Reaper of the Drifting Moon - Chapter 2

Water drops were flowing along the curved side of the wall. Although it was a very small amount, it was the water of life that made Pyo-wol hold the string of life.

Pyo-wol frantically licked the wall.

It was only a little bit, but as the water entered his body, his hunger also went away a little.

After drinking enough water, Pyo-wol’s rationality returned little by little.

“Hu!”

He leaned his back against the wall and sighed.

As the water was supplied to the body that had been afflicted with gamul, strength returned little by little to his dried up muscles. (가물이 들었던 육신에 물이 공급되자, 말라비틀어진 근육에도 힘이조금씩 돌아왔다.)

Pyo-wol moved his arms and legs while breathing slowly. 

As time went on, his joints were gently loosening. His muscles were also getting stronger.

When he had sufficient strength, Pyo-wol leaned his back against the wall and tried to stand up. 

“Okay!” (“끄응!”)

A painful moan came out of his mouth, and veins spurted out of his forehead.

Simply crawling on the floor and getting up with strength in both legs required a different level of strength and concentration of mind.

It was a painful challenge for Pyo-wol, who had been lying on the floor for a long time with his entire body paralyzed.

In his mind, he wanted to rest his back against the wall like before. But knowing that he could never get up if he did, Pyo-wol endured the pain and gave strength to his legs.

Both of his legs were trembling, and cold sweat flowed down like a waterfall from his body. All the water he drank a while ago seemed to be drained out as sweat.

“Turn it off!” (“끄으으!”)

Pyo-wol clenched his teeth and inhaled deeply. (표월은 이를 악물며 젖 먹던 힘까지 끌어모았다.)

His body shook as if he was about to fall soon. However, Pyo-Wol barely managed to hold on to his center of gravity.

He eventually stood up on his own two legs.

“Hoo!”

The breath that had been suppressed came out.

Pyo-wol wheezed as he stood holding his thighs with both of his hands.

He couldn’t confirm it because he couldn’t see it, but Pyo-wol thought that hot steam would rise over his body.

That’s how hot his body was.

Like a volcano just before it erupts.

Pyo-wol had to spend a long time dissipating the heat.

When the heat finally subsided, he looked around.

All he could see was still a deep black darkness.

Even though he had been here for quite a while, his eyes still did not adapt to the darkness.

In the end, Pyo-wol gave up looking with his eyes. Instead, he reached out and touched the wall in front of him.

The walls were slippery as water flowed for a long time.

He felt fine protrusions as well as bites on my hands.

‘Moss?’

Moss is always present when there is water flowing. In particular, such a humid place was the optimal environment for moss to grow.

Pyo-wol skimmed the wall with the tip of his nail. When moss was caught on his nail, he ripped it off.

He couldn’t tell what color the moss was, nor can he tell what kind it was.

Some moss is edible, but some can cause serious health problems. It could have been poisonous, or it could have harbored a disease.

If he can see it with his eyes, he can easily decide, but now the only thing that Pyo-wol can get information from was the sense of his fingertips.

Pyo-wol felt a twisting pain in his stomach.

The hunger that he had forgotten for a while suddenly came back.

Drinking water was nothing more than a temporary measure. He had to eat something.

His fingertips alone wouldn’t be enough to tell if the moss was edible. Still, the fact that he was holding moss in his hand made his mouth salivate.

His worries didn’t last long.

Now was the time to eat something.

Even if it’s poison.

Pyo-wol took the moss to his mouth.

The mouth was tight.

An indescribable hellish taste attacked his tongue. The taste was so terrible that Pyo-wol almost sat down and gagged.

Knowing that once he sat down in his current state, it would be impossible to get up again, Pyo-wol forced himself to hold on.

Water dripped from his eyes and nose.

Since losing his parents, he has been wandering around the world and picking up all kinds of things, but he has never tasted something this horrendous. 

It was such a taste that he didn’t want to taste it again.

Pyo-wol did not throw away the moss in his hand despite his streaming tears and running nose. 

