In a ruined base,
the commander of the strange man arrives. He looks around and sees that the base is almost completely destroyed. Frustration rises within him.
"Who is the one targeting our base continuously? And why can't my great soldiers do anything against that person? Is she that powerful? How can I trace that person? I am eager to have a face-to-face fight."
He summons his sword, and with a single slash, he destroys everything around him.
"If we can't rule this timeline, then no one will."
He then teleports to the main base.
A soldier asks, "Should we report this to our leader?"
The commander becomes angry and replies, "No. My great leader is in the cultivation stage, preparing to awaken his final power—the true power. No one will disturb him."
In that unknown place,
the mysterious man watches all of this.
Suddenly, a girl appears behind him. She is wearing a black hoodie that covers her entirely. Showing respect, she bows down and says,
"This one is done, Master. What next?"
Without turning to look at her, the mysterious man replies,
"I will inform you… Princess of the Bloody Throne."
She nods silently and disappears into a mysterious fog.
Prapti wakes up and finds herself in an unknown prison, where everything is covered in darkness—so deep that one can barely see anything.
She notices me lying nearby and rushes toward him.
"Wake up… hello!" she tries to wake him, but there is no response. Rahat's condition doesn't look good at all.
Prapti looks around, trying to find an exit, but no matter what she does, she can't find a way out.
Suddenly, from a dark corner, a faint voice echoes—
"It's a waste of time trying to get out of here. I've already tried many times… and failed."
Prapti freezes for a moment, then asks cautiously,
"Who are you?"
The girl replies,
"Me? Just a sufferer… someone who couldn't save her boyfriend… someone who couldn't even take revenge for him."
She lets out a maniacal laugh, then suddenly goes silent.
Inside my mind—
I am being hunted by my past. My trauma is triggered, surrounding me from all sides.
I can't run.
I can't fight.
I can't do anything.
I try to escape because i know this is an illusion. Yet, i am forced to relive everything again—this time without Scynthia.
Every painful memory returns… the ones that once broke me so deeply that I no longer wanted to live.
Now, they come back again.
I close my eyes, cover my ears, and silently prays for it all to end.
Just as I am about to give up…
Everything starts to shatter.
I suddenly find myself in another dark space.
This time, I notice something different.
There are countless seals around me.
Not only that—my mark is glowing continuously.
I look around in confusion.
"What is happening…? Where am I?"
Suddenly, the darkness begins to fill with light. The seals start reacting to me.
Then, a voice echoes—
"Conquer the seals. Conquer everything you fear. Become powerful… and save those who are closest to you."
I look around.
"Who are you?" I ask.
But there is no reply.
Suddenly, one of the seals appears right in front of me.
As i reaches toward it my mark glows even brighter.
Then—
I see them.
Two purple eyes.
They carry a mysterious aura… fear, yet also hope.
In an instant, the eyes rush toward me.
I close my eyes—
And when I opens them again, I finds himself somewhere else.
I look around carefully.
I am standing in front of a shrine.
"But… whose shrine is this?"
I go deeper and deeper into the shrine.
Suddenly, someone attacks me.
I look—and is shocked.
It's Prapti… but she feels completely different.
I somehow dodge the attacks and hide behind a rock.
"Why is she attacking me? Oh, wait… I always felt like she had some hidden power. Is this that power?"
Suddenly, I feels an immense dark energy coming .
I start to feel weak and pain which is unbearable, as that power begins absorbing everything from me. I look up and see Prapti standing in front of me.
She is using a skill—"Sacrifice."
In a fainting state, I smile and slowly walk toward her.
"If I die here… don't blame yourself. Because it's not you who kills me."
The mark on my body suddenly begin to glow intensely, and the dark power around me disappears.
"What is happening? I am dying… yet I'm not dying. I feel completely fine… I don't understand…"
Suddenly, I see another Prapti approaching
but she attacks another me or a clone standing behind my true self .
"What is actually going on?"
Confused, I notice my mark glowing again, pointing toward a direction deeper inside the shrine.
I follow it and discovers a bound symbol.
I touch the symbol with my own mark. Both symbols begin to glow brightly—
—and a gate opens.
another Prapti emerges and immediately hugs me.
"You are mine… my true bound partner. I will never leave you."
As she embraces me—
The seals around them begin to tremble.
A sharp cracking sound echoes through the shrine.
One by one—
The seals start to break.
A surge of power bursts out from within them,
rushing straight into mine body.
My mark glows intensely,
reacting to the overwhelming energy.
The entire space begins to distort,
as if it can no longer contain what is being awakened.
And then—
Everything goes silent.
In the Golden Valley of the Golden Dragon,
the Strange Man sits in deep cultivation, pushing himself to awaken his full power.
