In the soft glow of the morning, Jin lay in a deep, heavy slumber. Beside him, the child slept peacefully, her rhythmic breathing the only sound in the room. The two girls sat nearby, watching over them with silent intensity.
Aileen reached out, her fingers gently brushing his hair—but the moment her hand touched him, the air grew cold.
With a violent start, Jin's hand shot out, seizing her wrist like a vice. He bolted upright, his other hand moving with lethal instinct, nearly striking her down before his clouded eyes finally cleared. The killing intent vanished as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a trembling realization of where he was.
When the panic finally ebbed away, Jin sat on the edge of the bed, his mind a chaotic blur. Peace was now a foreign concept to him. It wasn't just the fatigue of battle; it was the dreams. Lately, visions of things he had never lived through—vicious wars and ancient bloodbaths—had begun to haunt his sleep. He could no longer discern the line between a nightmare and a memory.
Aileen pulled him into a gentle embrace. "What is it, Jin?" she whispered.
Jin remained silent. How could he possibly explain the incomprehensible? "It's nothing," he muttered eventually. "Just the weight of the past few months."
"Jin…" Aileen's voice was heavy with concern. "That wasn't a Normal reflex. You reacted as if you were facing an assassin."
Shuang Yu leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Jin, are you truly just fighting monsters in the Tower and Asturion?"
"Yes," he replied, though the word felt hollow.
"Your clothes," Shuang Yu continued, "they are simple, yet they carry the distinct aura of the Murim. No one outside those lands wears such a style. Have you… truly not gone there?"
Jin hesitated. The lie tasted like ash. Shuang Yu had begged him never to set foot in the Murim when he first departed; she knew its cruelty better than anyone, having fled its senseless violence herself.
"No," Jin lied, forcing a faint, guilt-ridden smile. "I haven't gone there. Are you worried I'll get hurt?"
"Yes, but…" Shuang Yu started.
Aileen cut in, her voice soft yet firm. "No matter how much we worry, we know you are strong. It's just… we don't want you to grow accustomed to killing humans."
The words hit Jin like a physical blow. Shock and profound regret washed over him. In that instant, the ghosts of the last two years surged back. He had sought justice, yes, but at what cost? Four thousand lives had ended by his hand in a mere two years.
His mind felt as though it might shatter. How many of those four thousand were truly innocent? He had been thrust into a world he never asked for, forced to live a life he never wanted, and in his desperate search for some semblance of self-redemption, he had birthed tragedies for countless others.
He couldn't hold it back anymore. Despite his training, despite his power, the tears fell. It was as if his destiny was to be forever bound by this cycle of grief.
Seeing him broken, the girls moved instinctively to comfort him. Aileen pressed her face against his chest, while Shuang Yu rested her cheek against his back, anchoring him to the present.
"Jin, don't worry," Aileen murmured. "We are here."
"Forget whatever happened there," Shuang Yu added, her voice a warm caress. "Just rest your mind for now." She let out a small, forced laugh to break the tension. "I'm sure you're doing great things for the Justice Alliance. If you ever need help, go to the North Sea Palace. My mother will take care of you."
Shuang Yu spoke out of a naive hope, assuming Jin was a hero of the righteous factions. She couldn't conceive of him joining the Demonic Cult. Jin, however, felt his blood run cold. He was an Elder of that very Cult, a Captain of a slaughtering squad, currently locked in a futile, bloody war against the very Alliance she praised. And worst of all...
"When Lily wakes up," Aileen said, changing the subject to save him from his thoughts, "let's go for a walk."
At the breakfast table later that morning, the atmosphere had shifted.
"Papa, you're a villain," Lily pouted, crossing her arms. "You leave for months and only come back for a little bit."
Jin smiled, the guilt in his chest softening at the sight of her. "I'm sorry, Lily. I have to get stronger so I can protect everything. I promise, very soon, I'll be with you all the time."
Lily turned her head away stubbornly. "You've become such a liar, Papa. Stop it."
Jin finally let out a genuine laugh. "I'm not lying this time. I swear it."
"Hmm… fine. I'll believe you once more," the child grumbled, finally breaking into a grin. She was the light that kept their world from falling .
The hours that followed were a blur of normalcy. They wandered through the markets of Newland, visited the landmarks, and lost themselves in the cinema. But the city wasn't enough.
The next day, they found themselves in the lush landscapes of Sri Lanka.
The scenery was ethereal. The sky was a shimmering canvas of blue, and the forests breathed with a vibrant, emerald life. They hiked past hidden lakes and watched waterfalls plunge from the hills. They laughed over trivialities, the weight of the Murim feeling a thousand miles away.
"Aileen," Shuang Yu teased, "you're royalty. How can you just wander around like this? Won't your family lose their minds?"
Aileen tossed her hair back with a smirk. "And who's going to tell them? The Academy isn't reporting anything. Jin made sure the Director looked the other way."
Jin, with Lily perched high on his shoulders, ignored their bickering as he pointed out birds to the child.
"Actually," Shuang Yu said, walking closer to Jin and leaning provocatively against his shoulder, "why does the Director always listen to you, dear? He ignores every rule in the book when you ask for a favor."
Aileen's eyes flashed with annoyance, but Jin remained unfazed, his focus entirely on Lily. "I don't know," he mused. "Maybe he just sees me as an old friend in a young body rather than a student."
Eventually, they reached the majestic Bambarakanda Falls. The sheer scale of the water crashing down was humbling, the mist cooling the air around them.
Standing there with Lily on his shoulders and the two girls by his side, Jin felt a sensation he hadn't known in half a year.
Tranquility.
It was a fragile, precious thing. "You all…" he whispered, his voice thick with sincerity, "you are my sanctuary. My entire life."
One day soon, he thought, looking up at the endless sky, I will find 'her' too. And then, I can finally stop chasing the madness of this world.
He smiled. Surrounded by his family, his eternal saviours.