Kai woke to the sound of metal doors locking.
His eyes snapped open. White ceiling. Fluorescent lights. The sharp scent of antiseptic mixed with oil and gunpowder. For a brief second, panic surged—then he realized his hands were free. No restraints. Just a thin mattress beneath him and a dull ache running through his ribs.
He sat up slowly.
The room was small, concrete walls reinforced with steel beams. No windows. A single door stood opposite him, guarded by two armed men in tactical gear. They didn't look surprised to see him awake.
One of them tapped his earpiece. "He's up."
The door opened.
Lena Cross stepped inside, followed by the older man Kai had seen at the river. Up close, the man looked older than Kai first thought—gray beard, tired eyes—but there was nothing weak about him. He moved like someone who had survived too many battles to count.
"You heal fast," Lena said. "That's good."
Kai swung his legs off the bed. "Where am I?"
"A safe place," she replied.
"That's not an answer."
The old man leaned on his staff. "It's the only one you'll get for now."
Kai studied them both. "You knew my name."
"Yes," the man said. "And you knew how to fight a being that wipes out cities. That's not coincidence."
"I don't remember any of it," Kai said, frustration creeping into his voice. "Not the fighting. Not you. Not that thing."
"The Korin," the man said.
The word sent a chill through Kai's spine.
"It returns every six years," the man continued calmly. "It challenges us. And if we fail, Earth pays the price."
Kai let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "You expect me to believe that?"
Lena stepped closer. "You saw it. You fought it. And you survived."
Before Kai could respond, a loud metallic clang echoed through the compound. Shouting followed. Then another sound—flesh hitting metal.
The door slid open again.
"Training hall," one of the guards said. "He should see."
They walked through narrow corridors lit by red emergency strips. The compound was massive, carved deep underground. Armed teams moved with urgency. Screens along the walls displayed satellite images, energy readings, and distorted footage of the Korin standing in the forest before vanishing.
They entered a wide open space.
The training hall was brutal in its simplicity—steel floors, reinforced pillars, weapon racks lining the walls. At the center, two men were fighting.
No guns. No armor.
Just bodies.
One of them was enormous, muscles packed tight beneath scarred skin. He drove forward relentlessly, fists like sledgehammers. The other moved differently—lighter, fluid, redirecting each attack with calm precision.
The bigger man swung. Missed. The smaller fighter stepped inside the strike, twisted, and dropped him hard onto the floor.
Silence.
Kai felt it again.
That pull. That familiarity.
His hands clenched unconsciously.
"That's Jiu Jitsu," Lena said, watching him closely. "Not sport. Not tradition. War."
The man on the floor laughed as he stood. "You're slower," he said to his opponent.
"And you're predictable," the other replied.
The big man turned toward Kai. His eyes narrowed. "That him?"
"Yes," Lena said.
The man walked closer, towering over Kai. "Doesn't look like much."
Before anyone could stop him, the man shoved Kai hard.
Instinct exploded.
Kai caught the arm, pivoted, and sent the man crashing onto his back in one smooth motion. The hall went silent again.
Kai froze, staring at his own hands.
"I didn't mean to—"
The man on the floor grinned. "Yeah," he said, climbing up. "It's him."
The old man nodded slowly. "Your body remembers what your mind erased."
"Why?" Kai demanded. "Why me?"
The old man's expression darkened.
"Because six years ago," he said, "you walked into the rift… and never came back."
A deep alarm suddenly blared through the compound.
Red lights flashed.
A voice echoed over the intercom."Rift energy spike detected. Secondary breach possible."
The warriors moved instantly, grabbing weapons, checking gear.
Lena looked at Kai. "Welcome back to the war."
Kai stared at the screens, his heart pounding.
He still didn't know who he was.
But whatever he had been before—
the Korin knew him.
And that terrified him more than anything else.