Bzzz... The phone on the white table vibrated. A hand with a callus on the first joint of its index finger set down a teacup next to the phone. Steam rose in gentle swirls.
"Even serving me tea, how kind of you."
"It's noisy outside. Is it okay to ignore it?"
The man in the white coat slightly lowered the blinds covering the window with his finger to peek outside. White ash was falling. A firm but wrinkled hand grasped the teacup.
"It must be a call for support. For some reason, that snake remains coiled and refuses to move."
"Still, you should go if you don't want to raise any suspicions."
"If you know that, then let's wrap this up quickly. Ivan."
"S-sure."
The man called Ivan turned around. Though he was hunched over in his white coat, he was quite large. Beneath his messily tousled brown hair, his glasses gleamed.
"Song Jo-heon-ssi, you've been a great help to our research, and I'm always grateful for that."
"I've also received a lot of help from you."
"Yes, so... in honor of today, I'd like to share with you our true purpose."
"We, Prometheus and the Prophets, have always... awaited the coming apocalypse. We've seen it in our dreams. The scene of the world covered in white ash."
Ivan turned to gaze at the screen covering one side of the wall. On the screen, a whale floated above the city. Ivan's eyes gleamed with ecstasy as he followed the whale's trajectory. His trembling voice muttered,
"Finally, finally the time of the apocalypse has arrived."
'What nonsense.'
As if the time had really come. Song Jo-heon swallowed his sneer and nodded with a kindly smile, pretending to agree. Ivan continued talking without pause.
"The last apocalypse couldn't be stopped by the pure power of the Awakened. It was because we lacked strength."
'Delusions of grandeur.'
"The problem was with the unfair selection process of the System. We need to develop the ability to free ourselves from the System's grasp..."
'Inferiority complex.'
He was saying this in front of someone chosen by the System. But Song Jo-heon, still feigning graciousness, agreed with him. Ivan's pale eyes sparkled.
"...We are going to save humanity."
'A desire for self-justification.'
Here comes the hero. His forced smile was beginning to ache. Song Jo-heon rubbed the rim of his teacup with the tip of his finger. The calloused scholar's hand slid a transparent pouch next to the teacup.
"And we are..."
Inside the pouch was a white powder.
"...on the same side."
A deep smile creased the corners of the wrinkled mouth. The firm hand took the pouch away. Soon, the powder dissolved completely in the lukewarm tea, leaving no trace.
"Of course, Professor."
He had no interest in the delusions of these psychopaths. After all, he was a first-generation Awakened chosen by the System. But he was definitely interested in the drugs they provided.
The whale, floating serenely in the air, let out a roar. Ivan turned sharply to the screen, his face filled with alarm, and zoomed in with the remote control. A black figure had appeared on the white whale.
