Jiwoon hadn't spoken in hours.
Vera and Kaelya walked beside him, but didn't ask.
The air was too thick — not with smoke, but change.
System Status
[Stability: 39%]
[Identity Syncing: Paused]
[New Directive Pending…]
Jiwoon sat down on a cliff overlooking the ruined sector.
He clenched the black lotus coin the Oracle had once given him.
"They created me… not born, but forged."
"But for what?"
Kravein Returns
Out of the ash, a shadow moved.
Kravein emerged, carrying something on his shoulder — a deer. Roasted and ready.
"You were gone too long," he said. "I thought about declaring you dead."
Jiwoon didn't answer.
"Instead," Kravein continued, dropping the deer with a thud, "I fed your pets."
In the background, Qilin neighed — full of sarcasm.
Unexpected Echo
Suddenly, Jiwoon's eye glowed.
[Sin Echo Detected: Divine Grade]
A rift appeared — in midair.
Not like a portal. More like a mirror, glitching.
And inside… Jiwoon saw himself.
But different.
Younger. Calmer. Untouched.
Kaelya Notices
"That's you, isn't it?"
"But not now-you."
"What are we looking at?" Vera asked.
Jiwoon's voice was hollow.
"A version of me that never made the first kill."
"The system is showing me what I could have been."
System Intervention
[Echo Choice: Reverse or Reinforce?]
If you choose REVERSE: Identity will shift toward lost self
If you choose REINFORCE: Current path will deepen toward Demon Avatar
Time Limit: 3 minutes
Jiwoon's Whisper
"What do you think I'll choose?"
He turned to Vera and Kaelya.
They stayed silent.
"I've never wanted to be a monster," Jiwoon said softly.
"But monsters don't get to choose."
He reached toward the mirror.
Final Line
Jiwoon whispered:
"Break."
The mirror shattered.
And something behind it screamed.