without you.

Apart.

Kim dokja joked as though he didn't have a wound that was gushing blood. All Yoo Joonghyuk could do was stare at him while standing motionless.

Joonghyuk grit his teeth, his hands balling into tight fists. If Kim dokja died today.. he'd regress and kill him himself. He hated the fact that he would miss Kim dokja if he were gone.

Kim dokja.. weren't special... he would never admit to it even if he tried.

So why did he..?

"Get up." His voice was low. Almost a plead, almost a whisper. Stop playing around. "Get up."

"yoo joonghyuk.. let's meet again in your next regression."

Kim Dokja's body then went limp and lifeless, his mouth gushing blood as he closed his eyes and grinned. That lovely obsidian pupil grew dead and bland. Once more, he offered himself as a sacrifice without being asked to. He's really dead now. He is not going to be able to resurrect.

It's cold, and the wind is blowing strongly. It is an unpleasant day. Kim Dokja has a bitterly cold body. The following regression? Perhaps there will be one more chance in the future.

"Damn it."

He started running to Kim dokja, swearing to himself. He narrowed his eyes and stared at his body, waiting for him to move.

"dokja... Kim dokja. damn it, move..."

Yoo joonghyuk was not going anywhere again. There is no way that this is true. He's experienced so many regressions. This is not how dokja could be dead. Possibly he was simply... not consciously.

The other companions came by, running, and witnessed the corpse of Kim Dokja. Most of them began to cry; others simply stared at Kim Dokja, their bodies frozen. The two kids ran to the cold body in deniel, waiting for Kim Dokja to revive again like he always does.

Yoo joonghyuk's heart pounded in his chest, filling his ears with deafening noise. Kim Dokja was never supposed to be gone. He was supposed to be here... with him. Follow him to the end of the scenarios. No matter how many times Yoo Joonghyuk tried to unalive himself, Kim Dokja was supposed to stop him and reassure him that they would save the world in this regression.

Jung Heewon couldn't stand the sight of Kim Dokja's deceased body... with blood leaking out of his chest and his eyes closed, lifeless. It hurt too much.
Her voice was choked with pain, and her body was trembling. "Damn..damn it... Kim dokja... why..?!"

This world... This world had taken away the one person who could accept him despite his selfishness, cruelty, and coldness. Kim Dokja did not hold it against him. Instead, he supported him and sometimes stopped him from making heisty decisions. He was there for him when no one else could.

And in return, he was a complete ass to him.

Despite Kim Dokja being one of the individuals who didn't fear him, he acted like a complete prick towards him. He didn't want Kim Dokja to get close to him. Because Yoo Joonghyuk was afraid he would get attached...

Joonghyuk didn't really understand his feelings, but the thing is, he wasn't human anymore. He wasn't human for a long time, and the fact that he managed to survive many regressions without losing his mind proved that.

Kim Dokja was something more than a companion, more than a friend. He was so much more...

The world was always destined for doom and ruin. But he didn't mind it. He didn't mind anything, as long as you were there. Nothing mattered except Kim Dokja.

For gilyoung, Kim Dokja Hyung always understood him. Hyung was there for him during those dark times. It hurt so much to see him die... again.

Gilyoung couldn't hold it in. He began sobbing uncontrollably, falling to his knees and hugging the cold corpse tightly, in denial of what had happened. The same goes for Kim dokja's incarnation.

The two children were broken. Completely. They both think they have no purpose anymore. Shin Yoosung would've wanted the world to burn and suffer. She didn't care about saving it anymore, not that it was possible to begin with.

Kim Dokja encouraged and helped Lee Hyunsung grow as a person and skills-wise. As a result, Lee Hyunsung is very grateful to Kim Dokja and is exceedingly loyal to him. For a person like Lee Hyunsung, who lives following the command, Kim Dokja became a being similar to a guide. To Lee Hyunsung, Kim Dokja is a very important person.

"Kim dokja-ssi..hic..."

Without the guide, Lee Hyunsung felt his heart drop. There is no guide, which means he is lost. He does not know what the next step is in this already-ruined world. Kim Dokja is their home; the nebula is not complete without their owner. They have no home to return to anymore.

Han Sooyoung wanted to scream.

She wanted to rage. She wanted to curse and tear her hair out.

Han Sooyoung wanted to curse this cruel world where she had to watch Kim Dokja sacrifice himself over and over again.

She wanted to curse every god that had the power to change this but did nothing.

But she had no energy left in her. She sat on the ground next to Kim Dokja's body. her hands trembling as she stared at his unmoving body.

_________________________________________

There is always a cycle in life. The past repeats itself, whether in reality or in the form of a black haze in their head. Trauma can never disappear, is what they say. It sticks with you, a parasite that drains your blood until a quiet, cold corpse is all that is left. A parasite that whispers into his ears, digs into his bones, and leaves blistering marks that burn. Just like his existence never leaving their memories.