The ground moved again.
Not violently.
Not like an earthquake.
Just a slow… unsettling tremor beneath the street, like something deep below the earth had shifted in its sleep.
Everyone felt it.
Seo-yeon grabbed my arm.
"…Tell me that's just a subway train."
Tae-jun shook his head slowly.
"There's no subway line under this street."
Great.
That was comforting.
Across the road, the hunters were regaining their footing.
Broken glass covered the pavement.
Streetlights flickered.
And the man holding the blue ring was smiling like he had just won the lottery.
The ring pulsed faintly in his hand.
Blue light spreading across his fingers like veins of ice.
The hunter leader brushed dust off his coat calmly.
Then he looked at the trembling street.
"…Interesting."
The crimson-ring girl beside us narrowed her eyes.
"That shouldn't be happening yet."
My stomach tightened.
"…Yet?"
She looked at the glowing blue ring.
Her voice quiet.
"The rings are reacting to each other."
Seo-yeon blinked.
"Reacting how?"
Before she could finish—
The bronze ring on my hand suddenly flared.
A sharp pulse shot through my arm.
My vision blurred.
Another memory forcing its way into my mind.
Stone walls.
A massive circular chamber.
Seven glowing rings hovering in the air.
And a deep voice echoing through the chamber.
"The rings are never meant to gather again."
I gasped and staggered back.
"Ji-hoon!"
Seo-yeon grabbed my shoulder.
"I saw something."
I said breathlessly.
Dae-hyun stepped closer.
"What did you see?"
Before I could answer—
The hunter leader spoke again.
"Well then."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Since everyone is finally remembering pieces of the past…"
He gestured toward us.
"Let's move to the next stage."
Tae-jun frowned.
"Why does that sound like a boss phase?"
The hunter raised his hand.
"Take them."
Suddenly—
The hunters charged.
Boots splashing through rainwater.
Metal rods.
Shock weapons.
Dozens of them rushing forward.
"RUN!" Seo-yeon shouted.
We scattered immediately.
Dae-hyun tackled the first hunter who got close.
The man crashed into a parked car with a loud metallic bang.
Tae-jun grabbed a trash can lid like a shield.
"Why do I always end up in street fights?!"
A hunter swung a baton.
Tae-jun blocked it with the lid.
CLANG.
"Also, who trained these guys?!"
Seo-yeon pulled me back.
"Ji-hoon move!"
Two hunters rushed toward us.
But before they could reach us—
A streak of red light cut through the air.
The crimson-ring girl moved like lightning.
Her ring flashed.
The air around her distorted.
The hunters were thrown backward like invisible hands had grabbed them.
Seo-yeon blinked.
"…Okay that was cool."
But the hunter leader wasn't worried.
Not even a little.
Instead…
He looked straight at me.
"Your turn."
The blue ring suddenly pulsed again.
Brighter.
The man holding it raised his hand.
And for the first time—
I felt something strange.
Like the ring was pulling at mine.
The bronze ring grew hot.
Too hot.
"Ji-hoon?" Seo-yeon said nervously.
"I… can't…"
The ring dragged my hand upward slightly.
Like a magnet.
Across the street—
The blue ring lifted into the air.
Floating above the hunter's palm.
The two rings pulsed together.
Blue.
Bronze.
Blue.
Bronze.
The ground trembled harder.
The crimson-ring girl's eyes widened.
"No."
She rushed toward me.
But the light exploded before she reached us.
A shockwave burst outward.
Cars rattled.
Windows shattered.
The hunters stumbled back.
My mind filled with another memory.
Clearer this time.
Seven figures standing before the massive gate.
My past self holding the bronze ring.
Speaking to the others.
"If the rings ever gather again…"
The memory cut off suddenly.
I collapsed to one knee.
Breathing hard.
Seo-yeon knelt beside me.
"Ji-hoon! Are you okay?"
I looked up slowly.
"…The rings are keys."
Everyone froze.
Jin-woo stepped forward.
"…Keys to open the gate."
I shook my head.
"…No."
My voice felt heavier now.
"They're also…"
I swallowed.
"…locks."
Silence fell across the street.
The hunter leader frowned for the first time.
"…Explain."
But before I could—
Another voice spoke.
From behind the hunters.
Calm.
Cold.
"That's enough."
Everyone turned.
A tall man stepped out of the shadows at the end of the street.
Wearing a long black coat.
His face half-hidden under the streetlight.
The hunters immediately moved aside.
Respectfully.
Even their leader bowed slightly.
"Director."
Seo-yeon whispered beside me.
"…That can't be good."
The man walked slowly toward us.
His eyes scanned each of us carefully.
The rings.
The damage.
The trembling ground.
Then his gaze landed on me.
"…So."
His voice was calm.
But powerful.
"The Bronze Guardian has awakened."
My chest tightened.
"…Who are you?"
The man stopped a few meters away.
And then he said something that made the crimson-ring girl freeze.
"I'm the one who has been watching you for twenty years."
Seo-yeon blinked.
"…What?"
The man's eyes moved toward her.
Then back to me.
"Because when the gate opens…"
His voice lowered.
"…someone must be ready to control what comes out."
The ground trembled again.
Stronger this time.
And for a brief moment…
I felt something terrifying.
Like a presence far beneath the earth…
Had just noticed me.