He is a good friend. I know that. Due to the unique environment I grew up in, I couldn’t make many friends, so Baek Yi Hyun was a precious friend to me. The kind of friend who would go out of his way to contact and meet someone like me, when he could easily ignore me and live well.

So it would be better to quickly shake off these negative emotions.

After shaking off the water and going out to the street for some air, a few sparse lights were twinkling in the sky.

The air was cold. The acrid scent of cigarettes mingled in it. Looking down, the ground was littered with cigarette butts.

I should go back to my seat now. Go back, have some more meaningless conversations, and return home before it gets too late…

“Is that her?”

“I’m sure.”

I heard someone’s voice. It was an unfamiliar voice.

“We checked, and she’s just an ordinary person. Proceed without any mistakes.”

“Ah, understood.”

Before I could fully process it, my nose and mouth were covered with cloth.

“…?!”

“Sorry about this, little miss. We’re in quite a hurry ourselves, you see.”

Beyond my blurring vision, I could see the silhouette of a person.

That was my last memory.

That’s the full story of how I was kidnapped.

Is this divine punishment for disliking my friend…? It’s unfair. Sure, I might envy and be jealous of a friend, but is that worthy of divine retribution?

I was worried too. Baek Yi Hyun would needlessly worry again since the friend who said they’d just go wash up for a moment had disappeared. No, I guess it wouldn’t be needless worry after all.

My hands and feet are tied, and the air brushing my lungs is cold. With my vision blocked as well, it’s truly a perfect kidnapping situation. Moreover, my mouth is gagged too.

What do normal people do in this situation? I can’t even scream. Is there any way to survive this?

“What? You’re awake?”

I heard a sharp woman’s voice. Somehow, it sounded like she was singing.

“Isn’t it too much to keep her tied up like this? She looks young, and she’s unawakened.”

“You don’t know much, do you? People in this country all look young, so you can’t judge age by appearance. And even if she’s unawakened, we can’t let our guard down when the Crimson Sky is involved. Who knows what that madman might have done?”

What followed was a deep male voice, and then the woman’s voice again.

The situation became clearer in my mind. I wondered what benefit they could gain from kidnapping me, but it seems they did it because of Cheon Shin Woo.

It was absurd. What exactly am I to that person that I have to be so severely entangled with him? Wasn’t the number one ranker supposed to be someone high up in the sky, someone I’d never have a chance to meet? What on earth is the problem here?!

“She’s already tied up, so why don’t we remove the gag and blindfold?”

“The blindfold stays on.”

It seemed the woman was in control of the situation. And the man was sympathizing with me. Judging by their speech, they weren’t Korean.

Perhaps because my vision was blocked, my hearing felt particularly acute.

I felt the gag being removed from my mouth. My skin stung.

“…”

“Oh? You’re not saying anything?”

“If I ask you to spare me, will you?”

“We never intended to kill you in the first place. What would I gain from killing a kid like you?”

“…”

There was no ambient noise around. At most, just white noise. …With no human voices or even car sounds, it’s safe to assume there are no people around here.

The extreme tension and fear paradoxically made me calmer.

What should I say to make these people release me without angering them?

“Where is this place?”

“I don’t know the geography of this country. Just somewhere without people, that’s for sure.”

I hope it’s not an enclosed space. Trying not to tremble, I continued with my next question.

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Look at that! How bold. I like that attitude, actually. Why did we bring you? Well, because we need you to save this world.”

“Kali!”

At the woman’s answer, all strength suddenly left my body. From a kidnapping to suddenly saving the world? What kind of far-fetched answer is this? At the same time, the tension that had dissipated rushed back at the man’s shout.

Kali, Kali…

Could it be, that war goddess Kali?

Along with this unlikely assumption, a mirthless laugh escaped me. That can’t be right. What could the 2nd ranked in America, 9th in the world, possibly gain from kidnapping me?

My mind was in chaos. Fragments of countless thoughts tumbled about. Maybe, perhaps… The possibility of ‘what if’ was right before my eyes, but I deliberately ignored it. No, I had to ignore it.

“Why? The prophecy has already been revealed. We’ve already gone as far as kidnapping a civilian, what’s left to hide?”

The woman spoke in a nonchalant voice. Then came the sound of the man sighing, followed by more hushed voices.

Trying my best to calm my mind, I spoke.

“Please, remove the blindfold.”

“Look at this. I thought you were smart, but you’re stupid. You want the blindfold removed?”

“Even if you remove it, there’s nothing I can do anyway. At least let me see what’s in front of me.”

“But then you’ll see our faces.”

“I already know your name, ‘Kali’. You want something from me anyway, and it’s useless if I don’t cooperate, right?”

“We could kill you, you know?”

“You said there’s no benefit in killing me.”

