The rain hadn't stopped since dusk.
Hana stood beneath the awning of the small rooftop garden above her apartment complex, her eyes lost in the swirl of clouds above the Seoul skyline. The city's chaos stretched around her like a breathing organism, always watching, always pulsing. But within her, everything was silent. Stagnant. Fractured.
The dreams were getting worse. More vivid. They weren't just feelings anymore, they were memories. Places she had never visited but could describe in detail. The scent of woodsmoke from a burning village. The soft cry of a child. A man's voice, deep, low, and broken, whispering her name.
"Ha-eun…"
No one had called her that in this lifetime.
She clutched her coat tighter. The name echoed in her bones.
Behind her, the rooftop door creaked open.
"You're up here again."
She turned quickly. A man stepped out, umbrella in hand, sharp black coat dripping from the wet air. Lucien.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," Hana muttered.
Lucien's face remained unreadable, as always. "You looked like you needed air. But you're shivering."
"I'm fine."
"You always say that when you're about to fall apart."
That hit harder than she expected. She looked away.
He stepped beside her, offering the umbrella over both of them. Their hands brushed accidental or intentional, she couldn't tell but it made her heart stumble. There was something familiar about his presence, something warm despite the steel in his posture.
"Why do you keep showing up?" she asked softly. "You're not my friend. You're not family. You're just a stranger who keeps... appearing."
Lucien's jaw tensed. "Because someone needs to keep you alive."
There was an edge in his voice. Not concern. Desperation.
Hana turned fully toward him. "What do you know about me? About what's happening to me?"
His gaze didn't waver. "You're not going crazy. You're remembering."
Her breath caught. "Remembering… what?"
Before he could answer, the rooftop door burst open again.
A woman emerged tall, composed, in a black trench coat and combat boots. Her eyes were sharp, lips tight, and a familiar sleek tablet clutched in her gloved hand.
"Lucien," she said curtly.
Hana stared. It was the same woman from the hotel corridor, the one who passed Lucien that encrypted file back in Chapter 6. The one who'd vanished before Hana could speak.
Now she had a name. Jisoo.
Lucien sighed, as if he'd expected this. "Jisoo. You're early."
"You said midnight. It's ten. You're late by principle."
She turned to Hana, assessing her like a puzzle she already half-solved.
Hana instinctively stepped back. "You followed me?"
"No," Jisoo said coolly. "But others are. I came to intervene."
Lucien placed himself subtly between the two women. "Jisoo's on our side."
"That depends," Jisoo muttered. "Is she still unawakened?"
Hana frowned. "Unawakened?"
Jisoo clicked her tongue. "She hasn't seen them yet. The echoes."
"Echoes of what?"
"Of who she was," Lucien said, his voice quieter now. "Before."
Jisoo walked forward, pulled a photo from her coat, and held it up.
A black-and-white image. Grainy. Old. A woman, kneeling in dirt, surrounded by ruins. Her face was identical to Hana's, but her expression was colder, older, and full of fire.
"That's not me," Hana whispered.
"No," Lucien said. "That's Ha-eun."
Jisoo turned the photo over. A string of numbers and a location.
"Project Janus indexed her 117 years ago," she said. "She was the first one we found who could retain emotional memory after death."
"She died," Hana said shakily.
"Violently," Jisoo confirmed. "As did he."
Lucien didn't speak. He didn't have to.
Hana stepped away from them both. "This is insane."
"No," Jisoo said, stepping forward, voice gentler now. "This is real. And it's only just beginning."
Just then, Lucien's phone buzzed twice. Urgently.
He checked the screen. His eyes darkened. "We need to move. Now."
Jisoo snapped to attention. "How close?"
"Too close. Mirror operatives intercepted the extraction point. They're not just after Hana anymore. They're after anyone with memory tethering."
Jisoo swore under her breath. "That includes me."
Hana spun toward Lucien. "What do they want with me?"
"They want to break the cycle," Lucien said.
"Or control it," Jisoo added grimly.
A sudden scream cut through the air below.
All three froze.
Lucien rushed to the edge of the rooftop, peering down into the alley. A dark van was idling. A figure was being dragged inside, thrashing.
"It's Detective Min," Lucien hissed.
Jisoo was already moving. "Cover me."
Lucien pulled out his concealed pistol from his belt as she sprinted down the stairwell, footsteps sharp and fast.
Hana remained frozen.
"Stay here," Lucien told her.
"No."
He turned back, surprised.
"I'm not a bystander," she said. "Not anymore."
Lucien stared at her for a long second. Then he nodded once.
They ran together.
They reached the alley just as the van peeled away, tires screeching. Jisoo fired a shot a clean, controlled bullet that shattered the back window.
"Damn it!" she shouted, lowering her weapon. "Too late."
Lucien checked the alley blood on the pavement. "He fought."
"They'll interrogate him for everything," Jisoo said. "His investigation logs, the files he downloaded, hell, even what he knows about you."
Hana's voice was quiet. "This is my fault."
"No," Lucien said, almost sharply. "This is Mirror's fault. And we're going to burn them from the inside."
His phone buzzed again. One word appeared on the screen: "AWAKENING."
Lucien's face drained of color. "It's starting."
Jisoo looked up. "Which site?"
Lucien swallowed. "Silla ruins. The same coordinates from the photo."
Hana's pulse accelerated.
"The first place you died," Jisoo said softly. "And maybe where you'll remember everything."
Cliffhanger Ending:
As the rain intensified, Hana looked down at her trembling hands.
But they weren't hers anymore.
For a brief second, just a flicker, her skin changed.
Faded scars. A burn mark. A gold ring that didn't exist.
Then it was gone.
"I saw it," she whispered.
Lucien turned to her.
"It's starting," Hana said again, her voice hollow.
Not just the past returning.
But her other self… awakening.