Darkness.
And pain.
A man lay collapsed on the ground. His body was badly injured. The scars from old battles had become a part of his skin, while some wounds were still fresh. His breathing was broken and uneven, yet a strange obsession still remained in his eyes.
He let out a faint laugh.
A weak, broken laugh.
"Perhaps… I was the strongest," he muttered.
There was exhaustion in his voice.
"Or perhaps… I simply believed I was the strongest."
His fingers trembled.
He looked around.
The ground surrounding him was unlike any ordinary place. The soil was cracked in several places, and between those cracks, time itself seemed to have forgotten its own direction. In some places, dry grass would appear green for a few moments, only to turn into ash the next instant. A broken stone lying nearby sometimes looked new, while at other moments, it seemed as though it had been lying there for centuries.
Even the air around him was unstable.
Sometimes, the air rushed forward with his breath, while in the next moment, everything seemed to slow down.
He looked at his trembling fingers.
For a few moments, his fingers appeared old.
Then, in the next instant, they returned to normal.
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
"Time…"
he muttered softly.
"Even while I'm dying, it refuses to leave me alone."
He struggled to raise his head.
There was nothing in front of him.
And yet, he had the feeling that an invisible existence was waiting for him.
His remaining consciousness focused in that direction.
But he knew that touching the laws of time was no ordinary act. Anyone who attempted to alter time had to pay a heavy price. This power could break not only the body but also the soul.
Even so, he had nothing left to lose.
He closed his eyes.
"O God who controls time…"
His voice gradually turned into a whisper.
"O Spirit of Time…"
He tried to gather whatever strength he had left.
"I beg you…"
His breath stopped for a moment.
"Grant me reincarnation in another world."
"I will forever remain indebted to you."
The moment his words left his lips—
Time seemed to stop.
In reality, time had stopped.
But not only in that place.
It was as if the entire flow of time had lost its movement for a single moment.
Countless streams of light began to emerge from the darkness. They flowed parallel to one another, then suddenly collided and scattered in different directions.
Within each stream was a life.
Somewhere, a child was laughing.
Somewhere, a warrior stood on a battlefield.
Somewhere, a person sat alone in a room.
And somewhere—
Different shadows of the same face could be seen.
But none of the faces were completely clear.
As if even time itself wanted to hide the identities of those lives.
Then, suddenly, all the streams began to move toward a single point.
The light contracted.
The darkness spread.
And among all those voices, a single heartbeat could be heard.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The next moment—
Everything disappeared.
---
Then the scene changed.
Another man.
Another world.
There was exhaustion in his eyes.
A deep, unbearable exhaustion.
He sat alone inside an empty room.
Looking at the wall in front of him, he quietly said—
"I just… wanted an ordinary life."
There was no complaint in his voice.
Only emptiness.
"But even here… I couldn't have that."
He closed his eyes.
For a few moments, he remained silent.
Then his lips moved.
"Perhaps…"
"In my next life…"
His voice disappeared into the silence.
And then—
Darkness.
---
An unusual, secret place.
There was neither sky nor ground.
A body lay there.
Lines of light slowly ignited around it.
Suddenly—
He sat upright.
He took a sharp breath.
"What… is happening?"
He grabbed his head with both hands.
"So much pain…"
His breathing was heavy.
"Why does my body feel so heavy?"
He looked around while gasping for breath.
"Wait…"
His eyes widened.
"Am I… Raijin?"
The pain gradually subsided.
He took a deep breath and tried to organize his thoughts.
"In my previous life… I performed a ritual."
His eyebrows furrowed.
"Is that why I'm here?"
Then he suddenly froze.
"Wait…"
His expression hardened.
"The body I'm in…"
He looked at his palms.
"Is its name also Raijin?"
Suddenly, something broke inside his mind.
An image flashed before his eyes.
Sora was standing in front of him.
The two of them were laughing together on a peaceful day.
The scene changed.
