The chamber was silent except for my ragged breathing. My sword felt impossibly heavy, my arms trembling from exhaustion. Blood — mine and his — painted the stone floor beneath me. The masked swordsman lay still, his black flames extinguished, his chest rising and falling in shallow, uneven breaths.
It was over.
But victory didn't feel like triumph. It felt like survival.
I staggered toward him, every step agony. My vision blurred, but I kept moving until I stood over him. With a weak hand, he reached up and pulled away his mask.
Beneath it was a face far younger than I'd expected — no older than me. His eyes were dark, filled with pain and resignation. "You… fight well," he whispered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "But this… is just the beginning."
"What do you mean?" I demanded, but his strength was already slipping away.
He smiled — a bitter, broken thing. "The world… won't let you win. Not without a cost."
And then he was gone.
I stood there for a long moment, his words hanging heavy in the air. The world won't let you win. I knew that already. But hearing it now… it felt like a warning.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor behind me. I turned, my body screaming in protest, and raised my sword — only to see Yoon-Hee running toward me.
"Jae-Ha!" she cried, her eyes wide with fear. "You're hurt!"
I wanted to reassure her, to tell her everything was fine. But when I tried to speak, the strength left my body. The world tilted — and darkness swallowed me whole.
When I woke, it was to the soft warmth of a bed and the scent of herbs. My wounds throbbed, but they were bandaged. I tried to sit up, but a gentle hand pushed me back down.
"Don't move," Yoon-Hee said softly. She sat beside me, her face pale and drawn. "You need rest."
"Where… are we?" I asked, my voice weak.
"An inn. A safe one. After you collapsed, I… I got us out." Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "You almost died."
"But I didn't," I said, forcing a weak smile. "You saved me."
She shook her head. "You're always the one saving me. I just… I didn't want to lose you."
Her words settled over me like a weight — warm and heavy and terrifying. I looked at her then, really looked at her — and saw the fear in her eyes. Not for herself. For me.
"I'm not going anywhere," I promised.
But I knew promises were dangerous things. And in the Murim world, they were all too easily broken.