Yoon Ji-han looked down at the hourglass in his hand. It hadn't been a random choice. From the moment he’d stepped into the room of junk, a strange pull had led him straight to it. The hourglass was the origin of that attraction. Intricate patterns swirled across its frame, the whole thing small enough to be dwarfed by his palm. Had the world not fallen apart, collectors would have clamored for such a piece. Yoon Ji-han upended it, watching the fine sand begin its descent. As the crimson grains trickled down, a strange vitality pulsed through him. "What is this thing? Could it be connected to my awakening?" He flipped the hourglass again. Once more, the particles of sand cascaded downward. He noticed the sand itself was unusual—finer than any he'd ever seen, and a deep crimson that put the endless desert outside to shame. He wondered if his new abilities would work on it. He focused his will on the crimson grains, trying to command them, to halt their steady fall. But the sand flowed on, indifferent to his efforts. He concentrated harder, pushing his will toward the hourglass again, but the result was the same. "Dammit! Was I wrong about this?" Yoon Ji-han angrily shoved the hourglass into his pocket. Still, he'd traded a precious Magic Stone for it. He couldn't just toss it aside out of frustration. It was an unlucky start to the day, and Yoon Ji-han had no idea it was about to get much, much worse. When he returned to his lodgings, a man was waiting for him. A towering, rugged figure stood there, his bare torso a roadmap of scars that spoke of a life of violence. Their eyes met. "You the rookie who got in yesterday?" the man grunted. "Yes. And you are?" "Who the fuck are you to ask me questions? Why the hell weren't you at the mine this morning?" "You're here to work, you show up at the goddamn mine," the man snarled, stepping closer. "What, you think I've got time to come hunt you down? Useless piece of shit." The man's name was Jo Sang-pil. He was an E-rank Awakened, and the man in charge of the mines. The city itself ran on two pillars: the Yeongseok Gwangsan that were its heart, and the security force that protected it. Jo Sang-pil was responsible for the mines, from placing the miners in the tunnels to maintaining absolute control over every Magic Stone that came out. He was one of the five most powerful men in the entire mining city. Yoon Ji-han tried to explain. "No one told me where to go…" "Funny bastard. You think someone's gonna give you a personal wake-up call? You drag your own ass to the mine. Now shut up and follow me." Jo Sang-pil was deeply entrenched in the city's power structure. He’d seen countless men come and go, and he knew exactly how to break them. Handling a rookie like Yoon Ji-han was nothing to him. In truth, it wasn't just him. Everyone in the Yeongseok Gwangsan was the same. They were a swarm of piranhas, and anyone who fell into their waters was torn to shreds. A newcomer like Yoon Ji-han was fresh meat, and they were all too ready to strip him to the bone. Yoon Ji-han saw it clearly now. Everyone here, from old Noh Jin-tae to this brute Jo Sang-pil, was driven by pure greed. The problem was, he was caught in their web. He couldn't reveal his status as an Awakened, not yet. He couldn't defy Jo Sang-pil's orders. He had no time to think, no room to breathe. They were all closing in on him. Yoon Ji-han was trapped. A part of him screamed to resist, to fight back, but he knew it was impossible. Once you were inside the mining city, you didn't defy a man like Jo Sang-pil. Besides, the man was an E-rank Awakened. An insignia on his wrist confirmed it, marking him as belonging to the Martial Arts category. Common as they were, you didn't pick a fight with a Martial Arts type unless you had a death wish. They were brutally efficient killers, the best at channeling their power for combat. In his current state, Yoon Ji-han stood no chance. 'Damn it. Of all the people to come looking for me, it had to be the mine boss himself.' If he had just made it here on the bus yesterday with the others, none of this would be happening. With a large group of new miners, one person slipping through the cracks wouldn't have been noticed. But he was the sole survivor of the Sandworm attack; his arrival alone had already made him a target. Not showing up for work had been a foolish mistake. When Yoon Ji-han hesitated for a second too long, Jo Sang-pil’s expression hardened. His fist shot out, catching Yoon Ji-han square in the jaw. Yoon Ji-han staggered back with a cry, his head ringing. Before he could recover, Jo Sang-pil was on him, a heavy boot stomping down again and again. "You bastard! Didn't I tell you to follow me?" he roared. Pain exploded through Yoon Ji-han's ribs, driving the air from his lungs. He was beaten into silence. His awakening must have done something, because the pain wasn't as crippling as it should have been. A hot surge of anger told him he could fight back. But he forced it down. Not now. This wasn't the time to reveal his hand. It was time to endure, to build his strength. Revenge could wait. So Yoon Ji-han curled into a ball, protecting his head and taking the blows. Finally, his anger seeming to cool, Jo Sang-pil stopped. "Pull another stunt like this, and you're dead. Got it?" "If you understand, get up and follow me." Without waiting for a response, Jo Sang-pil turned and strode away. Yoon Ji-han struggled to his feet, a fresh wave of agony washing over him, and silently followed. He gritted his teeth, tasting blood. His face was already swelling, and he knew his body was covered in bruises. His awakening was the only reason he was still standing; a normal man would have been incapacitated for days. He glared at Jo Sang-pil's broad back. 