The space around Baek Siheon shifted without warning.
The golden sky above dimmed, its constellations rearranging into unfamiliar patterns, while the sea of shadow beneath him stilled, becoming unnervingly smooth. The balance he had sensed earlier tightened, as though the realm itself were holding its breath.
The Veiled Arbiter raised a single finger.
The motion alone sent a pressure crashing into Siheon's chest.
He staggered back, gasping—not from pain, but from weight. The kind that pressed not on the body, but on the self. His knees bent, instincts screaming for him to kneel.
He refused.
"You said this was a decision," Siheon said through clenched teeth. "Not an execution."
The Arbiter regarded him silently.
"Every decision is a test," it replied. "And every test reveals truth."
The space in front of Siheon rippled.
Then reality folded inward.
From the distortion emerged a figure—humanoid, familiar, and deeply unsettling.
It had his face.
Not exactly as he was now, but sharper. Colder. His eyes burned with pure gold, his posture rigid, flawless, untouchable. Radiant wings unfurled behind the figure, each feather etched with celestial law.
The Celestial System surged in Siheon's mind.
〈Celestial Ascension System: ALERT — IDEALIZED ASCENSION FORM MANIFESTED.〉
〈Celestial Ascension System: This is the optimal future.〉
The golden Siheon spoke, voice calm and absolute.
"Submit," it said. "Let go of the abyss. I will perfect you."
Before Siheon could respond, the shadows beneath him boiled.
Another figure rose.
This one mirrored him too—but twisted. Eyes crimson. Smile feral. A crown of shadow coiled above its head like living smoke. Power radiated from it in suffocating waves, raw and intoxicating.
The Demonic Sovereign System laughed.
〈Demonic Sovereign System: NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.〉
〈Demonic Sovereign System: That's you without chains.〉
The shadowed Siheon tilted its head.
"Why kneel," it purred, "when you can rule?"
Siheon's heart pounded.
Two versions of himself.
Two futures.
Two answers the universe desperately wanted him to choose between.
The Veiled Arbiter's voice echoed.
"Choose," it commanded.
"Accept one path, and the trial ends."
The golden Siheon extended a hand.
The shadowed one did the same.
Siheon felt the pull immediately.
The celestial path promised clarity. Peace. Control. No more fear of losing himself, no more systems arguing in his head—only purpose.
The abyssal path promised freedom. Power. No more restraint, no more bending to rules written by beings who feared what they couldn't control.
His systems spoke over each other.
〈Celestial Ascension System: Accept purification. Reject corruption.〉
〈Demonic Sovereign System: Take the throne. Burn the rest.〉
"Enough," Siheon whispered.
The word came out rough.
He looked at the golden version of himself.
"You'd erase half of me."
The celestial Siheon didn't deny it.
"That half is unnecessary."
He turned to the shadowed version.
"And you'd let me become a monster."
The shadowed Siheon grinned.
"Monsters don't beg for permission."
Siheon laughed softly then—tired, cracked, but real.
"You're both wrong."
The realm trembled.
The Veiled Arbiter's eyes narrowed—just slightly.
Siheon took a step back, then another, distancing himself from both offered hands.
"I'm not choosing perfection," he said.
"And I'm not choosing domination."
Both reflections stiffened.
"I'm choosing responsibility."
He clenched his fists.
"I don't get to pretend half of me doesn't exist. And I don't get to drown the world because I'm angry."
The golden version scoffed.
The shadowed one snarled.
Together, they lunged.
The impact shook the realm.
Siheon was thrown backward, skidding across a newly formed platform of fractured light and darkness. Pain exploded through him as the two reflections attacked in tandem—perfect coordination, flawless brutality.
A punch of divine force shattered his guard.
A kick of abyssal power crushed his ribs.
He gasped, rolling away just in time to avoid a killing blow.
Inside his mind, the systems panicked.
〈Celestial Ascension System: HOST DAMAGE CRITICAL. RECOMMEND ACCEPTANCE.〉
〈Demonic Sovereign System: YOU'RE LOSING. TAKE THE POWER.〉
Blood dripped from Siheon's lip.
He wiped it away with the back of his hand and forced himself to stand.
"No," he growled.
The reflections paused.
Siheon closed his eyes.
He stopped listening to the systems.
Instead, he listened to himself.
To Seraphina's voice telling him to breathe.
To Ulfric's brutal lessons.
To Lucian's stupid jokes that reminded him he was still human.
To Lilith's dangerous warmth that felt like recognition, not control.
He inhaled slowly.
And reached inward.
Not toward the systems.
But toward the space between them.
Something answered.
Not loud.
Not overwhelming.
Steady.
A quiet axis forming at his core.
Siheon opened his eyes.
Gold and shadow flowed together—not colliding, not merging, but interlocking, like gears finally aligned.
The reflections recoiled.
"What—?" the golden one whispered.
Siheon stepped forward.
"I am not your outcome," he said calmly.
"I am the one who decides."
He moved.
Not fast.
Certain.
One strike—balanced, precise—shattered the golden reflection into harmless light.
A second strike—grounded, controlled—dispersed the shadowed reflection into mist.
Silence fell.
The platforms stabilized.
The systems went quiet.
For the first time since this began—
They did not argue.
The Veiled Arbiter approached, gaze unreadable.
"…Interesting," it said.
Siheon stood, exhausted but unbroken.
"So?" he asked. "Am I an accident… or a correction?"
The Arbiter studied him for a long moment.
Then—
"You are unfinished," it said.
"And that is why you may return."
The space around them began to unravel.
"But know this, Baek Siheon," the Arbiter continued as reality peeled away.
"From this moment on, Heaven will watch you with fear…
and Hell will watch you with hunger."
Siheon felt himself falling again.
"Lucky me," he muttered.
White light swallowed everything.