The wind over Black Ash Ridge carried a strange silence.
Kravein stood at the edge of the cliff, arms crossed, glaring down at the ruined battlefield below. Flames no longer raged, yet the scent of scorched magic still lingered in the air.
Behind him, Vera tightened Jiwoon's cloak.
The boy—small, fragile, his silver hair tousled by the wind—stared blankly at the horizon. His golden eyes were dull, empty of recognition. But something deep beneath that gaze shimmered… something ancient.
Kaelya approached from the east slope, carrying a half-broken relic once held by a fallen saint.
"No more scouts. They've backed off," she said. "They must've realized Jiwoon's current state."
Kravein scoffed. "Or they're too afraid of what he might become again."
Vera knelt beside Jiwoon, brushing a stray leaf from his hair.
"He hasn't spoken since the collapse."
"Good," Kravein muttered. "Less chance of him turning into a walking nuke again."
Kaelya frowned. "You're not even trying to hide your fear anymore?"
"I'm not afraid," he snapped. "I'm respectful. There's a difference."
⸻
As night fell, the group made camp in the ruins of an ancient sanctum. Qilin lay curled nearby, his obsidian scales glowing faintly in the moonlight. He kept one watchful eye on Jiwoon—more guardian now than mount.
Kravein and Kaelya took turns keeping watch.
But deep within the shadows of the broken stone archways… something stirred.
Jiwoon twitched in his sleep. Then suddenly—
He stood.
Not walked. Not rose.
Stood. As if lifted by invisible strings.
Golden light leaked from the cracks in his skin. His eyes glowed—not childlike, but divine.
Kaelya bolted up. "Kravein—!"
A blinding pulse erupted from Jiwoon's body.
A soft hum. A wave of warmth. Then silence.
Kravein rushed over, swords drawn—but froze.
Everyone had been healed.
Vera's fractured ribs. Kaelya's burnt arms. Even Qilin's cracked horn had mended.
Jiwoon's glow dimmed. His body collapsed into Vera's arms.
He slept, eyes fluttering like a dreaming god.
"Was that… him?" Kaelya whispered.
Vera nodded slowly. "Not him. Not fully."
Kravein stared at the boy. "Then who?"
A faint shimmer pulsed from the child's chest—the Sin Mark glowed for only a second… then vanished.
⸻
Far away, in the highest chamber of the Divine Archive, a celestial bell rang once.
The Oracle stirred.
"The child walks the boundary now…" she murmured. "And the real war has just begun."