Escape from this city.

Survival Log

Returnee · Special Disaster Zone · Purple Tomb

To whoever finds this diary. Everything written here is true.

Day 1 Meteorite Impact

The sky split open. That’s the most accurate description. A purple streak tore across the sky and fell on the outskirts of the city. At first, everyone thought it was a meteor shower. The news called it "unidentified meteorite" extraterrestrial material.

A purple powder spread from the impact crater. Crystal particles. They sparkled as they floated in the air, and it was beautiful. Until then.

The streetlights changed first. Their leaves became transparent like glass and made a 'clinking' sound in the wind. The grass hardened. Puddles glowed purple. The smell changed — the scent of the forest disappeared, leaving only the smell of metal and burning.

Day 3 First Sighting

I first saw one near Gaonnuri Station. I thought it was a person. A purple crystal mass crawling on all fours. Something was glowing in the center of its body — I decided to call it the core. It has no eyes. Instead, its entire body acts like an antenna, catching sounds.

When it made that glass-scraping sound, I held my breath. If you don't move, it won't see you. It has almost no eyesight, but it detects vibrations, sounds, and body heat. I thought I was going to die, wondering if it could even hear my heartbeat.

I decided to call them Hollows. Empty vessels. They feed on our body heat and bioelectricity. Treated like disposable batteries. They crawl on walls and ceilings.

Day 5 Shells

The worst day. I heard Minsu’s voice from the next building. “It’s here, hurry, it’s safe!” I almost fell for it.

Minsu died two days ago.

Snatchers. Shells. Hollows wearing corpses. Purple eyes, skin dotted with crystals, revealing bone and viscera. From a distance, they look human. They steal voices. They steal memories. How to open doors, names of colleagues, even where we hide.

If you hear a human voice, never run towards it.

There are also those wearing animal carcasses. Chimaeras. I saw a monster with the legs of a dog and the wing bones of a bird. I understood why stray cats had almost disappeared.

Day 7 Government Truth

The news went dark. Phones stopped working. The internet died. The last government announcement was, “Terrorism and unidentified gas leak, please stay indoors.” Rescue teams were coming.

Rescue teams didn't come. Instead, P.U-4 arrived.

A four-legged metal beast. It approaches silently with artificial muscles. A red horizontal stripe on its face — a sensor. It scans for heat, sound, and meteorite particle density. A machine gun on its back, a flamethrower on its chest. Humanity’s final purification weapon, someone wrote on a wall.

At first, it only burned monsters. Melting the crystals with its flamethrower turned Hollows into inanimate lumps. But two days later, it started burning people too. They called it “micro-contamination.” If you had even a speck of crystal dust, you were treated as a contaminant. They confirmed no biological reactions and incinerated the remains.

Day 9 Machine Weakness

P.U-4 isn't invincible either. I saw firefighters flip one over.

Interestingly, Hollows ignore P.U-4. They have no interest in cold metal — it has no 'nutritional value'. They treat it as a moving piece of iron. However, if the machine emits high-frequency noise, it causes pain to the Hollows' crystal lenses, provoking an attack. Conversely, P.U-4 identifies Hollows as priority targets. But sometimes, it incinerates groups of humans first. It calculates that eliminating “humans who might become parts for Hollows” is more efficient.

To the machines, humans are contaminants. To the monsters, humans are batteries. No one is on humanity's side in this city.

Day 10 Survivors

Almost everyone living alone is dead. Those who survived are those who formed groups. But not all of them can be trusted.

Amethyst Cult — Crazy bastards. They call the Hollows 'evolution'. They embed crystal fragments into their bodies and offer living people as sacrifices to the Hollows. They deliberately attract monsters with noise and light, exposing their locations. If you see them, run.

Echo Hunters — They use speakers to play baby cries, screams, and calls for help to lure survivors. Their goal is to loot supplies. They record screams and use them as bait again.

Crow Gang — A network of citizens hiding in sewers and bomb shelters. They've learned how to communicate with crows. They determine safe/dangerous areas based on where the crows are. They use wall graffiti and markings to check on each other. They wear layers of dark coats and wrap their shoes with cloth to muffle sound. They are wary of outsiders and expel even their own members if their hideout is exposed.

Last Bastion — Firefighters, police officers, and medics whose escape routes were cut off after the meteorite impact banded together. They fortified the central fire station and subway station, creating temporary shelters called 'Blue Zones'. They use armored fire trucks to rescue survivors. They condemn the government's purification as a massacre and fight P.U-4 while securing escape routes for citizens. Equipped with fire suits, bulletproof vests, fire axes, flashbangs, and even flamethrowers salvaged from P.U-4 — these people are the only hope.

Day 12 Environmental Change

The city is dying. All green has disappeared. Gray concrete, black ash, and purple crystals. That’s all. Plants don't produce oxygen, so the air is dry and sharp. My throat cracks every time I breathe.

Hollows hide among the crystalized trees. Even sensors can't detect them. Never let your guard down near clusters of crystal plants.

The river glows. Crystal particles have settled, forming liquid crystal. Purple crystals are embedded in the scales of dead fish. Hollows use fish carcasses as stepping stones to move across the water's surface.

Never drink tap water. It contains fine crystal powder. If you drink it, your internal organs will start to harden.

At night, auroras appear in the sky. Purple light shimmers across the sky. It’s bizarre but beautiful. Giant crystal pillars rise between buildings, scorched flamethrower marks are visible, and above it all, the aurora. I never knew the end of the world could be this beautiful.

Day 13 Crows

If crows cry, stop. If their wingbeats quicken, run. These birds have learned the Hollows' behavior. They are the only animals still alive in this city, and the only ones on our side.

A member of the Crow Gang told me. If a flock of crows circles, a Hollow is below. If crows fly in one direction, something is coming from the opposite direction. If you want to live, watch the crows.

Day 14 Now

It’s been two weeks. During the day, government propaganda drones fly around. “Please wait in a safe indoor location. Rescue teams will arrive soon.” At night, you can hear the sounds of P.U-4 gunfire and human screams. Clean roads are right next to rising purple crystals. Daily life and hell coexist.

Bitmaru Tower, Goyo Anshik Hospital, Gaonnuri Station, Byeol-mul Amusement Park, Garam High School, Haeoreum Plaza. They all had beautiful names. Now they are just purple tombs.

I am writing this diary to leave a record. If someone finds this — everything written here is true. Regardless of what the news said, or what the government announced, what happened in this city was not terrorism or a gas leak.

Waiting for rescue

Surviving.