The abandoned factory echoed with the relentless sound of metal being struck.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Each punch sent vibrations through the rusted walls, scattering dust from the cracked ceiling.
Standing alone in the middle of the vast building...
Ryan trained.
Sweat rolled down his forehead, dripping onto the cold concrete beneath his feet.
His breathing remained steady.
Controlled.
Every movement was precise.
Every strike landed with terrifying accuracy.
There was no wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Only repetition.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The heavy steel plate hanging before him had become twisted from months of punishment.
Yet Ryan never stopped.
To anyone watching...
It wasn't training.
It looked more like punishment.
As though every punch wasn't aimed at the metal—
But at himself.
His expression remained empty.
The same lifeless eyes.
The same emotionless face.
Only his fists refused to stop moving.
This abandoned factory had become part of his daily routine.
A place where no one interrupted him.
A place where silence understood him better than people ever could.
Soon...
Juliet would arrive for training.
Until then—
This silence belonged only to him.
Bang!
Another punch echoed through the factory.
Then—
"...Hello."
A gentle voice drifted through the empty building.
Ryan froze.
For the first time that day...
His fist stopped.
Slowly...
He turned around.
Standing near the factory entrance was a young girl with long purple hair that shimmered beneath the fading sunlight.
She wore a calm smile.
One that somehow didn't belong in a place like this.
For a brief moment...
Ryan simply stared.
"...Ah..."
He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"I didn't hear you come in."
His voice was noticeably different.
Less cold.
Almost... embarrassed.
"Do you need something?"
The girl smiled politely.
"I hope I'm not interrupting."
Ryan shook his head.
"No."
"Then..."
She took a slow step forward.
"My name is Isobel."
"I've been searching for you."
Silence.
Ryan's smile faded.
Searching...
For him?
His eyes narrowed.
"Do I know you?"
"No."
Isobel answered honestly.
"This is our first meeting."
Ryan studied her carefully.
She looked ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Yet...
Something felt wrong.
His heartbeat slowed.
His instincts sharpened.
The air around her...
Felt different.
Almost...
Heavy.
Ryan's expression slowly changed.
"...Wait."
His voice became quieter.
"...Who are you?"
Isobel noticed it immediately.
"...You can feel it."
It wasn't a question.
It was surprise.
Ryan didn't answer.
He continued staring at her.
The strange pressure surrounding her became stronger with every passing second.
It wasn't killing intent.
It wasn't hostility.
It was something he had never experienced before.
Something that shouldn't exist.
His fists slowly tightened.
"...You aren't human."
For the first time...
Isobel's smile disappeared.
"...I was hoping you'd need more time to figure that out."
Ryan took one slow step toward her.
His eyes had become frighteningly cold.
"So..."
"...He finally found me."
Isobel blinked.
"...What?"
Ryan's voice became dangerously calm.
"The one who sent you."
"Where is he?"
Confusion filled Isobel's face.
"I don't understand what you're—"
Ryan interrupted.
"Don't lie."
The temperature inside the factory seemed to drop.
His breathing remained calm.
But every instinct inside his body screamed that the girl standing before him wasn't an ordinary person.
"If you came here..."
"...then he knows where I am."
His voice cracked ever so slightly.
Not from fear.
From rage.
"Tell me."
"...Where is he?"
Isobel remained completely still.
She finally understood.
Ryan wasn't looking at her.
He was looking at someone from his past.
Someone he hated enough to shake even his normally emotionless heart.
She slowly raised both hands.
"I'm not your enemy."
"I came here because there are things you deserve to know."
Ryan didn't move.
"...Explain."
His voice was sharp enough to cut through steel.
"But choose your next words carefully."
Because if you lied...
Even he didn't know what he would do next.
Outside the factory...
Unnoticed by either of them...
A familiar girl quietly approached the entrance.
Juliet.
She frowned as she heard unfamiliar voices inside.
"...Ryan?"
She carefully peeked through the broken doorway.
Her eyes landed on the beautiful purple-haired stranger.
"...Who is she?"
Then she looked at Ryan.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She had never seen that expression before.
Ryan wasn't sad.
He wasn't empty.
He wasn't even angry.
He looked...
Afraid of what the answer might be.
Ryan's gaze never left Isobel.
The factory had become unnaturally quiet.
Even the wind outside had disappeared.
"...Start talking."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Isobel slowly lowered her hands.
"...My name is Isobel."
"I'm not here to fight you."
"I'm here because there are things you need to know."
Ryan's expression didn't change.
"Who sent you?"
"No one."
"I came on my own."
"Liar."
Ryan took another step forward.
"I can feel it."
"Whatever you are..."
"...it isn't human."
For the first time...
A flicker of surprise crossed Isobel's face.
"So..."
"You really can sense it."
She lowered her eyes.
"...That makes everything much more complicated."
Ryan's patience finally snapped.
"I didn't ask for riddles."
His voice echoed through the empty factory.
"I asked where he is."
Isobel looked up.
"...Who?"
"The man who send you "
Silence.
The words lingered in the air.
Isobel's eyes widened.
"...how do you someone send me?"
Ryan clenched his fists.
She slowly shook her head.
"I swear..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Ryan stared at her.
Searching for even the slightest sign of a lie.
There wasn't one.
"...Then why are you here?"
Before Isobel could answer—
She suddenly froze.
"...Huh?"
A strange sensation spread through her body.
Warm.
Then unbearably hot.
She instinctively looked at her trembling hands.
"...What is this?"
Ryan frowned.
"What happened?"
"I..."
"I don't know."
A tiny spark of violet light appeared on the back of her hand.
Then another.
And another.
The light spread like flowing water beneath her skin.
Ryan instinctively stepped backward.
