The ruins of Sector 11 were silent — buildings hollowed out by fire long past.
Jiwoon walked through the ash-covered streets, his child-sized boots leaving small imprints in the soot. Behind him, Kaelya and Vera kept their distance, speaking little.
They could feel it too.
The shift.
[System Alert]
New Sin Signal Detected
Classification: Residual Cluster
Status: Semi-conscious
Designation: "Ash Children"
Jiwoon narrowed his eyes.
"They're not targets."
"They're… fragments."
As they entered an abandoned school, the shadows twisted.
Figures formed — small, malformed shapes. Children made of smoke and flickering light.
Their faces were blurred, like melted memories.
They surrounded Jiwoon.
But they didn't attack.
They cried.
Echoes of Innocence
"Why… did no one come for us?"
"We burned… and no one heard."
"Are we still sinners… even now?"
Jiwoon's throat tightened. His hand instinctively reached for a power he wasn't even sure he had anymore.
But instead, he knelt.
"You were never the sinners," he said.
"You were the victims."
The children stared. One stepped forward — her eyes like glowing coal.
"Then why do we still feel pain?"
Demon Flare – Suppressed
For a moment, Jiwoon's eyes flashed crimson. Not from rage.
But grief.
He raised his hand — not to purge, but to embrace.
"Let me carry it."
The children began to fade… turning to fireflies that drifted upward into the ash-heavy sky.
And as the last one vanished, the system whispered:
[System Update]
Sin Points Gained: 0
Karma Restored: +30
Classification: Mercy Protocol Activated
Stability: 56%
Aftermath
Vera approached carefully. "What was that?"
Jiwoon stared at his palm, where a soft warmth remained.
"They weren't targets."
"They were reminders."
Kaelya muttered, "Of what?"
Jiwoon turned — for the first time in days, he looked older than his form.
"Of what happens when justice forgets to be human."