Chapter 15: The City of Echoes

The first rays of dawn crept over the horizon, casting long shadows across the ruined city. Towering crumbling buildings stood silent, their walls wrapped in thick vines. Shattered glass littered the ground, glinting like fallen stars in the pale morning light. The air was thick with dust and decay, the remnants of a civilization long lost.

"We're here," Sehan said, stepping forward.

The others hesitated. Their weary eyes darted across the unfamiliar terrain, scanning for danger.

Jisoo exhaled sharply. "I can't believe we actually made it."

"This place looks... dead," Yura murmured, hugging herself despite the warmth of the rising sun.

Sehan didn't respond immediately. To the untrained eye, the city appeared abandoned. But he knew better. No world in God’s Game was ever truly empty.

Something was watching.

"We don't have time to stand around," he said. "First, we secure a shelter. Then we scavenge for supplies."

Jisoo nodded, stepping up beside him. "Any idea where we should go?"

Sehan scanned the ruins, mentally mapping the best possible locations.

• A high-rise would be too exposed.
• Underground is too risky.
• They needed something defensive—but not obvious.

His gaze locked onto a mid-sized building with thick walls and a partially intact roof.

"There," he pointed. "It’ll hold for now."

Echoes of the Past

The group moved cautiously through the city, their footsteps echoing eerily against the cracked pavement. The silence was suffocating, thick with an unnatural stillness.

Then they saw them.

Half-buried bones, rusted weapons, shattered helmets.

"This place was a battlefield," Jisoo muttered.

Sehan knelt beside a skeletal corpse, brushing dust from its cracked armor. The markings were faded, but they told a story of struggle.

"Not just a battlefield," he corrected. "A graveyard."

Yura’s fingers clenched around her bow. "We shouldn't stay here."

"We don't have a choice," Sehan said, rising to his feet. "It's survive here or die out there."

The Shelter

They reached the target building, its entrance partially collapsed under debris. It took a few minutes of effort to clear a path inside.

The air was stale, thick with dust and mildew, but it was stable. Safe—for now.

"This will do," Jisoo said, setting down his pack. "We should set up watches."

"I'll take first watch," Sehan offered immediately.

Jisoo hesitated. "Are you sure? You've been on edge the entire journey."

Sehan's grip tightened on his sword. "That's exactly why I should keep watch."

Jisoo didn’t argue. The others, exhausted beyond words, collapsed into makeshift resting spots.

Sehan, however, remained standing.

Outside, the wind howled through the ruins. But beneath it—just barely—he heard it.

Movement.

They weren’t alone.