Volume One: Hard Work Does Not Equal Talent
Chapter One
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Why is all of this happening?!
Why are you doing all this—huh?! Am I not your brother? How—how could you do this to the one who took care of you?)
I feel a terrible pain in my chest. It's burning—truly burning—as if I had swallowed live embers. My consciousness begins to fade, but how… how could I be affected like this by nothing more than poison in food? With what remains of my sight, all I can see are the silhouettes of my treacherous brothers. I try to move my mouth to speak, but it feels as though I am swallowing my words instead of uttering them, like a newborn child. Why are you doing this?
The middle one grabbed me by the hair. Finally, he said—this moment had truly been a long time coming. He laughed loudly, almost bursting my eardrum.
"You've grown stupid with age, brother," he said, his red eyes gleaming like pools of molten lava, his wide grin failing to hide his sharp teeth. This was definitely not my brother.
In that bottomless void, he continued, "The more I think about it—hahhh—I've tolerated you for far too long. Everything you did was for that weak race. We helped them for thousands of years and gained nothing in return. Cling to your delusions if you like. In this world, either the lion eats, or it is eaten by a rat. There's no difference."
I try to speak, but my insides are melting.
"Isn't this… our duty?" I stammer. "Weren't we created to help them? Then what is the purpose of our existence?"
He shouted, "And what about their duty? Why should we lower ourselves to their level when we can crush them like ants—while we walk upon mountains?"
He sighed, then looked at me with a hollow face, as empty as the endless void itself. "You really haven't changed. Fine. I'm no longer interested. In the end, no one cares about the opinion of a dead man."
He gestured toward my other brothers. "Finish him. It seems he's gone senile."
I could see nothing but the glint in their eyes as they moved. In the blink of an eye, I saw them pierce my chest. An unbearable pain exploded within me. My eyes felt impossibly heavy, and I began to feel as though my soul was leaving the lower half of my body.
Is this really death? How painful it is. I used to think humans exaggerated it—but it's truly savage. It's devouring my soul. I can't anymor———
...He woke up before he could scream.
But the scream never came out.
It remained trapped in his chest—heavy, suffocating.
He stared into the empty space before him, his eyes wide open and unfocused. The weight of the dream pressed down on him, as if sleep had betrayed him and left him alone with his fear. His breathing was irregular, and his heart was still pounding violently, as though he had not yet survived.
Inhale. Inhale.
That dream again. Why does it keep haunting me every day? Every time I fall asleep—why does everything feel so real?
Calm down. Calm down, Edward. I need to go to work. I don't have time to think about these things.
He got out of bed in his large, stark white apartment. It was filled with photographs and awards, and there was a wooden shelf with a glass door containing several trophies and patents. He headed toward the door as if none of it mattered, prepared breakfast, got dressed, and hurried to work. He was employed at one of the most important energy facilities—Chernobyl.
When he entered, the halls were vast and crowded with workers. An elderly man, about 170 centimeters tall, approached him immediately, gesturing with his hands as he walked.
"Edward, good morning. You look optimistic on your second day here."
Edward replied with a smile, "Good morning, Mr. Jeff. I'm always like this—though I do have some concerns about the turbines."
Jeff answered, "Don't worry, man. This facility was supervised by top engineers. Nothing bad will happen. We'll begin the reactor test run in half an hour—be ready."
Jeff turned and left for his work.
Why do I feel this tightness in my chest? My heart won't stop racing.
"Well, since I'm already prepared, I'll take a look around."
Suddenly, he heard a female voice. "Hey, Edward! Come over here!"
Edward turned around and saw a woman with black hair and brown eyes in her mid-twenties waving at him. Standing beside her was a man around their age, with blond hair and brown eyes.
He walked toward them and said, "Mary, Max—good to see you both."
Mary replied with a wide smile, "Hahaha, how are you? You look like you've seen a ghost. I bet someone had a nightmare."
Max added sarcastically, "Yeah, Edward, your face is pale as ever. You remind me of university—always late because you stayed up with books. You were the true definition of a bookworm, hahaha."
The three of them continued talking and laughing together, as if they were reuniting after a long absence.
Suddenly, the start of the reactor test operations was announced. Edward said goodbye to them, and each of them returned to their duties.
Everything went smoothly until we reached Reactor Four. Why does this strange feeling keep clinging to me? The inspection began normally, but suddenly I sensed something was wrong. Why does this reactor sound slightly different from the others? I need to check.
Edward approached the reactor and began examining it—then his entire body went numb from what he saw. He found horrifying flaws in the design. But before he could speak, the executives initiated a power-reduction test, shut down the automatic safety systems, and raised the control rods—the ones that absorb neutrons—to their highest levels, pushing the reactor into an unstable state.
The last thing Edward's eyes saw was Mr. Jeff, who was standing relatively close to the reactor, disintegrating…
Time began to slow as I looked at the faces around me. They were terrified—some had families, others were a week away from their weddings. I felt that my life had no meaning. There was no one waiting for me, nothing for me to return to. I had devoted my life to keeping up with my peers—every effort, every hardship, every sleepless night—yet I was barely on par with them.
I'm almost relieved that I won't have to keep pushing myself to my limits anymore.
At last… I can rest.
I died… finally