When Hyun Woo snapped back into reality and heard those strange words in his mind, his eyes blinked fast, his chest went up and down like it was jumping, and it felt like he had just run miles.
As he lowered his eyes and looked at his own hands, they were shaking.
Aura around him was fading little by little, but he just stood there, staring at his trembling hands. His eyes were wide open, full of shock, lost and bewildered.
His body had been moving on its own, but his mind was awake the whole time. His eyes had seen every moment. His ears had heard every verdict, every sin.
And his soul — his soul had gone through the same torment. He had felt the hunger, the shame, the hopeless despair. It was crushing him now.
He grabbed his head with both hands. His breath came out sharp.
"What… what was that? Was it real? Or just… some nightmare?"
His voice cracked. He didn't know if he was awake or still trapped. The pain was still there, heavy in his chest.
The voices in his head pushed down on him, making his chest feel heavy and his heart sink.
[ This is reality. ]
[ You have been chosen as the Avatar of Justice. ]
[ By the will of — Themisar, the God of Divine Justice. ]
The voices in his head pushed down on him, making his chest feel heavy and his heart sink.
His lips were termbling. "Avatar… of justice…?"
The voice did not stop. It began to tell him, slow and heavy, about the power he now held.
It said he was chosen as the Avatar of Themisar, the divine God of Justice and Divine Law.
For centuries Themisar had slept, not touching the mortal world, never breaking the balance. But now, he had opened his eyes.
The voice told him that Themisar held the power to bend the laws of the universe itself, but there was one law he could never break — he could not step directly into the mortal world.
If he did, the balance would shatter and everything would fall apart.
So Themisar had chosen Hyun Woo as his vessel, and the System as the medium. Through this, Hyun Woo could borrow the power of law and deliver judgment in the name of the god.
But the voice warned him too. His body was weak. His mind was fragile.
He could not hold all of Themisar's power. That was why the Justice Avatar System had been created — to guide him, to channel the power little by little.
As Hyun Woo delivered verdicts, as he judged sins, as he learned the nature of law, he would grow.
Everything about him would change—his body, his mind, his soul.
He would carry Justice Points now, pieces of godly power. With them, he could grow, gain strength, and unlock skills no mortal ever touched.
"This is the path you've stepped onto," the voice said, cold as stone. "The path of Themisar's Avatar."
Hyun Woo fell to the ground, his back curling in, head hanging low like he didn't even have the strength to lift it.
His fingers dug into the dirt, shaking.
"Why… why me?" his voice cracked, almost a whisper. "Why would he choose me?"
He raised his head a little, then dropped it again right away, unable to keep it up.
"I'm weak… I can't even speak right in front of people. I can't look them in the eyes. I can't raise my head… I just hide."
His shoulders trembled as he spoke. His hands pulled at his clothes like he wanted to tear them.
"I was beaten like trash. Spit on. Stepped on. I can't even protect myself."
Tears slid down his face. He covered his mouth with one hand, voice muffled.
"Then why… why give me this? Power that can bend even the law of the universe… why put it on me?"
The voice answered him. Cold. Empty.
"I do not know."
"I am not thought. I am not will. I am only a medium."
"Themisar created me as a new law. A law above all other laws. Through me, his power enters this world."
"I can bend rules. I can touch the laws of the universe. But why you were chosen… I cannot answer."
"I only carry out the will of Themisar."
The voice stopped.
Hyun Woo sat there, his mouth half open, but no words came out. The silence pressed on him, heavy. His hands trembled on his knees.
He lowered his head again. He felt small.
The silence stretched.
Hyun Woo's lips moved, his voice low, almost like he was speaking to himself.
"Do you… do you think someone like me… pathetic, helpless… can really bear something this heavy?"
His eyes shook as he spoke. He couldn't even look up. His fingers dug into his knees, trying to stop the shaking, but it didn't work.
The voice grew louder inside his head. It was not just sound now — it was weight, filling his chest, filling his every breath.
"When every hand abandoned you,
the chains reached down to you.
When you fell into the dark,
the chains wrapped and pulled you back.
They are not chains of despair,
they are chains of Justice.
They raise the fallen,
they lift the broken."
Hyun Woo raised his head as heard the voice inside his head and blinked, then he saw it. His eyes shocked with bewilderment.
The System that had only spoken in his mind now stood in front of him. A figure made of golden light, like a man, glowing so bright that even the shadows bent away.
The figure went down on one knee before him. One hand rested on the ground. The other reached out, touching Hyun Woo's head gentle.
The light from that touch spread down his face, his chest, his body.
"Rise, Hyun Woo," the voice said, but now it was not only inside his head. It was right in front of him.
"You were spit on. You were beaten. You were thrown away. Yet still you breathe."
"Rise, Hyun Woo.
You know pain — so you can heal pain.
You know injustice — so you can carry justice.
You were blinded by the world —
so you can bring the world light.
You are not chosen for power,
you are chosen for truth.
This is why the chains answered you.
This is why Themisar's will rests in you."
The golden figure stood in front of Hyun Woo. He turned his back, one hand pointing to the stars, the other resting behind him.
"You asked why you were chosen. Listen well."
He lowered his hand, placing it flat over his chest.
"Justice does not come from strength of body. Justice is strength of the heart. Even the powerless can carry it."
He spread his arm to the side, pointing toward the ground, toward the world below.
"When the world falls into chaos… when the cries of the weak are left to rot… even one spark is enough to light a fire. That spark is you."
Then he raised both arms wide open, showing the sky above, light spilling from him.
"Do not look at what you lack. Do not cling to weakness. Look at the path in front of you."
He clenched one fist and lifted it high.
"Rise, not for yourself, but for the law that stands higher than kings, higher than gods."
Finally, he turned halfway back toward Hyun Woo, extending his glowing hand toward him.
"Themisar placed his mark on you not because you are mighty… but because you are true."
Hyun Woo's hand went to his face. He wiped his tears, but they kept coming. He was weeping slowly, his shoulders shaking.
He tried to stop. He tried to put the weeping aside.
'Why am I crying?' he thought. 'Why am I not happy? This… this is what I always wished for. The power. The chance. The justice I dreamed of.'
Then why? Why was his chest heavy? Why was his heart asking if this was real?
Why was he still doubting, even when the chains wrapped him, even when the golden light filled him?
The thought circled again and again.
'Why am I questioning the very thing I desired? Why am I still afraid?'
The golden light smiled. Then it faded, vanishing into the air when it saw the hope in Hyun Woo's eyes.
Hyun Woo pressed his palm against the ground and pushed himself up. He stood.
He wiped the last of his tears away. His eyes glowed now. There was a spark in them. Brighter. Stronger. Filled with hope.
Then the voice of the System returned in his head.
[ Forgiveness or Punishment? ]