Free Web Novel<1>
A Sheep Lost in the Abyss
“Snff...”
Yohan stifled his breath and swallowed his sobs. No wonder—right beyond the glass of the wall he was pressed against, a massive eyeball was peering inside. Unreal. And yet, as unbelievable and grotesque as it seemed, this nightmare was real.
Tears streamed down his face as he clamped a hand tightly over his mouth, his knuckles turning pale white in fear that any sound might escape. The floor beneath him was damp. At first, he thought he might have wet himself, but when he glanced down, the blood drained completely from his face. It wasn’t his own doing—the eye’s tears had leaked through the broken window and soaked his pants with a cold, disgusting wetness.
Sliiick... sliiide...
The grotesque eyeball, rubbing its bloodshot sclera and pupil against the glass like it was trying to polish it, eventually failed to find him. The red light that had been pouring into the store faded away, and the convenience store fell back into pitch darkness. Even after the eye disappeared, Yohan couldn’t lower his hand from his mouth. The monster’s tear, which had soaked the floor, was disgusting—and terrifying.
How the hell did it come to this?
All he wanted... was to Awaken. But instead of power, his expensive gamble had ended in betrayal by a friend and a one-way trip into the Abyss.
The same Abyss from which not even Lee Hyunmook, the most powerful Awakened in Korea, had ever returned.
“Haa... haah...”
Gasping for air he’d barely held in, Yohan slowly lifted his head and looked out through the gap in the building.
No one really knew what the inside of the Abyss looked like—because no one who’d been swallowed by it had ever come back. But now, in this very moment, Yohan was seeing it with his own eyes.
The Abyss... was Hell.
A suffocated groan escaped Yohan’s throat.
“...Huuuuh...”
Everything was dark. There was some source of light in the sky, but it was smothered by black-red clouds, so thick that even that faint glow felt like dusk at best. The skyline, hazy like a fading sunset, vaguely resembled a modern city.
But in the cracks between the collapsed and rotting buildings, something moved.
Countless thick, long, sticky, sharp things writhed and shimmered—nothing that could be called normal life forms.
Yohan swallowed his scream. The monsters from rifts had been disgusting enough, but this didn’t even compare. These were twisted, broken things—like the giant eyeball—creatures straight out of a nightmare. He could tell instinctively that being noticed by one of those things would mean a gruesome death.
He crawled out from under what barely qualified as debris and spotted a small, relatively intact building nearby. Trying his best not to make a sound, he crept inside. Then curled up into the tightest ball he could manage.
I never should’ve joined that Awakening party...
The regret hit in waves. Maybe it would’ve been better to just keep living a miserable life, treated like trash at home, than to die like this. Maybe he should’ve listened when friends warned him that Park Seungmin seemed shady. But it was too late for “maybe.” Yohan held back his tears and trembled violently.
He didn’t even dare think about going outside. He just sat still, ears perked to any sound. At the slightest rustle, he froze and held his breath. He tried his best not to cry, forcing his thoughts in a positive direction.
At least I can still breathe. That’s something, right?
The Abyss could’ve easily been underwater. Or a vacuum. Or full of toxic gases like methane, where breathing at all was impossible.
Of course, “breathable” didn’t mean clean. Every breath came with the stink of rotting garbage and something horribly fishy. No matter how he tried to spin it, the darkness felt suffocating.
Is there even anything edible here? Any clean water at all?
And I’m not even an Awakened... How the hell am I supposed to survive this?
I want to go home.
More tears welled up, but he fought them back. He couldn’t afford to waste precious moisture like that. Carefully, he unzipped his backpack and double-checked his inventory.
A lighter, flashlight, a few days' worth of emergency rations if stretched, two bottles of water, and a handful of chocolate bars. Decent gear for a quick rift dive. He tucked the lighter into his jacket pocket—just in case it came in handy as a weapon—and let out a quiet sigh before feeling his way around the dim interior.
Rustle.
