Strange New World (II)

At first nothing happened and Doyun almost felt stupid for expecting anything. It was just a phone application after all, so there was no way it could give him real powers. He scowled irritated at himself and went to pick up his phone and then-

 And then, the pain came. An excruciating, painful burning feeling in his eye sockets that made him want to claw them out. It felt like his eyes were on fire, like they were slowly melting away until there was nothing left.

 Doyun's hands clawed at where his eyes used to be. He couldn't even make a sound as screams died way before they left his throat. It hurt, hurt and hurt. The black haired main trashed around, his nails digging into the empty eye sockets. To add salt to the injury, every last one of the nerves in his eyes seemed to have burst.

Then slowly, slowly something grew inside that empty space. It grew and grew until it filled all of the empty space left by his eyeballs. The pain immediately died down into almost nothing once the sockets were filled once again.

 His eyes fluttered open to a world of blurry images, taking time to adjust to the world once again. Cha Doyun blinked wearily a few times, trying to chase away the strange bright screen in front of his eyes as well as the colored threads floating in the air.

 'Threads?'

 Awareness flooded his senses and he shot up in panic. The dark haired man palmed at his ,still stinging eyes ,drawing a pained groan from himself. Once he checked he still had eyes, Doyun finally focused on the strange holographic blue image in front of him.

                  [ Instant Pain Relief?]

    

              [ YES ]                     [ NO ]

  

He cautiously tapped on the [YES.] button and instantly the ache behind his eyes disappeared. It was strange but Doyun decided not to look for the gift horse in the mouth. 

   Right as the rormer screen faded away, another two appeared. One of them read [Character Window] while the other simply said [Sound Block Removed.] Just like that, he saw a barrier fading away into golden dust around him and beside him, Sung-Jin and Ah-in remained slumbering peacefully.

  "Ah…" Doyun noted with interest that there were several kinds of threads coming from the kids. Most of them were light blue in color which he knew was a good thing. He wasn't sure how he knew that but he just did. 

  After watching the children for a few more minutes, he turned away and tapped the [Character Window]. As soon as he did that, the screen flashed away and was replaced by a bigger one containing info about him.

    [CHARACTER INFO]

[Name: Cha Doyun

Class: The Fool

Age: 29

Sex: Male

 Basic appearance: Black Hair and Green eyes.

 Ability: Threads of Karma {tap for more…}  ]

   [STATS]

Stamina: 10/20

Strength: 15/20

Agility: 14/20

Speed: 10/20

 Mana Rank: II (The Lowest Rank)

Karma Points: 54/100(#)

Positive: 31/50

Negative: 23/50

 Unspent points: 09

(*) - points at recovery time. The more stars it has the slower the recovery period is.

(#) - an ability point that depends entirely on the user.

 1 point = 500 coins]

Cha Doyun slowly read through the info, only stopping at certain parts like 'Green eyes' and 'Ability'. What the heal it all meant, he still had no idea but he intended to find out.

  Dismissing the 'green eyes' for now (because last he checked his eyes were still dark brown and not green like a foreigner.) The tall man opted to learn more about this so-called ability. He tapped on the option presented and the screen changed once more.

   [Threads of Karma]

[ This is an ability where the user can materialize "Threads" of Karma tied around himself or others and manipulate them. It is powerful if used right and what form the threads materializes as depends on the user's imagination! You currently have 3 branch abilities unlocked!]

[ 1. Eyes of Fate

  2.Thread of Tracking

  3. Thread Manipulation]

[D******d the necessary information?]

 [ YES ]           [ NO ]

  Frowning at the lack of useful information, Doyun pressed [ YES ]. Maybe he should have learnt from his previous mistake after all, he mused through the splitting headache as information flooded his brain. Images and instructions of all sorts poured into his mind and within seconds, Doyun learnt how to use the three abilities present to him.

 [Eyes of Fate] was pretty obvious and an always active, passive ability. It allowed him to see  the karmic threads that were tied around every single living being. [Thread of Tracking] was obvious as well, it allowed Doyun to stick an invisible thread only those with [Eyes of Fate] ability could see and track 

that person. 

  On the other hand, [Thread Manipulation] allowed him to materialize said karmic threads into a physical plane to touch and reshape them. This ability only worked for a certain amount of time so Doyun wasn't sure of how long he could use it, but that could easily be solved through a few tests, he decided.

