Chapter 376: Chapter 100: Ryu Won’s Life |
I couldn’t believe this situation.
“Brother. Wake up. Brother...”
I tried shaking his body, but my brother was unresponsive.
It was to be expected.
My brother was probably fighting alone in the other world.
‘But for this long?’
Once, he was in a state of narcolepsy for three days.
Compared to that, this isn’t much time.
It was barely morning.
The fact that he wasn’t waking up now, did it mean something was wrong?
‘Brother. Don’t tell me...’
There was a way to check if my brother was still fighting in the other world.
I only had to see if he was breathing.
But I was scared to confirm it.
I was afraid of facing the worst-case scenario I was imagining.
‘Please, please, brother...’
With trembling hands, I brought my hand closer to my brother’s nose.
There was no breath.
My heart sank.
‘This can’t be. Right? Brother?’
In doubt, I checked my brother’s chest area.
Normally, his chest should rise and fall, but...
‘There’s no movement.’
To be more certain, I placed my hand on his heart.
There was no heartbeat.
‘Brother...’
For more certainty, I took his wrist.
There was no pulse.
Brother.
My idol, Ryu Min, had... passed away.
From the other world... he had not returned.
“Waaah, waaah! Brother! Brother!”
I cried like a fool.
I cried for a long time.
My only support was gone.
—————-
<Title: Black Scythe’s Family? Please Read This.>
Content: What happened to Black Scythe? Is he still in the other world? Has the final round not ended? If any family of Black Scythe sees this, please leave a comment with news.
[16 comments in total]
Yeah, why isn’t there any news? It’s almost noon.
If he finished, they would’ve reported it by now, right?
I guess even the journalists don’t know if he survived or not.
Only Black Scythe knows. Or his family.
Could he be dead?
No way. There’s no way that Black Scythe, who was always number one, has died.
Then why is there no news? If he died, they should say it, and if he’s still in the process, they should inform us too.
You’re talking recklessly just because it’s the internet. What will you do if he’s really dead?
What will I do? I’ll just think he’s dead. What does one more person matter when 1.8 billion people have already died?
That’s true. Even if Black Scythe comes back, the situation won’t change.
If he’s alive, I’ll be really jealous. He’ll get to make a wish.
There are still fools who believe in that wish-granting nonsense.
There were more comments, but I didn’t read them.
I just closed the window.
I didn’t want to see it.
“Brother...”
My brother’s body, which I left unmoved until noon.
Is it premature to call it a corpse?
I can’t pretend it’s narcolepsy when there’s no breath or pulse.
“Haaa...”
I went to the bathroom and suddenly looked in the mirror.
My eyes were swollen from all the crying.
It seemed like I wouldn’t be able to cry anymore.
‘Brother...’
But thinking about my brother who hadn’t returned.
Realizing that I was now alone.
The tears I thought were exhausted flowed down my cheeks again.
‘...I can’t just stay like this. People must be worried too.’
As I saw in the community comments, I decided to inform the people.
About my brother’s death, Black Scythe.
—————
[Breaking News: Black Scythe Fails to Return from the Final Round...]
[Survival Game King Fails to Clear the Last Round...]
[The Only Surviving Player, Black Scythe, Falls Like a Star.]
My brother’s death quickly became news.
I thought it would feel like the last spark of hope had been extinguished, but people were cold.
Black Scythe has died...
He really was an amazing person.
I can’t believe he couldn’t clear the final round...
Why all the fuss over one person? People really are nosy...
Yeah, what is this? Is it like a president died or something?
There were compassionate reactions, but also some sarcastic ones.
‘They’re not wrong. Those who didn’t participate in the survival game are mere spectators.’
But that doesn’t apply to me.
My only support and family, my brother.
I was his only family too.
————
With a heavy heart, I held my brother’s funeral.
Many people came to mourn his death, but I felt no joy.
Not because most of the attendees were journalists and citizens.
‘This won’t bring my brother back.’
My brother, Ryu Min, is no longer in this world.
Forever.
——————
After the funeral, I stopped eating for a while.
A large, expensive house overlooking the Han River.
The enormous inheritance left by my brother.
Even the angels who no longer appeared.
You might think I have an enviable life with no lacks.
But no.
‘What’s the point of a life without my brother...?’
I was left alone.
Dad, mom, and now my brother were gone too.
Each day was meaningless.
Like it would be better to be dead.
‘What was that religion that said if you commit suicide you go to hell? Maybe that would be better.’
What’s the point of a world where I’m alone?
What’s the point of surviving without my brother?
‘I don’t have the confidence. Brother... I don’t have the confidence to live without you...’
