After killing the Corrupt, Jin and the girl ventured deeper into the cave, aided by her blessing. They moved in silence, especially Jin, avoiding any conversation. The girl understood his emotions and chose to leave him be.
Eventually, they reached what appeared to be the cave's center. Numerous paths converged in the open space, where a stone platform stood in the middle. On it, a massive lantern glowed with a bright golden light.
'Is that a soul?!' Jin thought in astonishment. 'It's gigantic. I've never seen a human soul this powerful before.'
'We found them,' said the girl, as two threads of light connected to her formless psyche stretched toward the stone platform.
'My soul must be there too,' Jin remarked, scanning the platform.
'Your soul should be here as well,' she confirmed.
'Is it hard to sense because of the overwhelming presence of her soul?' Jin wondered silently.
'Let's get closer,' the girl suggested.
'You go first,' Jin replied, allowing her to lead the way.
The girl approached her soul, and Jin followed. She stood before the enormous entity, while Jin tried to grasp its size. Even with his enhanced awareness, he couldn't fully comprehend its vastness.
'It's at least as big as a mountain,' Jin marveled.
He struggled to understand how such a massive soul could fit inside the cave, but he quickly dismissed the thought—this world didn't adhere to the laws of physics.
'Where's yours?' the girl asked.
In response, Jin glanced to the side, where a small black dot hovered.
'Is that your soul?' she asked, puzzled.
'I think so,' Jin sighed in disappointment, staring at the tiny speck.
'It's so small,' he thought bitterly. 'Did that bastard scam me?'
The strength of a soul is often tied to its size, so Jin's disappointment was understandable.
'But why isn't your soul a dragon? It just looks like a dot,' she said.
'W-What?!' Jin looked at her, surprised. 'So, my soul doesn't appear as a dragon to you?'
'Oh no, I didn't mean to offend you,' she apologized, misinterpreting his reaction.
'If she sees my soul like this, there's only one explanation. My soul is strong enough to bypass the Law of Size,' Jin realized.
All matter possesses size and mass, governed by what is known as the Law of Size. Although souls aren't physical objects, they still have dimensions that determine their strength and place in the hierarchy, meaning they too follow this law. But Jin's soul was different. It wasn't small—in fact, it was so vast and powerful that it had transcended the very laws that bound others. It no longer followed the rules that dictated size and strength.
'You bastard,' Jin thought with a grin, 'you really made a soul that rivals the Great Holy Spirit.' He felt a surge of satisfaction as he finally understood the true nature of his soul.
******************
On the blank page, before Jin's journey to the Unseen Realm:
"So, you're going to give me a new soul?" Jin asked.
"Yes, but it will be based on your original soul," the future Jin replied.
"You mean you're going to copy the original and then modify it?"
"Not just modify it," the future Jin said with a wicked grin. "I'll make it powerful enough to rival the Holy Spirit."
Jin burst into laughter, shaking his head. "Are you seriously saying you're creating a soul as powerful as the strongest spirit?"
*******************
'Are you listening?' the girl interrupted his thoughts.
'Oh, uh, yes, I'm listening,' Jin replied, a little flustered.
'I should go first,' she said softly.
She approached her soul, raising her hand to touch it, but stopped just before making contact.
'So, this is goodbye then,' she shared her thoughts, though she didn't speak aloud. Jin could sense her feelings clearly.
'Yes, but before you go... what's your name?' Jin asked, his voice shaky.
'You're asking for my name after all this time?' she teased gently. 'Didn't you say we'd all forget everything, so there was no point in knowing each other's names?'
'Well, I'm not going to forget everything,' Jin admitted. 'You could say I have a blessing of my own.'
'I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours first.'
'Jin. My name is Jin... I don't have a family name.'
'Jin... it means "spirit" in the old language, doesn't it? That's a beautiful name. As for mine...'
She touched her soul. Upon contact, her psyche slowly began fading into the Human Realm.
'I'll tell you next time, when I have a body again. Even if I forget you, I'll feel it when we meet again.'
And with that, she vanished.
'Is that so...' Jin whispered.
He reached out and touched his soul, the small black dot. Slowly, his mind emptied as his psyche merged with his soul.
Now, Jin possessed a soul.
********************
Jin opened his eyes again, his vision slowly returning. As the world around him came into focus, his expression shifted from confusion to shock.
"It… it can't be," he whispered, struggling to comprehend his surroundings.
This wasn't the Human Realm he had expected to awaken in. Instead, he found himself in a world bathed in True Crimson light, an ominous glow that illuminated everything with an otherworldly intensity.
"How have you been, child? I have missed you all this time," a familiar voice echoed throughout the crimson world.
Jin's breath caught in his throat as the voice washed over him. It stirred memories he had tried so hard to bury.
"You...bastard," Jin muttered through clenched teeth, turning toward the source of the voice.
There, before him, stood a woman. Her appearance was breathtaking—soft silver hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her face, though partially obscured by flickering crimson flames, was unmistakable to Jin. It was the face of his mother.
"How dare you wear her face!" Jin shouted, his voice trembling with fury.
"Why are you so angry?" the figure responded, a smirk playing at her lips. "I thought you'd be happy to see her face again."
Jin ground his teeth in frustration, his hands shaking. His form had returned to something resembling his physical body, but he was bare, stripped of all his defenses, even his clothes.
"I was so disappointed when you lost your innate ability. You can't even resist me now," she mocked. "And yet, once upon a time, you were stronger than us."