“But if we get annoyed, we might kill you. Aren’t you afraid? Dying without knowing the reason, without knowing who your captors are?”

“…”

There wasn’t even a hint of malice in the words meant to threaten me.

That’s why it was more terrifying. As those words continued, anxiety crept up on me like a swamp. This person is dangerous. As always, my instinct’s warning flashed a bright red light incessantly.

Still, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

“It’s because of Cheon Shin Woo, right? That you brought me here like this. I’ll tell you everything I can, so please, at least remove the blindfold.”

“Haha, this is interesting! Alright, if you want it that badly.”

The laughter-tinged voice buzzed in my ears like a swarm of bees, chaotically stirring up the insides of my ear canals. I feel like throwing up. Even when I experienced Gate Sync, I didn’t feel this nauseous.

Finally, as the blindfold was removed and I saw the bright red hair before me, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“Alright, little one. You said you’d cooperate first.”

“Kali, is this okay?”

“We’d have to remove the blindfold to use ‘that’ anyway. It’s fine, we can just erase her memories later.”

The woman spoke while maintaining an arrogant smile. Her fiery red hair was tied up haphazardly, and she stood at an imposing height of over 180 cm.

She is a person who can afford to be arrogant. She’s also world-famous.

The war goddess Kali. America’s rank 2, world rank 9 battle maniac.

They say all rankers have some mental quirks. Kali, known as America’s wild child, nodded and smiled.

“Oh? You’re not surprised?”

Her attitude suggested she naturally assumed I would know who she was.

“…I already heard your name.”

Though I hadn’t realized that ‘Kali’ actually referred to the real war goddess Kali.

Kali approached me with a pleased smile and leaned forward.

“No need to be scared. I really don’t intend to harm you. Of course, that’s assuming you answer my questions well.”

Her eyes, scrutinizing my face, held curiosity along with intense scrutiny. As if she were on guard, as if she held doubts about my very existence.

It was strange. For Kali to kidnap me because of Cheon Shin Woo, it was truly bizarre.

Though he’s rank 1 in Korea, Cheon Shin Woo’s world rank is only 13. While ranking doesn’t directly equate to combat power, there would still be a significant gap with rank 9.

Could it be that Cheon Shin Woo behaves recklessly abroad too? No, that can’t be right. When it comes to recklessness, Kali should be no less than Cheon Shin Woo…

“Hmm. Your little head is spinning, isn’t it?”

“…”

Kali spoke with a growling voice. Is this how a herbivore feels when thrown before a predator? I couldn’t answer.

“No use racking your brains. You, what’s your name?”

“…Park Ha Young.”

“Good, you’re not lying.”

I don’t understand the psychology of asking when she already knows my information. Regardless, Kali grabbed my chin, turning my face this way and that, then narrowed her eyes.

As if she were truly curious about me.

“It’s so strange. The Crimson Sky shouldn’t have any reason to care about an unawakened nobody like you… And Silence wouldn’t have lied. Right?”

“…”

I’m even more curious. Why would Cheon Shin Woo care about someone like me… Wait, what? Silence?

My body stiffened again. It felt like I’d been hit on the head with a hammer. Why is Silence being mentioned here?

While I was too shocked to speak, Kali pulled something out. It was a pocket watch with a red jewel embedded in it.

“Now, Park Ha Young. From now on, you’ll only answer what I ask. Understood?”

Tick, tock. The second hand moved. Without giving me time to understand the situation, Kali’s questions continued. She seemed to believe without a doubt that I would naturally tell the truth.

The red jewel glowed. My head felt slightly dizzy.

“You, what’s your relationship with Cheon Shin Woo?”

“…”

I don’t know how to answer. Rather, I’m the one who wants to ask. Why on earth is Silence being mentioned here, and what exactly are you doing to me right now?

Still, to avoid being slaughtered, I answered as sincerely as I could.

“I don’t know.”

“…”

This was the limit of my sincerity. Because I truly don’t know.

Kali’s expression turned serious, then quickly filled with annoyance. I found myself trembling involuntarily.

“…You don’t know?”

“I, I don’t know.”

As if I wasn’t already troubled enough by that, now this fantastical being appears and asks about my relationship with Cheon Shin Woo.

For a brief moment, I even wondered if this person was also a die-hard fan of Cheon Shin Woo who couldn’t tolerate my existence and thus orchestrated this.

Kali muttered to herself things like ‘That can’t be right…’ and ‘She shouldn’t be lying.’ ‘Damn it!’

“Ha, it’s getting complicated right from the start. Fine, let’s set that aside. You. With Cheon Shin Woo…”

Kali, who had been rubbing her face in irritation, stopped mid-sentence. Her gaze towards me turned sharp.

The killing intent in her golden eyes pierced my skin, and after a short exhale of ‘Ha’,

“What’s this?”