Part I: The Fog That Shouldn't Be
The trees were quiet.
Too quiet.
Mujin and Gihyeon moved carefully, the Skycut Fang sheathed but restless.They had not seen stars for hours.Only fog.
Not the mist of dawn.This fog hissed.It coiled around their legs like fingers learning to crawl.
"Something's wrong," Gihyeon muttered.
Then—a voice.
Smooth. Unhurried. Too amused.
"You bring fire into my silence.Is it grief you seek?Or are you still playing hero, Mujin?"
They froze.
The fog shifted—parted.
And from it stepped a man in white.
Hair like candle smoke.Eyes like ink spilled in water.He wore no weapons.
But the ground curled where he walked.
Part II: The Whisper Duel
"I know that voice," Mujin said, his pulse sharpening.
The man smiled.
"Of course you do.I'm in every moment you regret."
He circled them like a bored poet at a dinner party.
"You wear the seals well.I thought you'd break by the fourth.Or at least cry during the sixth."
Mujin drew his blade, stance firm.
"What are you?"
The man didn't answer.He leaned in—far too close.
"I'm what your soul left behind when you ran the first time.I'm the ash of every choice you twisted into righteousness."
"You can call me Namheon.Though I've gone by many names you no longer remember."
Part III: Memory Burn
He snapped his fingers.
The fog ignited.
Not fire—memory.
Images swirled around them:
—Mujin's first byline.—His wedding day.—His wife's last smile before vanishing.
They burned.
Mujin cried out.Not in pain.In loss.
"You're trying to erase me."
Namheon nodded, delighted.
"Not erase.Repaint.Make you... useful."
He stepped forward.
And suddenly—Mujin couldn't remember his own name.
For a split second, he was just a man holding a sword, with nowhere to point it.
Gihyeon shouted a chant, striking the fog with blue flame.
Namheon retreated. Laughing.
"Oh, he still fights for you. How touching."
"I'll be waiting.Past the Eighth Gate.Bring your memory, if you still have it."
He vanished into the smoke.
And the fog fell silent.
Epilogue: What He Left Behind
In the clearing, only ash remained.
And a single item on the ground:
A mirror shard.
But not cracked.
Perfect.Polished.
And inside it—
Mujin saw himself.Smiling.
But his reflection didn't move when he did.
To be continued…