Hell was unfolding in his mouth, but fortunately he didn’t feel any abnormality in other parts.

If moss had harbored extreme poison, he would have lost his life as soon as it was eaten. Even if it did not have such an extreme effect, any abnormality should have been felt in the body.

But he didn’t feel any other abnormalities except that his taste buds were numb.

It meant it was edible.

Pyo-wol hastily scraped the moss and brought it to his mouth.

Since his mouth was already paralyzed, he no longer felt the taste of hell. It was painful nonetheless, but once he got used to it, it was tolerable.

Deaddeck! (드드득!)

Pyo-wol randomly scraped the wall and collected moss. When it is collected to a certain extent, he puts it in his mouth, and he repeats the act of collecting the moss.

‘I can live. I can live somehow.’

Chewing the moss, Pyo-wol murmured.

His tongue was almost paralyzed, and his voice never came out of his mouth, but his spirits were firm.

He had to survive to get revenge on the man who imprisoned him here.

At the very least, he would be relieved to find out the reason why he had been imprisoned here.

He didn’t know how much of the moss had been scraped off.

There was no feeling of satiety. Still, the hunger went away to some extent.

His tongue continued to tingle as if paralyzed.

Pyo-wol caressed the area around his mouth with his hand. Fortunately, after some time, the sensation of his tongue returned to normal.

Pyo-wol thought he was lucky. 

It was a gamble that risked his life.

He doesn’t know how big the space he’s trapped in, but there’s a lot of moss on the wall, so he’ll be able to hang on to his life for the time being. Of course, he will have to endure that hellish taste every time.

Pyo-wol, who was standing and resting for a while, soon began to move, putting his hand on the wall.

It was to estimate the size of the space in which he was confined.

As he walked about ten steps with his left hand against the wall, a dead end appeared. It is blocked by the wall.

He walked again along the blocked wall. Again, after about ten steps, a wall appeared.

‘A rectangular space of about three square meters.’ 

It was only then that Pyo-wol began to visualize the size and shape of the space in which he was confined.

I could roll. (릴 수 있었다.)

Pyo-wol continued walking along the wall.

Chin!

Then something was caught in my fingertips.

It was a solid feeling, a different texture from moss.

Pyo-wol moved his hand along the different area. (표월은 이질적인 걸림 부위를 따라 손을 움직였다.)

It was a single line.

A long and thin line.

A square line like a space trapped by a table wall. (표월이 갇혀 있는 공간처럼 네모난 장방형의 선.)

‘Is it a door?’

Pyo-wol knocked on the part that was supposed to be the door with his hand.

Thump!

A dull sound echoed in the underground space where he was confined.

t was a distinctly different sound from the other parts.

‘Big, thick iron gate.’

Pyo-wol fumbled and looked around for a device that could open the door. However, the iron gate was smooth with no protrusions or indentations.

There was no way to open it inside. It seemed like it could only be opened from the outside.

Pyo-wol couldn’t figure out a way to open the door. But he didn’t despair.

He survived the starvation crisis.

There was moss and water to hold on for a while. It will be difficult and painful, but he will be able to survive for a few days.

Pyo-wol slowly sat down, leaning his back against the iron gate.

Now there was no fear that it would never happen again. (​​이제 두 번 다시 못 일어날 거라는 두려움은 없었다.)

Now that he has filled his stomach, it’s time to rest.

In the darkness, only the sound of his breathing echoed.

* * *

Pyo-wol opened his eyes.

In fact, it was unclear whether his eyes were open or still closed.

He closed his eyes, but when he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness.

Pyo-wol lay still and tried to gauge how much time had passed.

It didn’t seem like a long time had passed since he didn’t feel hungry.

For the past few days, Pyo-wol had lived by eating moss on the walls.

He thought he would never get used to it, but to his surprise, he got used to the hellish taste of moss.

His tongue is still numb, but it doesn’t feel as disgusting as it used to be.

After solving his hunger like that, many thoughts flooded his mind like a tidal wave.

It was quiet here.

There was no sound outside.

He couldn’t see ahead, so he couldn’t feel the passage of time.

