceful just hours ago was gone, replaced by a sickly, swirling purple that bled like ink through the clouds.
Of course.
There were only two types of unluckiness that came with a Domain rupture.
One: The Domain explodes, flattening everything nearby as if an earthquake had hit.
Two: The Domain doesn't explode—it pulls.
And, naturally, he had to get the second one.
The worse one.
After nine whole years, Lee TaeWon is back to the very place he had sworn not to return.
A domain.
Another domain.