"...Isobel?"
She looked terrified.
"I can't stop it..."
The air inside the factory suddenly became heavy.
The rusted metal walls began to vibrate.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
The broken windows rattled violently.
Outside...
Dark clouds gathered without warning.
Ryan's eyes narrowed.
"...Something's coming."
A deafening rumble echoed across the sky.
Juliet's eyes widened from the entrance.
"...Ryan!"
She rushed inside.
At that exact moment—
The violet light surrounding Isobel exploded.
A pillar of brilliant light erupted toward the ceiling, shattering the remaining glass in every direction.
Ryan instinctively shielded his eyes.
The force pushed him backward.
"...What's happening?!"
"I don't know!"
Isobel cried.
"I've never seen this before!"
The light suddenly twisted.
Instead of spreading outward...
It surged directly toward Ryan.
"What—?!"
The moment it touched him—
Golden light burst from his own body.
The two energies collided.
The entire factory shook violently.
The concrete floor cracked beneath their feet.
Three brilliant lines slowly carved themselves into the ground.
One.
Two.
Three.
They connected.
An enormous triangle formed beneath Ryan and Isobel.
Ancient symbols emerged across its surface.
Symbols that belonged to no language spoken by mankind.
They pulsed with life.
As though they had been waiting...
For this exact moment.
Ryan's eyes widened.
"...What is this...?"
The triangle suddenly blazed with light.
Its symbols began rotating.
Faster.
And faster.
Juliet finally reached them.
"Ryan!"
Without thinking—
She leaped across the glowing boundary.
The instant her foot touched the triangle—
Everything stopped.
For one impossible second...
The world became perfectly silent.
Then—
The sky split apart.
A pillar of lightning crashed straight through the roof of the abandoned factory.
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact swallowed the entire building in blinding white light.
Ryan reached toward Juliet.
Isobel reached toward Ryan.
Neither of them could touch the other.
The ancient symbols shone brighter than the sun itself.
A deep voice...
Older than time...
Echoed through the light.
No words.
Only a sound.
A sound none of them understood...
Yet all three somehow felt in the depths of their souls.
The triangle released one final pulse.
Darkness consumed everything.
Silence.
Complete...
Absolute...
Silence.
Darkness.
The ringing inside Ryan's ears slowly faded.
"...Ugh..."
His eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
As he forced them open, blurred rays of sunlight filtered through the shattered roof above him.
Everything around him was silent.
Too silent.
The factory...
Had changed.
Deep cracks stretched across the concrete floor like spider webs.
The twisted steel walls were covered in scorch marks.
The air still carried the scent of burnt metal.
Ryan slowly pushed himself to his feet.
Pain shot through every part of his body.
"...Juliet."
His eyes widened.
"Juliet!"
He spotted her lying only a few meters away.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward her and gently lifted her into his arms.
"Juliet..."
His normally calm voice carried unmistakable fear.
"Can you hear me?"
Her eyelashes fluttered.
"...Ryan...?"
Relief washed over his face.
"You idiot..."
He let out a long breath.
"I told you to stay outside."
Juliet gave a weak smile.
"...You never told me that."
Ryan paused.
"...Fair point."
Despite the pain...
She laughed.
Only for a moment.
Then she looked around.
"...What happened?"
Ryan slowly shook his head.
"...I don't know."
He helped her sit against a broken pillar before turning toward the only other person in the factory.
Isobel.
She was sitting silently on the cracked floor, staring blankly at her own hands.
"...Isobel."
She looked up.
The confidence she had shown earlier had completely disappeared.
"...I'm sorry."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I don't understand what happened."
Ryan studied her carefully.
She looked genuinely shaken.
Not frightened of him.
Frightened of what had just happened.
Ryan exhaled.
"...Fine."
"Then let's start from the beginning."
"Who are you?"
"Why were you looking for me?"
"And..."
He glanced at the destroyed factory.
"...What was that?"
Isobel slowly lowered her head.
"I wish I knew."
Silence filled the room once again.
Then—
"...Ryan."
Juliet's voice interrupted them.
She stared at her right hand.
"...Why..."
Tiny crystals sparkled across her fingertips.
A thin layer of frost slowly spread over her skin.
"...There's ice..."
The temperature around her hand dropped noticeably.
Ryan immediately stepped closer.
"...Don't move."
The frost continued growing.
Small pieces of ice formed in the air before gently falling to the floor.
Juliet's breathing quickened.
"I..."
"I can't stop it."
Ryan looked toward Isobel.
She was already staring at Juliet.
Then...
She slowly raised her own hand.
A faint violet light flickered around her fingertips.
Ryan's eyes narrowed.
Without saying a word...
He looked at his own hand.
Golden light.
It glowed beneath his skin for only a second before disappearing.
The three of them exchanged silent looks.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
They had all reached the same conclusion.
Something inside them...
Had changed.
Ryan finally broke the silence.
"...No one leaves."
Juliet blinked.
"Huh?"
Ryan's voice became calm once more.
"If we panic..."
"We'll learn nothing."
He looked at Isobel.
"You said you came here because there were things I needed to know."
His eyes sharpened.
"I think..."
"...now would be a good time to start talking."
Isobel slowly nodded.
"...You're right."
She took a deep breath.
"But before I explain..."
"...there's something you both need to understand."
Her expression became more serious than either of them had seen before.
"Everything you believed about this world..."
"...is incomplete."
Ryan and Juliet remained silent.
Outside...
The evening sky darkened.
A cold wind swept through the broken factory.
Far above the clouds...
Something ancient stirred.
As if it had finally sensed their existence.
Unseen eyes...
Opened.
And for the first time in countless years...
The world was no longer asleep.