The same body was sitting alone in a strange room. The lights of a modern world surrounded him, but there was nothing inside him except emptiness.
Then came the third scene.
Fire.
Screams.
Blood.
A massive battlefield.
And in his hand was a power so immense that even the sky itself seemed to tremble before it.
All three scenes collided inside his mind at once.
"Ah—!"
He screamed in pain.
Three lives.
Three faces.
Three different desires.
One wanted friendship.
Another wanted nothing more than peace.
And the third—
Revenge.
He held his head with both hands.
For a few moments, he could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.
Then, slowly, the voices began to quiet down.
One by one, the memories became blurred.
First, the memories of the modern life.
Then, the memories that he could not call his own.
Finally—
His own consciousness became clear.
He opened his eyes while breathing heavily.
"So… this is what happened."
His voice was calmer than before.
"Three souls entered this body…"
He paused for a moment.
"But only one consciousness gained complete control over this body."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"The others…"
He placed a hand over his chest.
"Their memories and emotions remained inside me."
But then—
Something stirred deep within him.
He immediately became still.
He closed his eyes.
There was someone there.
Very far away.
Deep in sleep.
But alive.
"You…"
he whispered.
"You're still here."
There was no answer.
But even in that silence, he had already received his answer.
He remained silent for a while.
Then a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Thank you, my friend."
There was a strange seriousness in his voice.
"You were betrayed…"
He opened his eyes.
"So was I."
His voice became cold.
"Your revenge…"
He clenched his fist.
"I will take it."
But the moment he thought about revenge—
Another memory flashed before him.
A hand.
Covered in blood.
Then fire.
Someone screaming.
A blurry shadow standing in front of him.
He tried to recognize the face.
"You…"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his ears.
"Sora!"
His eyes widened.
The vision immediately shattered.
He remained seated in the same place for several moments.
He clenched his fist.
"I don't remember…"
His voice was quiet.
"But I understand one thing…"
He closed his eyes.
"What happened to me…"
A few moments of silence passed.
Then he said—
"It wasn't an accident."
After a brief silence, he continued—
"Until I remember the whole truth…"
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"I won't trust anyone."
He slowly stood up.
"First…"
He looked around.
"I need to get out of here."
"I need to hide."
Then his gaze fell upon his palm.
"And I need to regain my old powers."
He took a few steps forward.
Then suddenly stopped.
He raised his palm in front of him.
"Let's see…"
He closed his eyes.
He tried to feel the power hidden within him.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
This time, a very faint glow appeared around his palm.
Only for a moment.
Then—
It disappeared.
Raijin stared at his empty palm for a while.
"So something is still left."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
But the next moment, his knees weakened.
He collapsed onto the ground.
He gritted his teeth.
"This body…"
he said with difficulty.
"Isn't ready to handle my power yet."
He remained on his knees for a while.
Then slowly stood up.
"Fine."
He looked toward the darkness.
"Then I'll have to start from where everything ended…"
Determination filled his eyes.
He moved forward.
And as soon as he stepped outside—
He stopped.
He looked down.
"Was I inside some ruins?"
He shook his head.
"That doesn't matter right now."
He looked at his body.
"I need clothes…"
His gaze shifted toward the forest.
"…and a safe place."
The next moment, he ran toward the forest.
Into the darkness.
One body.
Two consciousnesses.
And a revenge—
that had only just been born within him.
But whose consequences the entire world would soon feel.
---
In a secret city in the north, deep beneath the ground, there was a massive chamber made of stone and metal.
This place was far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
The organization seated here was known to the world as the Aegis Covenant.
But only those who had the right to know were aware of its true existence and purpose.
This was not merely the headquarters of a secret organization.
It was the guardian of secrets that had been hidden from the world.
The people seated here were not merely warriors.
For years, they had been studying the Ethereal Nexus and the dangers connected to it.
At the center of the circular chamber stood a massive crystal array.
Ethereal Nexus fluctuations were continuously recorded across its surface.
Suddenly—
The entire chamber shook.
