Part I: The Eighth Path
The journey to the final seal wasn't marked on any map—just like the last tower.
But this time, Mujin didn't need a map.
He could feel it.A low, pulsating gravity in his bones.Like the seventh seal had begun to pull him.
They left the floating tower at dawn.The sky was overcast—gray, but not with rain.It felt like the world was holding its breath.
Elder Gihyeon walked beside him in silence, as he often did when words weren't enough.
"What's waiting at the end?" Mujin asked quietly."Truth," Gihyeon replied. "And probably blood."
Part II: The Gate Appears
By the time they reached the Valley of Scars, the sun had already dipped low.
The ground was fractured, scorched—an open wound carved into the land itself.
And in the center…a Gate.
Seven rings of stone, each spinning in opposite directions.Symbols burned across them, languages Mujin couldn't read—but understood in his soul.
As they approached, something stepped out.
No demon.No assassin.
A man.
Tall. Robed in silver and black.His face... familiar.
"You," Mujin breathed."You're me."
Not a reflection. Not a clone.Not an illusion.
But Mujin—as he would have been if he had never left Seoul.If he had stayed. Broken. Hollow.
Part III: Self on Trial
"You still think this is about Baekje?" the man said."About relics? Power? Destiny?"
He stepped forward.Every footfall echoed with resentment.
"You left your wife. Your people. Your city.And now you want to play the hero in another world?"
Mujin couldn't answer.
"You didn't come here to save anything," the man snarled."You came here to run."
Suddenly, swords clashed.
Not physical blades—but wounds made solid.
Each strike from the other Mujin carried a memory:
The hospital.
His wife in pain.
His failure to stop the gangsters.
The reporter he couldn't save.
Mujin fell to one knee.
"You don't deserve the final Seal," the man growled."You haven't earned forgiveness."
Mujin gritted his teeth.
"I'm not looking for forgiveness," he hissed."I'm fighting so I don't need it anymore."
And with that—he rose.
Skycut Fang shimmered with fire and sorrow.
With a scream, he delivered the Breaker of Chains,a forbidden move that shattered illusions... and truths.
The other Mujin screamed—
And vanished into ash.
Part IV: The Final Seal
The Gate responded.
The seventh ring glowed—then locked into place.
A final sigil carved itself into Mujin's arm, burning deep and real.
And then—
The Gate opened.
Light poured out.
Not golden.Not white.
But violet.Like the edge of something ancient.And angry.
Elder Gihyeon stepped forward. His face pale.
"The Gate of Wounds wasn't a passage…""It was a prison."
And from within the Gate…
Something moved.
To be continued...