8:30
The plan unfolds fast — L, Mina, and Rael move with precision through the storm-lit streets, heading toward Sector Gamma.
They've rigged the old subway nexus with suppression fields, laced the tunnels with resonance traps designed to disrupt unstable powers.
But Jin knows — deep down — this isn't just about stopping something ancient.
It's about *him*.
And he's right.
As they enter the central chamber — a cavernous space lined with broken rails and glowing sigils — Jin feels it again: that pull. Not just from below… but *inside*. A hunger wrapped in whispers. A desire not for destruction…
But for possession.
> "I'm ready," Jin says quietly. Rael turns to him instantly.
> "Don't even think—"
But Jin places a hand on his chest.
> "This is how it ends," he says. "Not by hiding me… but by using what it wants."
Before anyone can stop him —
He steps into the center of the circle painted in light.
Alone.
Vulnerable.
*Deliberately.*
And then… he speaks:
> **"I know you want me."**
His voice echoes strangely, bouncing off stone and steel like it's not entirely his own anymore.
> **"So come claim me."**
Silence follows.
Then—
A crack splits open beneath them.
Dust rises like smoke.
And from below…
A figure emerges slowly from shadow and flame,
tall as a war god,
cloaked in shifting darkness,
his eyes twin pools of molten gold—
The One Below stares at Jin…
then smiles—gentle, terrifying—
And speaks directly into his soul:
> "**My lost child... I've waited so long for your return.**"
Another step forward—graceful, inevitable—
> "**Let me take you home,**"
His hand reaches out...
not to crush…
but to cradle…
**"Back where you belong—with *me*."**
Rael roars—he lunges forward—but an invisible force slams him back against stone.
Jin stands frozen—not trapped by chains or magic…
But by memory? By longing?
Because somewhere deep inside...
He *recognizes* that voice...
8:32
Jin stumbles back—once, twice—but the pull is too strong. It's not just power. It's *recognition*. A memory buried deep, clawing its way up.
> "No…" he gasps, pressing both hands to his head. "I'm not yours—I belong with *him!*"
He looks at Rael—desperate, pleading—as if willing him to break free, to save him.
But Rael is pinned.
Mina and L are caught in barriers of swirling shadow.
And the entity—the ancient one—smiles wider.
> "**You were mine before stars lit this world,**" it murmurs, stepping closer. "**Before names were spoken… you answered only to me.**"
Jin trembles.
His knees buckle.
The Soulchain around his wrist burns—not with light now… but with *longing*.
A tear rolls down his cheek as he whispers:
> "I don't want this…"
But his body betrays him.
His hand lifts—reaching toward the outstretched fingers of darkness.
And when they touch—
A flash of blinding light erupts from their joined hands,
cracking through the chamber like a thunderclap,
and Jin arches backward—
as something ancient and vast *flows into him*,
not invading…
but **returning**.
His eyes snap open —
now glowing gold like twin suns in shadow,
and when he speaks…
it's not just Jin's voice anymore:
> **"I remember now."**
He turns slowly — gaze locking onto Rael's horrified face —
then smiles… sadly…
> **"I'm sorry… my true name was always His."**
The bond between them flickers — strained…
the silver chain dimming…
As desire claims what it believes was never truly lost.
(The fall has begun... but redemption? That can still be fought for.)
8:35
Jin's body moves like something trapped inside a nightmare.
His hand reaches out, fingers unfurling… as if beckoning something he doesn't want, but needs.
The old one closes the distance between them…
His arms wrap around Jin's waist…
He leans in, breath brushing the hair on Jin's neck, and *smiles*.
He speaks, voice a whisper like smoke in the darkness:
> "**My child… you were mine long before Rael woke."**
Jin's head turns…
8:37
And looks into the eyes of the man he loves—as if trying to tell him something, *anything*, to make him realize that he's still *here*, despite the chains that have claimed him.
Rael stares back, face twisted in grief and fury, his eyes holding Jin's like chains of their own.
> "Jin," he *growls*. "I know you're still there. You have to fight this."
8:39
Inside Jin's mind—a war rages.
Not in stone or fire… but in memory.
He stands in a place between worlds: a void of shifting light and shadow, where echoes of his past lives flicker like dying stars. Voices rise—whispers, screams, songs sung in languages long forgotten.
And at the center?
**Him.**
The ancient one—cloaked not in darkness now, but *light*—kneeling before a smaller version of Jin…
A child with silver eyes and no name.
> "**You were alone,**" the voice murmurs inside his soul. "**Until I found you. Until I gave you purpose.**"
Images flood forward:
A world burning.
A sky cracked open.
Himself—weeping over ash and bones…
…and then being lifted up by golden hands…
> "**I made you strong,**" it whispers. "**And now… I take you back—not as servant… but as heir."**
Jin trembles—but deep inside…
Another voice fights through the storm:
Rael's.
His touch on Jin's wrist.
The way he said *"Mine"* like it was law.
Like nothing else mattered more.
And suddenly—
Among all the voices of pasts not his own…
One truth burns clear:
> "I don't want to be yours."
He shouts it into the dark:
> **"I CHOOSE MYSELF!"**
The void shudders.
The memories fracture.
And for one fragile moment—
Jin opens his eyes,
gold flickering,
silver fighting its way back,
and whispers—
not to gods or fate…
but to love:
> "**Rael... pull me home."**
(Now—he needs him.)
8:41
The chamber shakes with Jin's cry.
Rael's eyes widen—then his face darkens with resolve.
> **"I'm not letting you go,"** he growls, *command* in his voice.
He strides forward—into the ring of sigils.
The old one glares at him—then at L and Mina, still trapped in barriers of dark shadow.
Rael smirks—
> **"You can control memories and shadows, but do you know what else you can do?"**
He doesn't wait for an answer.
8:42
Rael slams his palm onto the ground—right on a broken line of the suppression circle.
His power erupts—not controlled, not contained—but *wild*.
Lightning crackles from his body, raw and unfiltered. His eyes glow white-hot.
> "You took Jin from life!" he shouts into the storm. "But you forgot one thing!"
The golden entity sneers.
> "**And what is that?**"
Rael's voice drops—low, deadly.
> "**I don't just love him...**"
Another surge of power rips through the chamber—
Cracks spider across reality.
"...**I *bound* him with something older than your memory.**"
He raises their linked hands—the Soulchain flares once,
faint at first…
then brighter,
like a star rekindling in dead space.
And as Rael speaks its true name for the first time:
> **"Jin—I call you back."**
The chain *screams* with light.
And deep within Jin's fractured soul?
That single thread—love forged in defiance, not fate—
PULLS BACK HARDER THAN ETERNITY EVER DID.
To be continued...