The weight of her decision settled on Seojin's shoulders like a storm cloud.
Xiang Wu had made an offer, but whether it was a trap or a rare opportunity remained unclear.
Minji and Kade stood close, their eyes burning with distrust. Seojin didn't blame them. She didn't trust Xiang Wu either.
But something about his words unsettled her.
He wasn't trying to control her.
He was trying to recruit her.
And that meant one thing—he needed her alive.
Seojin crossed her arms. "If I agree to listen… I want the truth. No more games."
Xiang Wu's masked face tilted slightly. "The truth is always a dangerous thing, Seojin."
Her jaw tightened. "Try me."
A soft chuckle escaped him. "Very well."
He gestured to the monitors, where static flickered across the screens before resolving into a map.
A world map, but something was wrong.
The continents were outlined in red, covered in symbols and coordinates. Some locations pulsed with a faint light, marked with a different color.
Seojin frowned. "What am I looking at?"
Xiang Wu clasped his hands behind his back. "These are the real control points of the world."
Minji's eyes narrowed. "Control points?"
"Governmental nodes. Military hubs. Intelligence agencies. Secret institutions that operate beyond the public eye." His tone remained calm. "The Council was only one piece of a much larger system. They were designed to act as regulators—to enforce balance."
Kade scoffed. "Balance? You mean control."
Xiang Wu ignored him. "The problem is that the Council became corrupt. Their leaders became too ambitious, too desperate to take complete control." His masked gaze shifted to Seojin. "That's why your mother wanted to eliminate them. She believed in the original vision, but not in their execution."
Seojin's fists clenched at the mention of her mother. "And you?"
Xiang Wu was silent for a moment before answering. "I believe in stability. I believe in order. And right now, the world is on the brink of collapsing into absolute chaos."
He pointed at the map. "The moment you shut down the compliance program, the power vacuum began. Some of these factions are preparing for war. Others are planning to replace the Council."
Seojin felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. "And you want me to stop them."
Xiang Wu nodded. "You have the skills. The knowledge. The resources." His voice dropped. "And the bloodline."
A chill ran down Seojin's spine. "What does that mean?"
Xiang Wu let the silence drag for a moment before answering.
"Your father wasn't just an enemy of the Council, Seojin. He was one of its architects."
The words hit her like a punch to the gut.
"No," she whispered. "That's not possible."
Xiang Wu turned to the screen again, pressing a button. A classified file appeared—one with her father's name stamped across the top.
PROJECT NOCTURNE.
STATUS: TERMINATED.
Seojin's breath caught in her throat as she read the words beneath it.
Her father had been the original program designer for Project Nocturne—the very foundation of the compliance network. The system she had spent her entire life fighting against had been built by her own bloodline.
Minji swore under her breath. "Seojin… this—"
Kade's voice was sharp. "This doesn't change anything. We still fight. No matter what."
Seojin felt her entire world tilting.
Her mother had betrayed her. And now, her father had been part of the very system she destroyed?
How much of her life had been a lie?
Xiang Wu watched her carefully. "You were never meant to be a rebel, Seojin." His voice was almost gentle. "You were meant to inherit the system."
The room was deathly silent.
Seojin forced herself to breathe, to think. The pieces were finally falling into place, but instead of clarity, it only muddied the waters further.
If what Xiang Wu was saying was true, then she had been fighting a war that had already been decided before she was even born.
Her mother.
Her father.
The Council.
The Alliance.
She had been caught in a web of power since the very beginning.
And now, she had to choose a side.
Xiang Wu turned toward her. "You can walk away, Seojin. Leave all of this behind."
Her hands curled into fists. "And if I stay?"
His voice was calm. "Then you become the final player in the war that is about to begin."
Kade and Minji stood by her side, waiting for her response.
Seojin's mind was spinning. She didn't trust Xiang Wu. But he had the answers she needed.
She had thought she was fighting to free the world, but what if she had only made it more vulnerable?
If she walked away now, she'd be leaving it open for worse monsters to take over.
And if she stayed?
She might lose herself completely.
She took a breath and looked Xiang Wu in the eyes.
"I'm not here to play your game." Her voice was firm. "But I won't let the world burn, either."
Xiang Wu's mask didn't reveal his expression, but she could feel his satisfaction.
"Then welcome to the next war, Seojin."
End of Chapter 112