Everything was dark.
Not the kind of dark that came with night, or sleep, or even death—but a deep, infinite void that pulsed with something ancient. No ground beneath my feet, no sky above my head. Only a weightless expanse, humming with a low vibration that felt alive, as though the world itself were breathing around me.
I floated, body limp, eyes half-open. No gravity, no pain, no fear—just presence. Something watched, something eternal, something patient.
And then… memories began to appear.
Fragments of my life spun around me like stars in a storm. My mother, Ara, smiling as she brushed Ara's hair under the golden light of the cottage kitchen. My father, standing behind me that morning, holding back tears the first time I gripped a training sword and refused to let go, no matter how much it bruised my hands.
I saw Liora—her laugh, her warm honey-colored eyes, her smile. And then… that moment. The slap. The words. "You filthy commoner."
The memory shattered, splintering into shards that swirled faster, faster, faster. Love, rage, betrayal, grief—each pulse of emotion slamming against me. My chest tightened. My heart pounded in my ears.
"Why?" I whispered. "Why did they all… break apart?"
The void pulsed in response, a vibration so deep I felt it through every fiber of my being.
From the distance, a voice echoed—not cruel, not kind. Neutral. Ancient.
"The flame cannot rise without the ash."
I turned.
A figure appeared. Hooded in gray, faceless, yet radiant. Its outline shimmered, flickering like candlelight through mist. It did not move, yet the presence it carried filled the void like a storm.
"You chose to awaken, Jae Hoon," the figure said. Its voice rolled over me, a resonance in my chest. "That choice carries weight. Purpose. Consequence."
Its hand lifted, and glyphs appeared—orange and silver circles, spinning like gears around me, tracing intricate patterns of light across my floating body.
"Within you lies an ancient inheritance," the figure continued. "Dormant no longer."
"I… didn't ask for any of this," I said, my voice cracking, echoing in the emptiness.
"And yet," it replied, calm and final, "it answered you."
Then the glyphs ignited.
Power surged through me, fierce and unrelenting, like wildfire racing through every vein. My chest burned—not pain, but intensity, a storm unchained. My fists clenched involuntarily as lines of glowing symbols traced themselves across my arms and chest, fading as quickly as they appeared, leaving a tingling aftershock that sang of power yet untamed.
"What… what is this…?" I whispered, awe-struck.
"Your path has been broken," the figure intoned, voice echoing like chimes in a canyon. "And now, rebuilt. Wake, child of ruin. Wake… cursed emperor."
The words reverberated through me, shaking something loose in my very bones.
Then—beep.
Then—beep.
The void shattered like glass. White light flooded my senses. Sterile. Harsh. Real.
I groaned, throat dry, muscles stiff, eyelids fluttering as the world came into focus. Machines hummed. The scent of alcohol and antiseptic stung my nose.
A voice, human and urgent, cut through the haze:
"Doctor! Doctor, he's waking up!"
Footsteps approached, quick and heavy.
A man in a white coat leaned over me, eyes wide, disbelief and awe painted across his features.
"Incredible… he's conscious."
I tried to speak, lips barely moving. "Where… where am I?"
The doctor's smile was faint but reassuring, almost tired. "You're safe now. Just rest. You're lucky to be alive."
But my gaze drifted past him, toward the window.
Beyond the glass, towers rose like silver spears, sunlight reflecting off polished stone. Streets buzzed with life. The air smelled different, yet clean, and the sky stretched wide and impossibly bright. Happiness—real, tangible, almost alien—flowed through the city like a current I could feel in my chest.
And then it hit me.
I was somewhere new. A world not my own.
The memories, the void, the awakening—they were all behind me now. But a spark remained inside, alive and burning. My heart no longer beat alone; it thrummed with something older, larger, deeper than I had ever known.
I was not just Jae Hoon anymore. Not the boy who had lost his family, not the child of a quiet village, not even the student of my father's teachings.
I was awakened. Chosen. Dangerous.
And the world outside the window—this strange, vibrant, glittering city—was only the beginning.
Because now, I was ready.