[POV — Seongji Yuk]
Seongji woke up before dawn.
That alone felt wrong.
Mujin Jin always woke them first—by kick, by throw, by drowning lesson. Silence in Cheonliang wasn't peace.
It was absence.
Seongji stood, joints aching out of habit, and scanned the clearing.
The fire pit was cold. No massive silhouette by the rocks. No pressure in the air.
"…Ethan," Seongji said.
[POV — Ethan Cross]
Ethan sat up slowly, eyes already open.
He'd felt it too.
The weight was gone.
He stood and stretched, wincing as muscles protested. "Yeah. He's not here."
Seongji frowned. "He wouldn't leave without saying anything."
Ethan walked to the edge of the clearing, eyes sharp, searching for footprints.
There were none.
Not leading away.
Not leading back.
It was as if Mujin Jin had never been there at all.
Ethan's smile faded—just a little.
"…That bastard," he muttered. "Didn't even say goodbye."
[POV — Seongji Yuk]
They searched anyway.
The river. The cliff paths. The forest trails Mujin used when he hunted.
Nothing.
Only one thing remained.
A bundle wrapped in cloth, placed deliberately on the stone where Mujin used to sit.
Seongji knelt and opened it.
Food. Tools. Money.
And something else.
Cheonliang's treasure.
Seongji's hands tightened.
"He planned this," Seongji said quietly.
Ethan crouched beside him. "Yeah. Figures."
[FLASHBACK — Mujin Jin]
Strength that depends on others rots.
Survive alone.
Or die.
[POV — Ethan Cross]
Ethan laughed softly, though there was no humor in it.
"Guess this is the final lesson."
Seongji stood.
"Then we live."
They didn't chase Mujin.
They didn't cry out.
They accepted it.
Because that's what he had taught them to do.
[POV — Seongji Yuk]
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Cheonliang didn't get easier just because Mujin was gone.
If anything—it got worse.
Local fighters tested them constantly now. Predators sensing a shift.
Seongji learned to command space.
He didn't fight recklessly anymore.
He controlled.
Positioning. Timing. Ending fights before they could spiral.
Bone. Balance. Break.
[POV — Ethan Cross]
Ethan thrived in the chaos.
Without Mujin's shadow, he pushed himself harder.
He picked fights with stronger opponents.
Lost some.
Won more.
Each loss taught him how close to death he could dance—and come back smiling.
Pain sharpened him.
Fear bored him.
[POV — Seongji Yuk]
One night, Seongji sat staring at the fire, fists clenched.
"He left us to die," Seongji said.
Ethan didn't look up. "No."
Seongji turned. "Then why—"
"Because we won't," Ethan interrupted calmly.
Silence stretched.
"…He believed we'd survive without him."
Seongji exhaled slowly.
"…Tch."
[POV — Ethan Cross]
Ethan tossed a stick into the fire.
"Besides," he said lightly, "if he stayed longer, we'd never surpass him."
Seongji looked at him.
For the first time, he agreed.
[POV — Seongji Yuk]
Cheonliang began to change.
People whispered.
Two kids on the shore.
Two demons in the forest.
Those who came to test them didn't return the same.
Some limped away.
Some crawled.
Some never came back.
[POV — Ethan Cross]
Ethan stood atop a ridge one evening, looking down at Cheonliang.
"Hey, Seongji."
"What."
"When people come for us…"
Ethan smiled—that sharp, familiar smile.
"…let's not disappoint them."
Seongji stepped beside him.
"We won't."
The fire crackled below.
Mujin Jin was gone.
But his shadow remained—
Etched into bone.