The wind was colder now.
Not because of the season — but because of what Jiwoon remembered.
He stood at the edge of a ruined building, staring at the sunrise that never seemed to touch him. His eyes, still childlike in form, no longer held confusion.
They held clarity.
And rage.
[System Update]
Memory Restoration: 97%
Power Restriction: 53%
Sin Points: 12,340
Current State: Child Form – Stabilized
Kravein landed beside him, wings folding in irritation.
"You remember everything, don't you?"
Jiwoon didn't answer. His gaze remained fixed on the far-off horizon.
Kaelya and Vera approached from behind, both cautious — not because they feared him, but because they didn't know which version of Jiwoon was standing there.
"You've been quiet since the raid," Vera said softly. "What's wrong?"
Jiwoon finally spoke.
"My debt… wasn't just to the system."
He turned to face them — a child's body cloaked in oversized, darkened robes. But his voice carried weight beyond this world.
"I owe something to the world itself. And now I remember why."
Flashback – The Sinless Pact
A vision flickered.
A woman bathed in white flame.
A boy with a broken eye.
A promise written in blood, not to kill… but to rewrite.
"Sin isn't just punishment," she had whispered. "It's currency. And someone… bought your fate with it."
Jiwoon clutched his chest.
"She died to protect my soul… from this."
Later That Night
Inside a broken train station turned refuge, Jiwoon sat alone. The others gave him space.
He stared at his hands. Fire flickered across his fingers, responding to thought.
But the fire was unstable — shaking, alive, wanting.
"Half power… is still enough to end nations," he whispered.
But then — a sound.
Laughter.
A small child ran past him, chasing a cat.
The moment froze. Jiwoon blinked.
That sound — it didn't belong in his world. But it existed.
He watched the child vanish down a corridor, and whispered:
"Maybe… there's still something to save."
[System Notification]
New Target Acquired: Sin Entity "Hollow Fang"
Classification: Rogue Manifestation
Danger Level: Class S
Location: Buried Depths, Forgotten District
Kravein returned, looking annoyed.
"You're not thinking of going after that thing in your current state, are you?"
Jiwoon looked up, fire still burning in his hands.
"I'm not going after it…"
"I'm inviting it."