Kim took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over his team.
The weight of untold secrets hung heavy in the air.
"What I'm about to tell you... is something I probably don't ever plan on telling anyone." he began, his voice low and measured.
The park around them seemed to fade away as Kim's memories took shape, vivid and visceral:
A routine A-rank gate closure in Incheon. Thorn Princess's usual icy composure cracking with unease. Saber's vigilant stance. The gate's sickly green vortex pulsing with malevolent energy.
"The energy signature's off, it's an abnormal gate.. Can you close this one too?" Thorn Princess had murmured, seconds before chaos erupted.
A tendril of gate energy lashed out, wrapping around Kim's ankle.
His world turned inside out as he was yanked into the swirling vortex, Thorn Princess's cry of alarm fading into the void.