The crystal flared up in an instant, as if someone had shaken the flow of time itself.
Every member rose from their seats.
"What happened?"
"Why is the system responding?"
"The reading is increasing!"
Sweat appeared on the foreheads of the senior members in the chamber.
Then—
An unknown pressure spread across the entire world.
For a moment, every person felt a heaviness settle over their chest.
Some people felt as though their breathing had stopped.
Others suddenly placed their hands over their chests.
Their hearts began pounding as if they had received a warning without a single word being spoken.
This was not an attack.
Nor was it the power of a weapon.
It was—
A message.
Several lines suddenly appeared within the crystal array.
The first line stabilized.
Soul Signature: 3
Everyone in the chamber looked at one another.
"Three…?"
The word escaped from one officer's mouth.
But the next moment, the third line began to tremble.
It broke.
The number on the crystal changed.
Soul Signature: 2
A senior member immediately stepped forward.
"Run the reading again."
The crystal responded.
For several moments, everything remained normal.
Then—
The two signatures began merging into one another.
Several cracks appeared across the surface of the crystal.
And suddenly, the entire system went dark.
A single word appeared.
ERROR
Not a single breath could be heard in the chamber.
An officer asked in a trembling voice—
"Why can't the system recognize the third signature?"
The senior member gave no answer.
He simply stared at the crystal.
For the first time, concern appeared in his eyes.
"Because…"
he said quietly.
"That third signature no longer exists as a separate entity."
"Then what?"
He remained silent for a few moments.
"The question is no longer how many souls are there."
He looked at the crystal.
"The question is what they have become after merging."
At that moment, another officer rushed toward the old records.
He opened several dust-covered documents.
The pages turned rapidly.
Suddenly, his finger stopped on a very old record.
His eyes widened.
"Sir…"
There was no response.
"This… something similar is recorded here."
The senior member slowly turned toward him.
"What does it say?"
The officer looked at the record.
The color drained from his face.
But the next moment, he closed the document.
"Nothing."
The senior member narrowed his eyes.
"I asked…"
His voice became stern.
"What does it say?"
The officer remained silent for a few moments.
Then lowered his head.
"It doesn't match our current records."
The senior member stared at him for a long time.
"Do not show that record to anyone else."
"But, sir—"
"I said…"
His voice became even harsher.
"No one."
The officer fell silent.
The old record was sealed again.
For several moments, no sound could be heard throughout the chamber.
No one asked any questions.
Because everyone present had already understood—
This was not a normal event.
A new symbol suddenly appeared on the crystal.
Then—
A name.
Raijin
Complete silence filled the chamber.
One member whispered—
"Three souls…"
Another murmured—
"Then two…"
The senior member stared at the crystal.
"And now…"
His voice became quiet.
"An existence that lies outside our rules."
The leader stepped forward.
His gaze remained fixed on the crystal.
"Continue observation."
After a brief pause, he said—
"But remember…"
"If this becomes completely stable…"
Concern was clearly visible in his eyes.
"Then it won't seek only revenge."
---
The effects of that event did not remain limited to the Aegis Covenant.
Far to the south, inside a massive noble mansion, an elderly man suddenly stopped in the middle of a conversation.
He slowly placed a hand over his chest.
"This feeling…"
His expression became serious.
He remembered a warning he had heard many years ago.
"Impossible…"
Elsewhere, in a deserted field, an old warrior was cleaning his sword.
His hand suddenly stopped.
He looked toward the sky.
His Nexus Seed, which had remained silent for many years, suddenly pulsed faintly.
He slowly stood up.
"Something has awakened."
Meanwhile, inside a room belonging to another secret organization, several devices activated simultaneously.
Red warning signals began flashing continuously.
"What is happening?"
"We don't know!"
"Why are all the readings increasing at once?"
And somewhere else—
An ordinary person suddenly stopped while walking down the street.
He placed a hand over his chest.
He did not understand what was happening.
