Night. A full moon.
But Jiwoon didn't look up.
He stood barefoot on the temple roof, eyes fixed on the far-off ruins of Sector 9, where smoke still curled into the sky like whispers of sins past.
"You've changed," Qilin said behind him.
Jiwoon didn't answer right away. His voice was quieter now, but sharper.
"I saw what I wasn't meant to see."
The Fragment Stirs
The recovered memory pulsed like a second heartbeat inside him.
He could feel it now — a foreign presence, something watching through his own eyes.
[System Sync: Partial]
Observer Protocol Initialized…
Target: Jiwoon (Child State)
Status: Surveillance In Progress
Meanwhile – The Oracle's Message
Down in the hidden archive, Kaelya unraveled the black lotus coin the Oracle had given Jiwoon.
It was glowing again — cracking, even though he hadn't used it.
"This coin's reacting to something," Kaelya muttered.
"It's like time's bleeding again."
Vera's Discovery
Vera, following a hunch, reactivated a forbidden terminal tied to the original Sin Contract.
Onscreen: Jiwoon's name.
And something else underneath — a second name, erased.
"Jiwoon was never the only one," she whispered.
"There was someone else the system marked…"
Sudden Attack – The Ash-Eyed Ones
Without warning, a pulse hit the temple — like a shockwave of guilt.
Figures emerged from the smoke — their eyes gray and glowing like volcanic ash.
Not demons. Not sinners. System Cleaners.
"They were never meant to be human," Qilin growled.
The Cleaners spoke in a monotone:
"Reset required. Subject Jiwoon has deviated from the Purge Directive."
Jiwoon's Response
Jiwoon stepped forward, still small — still in his child form.
But his presence made the ground tremble.
"You came to erase me."
"Correct. You are no longer within acceptable parameters."
Jiwoon raised his hand.
"Then let me show you how unacceptable I can be."
Sin Flash: Partial Override
[Divine Child Override – Phase 1]
[Ability: Time Dissonance]
The air bent.
The first Cleaner moved — and vanished, imploded into dust before touching Jiwoon.
"You think I'm a glitch?" he said, voice low.
"I'm the reason the system needs rules."
The others backed away — until only silence remained.
System Notice:
Ash-Eyed Protocol: Delayed
Warning: System Instability Detected
Memory Fragment: 2/3 approaching…
And Jiwoon — still small, still silent — whispered only one thing:
"Find the one whose name was erased."