As I finally reached the ruins' entrance, I stepped inside.
The moment my foot crossed the threshold, the air changed.
It wasn't colder.
It wasn't darker.
It was heavier—like the ruins themselves were aware of my presence.
The System notification screen materialized in front of me.
[SYSTEM]: Welcome :).
That smile.
That damn smile.
It pissed me off more than anything else.
I swatted my hand through the holographic screen, dispersing it like mist. "Tch."
I didn't slow down.
I walked straight into the ruins.
The interior stretched deeper than it should have—far deeper than the outside structure suggested. Ancient stone walls lined the corridor, covered in countless scriptures carved so deeply into the rock that even time hadn't erased them. Symbols, spirals, geometric sigils, and drawings of figures locked in eternal conflict sprawled across every surface.
Some looked human.
Some didn't.
Some had horns.
Some had wings.
Some had eyes scratched out.
Others had their faces carved in expressions of reverence… or fear.
I studied the walls as I walked, rainwater still dripping from my clothes, my boots echoing softly against the stone floor. I couldn't understand the language, but my chest tightened the longer I looked at it—like my body recognized something my mind didn't.
This place wasn't abandoned.
It was waiting.
Eventually, I reached a massive door.
It towered over me, ancient and sealed, engraved with symbols far more complex than the rest of the ruins. The stone around it was smooth, untouched by erosion, as if the door had rejected the passage of time itself.
The System flickered back into existence.
[SYSTEM]: Open the door. They are waiting for their king.
"…King?" I muttered.
The word didn't sit right with me.
"What the hell does that even mean…?"
The ruins remained silent.
No answers.
Just that door.
I exhaled slowly.
"Guess there's only one way to find out."
I grabbed the door handle.
The moment my fingers wrapped around it, the System appeared again—directly in front of my eyes.
[SYSTEM]: …
No text.
No explanation.
Just a pause.
That unsettled me more than any warning ever could.
I pulled the door open.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
For a split second, there was nothing—no light, no sound, no sense of direction—
Then fire ignited.
Torches lit up one by one, flames bursting to life along the walls in a perfect sequence, illuminating the chamber with a deep, flickering orange glow.
My breath caught.
Statues lined the room.
On the left, a long row stretching endlessly forward.
On the right, the same.
The statues on the left faced right.
The statues on the right faced left.
They stared at each other.
Watching.
Judging.
These weren't the angel statues outside.
These were different.
Some resembled humans—kings, warriors, scholars, queens—each carved with impossible detail.
Others were unmistakably Yokai.
Beasts with horns, claws, elongated jaws, and inhuman anatomy, frozen in expressions of dominance or wrath.
Yet despite their differences… they stood together.
Another torch ignited at the far end of the chamber.
Then another.
And another.
At the very back stood nine enormous statues—each one dwarfing the rest.
Their eyes glowed faintly.
Unlike the others.
Human statues.
Yokai statues.
None of their eyes glowed.
Only the nine.
Before I could process what I was seeing—
The statues moved.
Stone scraped against stone.
One by one, every statue besides the 9 enormous statues in the chamber lowered itself.
Human figures knelt.
Yokai figures knelt.
All of them prostrated themselves.
Before me.
[SYSTEM]: All statues prostrated themselves before the young man, as if welcoming their king… their ruler… their liege.
"…Tch," I muttered.
I ignored it.
But my heart was pounding.
Why were they kneeling?
Why hadn't the angel statues done this?
Why me?
[SYSTEM]: Jae Hoon hesitated, confused by the statues' reverence.
"Shut the hell up," I snapped.
I walked forward anyway.
Past the kneeling figures.
Left.
Right.
Stone eyes locked onto me from every direction.
The pressure in the room intensified with each step.
When I reached the nine towering statues, their glowing eyes burned brighter.
Then the ground trembled.
A structure rose from the floor between us.
An altar.
Ancient.
Cracked.
Sacred.
The System appeared again.
[SYSTEM]: Spill your blood upon the sacred altar.
I hesitated.
Every instinct screamed at me to stop.
But something deeper—older—pulled me forward.
I scanned the ground, found a sharp fragment of broken stone, and dragged it across my palm.
Blood welled instantly.
I held my hand over the altar.
Drip.
Drip.
The moment my blood touched its surface—
The altar erupted in blinding white light.
The entire chamber vibrated.
Then the System appeared again.
Its tone changed.
[SYSTEM]: A young man rose beyond his limits.
The words continued.
[SYSTEM]: Mirages, Yokai, and villains fell by his hand. He endured wounds that would fell others. He entered the ruins of the Forgotten Emperors…
"Forgotten Emperors?" I whispered.
My gaze snapped to the nine towering statues.
"…So that's what they are."
The System continued.
[SYSTEM]: He spilled his blood upon the sacred altar.
Silence followed.
Then—
A voice.
"And yet… we listened."
I stiffened.
My head snapped up.
One of the emperor statues—the one directly in front of me—had spoken.
Stone lips moved.
I staggered back instinctively.
The statue continued, its voice deep, ancient, and heavy with authority.
"Calm yourself," it said. "Your trial is complete, Jae Hoon."
Trial…?
"…Reincarnation of Prince Mydeimos."
"…Reincarnation?" I repeated, my voice hollow.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
I clenched my fists.
"Enough of this. Stop whatever this is and tell me where the System is!"
The emperor's glowing eyes locked onto me.
Then it spoke again.
"Your final task—"
"HEY!" I yelled. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN FINAL TASK?! WHERE IS THE SYSTEM?!"
The statue didn't raise its voice.
Didn't need to.
"Impudent," it said calmly. "Your crude tongue knows no restraint."
Its presence crushed down on me.
"You have been granted a new name."
My chest tightened.
"A new name?"
The air vibrated.
"Salvation of Fate."
Lightness flooded my body.
Too light.
I couldn't breathe.
My vision blurred.
I dropped to my knees.
"What—what are you doing to my bod—"
Pain detonated inside me.
"ARGHHHHHHH!!"
Every nerve screamed.
The last thing I heard was the emperor's voice, distant yet impossibly close.
"We hope you find what you have been searching for…"
The chamber faded.
"…Dream well, Salvation of Fate."
Darkness swallowed everything.