The battlefield was silent.
Dust and ash settled around Jiwoon's small form — knees scraped, breaths short, but his eyes still burned.
Above him, the divine Executors lay defeated. Their weapons shattered. Their pride broken.
He hadn't won through brute force.
He had endured.
—
System Update:
"Emergency Barrier compromised."
"Jiwoon's anomaly status escalated."
"Divine Instinct Level: 1 unlocked (unsealed fragment)."
"Warning: Soul strain at 64%."
But Jiwoon didn't care about the numbers anymore.
He looked at his own hands. Small. Shaking.
"Why… does it still hurt?" he whispered.
Behind him, Vera finally broke through the fractured barrier.
She ran to him, grabbing him in her arms. "You stupid, stupid boy—"
Jiwoon didn't resist.
He simply closed his eyes and leaned into her shoulder.
—
Meanwhile, in the System Core
Far beyond the mortal realm, a room of mirrors showed Jiwoon's fight from every angle. A hooded figure stood before them, unmoving.
"So," the figure muttered. "The child god refuses to vanish."
Another voice, softer, female:
"He's not just resisting. He's rewriting the prophecy."
—
A New Threat Emerges
Kaelya, tending to Jiwoon's wounds, noticed something strange.
A black mark glowing faintly on his wrist.
A brand they hadn't seen before.
"…That wasn't there before."
Jiwoon looked up, confused. "What is it?"
The mark pulsed. Once. Twice.
Then a new system prompt appeared — red, jagged, chaotic:
"UNKNOWN DATA POINT DETECTED."
"WELCOME… SOVEREIGN OF SINS."
Vera and Kaelya froze.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kaelya asked.
Jiwoon just stared at the mark, and whispered:
"Something… is coming."