A faint golden light surrounds him, yet his expression remains conflicted.
He speaks to himself—
"Is this my destiny?
Is this what I was created for?
Am I really that easy to control?"
His fists tighten.
"No matter how powerful your opponent is…
if you surrender, you lose.
You lose everything—your desires, your goals, your faith… even your life."
The energy around him begins to tremble.
"And if my destiny is written like this… then this is not my destiny.
This is not what I dreamed of my entire life."
His eyes sharpen with resolve.
"I will change it myself.
I will reclaim my true faith—even if it is hidden… even if it was taken from me.
And for that… I must face the thing I fear the most."
A deep silence falls.
"And that thing… is none other than me."
Suddenly—
another Strange Man appears in front of him.
Same face. Same presence. Same power.
A perfect mirror.
Without a word, both raise their hands—
—and instantly, chaos erupts.
Hellfire bursts into existence.
Dark energy spheres collide mid-air, exploding with violent force.
Shockwaves tear through the valley, distorting the very space around them.
Spell after spell—
attack after attack—
But neither gains the upper hand.
They are equal.
Perfectly equal.
The Strange Man grits his teeth.
"How can I defeat him…?
He is my mirror. He thinks what I think. He knows every move before I make it."
Another clash shakes the ground.
"If I use high-level spells, he will do the same…
That would only lead to destruction."
For a moment—
he hesitates.
"…So there's only one way."
He summons his sword.
At the exact same moment—
the other one does too.
Both vanish—
—and reappear, rushing toward each other at blinding speed.
The air splits.
Time feels frozen.
Then—
CLASH!
Their blades strike at the exact same moment.
A shockwave erupts, tearing through everything around them.
For a second… everything goes silent.
The Strange Man's eyes widen slightly.
"This… isn't what I planned…"
His grip weakens for just a moment.
"…Am I… hopeless here?"
A sudden crack echoes—
His spirit partner appears and slaps him across the face.
The sound cuts through everything.
"Did you forget what you said to me?"
Her voice shakes—not with anger, but pain.
"Don't you remember? Don't you want to follow your own ideology?"
In Past
A cold wind howls.
The gate to the World of Darkness stands before them—massive, terrifying… alive.
Shadows move behind it.
Watching.
Waiting.
His spirit partner grabs his arm.
"Why are you doing this?"
Her voice breaks.
"Why are you risking your life for others? If you open that gate… those monsters will hunt you down. They are the deadliest. No one will be able to save you."
Close-up—his eyes.
Calm. Certain.
"I know."
A pause.
"I can see beyond what others can… and what I see is our end."
The wind grows heavier.
"If no one takes a step forward, we will all die like this."
He steps closer to the gate.
"So even if I fail…"
His hand reaches out.
"My death will have meaning."
A faint smile.
"I will die for my goal… not because I was too weak to survive."
Present
Silence.
His breathing slows.
Then—
Realization hits.
"I was wrong…"
The crimson aura flickers faintly around him.
"I kept chasing my 'true potential'… thinking it was hidden… taken from me…"
The aura grows stronger.
"But it was never gone."
Wind begins to spiral.
"It was always right in front of me."
Voices echo in his mind—
His family.
His soldiers.
His commander.
His spirit partner.
"They… are my strength."
The aura ignites.
"They make me—100%."
His eyes snap open—
Pure red.
Energy erupts from his body.
The ground beneath him shatters.
The air distorts.
"Thank you…"
His voice is steady now.
Even if you're just an illusion now…
"Thank you for awakening me."
In an instant—
His speed surges beyond perception.
Even his mirror selves cannot react.
A silent flash.
They are sliced into two pieces.
Inside the prison…
I slowly opens his eyes.
I slowly opens his eyes.
Prapti notices and immediately grabs my hand.
My mark begins to glow.
I whispers,
"Prapti… my path… my faith… it has always leaned toward darkness.
But I don't care.
Because if I try hard enough… I can change everything."
I looks at her.
Then—
At the same moment, both Strange Man and I speak:
"Our path is ours…
And we will change it together.
No one has the right to control it."
At that moment—
Both Prapti and the illusion of Strange Man's spirit partner speak together:
"On this path, I will always stay by your side.
No matter what we have to face… we will face it together."
The illusion of Strange Man's spirit partner slowly fades…
…and disappears.
At the same time—
Prapti closes her eyes and merges into me.
A soft glow surrounds me as she enters.
My eye suddenly open.
A sharp breath escapes me.
A blue, flame-like aura begins to rise from my body—
flickering… growing… spreading.
The air around me shifts.
My presence changes.
This aura—
feels different.
New.
And far more deadly than before.