"It's been a while, Jin Doyun. And... nice to meet you, Ju Idam. You'll have to pay the price for recklessly setting foot in my 'nest'."
Yu Seohyun's voice cut through the space colder than the frigid air of the 'Core Repository.' Behind her, armed thugs bearing 'flame insignias' were tightening their flawless encirclement. The strange energy whips in their hands glowed blue, emitting ominous sounds.
"Executive Director Yu Seohyun... why are you here?" Jin Doyun asked in a low voice, not letting his guard down. He couldn't forget her face from the top-secret MainNet project they'd briefly crossed paths in. She was also the person Hayun had been most wary of.
A faint smile appeared on Yu Seohyun's lips, but her eyes weren't smiling at all. "I just came to confirm how much you, as a 'Memory Keeper,' have approached the secrets of this 'Akasha Field.' I can't tolerate anyone defiling my father's legacy. But... your unique ability is, frankly speaking, somewhat valuable."
Her gaze lingered briefly on the area near Doyun's temple where his neural chip was implanted. "Forget everything and live an ordinary life. That's the only way you can survive, Jin Doyun."
"Forget?" Anger surged in Doyun's voice. "Do you think Hayun and all those 'Erasers' would have wanted to be forgotten like that? In this massive graveyard of memories your father created!"
When Hayun's name was mentioned, Yu Seohyun's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. But it was only momentary - she quickly regained her composure. "How sentimental. Hayun... she simply walked the path she chose. It's natural for unstable elements that threaten system stability to be eliminated."
"Then was my sister, Jin Sora, also such an unstable element?" Doyun shot back sharply.
This time, clear agitation crossed Yu Seohyun's expression. Doyun didn't miss the tremor in her eyes. "Sora... about that child... you don't need to know."
"No, I need to know!" Doyun shouted as he moved first. Further conversation was meaningless.
"How foolish." Yu Seohyun spat briefly as she swung the energy whip in her hand. The whip moved like a living snake, aiming for Doyun's shoulder. Ju Idam tried to disrupt the thugs' systems in that gap, but their communication network was protected by encryption far more sophisticated than the previous Sentinels.
"These bastards came prepared!" Ju Idam clicked his tongue.
The battle was one-sided. The 'flame insignia' thugs pressed Doyun and Ju Idam with flawless coordinated attacks, while Yu Seohyun continued her elegant yet lethal assault from the center like an orchestra conductor. Doyun tried to predict the thugs' next moves with his awakened 'Echo' detection ability, but Yu Seohyun seemed to read his thoughts, staying one step ahead to set traps and strike his vulnerabilities.
"Your ability is still unripe, Jin Doyun. Reading others' memories may be possible, but reading the will of living humans is a different dimension altogether." Yu Seohyun's voice whispered in his ear.
The energy whip grazed Doyun's arm, burning his skin. Doyun swallowed his scream at the searing pain. Ju Idam was also captured by two thugs, unable to move. It was a moment of desperation.
'Is this the end... Sorry, Hayun. Sora...'
As Doyun's consciousness began to fade, Hayun's final message surfaced in his mind once more. 'Yu Jinha's 'first memory' is... 'Pandora's Box'...'
Doyun squeezed out his last remaining strength and shouted at Yu Seohyun: "Your father's 'first memory'! That's the beginning of everything! Are you... afraid of it too?"
At that moment, Yu Seohyun's movement stopped ever so slightly. Doyun saw intense confusion and pain flash through the depths of her eyes, like someone who had heard forbidden words.
That split-second opening. As Ju Idam bit a thug's arm and briefly broke free, he uploaded a virus that overloaded the unstable control system of the 'Core Repository.' "Now, Doyun! Unless you plan to blow this damn place up!"
KABOOM! The remains of the 'Central Core' exploded once more with violent sounds, scattering unstable energy waves in all directions. Taking advantage of the thugs' confusion, Doyun lunged toward Yu Seohyun. It was a fight with no chance of winning, but he couldn't die like this.
But Yu Seohyun didn't dodge. Rather, as if she had been waiting for Doyun's charge, she whispered very quietly in his ear: "When you open Pandora's Box... the first thing that springs out isn't hope, but despair, Jin Doyun. Can you handle that?"
Then she did something unexpected. She grabbed Doyun's wrist, secretly slipped a very small data chip into his hand, then pushed him forcefully toward the emergency exit of the 'Core Repository.' "Go! And never appear before my eyes again!"
Her eyes were still cold, but the emotion contained within wasn't simple hostility. Doyun and Ju Idam were ejected through the emergency exit without understanding what had happened. Behind them came the sound of Yu Seohyun giving some kind of instructions, the thugs' shouts, and the thunderous noise of the 'Core Repository' collapsing, all mixed together.
How long had they run frantically? When they finally escaped through the surface exit of the 'Akasha Field,' what appeared before them was... "Oh my, what a sorry state you two are in." A familiar but unwelcome voice. Seo Myeonghyeok, leader of the 'Blankers,' was waiting for them with his black coat fluttering. Behind him stood Blankers organization members with cold eyes.