Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 113: Pizza Party
Dino Park was completely swept up in party fever.
A banner hung above the lounge entrance, shimmering under the ceiling lights.
In colorful letters, it read: “A's Awakening Celebration & Outer God Defeat Party”, grabbing the attention of every child passing by.
The edges of the banner were decorated with playful drawings of pizza slices and octopus-like monsters scribbled by the kids themselves.
At the center of the lounge, the massive table was stacked high with food.
A whopping twenty Black Bio Pizza Deluxe Specials!
Surrounding them, an array of desserts displayed like works of art.
Milk puddings, towering chocolate cakes, and even neon-colored jellies of unknown composition.
“Seriously, eight hundred credits for one pizza?!”
Victor’s voice echoed from the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° hallway.
He came in hunched over, both arms loaded with pizza boxes.
“I risk my life on a job for eight hundred credits... What the hell, are these made with gold crust or something?”
Grumbling all the way, Victor still set the pizzas down carefully.
A shiny party hat was perched crookedly on his head, and across his chest, he wore a vest that read PARTY ROBOT.
He looked like one of those clown robots you occasionally see at amusement parks—it was hard not to chuckle.
Throughout the lounge, people were enjoying the party in their own unique ways.
Agwi and Whitey were pinned to a corner, utterly unable to move.
A crowd of dozens of children surrounded them, smearing them with colorful paints.
Agwi's black body and Whitey’s white fur were covered in handprints and messy doodles.
[Rainbow!]
[This spot’s empty!]
“Gyuu-hing-hing...”
Agwi let out a pitiful whimper at the kids' excited cheers.
Whitey shot Riley a desperate look for help, but Riley simply smiled awkwardly and snapped a picture.
Amber and Scarlett stood by the makeshift stage set up in the corner of the lounge, watching intently.
Under the spotlight, the Kiwis—small, fluffy, kiwi-shaped creatures—performed tap dance routines wearing tiny fedoras.
Tap! Tap! Tadatap!
The Kiwis’ feet clicked rhythmically against the floor.
No one had taught them, but their movements were astoundingly precise and graceful.
Every spin, every jump, every landing—flawless.
Even I found myself watching, drawn in by the unexpectedly mesmerizing performance.
[Amazing!]
The kids cheered, trying to mimic the Kiwis' dance.
Everyone was having fun in their own chaotic way.
I spotted Aria, Iris, and the Luna twins playing in another corner of the lounge—but I didn’t go near them.
They were feeding some grotesque caterpillar, of all things.
Aria and Iris kept piling heaps of food into the creature’s mouth.
No wonder that thing's gotten so huge...
At this rate, the caterpillar would be the size of a car before long.
But the most eye-catching group at the party were the Candle Kids.
Wearing cone hats made of wax and capes, with real flames flickering atop their heads.
Whenever they moved, the flames danced.
They looked like walking, cone-shaped torches.
The kids seemed delighted with their DIY costumes—way more hyper than usual.
“Alright, everyone gather up! Time for a picture!”
At Amber’s voice, the children swarmed together.
Hundreds of kids waved at the camera all at once.
Some climbed onto each other's shoulders, others floated mid-air striking poses.
A pile of kids scrambled onto my shoulders too, grinning at the camera.
Once everyone somehow squeezed into the frame—
Click.
The shutter snapped.
A burst of light flashed—and bright smiles bloomed across every face.
“Let’s eat pizza!”
Someone’s shout sent the entire crowd charging toward the table.
I grabbed a slice of Black Bio Pizza Deluxe Special and took a bite.
Nom nom nom.
“!!!”
Amazement filled me instantly.
It retained the classic flavor of the original Black Bio Pizza Special, but somehow deeper, richer.
The pepperoni was saltier, the cheese more savory, the crust perfectly chewy.
Worth every one of those 800 credits.
[Nooo!]
As I munched away, the kids’ screams rang out.
Turning my head, I saw the wax hats melting.
Hot candle wax dripped down their faces.
But the sturdy kids, clearly taking after me, didn’t seem to mind the heat as much as they were upset about their hats melting.
Some had their entire faces engulfed in wax.
Screaming, wax-covered faces—like a scene from a horror film—it was hard not to laugh.
[Monster!]
