The fire in the monastery hearth crackled softly, a lull against the rising tension in the room.
Seonwu stood with his back to Hana and Lucien, his gaze fixed on the flickering flames, as if trying to read an omen in the shadows.
Neither Hana nor Lucien spoke.
There was something reverent almost holy about Seonwu's presence. Even the air shifted around him differently, as if the past recognized him and refused to let go.
"I didn't believe you'd still be alive," Hana finally whispered.
"I'm not," Seonwu replied. "At least… not in the way you think."
He turned.
"I never died because I never left the battlefield."
Lucien narrowed his eyes. "You said you broke the cycle. What does that mean?"
Seonwu's jaw tensed. "When the first timeline collapsed, I was offered a choice. Be reborn… or remember."
His gaze settled on Hana. "I chose to remember. All of it."
Flashback – 979 A.D., Fall of the Temple of Glass
The battlefield was soaked in moonlight and blood. Screams pierced the skies, but none louder than hers.
Princess No-eul Hana's past self stood surrounded, her white robes painted crimson. In her hands, the Oracle Dagger shimmered, absorbing energy with every drop spilled upon its blade.
Across the ruins, Seonwu fought like a shadow, blades in both hands. Every fallen enemy etched another memory onto his soul.
At the edge of defeat, the heavens cracked open, and time stuttered.
The gods made their decree.
For No-eul eternal rebirth, with memories erased.
For Seonwu eternal guardianship, bearing the weight of memory alone.
Present Day
Seonwu moved to a locked chamber in the monastery and removed an iron scroll case. He opened it with a precise motion.
Inside, a single parchment glowed faintly.
Lucien leaned in.
Hana's breath caught.
Symbols from her scroll were mirrored here, but older, deeper, as if this was the source and hers a copy.
Seonwu handed it to her. "You asked what you've become."
Hana hesitated, then unrolled the parchment.
"Bearer of the Last Light. Soul Anchor of the Dagger. Oracle's Echo."
The room seemed to contract with each word.
Lucien touched her hand. "This is why they're hunting you."
Seonwu nodded. "Your rebirth was never meant to be completed until the Dagger chose. But something accelerated the sequence. I suspect…" His gaze drifted to Lucien. "…him."
Lucien bristled. "You think I triggered this?"
"I think your soul was never meant to wake. But it did. And that… changes everything."
Meanwhile – Seoul, Below the Silver Root Bank
In a room of obsidian and gold, Shin Dae-hyun stood before a glowing containment chamber. Inside, suspended in liquid light, was a crystalline heart fractured and humming with energy.
Minjun stared at it. "The Beacon's signal just breached the second seal."
Shin clasped his hands behind his back. "We are ahead of schedule. Begin phase two."
"But the Oracle..."
"Will fail," Shin interrupted. "Because it always does when left to fate."
He turned slowly. "This time, we force fate to kneel."
Back at the Monastery – Inner Sanctum
The three sat before an altar Seonwu cross-legged, Hana tense, Lucien beside her.
Seonwu passed them each a thread of silver wire. "Place this around your wrist. It will hold memory across thresholds."
Lucien obeyed, though his brow furrowed. "Thresholds?"
"The spiritual kind," Seonwu replied. "You're both being hunted not just in body, but in soul."
Hana winced. "That pain in my chest every night since I touched the dagger.."
"It's not pain," Seonwu said gently. "It's memory. And it's trying to return."
Lucien tied the cord, then looked Seonwu in the eye. "What happens if we complete the sequence?"
Seonwu hesitated.
Then: "One of you will remember the first death."
The silence following that sentence was absolute.
Lucien's voice dropped. "And the other?"
Seonwu didn't answer.
But the look in his eyes said it all.
Outside the Monastery
The snow glistened like powdered diamonds, hiding the approach of death.
A silent drone hovered above the ridgeline, its lens narrowing in.
Below, the Raven Unit was already in motion, flanking both sides of the monastery with EMP silencers and tranquilizer-loaded rifles.
Minjun's voice crackled over comms. "Visual confirmed. Seonwu. Hana. Lucien. All three."
Commander Kwon: "Hold until the third signal is locked. Then strike."
In the shadows, something else stirred. Not human. Not machine.
Something older.
Watching.
Waiting.
Inside – Seonwu's Meditation Hall
The scroll between them pulsed once.
Then again.
Suddenly, Hana gasped and fell forward, clutching her head. "No, no it's happening again!"
Lucien caught her before she hit the stone.
Her eyes glazed.
She wasn't here anymore.
FLASHBACK – A Temple in Ruins, 979 A.D.
She saw herself Princess No-eul fighting beside Lucien's past self.
She saw Seonwu stabbed from behind by a betrayer wearing royal colors.
She saw herself scream so loud the air cracked.
And she saw something else awaken beneath the altar, a creature of black flame and silver eyes.
The same creature is now stirring in the vault below Seoul.
The Echo.
It had whispered, even then: "You are the anchor. Unseal me, and your pain ends."
Back to present
Hana's body convulsed in Lucien's arms.
Seonwu rose sharply. "The seal has begun to break."
Lucien shook her. "Hana! Come back to me!"
But Hana's lips parted and she whispered a name that made the fire go cold.
"Yul."
Lucien's heart skipped.
"Who's Yul?" he asked.
Seonwu's face went pale. "The one you were before Lucien."
The silence that followed hit like a punch.
Lucien took a step back. "I… was someone else? Before this?"
"You all were," Seonwu said. "But if she remembers Yul… it means she's crossed the soul threshold. You'll start to change."
Lucien's voice dropped. "Into what?"
But Seonwu didn't answer.
Instead, he turned suddenly to the door. "They're here."
Outside – Full Assault Begins
Explosions rocked the forest as the Raven Unit charged in, smoke grenades first. Lucien yanked Hana into his arms and ducked as bullets shredded the outer gate.
Seonwu blurred into motion leaping into the fray with the grace of a man half his age. His staff cracked skulls, limbs, and blades with devastating precision.
Lucien ran for the side path, dragging Hana behind him, now half-conscious. "We have to go!"
A soldier appeared behind them.
But Lucien was faster.
He snapped the soldier's neck, grabbed his weapon, and ran.
But just as they reached the final trail down the ridge
A figure stepped in front of them.
Not Raven Unit.
Not Seonwu.
Not Minjun.
Someone else.
Female. Wrapped in veils of black silk. Eyes glowing like embers beneath a hood.
She raised one hand and the snow froze midair.
Lucien aimed the gun.
The woman spoke.
"Hello, Yul."
Lucien froze.
Hana stirred in his arms.
And the woman smiled.
"Did you really think the past wouldn't come for its due?"