'I don't know about anyone else, but you... I'm going to kill you.' Jo Sang-pil didn't give Yoon Ji-han's injuries a second glance. In the mines, miners were just tools. Expendable. When one broke, you threw it away and got another. There was no reason to care if a pickaxe got a few dents. They arrived at a yawning chasm in the earth, the entrance to the mine shafts. A miner standing guard at the entrance flinched as they approached. Jo Sang-pil gestured to Yoon Ji-han. "Get this guy some gear." The miner scrambled to hand Yoon Ji-han a worn pickaxe, a helmet with a lamp attached, and a backpack containing a few days' worth of rations. "Cost of the gear comes out of your pay," the miner mumbled. "Any Magic Stones you find go in the pack." "That's it?" Yoon Ji-han asked. "You're not going to explain how to mine them?" "Are you fucking kidding me?" Jo Sang-pil's voice boomed. "Do I need to teach you how to swing a pickaxe? You hit the damn wall. That's it." The miner who had given Yoon Ji-han the equipment shrank back, terrified. Jo Sang-pil was known as the ‘Guldong-agwi.’ The slightest mistake could earn you a savage beating. Every miner in this place feared him. Yoon Ji-han was bewildered. Shoving someone into a mineshaft with no instruction, no guidance at all… it was a death sentence. "Hey! Take this piece of shit to the 972nd tunnel," Jo Sang-pil ordered the other miner. "Quit gawking and throw him in." As Jo Sang-pil’s voice rose, the miner jumped into action. He grabbed Yoon Ji-han’s arm and started pulling him toward one of the dark openings. And just like that, Yoon Ji-han was forced into the tunnels, completely unprepared. Jo Sang-pil’s voice echoed from behind him. "You bastard! Don't even think about coming out until you've got Magic Stones in that pack. Remember what I said!" Something hot and furious coiled in Yoon Ji-han’s chest. 'That son of a bitch…' He swore an oath to himself: the moment he had the power, Jo Sang-pil would be the first to die. Now he understood. In the Yeongseok Gwangsan, there were no allies. Show a moment of weakness, and you were devoured. He had to see everyone as a threat, to always be on his guard. He cursed himself for letting his resolve soften, even for a moment, after arriving. His determination hardening like steel, Yoon Ji-han followed the miner deeper into the earth. The tunnel was suffocatingly narrow, a rough-hewn passage carved out by human hands without the aid of machinery. After a few moments of silence, the miner spoke. "You're unlucky. Caught the Captain on a bad day." "He lost all his money at the gambling den." "There's a gambling den here?" "What don't we have? Gambling, whores, booze, drugs… it's all here. Take it from me, stay away from it. All you'll do is work yourself to death to make some other bastard rich." The miner said he’d been here for five years. Everyone he’d arrived with was either crippled or dead. No matter how strong your will, this place had a way of grinding you down until there was nothing left. "If you ever want to save up enough to leave, you've got to keep your head on straight." "What kind of place is the 972nd tunnel?" Yoon Ji-han asked. The miner fell silent. Yoon Ji-han’s gut clenched. He knew, instinctively, that this tunnel was not a normal work assignment. The thought of running flashed through his mind, but he dismissed it. The mining city was an island in an endless sea of sand. A desperate escape would only lead to a slower death from thirst under the blistering sun. 'The most important thing now is to develop my abilities.' Everything had happened so fast he hadn't had a chance to properly test the limits of his awakening. Once he was alone, that would be his first priority. Then he could make a real plan. They came to a fork in the tunnel, one of many branching paths leading into the darkness. The miner pointed to a faint marking on the wall. "Look close, you'll see arrows carved at the junctions. Red arrows go deeper down. Blue arrows lead back to the surface. When you're coming out, always follow the blue. Got it?" Judging by the distance they’d walked, Yoon Ji-han guessed they were already several hundred meters underground. Finally, the miner stopped. "This is it. The 972nd tunnel." Yoon Ji-han peered into the passage the miner indicated. It was a maw of absolute darkness, so thick it seemed to be pulling him in. "Just head in there and get to work." "I have a bad feeling about this place," Yoon Ji-han said. "Four men have already died in there," the miner said quietly. "Be careful." "Died?" "It means they died," the miner confirmed. "We don't know how. We just know that everyone sent into tunnel 972 has ended up dead. Nobody wants to go near it. That's why the Captain sent a newcomer like you." Yoon Ji-han stared at the man, who met his gaze with an expression of pity and guilt. The miner clearly felt bad about leaving him here, but he was powerless. He was just another worker who had to follow orders to survive. "I hope you make it out alive." With those final words, the miner turned and disappeared down the tunnel he’d come from. Yoon Ji-han was left alone, standing before the entrance to the 972nd tunnel. "So everyone who goes in dies? He sent me here to die… all because he was in a bad mood? Jo Sang-pil, I swear on my life, you will die by my hand."

Chapter 5: The Crimson Grains of Time