"Why did you bring me here?" Jin growled. "Crimson Mother."
The woman smiled, stepping closer. "To give you my stigma once again. Have you forgotten our contract? I helped you enter the Forbidden Land, and in return, you agreed to bear my stigma."
Jin flinched at her words. Since he had lost his original soul, the stigma had vanished along with it.
"Come now, don't be afraid of your mother," she cooed, reaching out to touch him softly.
Jin tried to resist, every fiber of his being straining against her influence, but his body refused to move. He was helpless.
"Stop!" a voice suddenly boomed through the crimson world.
Jin's eyes widened as numbers appeared in the air around him, swirling and taking form until his future self stood before him.
"You... why are you here?" Jin asked, startled by his presence in this fractured reality.
"You need to meet someone," the future Jin said simply, waving his hand. A small gate materialized, glowing with otherworldly energy, pulling Jin out of the Crimson World before he could protest.
The future Jin turned his attention back to the Crimson Mother. His expression, once calm, had darkened.
"Now then," he said, his voice colder than before, "shall we begin?"
The Crimson Mother's eyes narrowed. "Who are you? No… what are you? Why can't I see your soul?"
"Oh, I almost forgot," the future Jin replied with a mocking smile. "You Outer Gods believe yourselves to be omniscient."
"We are omniscient," she hissed, "But why can't I see you in any timeline, in any universe? Why can't I sense your presence?"
"Because there's one thing you don't know—well, maybe two," the future Jin said casually. "First, you're not omniscient. Second, you don't know me."
"Are you saying you are omniscient, then?" she demanded, her voice growing more desperate.
"Heavens no," future Jin scoffed, his smile fading. "My memory is too fragile for that. I can't even remember the face of my mother."
His calm demeanor shifted into something far more dangerous, his eyes blazing with fury.
"And yet, you dare to wear the one face I cherished the most. Do you want to die that badly?"
"Kill me? You can't kill me!" she spat, her voice now trembling with a mixture of rage and fear. "You've tried before. Even that cursed innate ability of yours wasn't enough to kill an Outer God."
"Innate ability?" Future Jin's voice dropped to a whisper, filled with dark amusement. "You're mistaken. I never had an innate ability."
"WHAT?!"
"That makes three things you don't know," Jin said, stepping forward, his presence overwhelming.
The Crimson Mother's eyes widened, panic now fully gripping her. "You… you…"
"For reminding me of the face I loved most," the future Jin said, his voice ice-cold, "I'll show you what it means to be truly invincible."
[True Blank Page, Creation of Concepts and Ideas]
********************
Jin opened his eyes, blinking as the world around him faded into the vast expanse of the Blank Page. The emptiness felt alive, pulsing with something indescribable, yet he barely had a moment to reflect.
Before him stood a being beyond description.
"You are..."
"You already know who I am," came a response, though it wasn't a voice—neither male nor female. It was an echo, a sensation, something that vibrated deep in Jin's soul. "As for my name…
Jin's eyes locked onto the figure standing at the center of the infinite white void. It wasn't human, or even something bound by the limitations of form. It existed as an embodiment of paradoxes, a creature woven from the very fabric of reality.
A towering figure surrounded by endless streams of numbers, its presence defied understanding. Jin couldn't discern where its numerical body began or ended. It was both everything and nothing at once.
The being was composed of pure whiteness and absolute blackness, shifting in ways that made Jin's mind ache. In its form, Jin saw everything—life and death, creation and destruction, divinity and corruption, freedom and oppression. It was as breathtaking as it was terrifying.
Two pairs of immense black wings unfurled behind it, and above its head hovered a black sun, like a crown, casting a shadow of power over the endless whiteness.
And yet, it was leaving.
"No!" Jin's hands shot forward, desperate to reach it. He knew what it was. He couldn't let it vanish—not again.
"Please, don't go. I need you," Jin pleaded, his voice breaking as tears welled in his black eyes. "I am nothing without you."
The being's presence rippled, but its course did not change. "It's alright," it said, a soothing pulse of energy washing over Jin. "I am not leaving you forever. We will meet again."
Its form began to dissolve into the void, slipping beyond the limits of Jin's reach.
"I will tell you your true name when we meet again," the being whispered as it faded completely, leaving Jin alone in the vast, empty whiteness.
Jin stood there, his hands still raised, trembling in the stillness. "Is that a promise...? Like before."
*********************
Jin returned to the Human Realm, gasping as he awoke, his chest rising and falling heavily with each breath.
"How was that?" Albedo, seated beside him, asked calmly.
"Not something I'd call a pleasant experience," Jin replied, still trying to steady his breathing.
Luke, who was standing nearby, leaned in with a curious look. "Your eyes… they're black."
Jin frowned, his hand instinctively reaching up to his face. 'Maybe it's gone,' he thought, briefly hopeful.
But then, as if on cue, his pitch-black eyes flickered and turned crimson once more.
"Oh, they're crimson again," Luke remarked, a hint of surprise in his voice.
Jin sighed, the disappointment heavy in his chest. 'What was that bastard doing?' he wondered, still haunted by the encounter in the Crimson World.
He turned his gaze to the horizon, where the dying sun cast its last rays across the evening sky. The words of his future self echoed in his mind.
"Don't be like me," the future Jin had warned.
A small, bitter smile tugged at Jin's lips. "But I think you're pretty cool," he whispered under his breath, though the weight of those words lingered long after.