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Sung Jinwoo knew it wasn’t his destiny to die in the double dungeon, it shouldn’t be as he was part of the 60% of humans who had a soulmate. The only downside was they could only see the world in black and white until they met their soulmate face to face. A simple picture wouldn’t be enough, as their eyes couldn’t be deceived like that. But it is said that every soulmate meets each other once in their life, it was destined to be that way. They just never stated how long you’ll live after meeting them. So for him to die in the dungeon without having met his soulmate could be a link to the rumors that dungeons have gone beyond the will of God. He hoped the rumors were wrong, as he didn’t want to be the first one to die without meeting their soulmate.
That’s why he wasn’t so shocked to wake up in the hospital bed, but he was surprised to find his body whole again. It was something no healer could do, perhaps an S-Rank one, but it seemed doubtful one would waste their power on him, an E-Rank. He figured out the reason he got his leg back, and with the system he gained power unimaginable. Sung Jinwoo could guess there was another reason for the system to help him, but he decided to power up rather than worry about it, he doubted that with the current level he was at that he could do anything about it. With his new abilities he was able to meet more people, but his world remained black and white, none of them being his soulmate. He wasn’t sure when his soulmate would appear, but he wasn’t about to give up, just like he didn’t give up inside the double dungeon.
He was recognized as an S-Rank after taking the reawaken test and with his face plastered around the news he knew he was getting more and more looks. Those looks hid lust in them, but he paid them no mind, as none of them were his soulmate. He planned to wait for his soulmate just like his parents did, though he didn’t hate those that didn’t wait for their soulmate. Everyone had their own reasons, even his mother. Sung Jinwoo couldn’t help but wonder if his mother could see color because his father was killed inside a dungeon and not in the same world as her, rather than the fact he was still alive somewhere. Then again, anything can happen, such as his own powers. Sung Jinwoo was sure he was the only hunter who could level up. Once that secret was out, he knew many people would aim to own him, in some way or another.
His mission didn’t change as he started his own guild with a trustworthy companion and one of his cousins, and he showed the world he wouldn’t be owned. Sung Jinwoo was rewarded for his efforts with a harsh slap across his face as his eyes recognized color, but at the cost of finding his soulmate, being beaten up by what appeared to be university bullies. Why is my soulmate being bullied? Sung Jinwoo didn’t have time to wrap his mind around that as he quickly used his soldiers to pull the bullies away, for the first time in his life he had a strong desire to kill humans. He didn’t want to show that type of scene to his soulmate.
One thing led to another and his sister left with his mother to check out the university on a self tour to see if it was right for her. Sung Jinwoo found himself at a café near the university, learning everything he could about his soulmate. His name was Kim Dokja, 19 and just finished his required military service, getting into the university out of sheer luck, or so he says. He immediately talks about his favorite series called Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, which Sung Jinwoo was glad was fictional, since Kim Dokja talked about the main character like he was in love. Hours passed until he got a text from his sister saying they were heading home since they looked through the campus, but Sung Jinwoo decided to stay a bit longer as he didn’t want to part from his soulmate. Eventually he did have to go as he had to raid dungeons the next day, much to his annoyance, but the hunter made sure to get Kim Dokja’s contact information.
Weeks pass, and they’ve practically told every secret they had to one another. There was also the fact that Sung Jinwoo put shadows on his soulmate, paranoid he’ll lose him.
His paranoia came true as the Frost Monarch pieced a blade through his soulmate, somehow finding him. Sung Jinwoo was too slow to stop it.
The rest… The rest was destruction.
At the end of it, Sung Jinwoo was glad that his rage didn’t get to his family, feeling his shadows informing him that his family was safely hidden away. He felt pity for the Canadian citizens that were caught in the crossfire of his destruction in his blinded need to destroy all the Monarchs.
Looking up at the wicked Rulers who stood by and watched the chaos, watched his soulmate get killed off, Sung Jinwoo demanded, “Tell me where my Kim Dokja is. Take me to whatever Worldline you speak of.”
“If we take you there, you can’t come back.” One Ruler warned.
“What’s left for me, here? Without my soulmate.” Sung Jinwoo’s voice broke, the pain of seeing his soulmate die in front of him flashing in his mind. That being the last moment he saw color, however brief it was. He loved his family, but he knew he couldn’t live like that, his mother would understand.
“Then so be it. But note this, Shadow Monarch, It seems they do not remember you. However, their soul is the same, he will finally see color, not knowing of the soulmate bond of this Worldline, believing himself to be cursed. Tread carefully.” Another Ruler spoke, giving Sung Jinwoo useful information.
The scene before him was beautiful, at least in Sung Jinwoo’s opinion. There his soulmate was, a little older from his own timeline, but the resemblance was uncanny. He was scrolling on his phone, sitting down in the train station they were in, so absorbed in his reading, perhaps a web novel like he loved in his previous life. He watched as the woman talked to him, restraining the jealousy that filled his heart at the smile Kim Dokja sent her. It was an awkward one, unlike the one he gifted Sung Jinwoo, easing his heart over the fact he didn’t have competition, at least not yet.
He watched Kim Dokja look at his phone with a puzzled expression that Sung Jinwoo found adorable. The Shadow Monarch tapped his feet, anxious to follow Kim Dokja outside the train and start conversing with him. Formulating an explanation of his sudden ability to see color if the concept wasn’t well known in the Worldline they were in, like the Rulers explained.
It seemed even this Worldline was against him being with his soulmate as the train screeched to a halt and the “free service of the 8612th planetary system”’s end was announced by a Dokkaebi. Sung Jinwoo didn’t pay attention to that, honing in on the fact the lady who was talking to his Kim Dokja was clinging onto him.
This… This is the web novel my Kim Dokja was obsessed with. Three Ways of Survival. It’s just his luck to get stuck in a Worldline like this. Sung Jinwoo was glad he decided to follow his soulmate. He knew Kim Dokja would find a way to survive, but Sung Jinwoo would make it easier for him, already feeling his soldiers prepare for battle. I need to tread carefully, I can’t show all my powers right now, or it’ll get annoying.
He managed to hold himself back, killing a random individual in the train with ease, being the first one to kill, and it ended up being the boy who was beating up a grandma. He briefly recalled Kim Dokja mentioning a white hair teen in the web novel he hated, and with a glance at his school jacket, he noticed the names matched. It seems I killed a somewhat important character, bummer.
He discarded the body on top of the grandma, shielding her with a hidden threat of what would happen if they hurt her. He knew she was going to die, but he didn’t want her dying the way they were attempting to do.
Sung Jinwoo glanced towards the pair of eyes he’s longed to look at again to find the shocked expression of his soulmate.
“Don’t be afraid, Kim Dokja. I’m here now. I’ll make sure to protect you.”