They traveled at night.
Eun-Ha led Noah through the city's forgotten veins—crumbling alleyways, sewage tunnels, old service routes long erased from public maps. Noah barely spoke, and Eun-Ha didn't push him to. Silence was their armor.
By dawn, they reached the outskirts.
A heavy iron door stood at the base of a collapsed train station. No markings. No guards.
Eun-Ha knocked five times. Paused. Then once more.
The door creaked open.
A tall Omega with silver hair and cold eyes stared at them.
> "You brought a stray," the man said. "And you still have that scent of blood on you."
> "Nice to see you too, Ji-Hoon," Eun-Ha said with a smirk. "Still dramatic?"
> "Still alive," Ji-Hoon replied. "No thanks to you."
Noah felt the tension like a storm. Eun-Ha didn't explain. He just walked in, pulling Noah with him.
Inside was a hidden world.
A massive underground space—part shelter, part commune. Dozens of unregistered Omegas moved quietly through the halls. Some were children. Some were injured. Many bore marks: old bruises, bite scars, brands.
> A graveyard of survivors, Noah thought.
Eun-Ha whispered, "Welcome to Sanctuary 9."
But peace was not what greeted them.
Later that evening, in a dim-lit chamber filled with warm lights and thick incense, Noah overheard the whispers.
> "That's Eun-Ha? The traitor?"
> "He left Ji-Wan behind. Got him killed."
> "Why bring him here? We don't need another Alpha's pet."
Noah's chest tightened.
That night, Ji-Hoon confronted Eun-Ha in front of the council—four older Omegas who ruled the sanctuary.
> "Why return?" Ji-Hoon demanded. "After what you did?"
Eun-Ha stood firm.
> "Because the world is getting worse. They're hunting us again. This time, I won't run."
Noah watched in awe—and fear. This wasn't just Eun-Ha's past catching up. It was a reckoning.
> "And the boy?" one of the elders asked, pointing to Noah.
> "He's mine," Eun-Ha said without hesitation. "No one touches him."
The words rang out louder than a gunshot.
Noah's heart raced. "Mine"? What did that mean?
In the silence that followed, Ji-Hoon stepped forward.
> "Then if he's yours, he bears your weight. If you want Sanctuary, you'll both have to fight for it."