He only felt an unfamiliar fear arise inside him for a few moments.
Then the fear disappeared.
But those who knew the true secrets of the Nexus—
they understood.
This was not merely fear.
Something had touched the entire world.
---
At the same time—
Inside the castle, Sora suddenly stumbled.
A sharp burning sensation erupted within his Nexus Seed.
It was more than a mere feeling.
It was fear.
His heart began pounding violently, as if something were gripping it from within.
Cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
"No…"
His voice trembled.
Raijin's face appeared in his mind.
But this time, the face was not the same as it had been in his final memory.
Something had changed.
Something Sora could not understand.
He closed his eyes.
The same scene appeared again.
Raijin.
Covered in blood.
That final spark in his eyes.
And then—
The moment Sora had lost him.
He clenched his fist.
"No…"
His breathing became heavy.
"If he had truly been gone…"
He placed a hand over his chest.
His Nexus Seed was still faintly burning.
"Then why can I still feel him?"
He slowly raised his head.
For the first time, regret appeared alongside the fear in his eyes.
"Raijin…"
He whispered his name.
"Where are you?"
A short distance away, Lord stood calmly.
His tails moved slightly.
His eyes narrowed.
He sensed something invisible for several moments.
Then his gaze settled somewhere in the distance.
"It has awakened."
His deep voice echoed through the hall.
Sora looked toward him.
Lord continued—
"And it is telling the world that it exists."
Sora's throat went dry.
But Lord remained completely still for several moments.
His gaze stayed fixed in that direction.
Then he closed his eyes, as if trying to sense a presence disappearing into the distance.
A few moments later, his eyes opened.
This time, there was not the same certainty in them.
"The one we thought we had ended…"
he said quietly.
"Was not alone."
Sora's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
Lord looked at him.
But he gave no answer.
His gaze returned to the same direction.
"Not yet."
His voice was serious.
"We still know too little."
Sora closed his eyes.
The same question appeared in his mind again—
Was what he had done…
a mistake?
---
And far away—
Deep within a dense forest—
Raijin opened his eyes.
At that exact moment, the pressure that had spread across the world slowly began to fade.
As if the message had already been delivered.
He held his head.
For several moments, he remained silent.
Then a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"So everyone felt it…"
he murmured.
He looked at his palm.
His power was almost completely sealed.
His memories were incomplete.
His body was weak.
And there was someone else inside him.
But the confusion he had felt before was no longer there.
"The fear has begun."
He said it softly.
Then—
A very faint heartbeat sounded within him.
Thump.
Raijin's smile disappeared.
Thump.
He closed his eyes.
For several moments, he sensed that presence.
"So you're awake."
There was no answer.
But he knew he was not alone.
He sat down against a tree.
"My body is weak…"
He looked at his palm.
"My power is almost completely sealed."
He let out a faint breath.
"And my memories…"
He rested his head against the tree.
"They're incomplete too."
He remained silent for a few moments.
Then—
Thump.
His eyes opened.
This time, there was a faint smile on his face.
"Fine."
He spoke softly.
"Keep sleeping for now."
"We have plenty of time."
He slowly stood up.
Then began walking deeper into the forest.
He did not know what was hidden in his past.
He did not know where his power had gone.
And most importantly—
He did not yet know that the second consciousness inside him would one day become his greatest strength…
or his greatest threat.
He had walked only a short distance when he suddenly stopped.
The sound of his footsteps disappeared into the forest.
He slowly turned around.
There was nothing there.
Only trees.
Darkness.
And the wind.
But his eyes narrowed.
He was certain—
Someone was there.
Somewhere in the darkness, an unknown presence was watching him.
Raijin remained still for several moments.
Then a slight hardness entered his eyes.
"Who's there?"
There was no answer.
Only the wind blew.
Raijin stared into the darkness for a while longer.
Then he turned around.
And continued deeper into the forest.
Only the sound of his footsteps remained behind.
And within that darkness—
An unseen gaze was still following him.