[Scene: World Guidance Meeting Hall – Earth HQ]
Cheers echoed in the grand chamber. Monitors that once displayed cataclysms now showed stability. The convergence points—those swirling cosmic fractures threatening to swallow Earth—had faded into nothing.
Celestial Family representatives clapped. Park Hae In laughed and wept at once. Commander Lillian allowed herself the first smile in weeks.
"It's over," Mr. Singh said, raising a glass. "The convergence has stopped. No divine readings. No unknown creature surges. Nothing."
"But how?" Chris asked, still staring at the live data feed. "Who… did this?"
No one had an answer. And yet, the silence of the heavens gave them peace.
They celebrated, blind to the one who had paid the price.
[Scene: Suburban Outskirts – Jin's old House]
The house was silent. Dust clung to the windows, and ivy crept across the outer walls. It had been untouched for years.
Until now.
The front door creaked open slowly. A breeze swept through the rooms, stirring old memories.
Jin stepped inside.
His silver-white hair fell to his waist like moonlight. His golden eyes flickered with emotion, but his face was unreadable. In his hand, a blade shimmered—a ceremonial knife, not for war... but change.
Standing before the cracked bathroom mirror, Jin took a breath.
Slice.
Silver strands fell, curling into the sink.
He cut until his hair hung just below his ears, tousled and sharp. But even without the length, he couldn't hide the color—the mark of divinity remained.
He stared at his reflection. A man who was no longer human, yet desperately clinging to what humanity he had left.
He moved through the hallway, past broken furniture, until he stood in front of a dusty shelf. A single photo rested there: Lia, smiling beside him—before it all began.
Jin picked up the frame, brushing the dust away.
"I killed them," he whispered. "Every god who touched your fate. Every soul who let you suffer. Persephone. Gaia. Olympus itself."
His voice trembled.
"I promise, Lia… I will find you. Wherever your soul drifts—through the Lunar Lake or other realms —I'll bring you back. Even if I have to tear open the heavens again."
The room dimmed.
A chill spread through the house.
Jin turned slowly—his senses already flaring. A presence. Familiar... yet warped.
Thomas.
He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, smiling with his usual lazy confidence. "So... the king returns home."
Jin narrowed his eyes. "Thomas?"
"You really did it, huh?" Thomas walked in, glancing around. "Olympus gone. Gods erased. And yet, here you are. Back in this dump. Looking at old ghosts."
Jin didn't reply.
Thomas stopped a few feet away. His expression shifted. Darkened. The smile faded.
"I suppose it's time," he said quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Jin asked.
Thomas's form began to shimmer. His skin darkened, not with shadow, but with the absence of light. Feathers of void and stardust bloomed from his back, forming wings—massive, angular, almost metallic in texture.
His eyes turned to deep violet, like galaxies collapsing.
A black halo, thin as a blade, hovered above his head—spinning slowly, emitting an eerie hum.
His body became tall, lithe, and otherworldly—an angelic humanoid, yet darker than anything divine.
Jin stepped back, one hand behind his back. "What… are you?"
The figure bowed slightly.
"I am not Thomas. That identity was… a mask. Convenient for watching you."
Jin's voice dropped. "Then who are you?"
The being looked up, wings spreading, the weight of existence bending around him.
"I am Nyreth," he declared, his voice layered, echoing with countless tones—male, female, and something ancient. "The Watcher of Forgotten Cycles. The Will that Observes when Fate Fails. And you, Jin Shang, son of Kronos… have finally piqued my interest."
The air tightened. Pressure crushed the space around them. Even Jin felt the weight—like the abyss had turned its gaze back on him.
"What do you wat from me?" Jin asked, voice steady.
Nyreth smiled.
"Oh… nothing."
He leaned forward slightly, eyes glowing.
"Not yet."