The world didn't feel real anymore.
Not the sirens in the distance.
Not the blood that stained his jacket.
Not the quiet voice that whispered in his ear — growing clearer, closer, more familiar.
"Sin Points: 490"
"Threshold for Demon Avatar Manifestation: 1,000"
"Warning: Emotional suppression may rupture cognitive containment."
Jiwoon sat on the rooftop of an old parking complex, overlooking Sector 11.
His eyes glowed faint red under the moonlight.
He didn't speak.
He didn't need to.
The sins he'd absorbed… they were no longer silent.
They crawled beneath his skin.
They remembered their pain — and now, so did he.
"I feel everything they did…"
"Even the screams they never heard out loud."
He closed his eyes, but the red light didn't fade.
It pulsed in his chest like a second heartbeat.
Flashback – The Night He Chose
One year ago.
A hospital bed. His father comatose, his mother coughing blood.
Debt piled on his chest like bricks.
No options left.
And then — the System appeared.
"Take on the sins they cannot pay."
"We offer the power. You deliver the sentence."
He didn't even hesitate.
"I'll collect every debt myself."
Current Time – Midnight Mark
The system blinked again.
Assigned Sin No.004
Name: Jang Seungho
Crime: Burning debtors alive for insurance fraud
Last Seen: Warehouse 14, Industrial Zone
Jiwoon exhaled slowly.
He didn't flinch.
He didn't even blink.
Just stood — and jumped from the rooftop.
The wind howled around him, but he landed silent as a shadow.
Warehouse 14 – Sin Ignites
The building was locked.
Jiwoon walked through the door anyway.
Inside, he found fire.
Not metaphorical — real.
Gasoline soaked the walls, and a lighter clicked in Jang Seungho's hand.
"You're not police," the man sneered.
"Correct," Jiwoon said. "I'm your reckoning."
[Sin Skill: Red Glare – Lv.1]
Unleashes a blinding pulse of wrath, triggering flashbacks of one's own sins.
Jiwoon raised a single hand.
A red burst shot from his palm — the walls trembled.
Seungho dropped the lighter, screaming.
Visions erupted around him — all the people he'd killed.
They crawled out of the shadows.
They reached for him.
But they weren't real.
Not to anyone else.
Only to the sinner.
"No! No, I burned them! They're dead!"
"Exactly."
System Update
Target Eliminated
Sin Points: +210
Total: 700 Sin Points
Unlock: Sin Echo – Passive Effect Initiated
"Victims' memories may leak into host. Stability: 64%"
Back on the street, Jiwoon kept walking.
But he didn't feel alone anymore.
The streets whispered.
The shadows knew his name.
And somewhere in the cracks of his mind…
"Let them burn."
"Let them all feel it."
He didn't answer the voice.
But he didn't deny it either.