The sky above Seoul was still gray when Jin-Soo stepped into it again.
Clouds rolled across the horizon like ash drifting from a burning world. The light stung his eyes—not because it was bright, but because it was real. Solid. Familiar.
For the first time in what felt like months—though only hours had passed outside—he felt the weight of the world again.
The scent of the city. The distant wail of ambulances. The hum of cars, neon signs, and life that never cared if someone like him lived or died.
He stood at the edge of the Association monitoring station as agents stared, silent and unsure.
No one stopped him.
They didn't know how.
He had come back from a Denguen they labeled as high-tier. A death zone. And he walked out alone.
No records. No proof. No explanation.
And no witnesses.
Except one.
---
Elsewhere in Seoul – Medical Facility
Seo-Yeon's eyes fluttered open.
Sterile light.
White ceiling.
An oxygen monitor beeped softly beside her.
Her mind was sluggish, but one name echoed louder than any other:
> Jin-Soo...
She sat up too quickly. Pain shot through her back where she'd been struck.
A nurse tried to hold her down. "Please, miss. You were unconscious. You need to rest."
"Where is he?" she gasped. "The E-rank hunter—Jin-Soo. Where is he?!"
The nurse blinked. "He… he came out of the portal."
Seo-Yeon froze. Her mouth parted slightly.
"Is he…?"
"He's alive," the nurse said gently. "Walked out on his own. Left without speaking to anyone."
Seo-Yeon exhaled. The tightness in her chest cracked like melting ice.
> He's alive…
But something in the nurse's tone stuck with her.
Something wasn't right.
---
Back in the city – Late Evening
Jin-Soo moved through alleyways, not sidewalks.
His hood was pulled low. His body was clean now, clothes changed into a spare set from a cheap storage locker near Seoul Station. But the weight of what he had become clung to him like oil.
He kept to the shadows.
Not out of fear—but caution.
> [Monster Essence Suppressed. Host aura masked.]
[All system activity hidden from external detection.]
He was grateful for that.
Because already, on the streets, he heard them talking.
"Heard an E-rank came out alone from a class-S gate."
"That's bull. E-ranks die if the wind changes direction."
"No, seriously! They said his body glowed. Like... cursed or something."
"Maybe a monster let him go."
"Or maybe—he's not human anymore."
Jin-Soo kept walking.
Faster.
He wasn't afraid of rumors.
But his sister didn't know any of this yet.
---
Home
Their apartment was on the fourth floor of an aging rooftop complex. Stained walls. Narrow staircases. Peeling paint. A place no one paid attention to.
But inside… it was warm.
Even in poverty, it was a place where Jin-Soo felt whole.
He unlocked the door quietly, not wanting to wake her if she was asleep.
But the moment the door creaked open—
"Oppa?!"
A blur of brown hair and thin arms launched at him.
He staggered slightly as Ha-Eun hugged him, burying her face into his chest. Her breathing was fast, slightly ragged.
"Oppa... you're late. You said you'd come home by morning…"
"I know," he said softly, stroking her hair. "I'm sorry."
"Did you get hurt again? Let me see—your arms—your—"
"I'm okay now," he whispered. "Really. I'm okay."
Ha-Eun looked up at him, eyes wide and teary.
"You're... different," she said quietly.
Jin-Soo froze.
"Different how?"
"I don't know..." she murmured. "But your eyes. You don't look tired anymore. You look... far away."
He forced a soft smile. "Maybe I finally slept properly."
She didn't believe him.
But she didn't press.
Instead, she pulled him to the couch and brought him the last bit of hot soup she had been keeping warm since morning. The broth was weak, more water than flavor, but he drank it like a king.
> Because he was home.
> Because she was still here.
> Because despite the death, pain, betrayal, and power... this was what mattered most.
She leaned against him, closing her eyes as he held her hand.
And for a while, he let himself forget.
Forget the Monarch.
Forget the blood.
Forget the whispers.
Just one night.
Just one moment.
---
Meanwhile – In the Association's Upper Chamber
Three men in suits stared at a grainy video.
It showed Jin-Soo walking out of the portal. Alone. Covered in blood.
The image was unstable. Cameras failed the moment he stepped through, as if technology couldn't capture him clearly.
"An E-rank walking out of a high-tier Denguen," one of them muttered. "Impossible."
"Unless he made a deal with the monsters."
"Or became one."
The third man narrowed his eyes. "Find him. Monitor him. If he shows abnormal behavior, we'll act."
"But he's just—"
"No one who walks out of a dungeon alone like that is 'just' anything."
---
Back on the rooftop – Later that night
Jin-Soo stood outside, staring at the stars.
His system glowed silently inside his mind.
> [Hidden Title Progress: The Rejected One – 12%]
[Achievement Path Unlocked: Monarch of Silence]
[Next Objective: Survive unseen. Grow unnoticed.]
The stars looked closer now.
Or maybe he had simply risen too far.
He looked at his hands. The power pulsed beneath his skin, like a sleeping volcano.
He clenched his fist and whispered:
"I will not live to destroy the world."
"I will become strong enough that no one like me ever suffers again."
---