The monster's hand lowered slowly, as if savoring the aftermath. Blood dripped from its fingers, steaming against the scorched earth.
Jae Hoon couldn't move.
His father's blood clung to his skin, warm and wet, as if the world itself had tried to mark him with the truth: his innocence was gone.
The cloaked figure turned.
It wasn't fully human—its limbs too long, its movements too fluid, too sharp. The hood hung low, casting shadows where a face should've been, but two crimson eyes gleamed from within.
And when it spoke, the voice echoed like broken bells.
"Welcome… chosen child."
Jae Hoon stumbled back.
"W-What… what did you call me?" he asked, voice hollow.
The creature took a step forward. The grass withered beneath its foot.
"You are the seed of the old flame. The one marked by fate. The boy of the Second Cycle."
It raised its clawed hand—and all around them, the air shimmered with red light. The ground cracked.
Portals began to rip open in the sky like bleeding wounds—ribbons of red energy swirling into open maws. From within, twisted monsters began to crawl out. Some with scales, others with eyes where their mouths should be. All snarling, hungry.
Jae Hoon's instincts kicked in.
He grabbed his dagger and turned to run.
The creature didn't chase. It simply laughed.
"Run, little ember. You cannot escape destiny."
Jae Hoon bolted through the trees, leaping over roots, dodging shattered carts and burning fences. The howls of the monsters followed him—getting closer.
He didn't look back.
His legs moved on instinct. Tears blurred his vision.
Dad… gone.
Mom and Ara… where are they?!
He burst past the edge of the forest and found himself at the cliff's edge—the old mountain path, steep and rocky, veiled in mist.
He took a step back.
Then another.
Monsters poured from the treeline, eyes glowing red. Dozens. Maybe more.
Jae Hoon raised his dagger with trembling hands, heart pounding in his chest like a war drum.
"Stay back…" he whispered. "I'm not afraid to fight—"
But his foot landed on a loose stone.
He slipped.
The world spun.
And before he could scream, before he could even think—
He fell.
Wind roared past his ears. Trees blurred into streaks of green and gray.
Then—
Black.
In the darkness, no pain came.
Just silence.
Then…
DING.
A faint sound, like a bell from another world.
A glowing screen shimmered into view in the void, as if summoned from the air itself. The letters etched across it pulsed with strange power.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]You are near death.Potential recognized.Do you wish to awaken, Jae Hoon?
[YES] / [NO]
His breath hitched.
His fingers twitched.
Somewhere deep inside him, a spark stirred.
He didn't know what this meant. Or what he was becoming.
But he wasn't ready to die.
Not yet.
Not without answers.Not without justice.Not without revenge.
His lips parted, and in the dark…
He whispered:
"…Yes."