  Judging the things he learnt sufficient enough for now, the dark haired man closed the screen. He then stood up and quietly made his way towards the shop windows to spy on the outside world. Doyun lifted the blinds up slightly and surveyed the open street.

 It was still dark outside so there wasn't much to be seen but from what he could see, there was some kind of fog outside in the street and very fast moving ,black creatures that jumped from building to building. It all reminded him of that one movie where a research laboratory blew up. 

He hoped that the fog didn't have the same effect as the mist in that movie. The movie itself had been traumatizing enough, there was no need for the real thing.

"Mister?..."

 Doyun turned back to the kids to see Sung-Jin awake and staring at him. The boy looked tired still and he felt a little guilty for that. What happened the previous day wasn't something little children should have witnessed.

  Forcing his tense body to relax, the dark haired man smiled down at Sung-Jin. 

   "Don't worry kid, go back to sleep." He said and moved back towards the makeshift bed. Sung-Jin stared at him for a little while longer, his gaze scrutinizing Doyun for any sign of lie.

    'It's cute.' the tall man thought. Smiling slightly, he gently patted the kid's head.

 "Rest, I'll protect you two." Doyun murmured and that was all it needed for Sung-Jin to close his and go back to sleep. He curled up protectively against Ah-in, which the small toddler responded by snuggling into her brother's chest.  

 For a minute or two, the dark haired man sat there watching the steady rising and falling of their chests, assuring himself that they were indeed alive. He wouldn't put it past his consciousness to play cruel illusions on him, it certainly wouldn't be the first time.

 Doyun soon stood up once more to gather the travel blanket at the corner of the room and tucked the two children in. He then headed back towards the window once more.

 He wasn't sure he would be able to get anymore sleep after his nightmare and there was this strange application too.

  When he downloaded the Apocalypse Theory, Doyun couldn't have guessed all those events to happen. The god, the massacre that happened after and this strange new 'abillity' that he got now.

   Just thinking about it made Doyun feel sick in the stomach. He didn't want to think about it, but if not now then when was he supposed to think of it? Because the sooner he accepted the reality the better it would he for him. That was what his cellmate had told him all those years ago.

  The man had been a deathrow convict who had been executed soon after. But still, Doyun couldn't help but muse.

  "What would he have done if he was still alive?" He questioned. He knew it was a silly question but he could not stop himself anyway. That man had been a rather crafty person after all.

  Instead of pondering on such pointless question any longer, Doyun focused on the strings that flowed in and out of his vision. He could ponder on everything else later, there was still some time left before the morning came.

  [Threads of Karma] was the name of this 'power' and he had been granted the ability to manipulate and them to some extend. He wasn't sure how useful this ability of his would be in combat if it came down to that though Doyun was sure he would be able to come up with something when the time came.

  The problem was the kids. He had no idea how he was supposed to take care of them, much less protect them. Except for the little he learnt in prison, the now green eyed man was powerless.  Althought-

  Doyun focused on the kids, trying to materialize the [Thread of Tracking] he had acquired earlier. The moment he thought of using the ability, a message screen popped out in front of him.

                    [Thread of Tracking]

           [Do you want to use the ability?]

  

               [ YES ]                     [ NO ]

He pressed [ YES] , in which another screen replaced the former.

  

            [Please choose your Target(s).]

[ 1.Kim Sung-Jin

  2.Kim Ah-In.     ]

 Quietly, he pressed the check box behind both names. The screen then disappeared and two white threads shot out and wrapped around the sleeping kids.

             [Tracking successfully!]

[ How long do you want to track the targets?]

 [1. 12 hours! [Free] 

  

  2. 24 Hours. [5KP]

  3. 3 days  [15KP]

 

  4. 1 Week [35KP] 

 Please choose wisely, for KP will not be compensated back once used.

  Current KP: 54/100 ]

 He currently had 54 Karmic Points, he wasn't sure how and what else they could be used for and just how he could gain more. So he had to be careful of how much he spent.

 Carefully Doyun, pressed the 3rd option.

 

 [Success! The Thread of Tracking will last for 3 days.]

              [Current KP: 39/100]

Satisfied, Doyun dismissed the screen and leaned back against the wall by the window. It may seem like he was taking in everything a little too calmly, but now wasn't the time to panic. They weren't safe yet, there were too many unknown variables, but he could work with this.

   Cha Doyun could work with this, he could make it. They would live through this new world.

 

                  [Since the End Of the World]

                               [12:54:19]