He noticed the snowflakes fluttering above his head.
Emma's pale face—untouched by time—was hidden among the shimmering crystal dust.
When Meyer looked at Magnus, he felt as if time had stopped.
And then suddenly—he found himself somewhere strange.
A place that resembled a crimson apocalypse.
The snow had thickened into hail.
And now it was blood red.
"A fatal crimson," Meyer muttered.
The air carried a metallic scent, not like the winters of old.
More like spice stabbed into the molecules of air—
or the taste you'd get if you bit down on an iron table.
Why was he here?
He had no answer.
Only muffled voices circled around him.
In the middle of those dreamlike echoes,
he suddenly saw massive Huyger.
The tears falling from his soft-hearted friend's eyes were not tears—
they were droplets of blood.
"Huyger, is that you?" Meyer asked.
"Why are you crying, huh?"
"I'm here," said Huyger, and repeated with pain in his voice.
"Right here, in front of you."
"Then why are you crying?" Meyer asked, watching the blood trail down Huyger's cheeks.
"I'm in pain," he replied.
"A sorrow that grips my heart like a curse.
I lost my child."
"Which one?" Meyer asked, eyebrows furrowing.
"My first," Huyger whispered.
"My daughter."
"H-how? Where... where are we?" Meyer stammered.
"We now serve Code 43."
The words fell from Huyger's lips like death notes—drenched in despair.
At that moment, Huyger remembered:
The gates of the past had swung wide open.
"Devil Chip activated.
Ready to descend into memory?"
As the voice echoed through Meyer's mind,
he felt his identity begin to peel away.
Deeply, irreversibly.
His shoulders sank inward,
heels tingling, urging him to move.
His fists clenched—
ready like a martial artist before the strike.
"Yes," Meyer said.
"Yes."
With that, his mind was locked in the vaults of the past.
The world was warmer back then.
Maybe it was forty-five years ago,
when Huyger and Meyer had gone to Bitloins to get ice cream.
When they stepped out,
Huyger once again remembered how absolutely awful that ice cream tasted.
It was as if part of him was still living inside that moment.
Afterward, Huyger had suggested they visit the zoo.
And off they went—
to a sanctuary nestled at the foot of a once-famous volcanic ridge, beloved by tourists.
As Meyer passed by each cage holding wild or docile animals,
he felt the fear or admiration he once had rush through him—
this time in fast-forward.
What was in this memory?
Was something hidden here?
"Why this memory?" Meyer muttered,
pressing his temples hard between his fingers.
Inside his mind, everything collapsed like a shattered sculpture.
Then—
like data tearing through a glitch—
headlines flew across his vision like digital news clippings:
"2048: Armed Robbery at the Precious Minerals Conference Office – Magma Protection Zone"
"2047: Death of the Head of the Valuable Ore Union Spreads Terror Nationwide"
What was the connection between these?
Meyer opened his eyes in a haze of confusion.
When he did—
Huyger was gone.
Time had begun bleeding into itself.
Everything overlapped like a tangled metaphor.
Why were these memories resurfacing?
Was this the work of the Devil Chip?
The only answer was what came next—
Magnus, now within view.
He wasn't looking at Meyer like a judge.
Nor like an executioner.
He was just… there.
Meyer didn't understand.
Not a thing.
What was he supposed to say?
Or was silence the better choice?
His answer?
A massive "I don't know."
"You have a mission," said Magnus, his voice calm.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Meyer clenched his fist—
and promised himself he'd only hold back for two seconds.
"You might be the only one Code 43 accepted on the first try," Magnus continued.
"That's why I must obey you."
Far off in the distance,
lights danced across the scars of the fallen Cutter.
They looked like starlight.
"You're a liar!" Meyer roared.
"A damn player! Tell me—what's your real game this time?
Someone like you doesn't bow to anyone.
So what's in it for you?!"
Emma and Magnus exchanged a look.
The question had hit like an avalanche.
"…Don't you remember anything?" Magnus asked, his voice softer now.
"Anything about the—"
"Shut up!" Meyer yelled, cutting him off.
"You say one more word, and I'll smash your face in!"
Every time that demon inside him surged,
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
"He doesn't remember," Magnus whispered.
"Don't make him remember," Emma pleaded.
Magnus locked eyes with Meyer.
There was depth there. Attention.
"I'm telling you—he has to," Magnus said, pressing the thought.
Meyer slammed his right fist into Magnus's nose.
Blood sprayed into the air.
"Stop," Emma whispered.
But this time—
Meyer didn't smile.
He looked confused.
"…Where's Huyger?" he asked.
Where had that vision gone?
The red sky?
The falling hail?
All of it… disappeared.
As he stared at the motionless Magnus,
the Devil Chip activated.
"Would you like to access the memories Magnus mentioned?"
"No," Meyer said.
This chip only functioned through frequencies that communicated directly with the brain.
It sent signals to the correct neural pathways—
a design clearly created after the year 10,250.
It was a fascinating version,
and Meyer was sure even more advanced models were out there.
He fell silent.
Turned his back.
And once again, with his whole mind, said:
"No."
He walked away from the devastated battlefield.
Emma's gaze fell like a brittle tree branch.
Her eyelids trembled.
The spiders had raised their heads—
watching Meyer.
But when no command came from their master,
they silently returned to their underground shelters.
Around the Cutter's dead body,
flies fed on the ashes of magma.
The moment Meyer looked at them—
a signal flared in his brain.
"Do you remember the flies?"
"Zoo," Meyer murmured as he walked.
Then—his pace quickened.
He realized just how much he had missed running.
"Zoo," he repeated, lifting the heel of his right foot.
Letting the left go slack.
He clenched his fists—
and launched himself forward.
It took mere seconds for him to realize just how powerful his legs had become.
He dashed across shattered stone and ash-gray rubble.
From deep underground, a warm draft pulsed against his calves.
His throat burned—
a flame rising in his windpipe.
All he could think about was what Magnus had said.
Each step seemed to lead him somewhere he already knew by heart.
He took a deep breath to silence his inner voice—
and slowed down.
"You know the Tower,"
Code 43 had said.
"Come to it."
As his thoughts darkened,
the sky mirrored them.
Ahead were charcoal-colored apartment blocks,
dry-branch trees,
and circular gardens full of cacti.
He passed them all—
until he stopped.
He leaned forward, hands on his knees, catching his breath.
Lightning struck—
a white tick-shaped line flashing in the sky.
A message appeared.
"To enter the Tower, you must learn the password.
To learn the password, prove yourself to the mosquitos at the Tower Gate.
Rule: The Tower Gate Mosquitos carry the F21 virus through the blood they suck from humans.
Once infected, you'll die in fifteen minutes.
There is only one way to fight them:
Do. Not. Fear.
Players who pass this level earn Fearless Points
and are invited to the Rookie Courage Club.
Ready?"
Meyer grinned crookedly.
"Me?"
He raised his fists and felt the beat of a heart that held no fear.
"Hell yeah.
Where's the entrance?"
Lightning cracked.
And his footsteps disappeared inside a strobe of white flashes.
He could smell the blood.
And something else—
the scent of death
floating on the wings of mosquitos.
Everything…
was just beginning.