It was obvious that anyone would go crazy if they were locked up here.

He had to hold his mind tight. 

If he lowered his guard, he would lose himself and go crazy.

Pyo-wol constantly repeated his name and tried not to lose his identity.

There was no promise of how long it would last like this.

When he was hungry, he scraped the moss on the wall and licked the running water.

He had to persevere in order to survive.

Pyo-wol thought that he was getting thinner and leaner. 

Even if he wasn’t, the fat that was unsightly was lost. Fortunately, he can still maintain his strength, but he did not know when the limit would come.

The moss on the wall was not infinite.

The day when all the moss disappears will be his last. Still, he thought he’d stick with it until then.

He didn’t know why he was holding on so badly like this.

If he would just give up, his body could have been more comfortable.

He didn’t know that if he died, he wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

Such temptations came often.

Each time, Pyo-wol bit his lip and endured.

Overcoming the temptation of death, his mouth was torn and bursting. There was no day when his blood would dry. 

The wall suddenly felt peculiar. (표월은 문득 인기척을 느꼈다.)

When he looked up, he saw someone looking down at him.

‘Who’s there?’

He questioned. 

The iron gate was clearly firmly shut.

There was no sign of anyone coming in from the outside.

Above all, it made no sense to see someone else’s figure in this pitch-black darkness.

Pyo-wol still couldn’t see his hand.

‘It’s not real. Is it a dream?’

Pyo-wol raised his head and looked at the person looking down at him.

The man with a skinny face and body and empty eyes strangely resembles himself.

It was clear that if he had been skinny before he came in here, he would be like that.

‘It’s me.’

It was then that Pyo-wol realized that the man he was facing was another version of himself.

It was exactly himself in a dream.

Or, it was his true form lurking within.

In an extremely cornered situation, one would start to see things that you would never see in the normal way.

Pyo-wol asked his inner self.

“What?”

—For what reason are you enduring so recklessly? Just let it go. If you let it go, it will be easier.

His inner self replied.

Pyo-wol narrowed his eyes.

Because he didn’t expect him to actually answer.

He asked

—Why are you holding on so hard? For what reason when you don’t have anything. What is a bastard who has nothing to protect endures so recklessly?

“Is there something I must protect?”

—It’s funny, why do you struggle so much because you can’t afford to waste your life? Give up. Giving up makes it easier

“Will you really feel comfortable?”

—What?

“Will it really be comfortable when you let go? I don’t think so.”

—You’re sick as hell.

“I’m going to live. It’s a life that I can’t afford to lose. I’m going to survive and see the end.”

—You’re talking nonsense.

“It would be unfair to die like this. I’ll put a knife on the guy who imprisoned me here. If I don’t then I won’t be able to close my eyes even if I die.”

— … 

“So, I’m going to live. I’m going to live like a vicious person and get revenge on everyone who made me this way.”

The inner self squatted down and stared in each other’s eyes.

—Are you really going to get revenge?

“Yes.”

—You won’t give up?

“Never!”

His inner self smiled, as if he liked Pyo-wol’s answer. 

Pyo-wol also smiled.

Their smiles were strikingly similar.

At that moment, Pyo-wol opened his eyes.

His inner self was gone. 

Pyo-wol realized that he had woken up from a dream. At the same time, he realized that the other self he had seen was not just a dream.

It was his inner heart demon (心魔).

If he hadn’t been able to overcome the heart demon, he would have been devoured and gone insane. Or his ego would be split in two.

Darkness drives people crazy.

Pyo-wol had passed a new hurdle unknowingly. 

“Hu!”

Pyo-wol sighed.

Chunkyung!

Suddenly, the window at the bottom of the iron gate opened with a dull sound.

The space was only small enough to fit one small plate.

A faint light peered through the space.

Even with the feeble light, Pyo-wol’s eyes hurt as if they were about to explode.

Eyes that have adapted to darkness react violently to weak light.

Suk!

A small plate popped inside. And the window was closed again.

Pyo-wol’s sense of smell was the first to respond.

‘Food?’