[Roar!]
The wax-covered kids started chasing each other around.
In seconds, the lounge descended into candlewax chaos.
Amid the madness, I calmly picked up the camera.
Click!
The party raged on deep into the night.
Music blared, laughter echoed nonstop, and pizzas kept disappearing one after another.
****
Late that night, after the party ended.
The lounge looked like a battlefield.
Pizza crusts, snack wrappers scattered across the floor, dried wax pooling in random spots.
A lone marshmallow clung to the ceiling, clearly thrown by someone. Sofa cushions were strewn about like an aftermath of war.
But amid the wreckage, one area remained perfectly neat.
A small corner of the lounge, where today’s photos were displayed.
I slowly walked over.
The crinkling sound of wrappers echoed through the empty lounge beneath my feet.
Dozens of photographs were pinned to the wall.
Amber had printed and displayed them herself.
AR interfaces were convenient, sure—but sometimes, analog moments like this left a stronger mark on the heart.
Well, maybe that’s just because I’m technically a person from a hundred years ago...
The first photo captured the wax-covered kids.
Candle wax had dripped down onto their cloaks, making them look like pure candle monsters now. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
The kids had their mouths wide open, seemingly screaming in terror—but if you looked closely, the corners of their lips were curled upward.
That complicated emotion—pretending to be scared but having fun—was captured perfectly in the shot.
The second photo showed the Kiwi's tap dance performance.
Cameras had improved a lot since a hundred years ago—the clarity of movement in the photo was astounding.
The Kiwi’s round eyes peeked out from under its tiny fedora, front legs lifted at the perfect angle, with the kids awkwardly mimicking the moves behind it.
All of that moment's rhythm and life were frozen in a single picture.
Third photo, fourth photo... they continued.
Victor, dropping cheese mid-bite while eating pizza.
Agwi, fast asleep, covered head to toe in paint.
Aria, trying to lift the giant caterpillar but giving up halfway.
Kids climbing onto Agwi’s sleeping body, trying to perch on his head...
And at the center of it all—the group photo.
A massive wide-angle shot.
Hundreds of faces packed into the frame, all jostling for space.
Some kids only half visible, others completely blocked by their friends, one kid mid-jump, blurry as hell.
Far from a perfect photo.
But that’s what made it feel so right.
The chaos of it—the imperfections—that was the essence of today’s party.
But then...
There were kids gathered in front of the photos.
Ten, twenty...
No, too many to count precisely, all standing quietly.
Unlike their usual selves, there was no chatter, no movement.
The kids simply stared up at the photos.
Their expressions were... blank.
Neither happy, nor sad—just... still.
Strangely, seeing them like that filled me with unease.
****
At the heart of Fossilized Seoul, inside MK Corporation’s server room.
The place had now completely transformed into something else.
The server room pulsed like it was breathing, its edges flickering between sharp and blurry, as if reality itself couldn’t decide what it was.
Fragmented humanoid forms glowed faint blue, still standing in their usual formation, but even they were more translucent than before.
As though their very existence was slowly shifting elsewhere.
[The Apocalypse Universe and Babel are growing closer.]
A hint of concern tinged the first figure’s voice.
[Those fools have accelerated everything.]
The second figure spoke coldly.
[Wasn't this expected?]
[We’re not ready yet. We need at least one more month...]
[Soon, the Red Being will discover Babel's exact coordinates.]
At the mention of that name, all the figures visibly shuddered.
That being represented "Apocalypse" itself.
[The Great Convergence Maze should still be functioning.]
[We still have time—but not much.]
[We must complete this faster. Our salvation.]
[Our ascension.]
The last two words echoed, reverberating, as change began to ripple through the room.
Zzzzzzt—
The entire server room flickered with static, like an old malfunctioning TV screen.
Reality’s texture fractured, pixels scattering, the space itself vibrating unstably.
Gradually, the walls of the server room became transparent.
Beyond the walls, Fossilized Seoul revealed a completely different appearance.
Everything that made up the city was melting into a grayish liquid, sucked toward a central point.
At that core stood a colossal gray Giant.
Within the liquid matter, countless faces appeared and disappeared in an endless cycle.
The faces inside the substance... looked like people screaming in eternal agony.
