This isn't your world.
His mother's voice faded with the mirror's ripple. Ji-hoon stood on a black sea, under a sky of fractured mirrors.
Every step shifted gravity. Every breath stirred reflections.
And in the distance—his mother, her form flickering between life and death.
"Be careful, Ji-hoon," she said. "Everything here can be a lie."
He reached out. She withdrew.
"You must accept him," she warned. "Complete integration is the only way."
But even her form frayed and vanished.
Alone again.
The room of mirrors swallowed him. Reflections everywhere—some brighter, some darker.
And from the center—'Him.' Black eyes. The other Ji-hoon.
"I'm part of you," 'he' said. "Part of your mother. Part of your protection."
"Or part of the Shadow King?" Ji-hoon challenged.
Before he could decide—The mirror shattered.
And Sera emerged. Eyes starry. Form twisting.
"Don't trust him," Sera said. "He's the King's agent."
"Reject him, Ji-hoon. I'll give you a normal life."
But the other Ji-hoon whispered: "If you reject me, you fall into his hands."
Ji-hoon clenched his fists. His mother's final words echoed: Integration is the only way.
He made his choice.
→ [To be continued in Episode 48]
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