Looking at the night view from high up, I thought.
Would it hurt if I jumped from this height?
Would I die without feeling pain?
If I die, will I be able to meet my brother?
Do heaven and hell really exist?
Whatever it is, it would be better than here.
Because a world without my brother is hell.
Yes, it’s an escape.
What I’m trying to do is a struggle to escape from this world.
With that in mind, I started searching the internet the next day.
How to commit suicide
How to die without pain
How to die without harming others
I searched how to die, not how to overcome life.
Because I didn’t have the confidence to face a world without my brother.
‘I’m not as strong as you, brother... I can’t endure it.’
We had already completed the funeral, so there was no way my brother would return from the grave.
It still felt like a lie, and it seemed like he could appear at any moment and talk to me.
But my brother’s traces had been erased from the world.
Completely.
My brother, who had achieved so much under the name Black Scythe, had finally failed.
Out of the 1.8 billion players, none survived, and even my brother, the last hope, had turned to ashes.
The world had been defeated, and the young generation had disappeared.
There was no spark of hope left in this world.
Nor in mine.
—————————
A package arrived for me, so I picked it up at the door.
Inside the box was a thick, sturdy rope I had ordered from an online store.
‘Now let’s get it ready.’
I searched the internet on how to tie knots.
Following the instructions on my phone, I made the knot step by step.
I prepared myself like that.
In a calm and serene atmosphere.
Preparing to leave this world.
‘Brother, I’ll be following you soon.’
I finished the knot and hung it from the ceiling.
I secured it tightly so it wouldn’t come loose.
Not even if several people hung from it.
‘Alright, everything is ready now.’
With a slight sense of satisfaction, I climbed onto the chair.
The custom-made loop for my head welcomed me.
‘To leave without harming anyone, this is the only way.’
Just once.
I only have to endure that single pain.
I’ll be able to escape this hell.
The circular loop went around my head.
I checked that it was properly fastened to my neck.
I had no trouble getting this far.
But at the moment of truth, I hesitated.
My hands and feet, which moved easily just a moment ago, began trembling uncontrollably.
‘Calm down, just once...’
I have nothing to lose.
In a world without my brother.
I gathered my courage, cheering myself on.
Clack!
The sound of the chair falling was heard.
Crack!
“Argh!”
My neck immediately tightened, and it became hard to breathe.
‘My, my neck...’
The human survival instinct.
It’s truly amazing.
As death approached, I suddenly wanted to live.
It seemed ridiculous given that just a moment ago, I said I had no reason to live.
‘Get, get me out of here... get me...’
I desperately moved my feet, but they reached nothing.
That movement only made the rope tighten more.
My 67 kg body was held solely by a rope.
Which pulled at my neck as if it were going to break it.
Fortunately, my hands weren’t tied, so I desperately grabbed the rope above my head.
That allowed me to breathe a little, but...
“Kuh...!”
The rope was too tight around my neck.
My arms began losing strength.
Just before I lost consciousness...
Clack!
I fell heavily to the ground.
I immediately loosened the rope around my neck.
“Hah, hah... I-I survived...”
I had been lucky.
The rope I had secured loosened at the last moment.
But something was strange.
‘What... why is it so short?’
The rope hanging from my neck was visibly shorter.
If the rope I secured had come loose, it shouldn’t have been this short.
Moreover, the end of the rope looked cleanly cut.
‘What...?’
With that doubt in mind, I lifted my head...
“...!”
My eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Standing at the door was my brother, the one I had so desperately wished to see.
“B-Brother!”
“Ryu Won. It’s been tough, hasn’t it?”
The voice and smile were just as I remembered them.
It was my brother, without a doubt.
This wasn’t an illusion or anything like that.
The brother standing in front of me was real.
“Are you alive, brother? H-how...?”
“Hold on. Don’t cry and listen.”
My brother, who stopped my tears from falling, frowned as if scolding me.
“I know it’s been hard without me, but trying to commit suicide isn’t right. Do you think I’d feel good about that?”
“Brother...”
“You have to get through this. No matter how tough it is, those who are alive must keep living. What do you think you’re doing? Do you want me to really scold you?”
The seriousness on my brother’s face as he reprimanded me filled me with joy and nostalgia, but the atmosphere was too tense for me to say anything.
“Don’t die. Ever. If you die just because I’m not here... I’ll never forgive you.”
“Brother...”
It was then that...
My brother’s image faded like a mirage, and my eyes shot open wide again.
“Brother? Brother!”
I shot up and searched the entire house.
But there was no trace of him.
As if he had never been there.