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Chapter 13: The Final Key
Snow blanketed the path to the Gate of Shadows, the last shrine. Ji and his companions trudged up the frozen ridge, each breath a cloud of mist in the biting wind. Behind them, three keys glowed inside Duri's pouch—each one pulsing as they neared the end.
"The final key is hidden inside the shrine," Seora said, her voice steady despite the wind. "But Baek Rin will be waiting."
Ji nodded. "Let him wait. I'm not the same boy I was."
They reached the summit.
The Gate stood tall—obsidian black, rimmed with silver vines. Four empty slots lined its center. The final shrine was built into the base, a small temple with no roof, open to the full moon above.
Baek Rin stood before it.
His silver cloak rippled like smoke. His mask now bore cracks. And beside him... stood Soo-min.
Her eyes glowed red.
"You've come far," Baek Rin said. "But you're not ready to bear the burden of light."
Ji stepped forward. "I'll carry it anyway."
Baek Rin unsheathed his blade. Soo-min raised her sickles.
The ground shook.
The final battle began.
Duri summoned blinding sparks, Yeonhwa clashed with Baek Rin's second-in-command, and Seora faced Soo-min in a storm of silver and flame.
Ji rushed toward the shrine. Inside, a fourth key hovered above an altar—shaped like a teardrop carved from moon crystal.
He reached for it—
—but Baek Rin appeared in a flash, slamming him into the wall.
"You don't understand what this power costs!" Baek Rin roared. "It took everything from me!"
Ji coughed, then stood. "You let it consume you. I won't."
Their blades clashed—Ji's light against Baek Rin's darkness. Sparks flew.
Outside, Seora disarmed Soo-min. Instead of finishing her, she knelt.
"I know you're still in there."
Soo-min hesitated.
Then screamed—and dropped her blades.
The red faded from her eyes.
Back in the shrine, Ji struck with everything he had—memories, pain, hope. His light shattered Baek Rin's mask.
Underneath... was a broken man.
Baek Rin fell.
Ji took the final key.
The Gate of Shadows lit up.
Four keys. Four lights. One path forward.
But beyond the gate lay something even greater than Baek Rin:
Truth.
And Ji Sok Han would walk through it.
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To Be Continued in Chapter 14: The Gate Opens