Silence dominated the scene after the silver-eyed woman's words. The air was charged with an unseen force, as if something far greater than Raine could comprehend was about to unfold.
"To abandon what remains of your humanity."
He stared at the woman, who hadn't moved an inch, while the Black Butterfly circled him slowly, as if weighing the choices in his place.
Raine was no fool. He knew this woman hadn't appeared by coincidence, nor were her words mere deception. There was something in her voice that made him realize the matter ran far deeper than it seemed.
"If you think I'll accept such an offer so easily, then you don't know me well enough," he said coldly. Yet deep inside, he knew he had already begun to change.
The woman smiled faintly. "You've already started your journey, Raine. The question is not whether you will abandon your humanity, but when you will realize you already have."
His fist clenched tightly. She was right. Since the Black Butterfly had awakened, since his powers had begun to grow, he had felt something within him slowly fading. Mercy? Emotions? Old memories? They no longer carried the same weight as before.
But did that mean he was no longer human?
There was no time for such questions.
"You answered my question with philosophy, but you still haven't told me what you truly want from me."
The woman sighed, as if she found enjoyment in making him think. "I am merely here to guide you to the next step."
"And what is that?"
"Crossing the boundary."
She raised her hand, and suddenly, a dark portal materialized behind her, swirling with spirals of black energy. It resembled teleportation gates Raine had heard of before, yet something about it was different.
This was not just a gateway to another place—it was something far more dangerous.
"What lies beyond it?"
"Answers... and new questions."
There was no hesitation in her voice. She was certain that Raine would step through, but the question was—was he ready for what he would find?
The Black Butterfly fluttered beside him, pausing briefly as if awaiting his decision.
There was no turning back.
He took a step forward.
"No more riddles. I will find the truth myself."
Then, he entered the portal.
Raine didn't feel himself passing through the gateway, but the moment he opened his eyes, he found himself somewhere he never expected.
Falrok Village.
But it wasn't in ruins.
It was just as he remembered in his childhood—houses standing tall, the air filled with the scent of freshly baked bread, and the voices of children echoing through the streets.
"Impossible..." he whispered.
Before he could process what was happening, a familiar voice called out behind him.
"You took your time, Raine."
He turned slowly, his eyes widening in sheer shock.
His father stood before him.
Raine froze in place as the man he had never seen in his life stood before him, whole and unscathed, as if he had never died.
"Father...?"
The man smiled slightly, but there was something else in his eyes—something deeper than just a simple reunion between a father and his son.
"I knew you would reach this place eventually."
His voice carried an eerie certainty, as if he had known everything all along.
"How...?"
The man lifted his hand, pointing at the Black Butterfly hovering beside Raine.
"Because I was the one who gave you this power."
A shiver ran down Raine's spine.
"What do you mean?"
His father sighed and took a step forward. "You were just a child when I died, weren't you? But the truth is... I never truly disappeared."
Raine couldn't understand, but he felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.
"Before I died, I used a forbidden ability to bind a part of my soul to the insect that would be born with you."
The words echoed in Raine's mind as if refusing to settle.
"Then... the Black Butterfly..."
"Is a part of me."
Raine's world spun around him. The Black Butterfly wasn't just an ordinary spiritual insect? It was connected to his father's soul?
"Why?" he asked, his voice hoarse from disbelief.
"Because I knew this world would never allow your existence, Raine. I saw the future, and I saw how the organization would try to eliminate you before you could fulfill your destiny."
His breath hitched.
"Then... everything... everything that happened to me... was planned?"
His father shook his head. "I did not plan everything, but I carved out the path that led you here. You were the one who chose to walk it."
Something in those words made anger stir within him.
"If you knew all this... why didn't you tell me before?"
His father gazed at him calmly.
"Because you weren't ready to hear the truth."
Raine took a deep breath, trying to steady his thoughts. The truth was too heavy, but it was no longer something he could deny.
His father wasn't entirely gone.
The Black Butterfly wasn't just an extraordinary ability—it was a part of his father's soul.
And everything he had endured so far... was part of a plan he had never known existed.
But he still wasn't sure what it all meant.
He lifted his eyes to his father, realizing something important.
"If you were part of this insect... then that means you've been watching me all this time, haven't you?"
His father nodded slowly.
"Then why didn't you help me? Why did you let me suffer?"
His father looked at him, his eyes carrying a shadow of deep sorrow.
"Because suffering was the only way to make you strong enough to survive the fate that awaits you."
Something inside Raine shattered.
There was nothing left to say.
He had crossed the boundary between man and monster.
And now, there was no turning back.
— To be continued in the next chapter…