Prolog: The Korean War

Monsters are real. We can thank Guyeog for that. Guyeog is a branch of the South Korean government that was created in 2016 to prepare the world for survival under the impending threat of the apocalypse. An apocalypse that was kick-started when the war between North and South Korea broke out in 2019. Guyeog was overtaken by a branch of North Korean government called Silheom, and was turned into an experimental drug laboratory. Silheom renamed themselves Yeongusil and began work on their most deadly weapon; Goemul.

Soon after Guyeog was overrun, Seoul fell to the North and the rest of South Korea crumbled underneath North Korea's iron fist. South Korea ceased to exist, and the Korean Nation was born. Under the tyrannous rule of the organization Yeongusil, the people of Korea began to change. News reports of odd occurrences out of Korea began trickling into the States, and every so often even reports of strange creatures, presumed by the government to be “wild animals”, would appear.
As time went on, and more and more reports of disturbing happenings kept pouring in, Yeongusil announced the erection of the Wall of Korea; a great stone wall that would surround the borders of the Korean Nation so that nothing could get in or out without permission from the government. News from Korea calmed for a while as the wall was being built, and then suddenly stopped altogether when it was completed on January 22nd of 2021; my birthday. The Korean Nation had successfully cut itself off from the rest of the world.
For 19 years, no one heard a single word from the mysterious nation behind that wall. We called this the Time of Silence because it was as if the Korean Nation simply ceased to exist. Then, on the first day of the 20th year of silence, a news report about Korea was broadcasted in the States declaring unusual activity just inside the gates of the Nation. Some sort of armored vehicle was preparing to exit the Nation. What followed the report was the message, spoken by the masked and nameless head of Yeongusil himself, that began the war and ended my life:

Your reckoning is at hand. Prepare to be assimilated.

You will become equals. Men, women, and children

will live in the streets like the animals they are. We have

discovered the cure for Humanity. Take your medicine

and become like us!

These words from the mouth of a madman with a private army of an entire nation were terrifying. Even from across an Ocean, the threat of war was not taken lightly. But there was nothing the States could have done to protect us against what came from behind the Wall of Korea. They brought death in a syringe. Green liquid they called “Goemul”. Goemul is a highly addictive drug that turns the user into a monster for a short time, hence the name#. It was originally being formulated by the South Korean organization Guyeog as a military weapon to create stronger and faster soldiers. But when Guyeog was taken by Silheom and rebuilt as Yeongusil, the formula was stolen and Yeongusil began to experiment with genetic splicing. The result was a formula that could transform you into a grotesque being of strength and power.
When the formula was completed in December of 2019, one month after Seoul fell, Yeongusil began distributing the drug Goemul throughout the Korean Nation as medicine, an all-around cure for every ache and ailment, they called it. The people of Korea accepted this “gift” eagerly, only to become addicted to the sensation of absolute power, despite the consequences. The longer they used the drug, the longer they would stay in this monstrous state until eventually it simply never wore off. The entire Korean Nation was brought down by a single addictive virus, and Yeongusil was threatening worldwide distribution. That was the year 2041.

It is now the year 2044. It has been two and a half years since Distribution Day. The American government has set up a small resistance to fight the Horde of beasts Yeongusil has created. I was chosen to lead my sector of the resistance after my mother succumbed to Goemul and took my right arm a year ago. We call ourselves Physicians. It’s our job to hunt down and destroy the most dangerous of Yeongusil’s creations. The Physicians repaired my arm when they recruited me, giving me a literal “firearm”; a mechanical arm that could become a deadly weapon when needed. They also replaced my right eye, which had been damaged but not lost when my mother attacked me. Now I can shoot lasers out of my face.
Being a part of this resistance was difficult, until our scientists discovered that Goemul could be taken in very small doses to increase a person’s strength without the transformation taking place. But the drug does build up in a person’s system, and eventually they do turn. The process is slowed immensely, but there is no way to stop the transformation completely. Our boss just put in the order for my sector to begin dosing. We start tomorrow.

Author's Note

Constructive criticism and reviews are always welcome, thank you!