Part I: The Name Beneath Dust
The moment Mujin grasped Juhwa, the world peeled away.
Not shattered—peeled—like old skin revealing something raw beneath.
He stood in a throne room.
Not ruined.
Whole.
Alive.
Firelight flickered across dragon-carved pillars.Servants moved like ghosts.And on the throne—
The Skybone Emperor.
Younger. Fiercer. Alive.
Mujin couldn't breathe.
He wasn't watching a memory.
He was the memory.
He looked down.
His hands weren't his own.
They were gloved in lacquered armor. His robe was black, embroidered with seven stars. His reflection shone in the polished floor—
A general.A shadow.Juhwa.
The Emperor rose and said only one word:
"Brother."
Part II: The Unwritten Betrayal
The scene shifted.
Now—war.
Flames devouring temples.Screams. Ash. Blades in the rain.
And Mujin—no, Juhwa—stood with blood on his hands.
A child in his arms.The seal burning across his back.
Then—
A voice behind him: "You defied the pact."
He turned.
Another warrior. Cloaked in crimson. Face hidden behind a mask of mirrors.
"You were supposed to protect the seal. Not become it."
Their blades met in a storm of sorrow.
Epilogue: What Was Buried
The vision shattered.
Mujin collapsed to his knees, gasping.
Juhwa's name still echoed in his bones.
The blade remained in his hand.
Behind him, Elder Gihyeon whispered, "You saw it, didn't you?"
"I was there," Mujin said. "I was him."
Gihyeon's eyes darkened.
"Then you understand the cost."
Mujin didn't answer.
But far away, in a desert of bone—
The Mirror-Masked warrior stirred once more.
And whispered:
"Welcome back, traitor."
To be continued…