“Huh?” fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
His hand brushed something. It felt like a packet of jelly. He quickly stuffed it into his bag and swept the floor. A few more snacks turned up, which he gathered greedily.
That was it—just someone’s dropped snacks. He scoured the building, but nothing else turned up.
Maybe other buildings will have more.
The thought was small, but it sparked hope. Even in this hellhole, maybe—just maybe—he could survive a little longer.
He stayed in that building for a day, watching the outside carefully. Then another day, agonizing over his decision. Finally, gripping the straps of his bag tightly, he made up his mind.
“Hoooh...”
Let’s do this.
More than anything, his water was already half gone. Even with careful rationing, two bottles wouldn’t last long. Swallowing dryly, Yohan stepped outside.
It was too quiet.
I came out because it was quiet, but this is... weird.
Where had all the monsters gone?
Even with that unsettling question lingering in his gut, Yohan forced himself to take a step forward. Then another. That’s when he heard it:
Splash.
“Huh?”
He looked down—he’d stepped into a shallow puddle. Water was trickling from somewhere, forming a small stream. And that meant—
His face went pale as he slowly lifted his gaze.
On the rooftop of the building he’d just left sat the eyeball monster. Its eye was bloodshot from staring, unblinking, for two days straight.
“Uhh... uh...”
Yohan stumbled back in panic.
The eye’s gaze locked onto his movement, unwavering. It blinked once—twice—those lid-teeth clicking softly as it rolled off the roof with a heavy thud.
Kuuuuuung.
Debris rained down as it hit the ground—and then it started rolling.
Yohan bolted, a silent scream trapped in his throat.
The eyeball chased after him, gaining speed. Each blink made the teeth clack and scrape, grinding through concrete. As the pavement shredded beneath its path, all color drained from Yohan’s face.
Then the real scream broke free.
“Aaaaaaah!”
If that thing touched him, there’d be nothing left—he wouldn’t even look human anymore. He ran with everything he had, sobbing and gasping, using strength he didn’t know he possessed.
But he was just a regular human. It didn’t take long before his legs cramped and he stumbled. He tripped hard, tumbling across the ground.
“Agh... ah...”
He couldn’t run anymore. Couldn’t even stand. Chattering teeth, he turned his head—and saw the eyeball had stopped. It wasn’t moving. Instead, it curved its eyelid into something resembling a smile.
Blink. Slow.
Blink. Again.
Blink-blink. Blink.
The lid-teeth clicked with each twitch. The deliberate blinking was pure cruelty—enjoying the fear, the mental breakdown.
Yohan tried to crawl backward, dragging himself inch by inch. But soon his back hit a wall. The teeth scraped closer, shredding concrete right in front of his nose.
Is this how I die?
Tears blurred his vision. He shut his eyes tight, unable to bear watching his own death.
WHAM!
Something warm and wet splattered against his face.
Startled, he opened his eyes—and gasped.
The eyeball had been smashed and flung aside, its body dented and leaking.
It twitched, slowly adjusting its angle. Its gaze turned—
To a humanoid monster.
It stood still, shaped like a human carved from darkness itself.
“H-hiiieeek...”
Yohan squeaked.
The monster turned, creaking like rusty metal. It sounded almost like laughter. No—it was laughing.
“Hiiieeek...”
It mimicked his squeal... and then lunged.
The same hand that had crushed the eyeball grabbed him. Damp, hot, and revolting skin pressed against his own. Yohan forgot how to breathe.
“A human! It’s a human!”
“AAAAAAAAH!”
Yohan screamed at the top of his lungs—then froze.
Did... did that thing just talk?
No. No way. It can’t be—
“A human! Ahahahaha! Hahahahaha! A human! Aaaaah! A human!!”
“Hah... haah...”
“Human, human, human, human, human, human, human, human—!”
It repeated the word so fast it stopped sounding like a word at all.
Is that thing... really a person? Or just something pretending to be one?
Behind its tangled white hair, glowing red eyes and cracked lips flashed maniacally.
And just like that, Yohan’s frayed nerves snapped.
He passed out cold.
