The scent of smoke and pine filled the crisp morning air as Mu Jang leaned against a cracked boulder, arms folded. Nearby, a small fire crackled while three figures moved through the brush—Sa Gwan, Ilho, and Ryul, arriving with hurried steps and short breaths.

  Mu Jang raised an eyebrow, half amused.

  “Ha! And you call me the brute?” he scoffed. “I said I was clearing the north, Sa Gwan, not hosting a reunion.”

  Sa Gwan ignored the jab, motioning for Ilho to explain.

  Ilho stepped forward. “We ran into an orc. Boss-tier. Massive thing. Skin like steel.”

  Mu Jang’s expression shifted immediately.

  “That bad?”

  Ilho nodded. “Blue and Ryul barely scratched it. Sa Gwan and I kept it busy, but before we could finish it…”

  He hesitated. “So-Yeon showed up. Killed it in a blink. Then she—” he glanced at Ryul, “—she took Blue. Just snatched him. No explanation.”

  Jinhu, seated by the fire, jerked upright. “She what? She stabbed him once already—what’s stopping her from killing him and calling it an accident?”

  Ryul stepped forward, arms crossed.

  “We can’t go after them,” he said firmly. “Even together, she’d kill us all. You didn’t see her. We couldn’t even scratch that orc. And she… she just appeared and ended it without drawing breath.”

  He looked at the others, voice softer now.

  “As much as i hate it too, we have to trust him.”

  “Amitabha,” Hanjo muttered, shaking his head. “Buddha really has it in for that boy.”

  Ryu sighed and leaned back on his pack. “Our leader sure has a talent for finding trouble.”

  The tension finally broke, and laughter bubbled up around the fire. For now, all they could do was wait—and trust that Blue hadn’t bitten off more than even he could chew.

  Deep in the Eastern Forest

  Leaves rustled high in the canopy as So-Yeon bounded effortlessly between thick branches, each step laced with grace and precision. Her cloak barely fluttered as she danced through the trees, her movement so fluid it left no trace behind.

  Blue followed below, doing his best to keep up—but it was clear he was struggling. His breath came heavier, his footwork slightly off rhythm.

  So-Yeon stopped suddenly on a high branch, peering back over her shoulder.

  “You have a lot to learn,” she said coolly. “You’re far too weak to use my grandfather’s footwork.”

  She dropped from the branch and landed with a soft thud, just as Blue caught up. Before he could speak, she raised her hand—dangling a familiar object before his face.

  The pendant.

  “Where the hell did you get this?”

  Blue blinked. “The vault,” he answered. “It was in the Alliance vault. I chose it as my treasure after the tournament.”

  So-Yeon’s expression hardened. Her voice sharpened like drawn steel.

  “So Cheng and my uncle taught you nothing but how to lie and steal techniques from a family you don’t belong to?”

  “I’m not lying,” Blue replied calmly. “That pendant was on the floor of the vault. I thought it looked familiar… I remembered seeing Grandfather wear one like it. So I picked it.”

  Her grip on the pendant tightened, knuckles paling.

  Blue’s thoughts raced. I can’t tell her everything yet—not about the system. Not about how it told me to take it. She’s not ready. I have to wait until she realizes who I really am.

  He kept his gaze level, letting the silence stretch.

  So-Yeon stared at him like he was a ghost in borrowed skin. Her expression twisted into something dark—an old hurt mixed with rising fury.

  “You don’t get to call him Grandfather in front of me,” she said coldly. “Not unless you want a matching wound on your other shoulder.”

  Blue instinctively stepped back, hand rising to the scar beneath his collarbone—the one she had given him during the tryouts.

  He winced, but didn’t look away.

  “So-Yeon… I don’t know why you’re so angry, or what makes you detest me. But nothing I’ve said is a lie.”

  “Detest you?” she snapped, her voice sharp and biting. “Yes. That’s the right word.”

  She took a step forward, eyes like daggers.

  “I detest a man who dares to use my grandfather’s technique. I detest someone who pretends to be something he’s not.”

  She raised the pendant between them.

  “This,” she said, flipping it over, “is Yoryeon’s. My grandfather’s. Jiung’s grandfather.”

  The back shimmered in the light.

  A dragon head, twisted and sharp, spewed venom into smoke—smoke that coiled into the shape of a smiling face, sinister and knowing.

  “The symbol of the Tang Clan,” she hissed. “The real one. Though this pendant is broken—it’s missing pieces, like it was torn apart long ago. Still, Jiung would have recognized this immediately.”

  She shoved it toward him.

  “You would have known this. He would’ve known this. Jiung spent more time with our grandfather than any of us. You expect me to believe you are him?”

  Blue stared at the symbol.

  He didn’t know. He hadn’t looked. He only grabbed it because… it felt familiar. His breath caught. He swallowed, suddenly feeling the gravity of the moment.

  “To be honest, So-Yeon… I never flipped it over. I saw it on the floor. It looked familiar. I picked it up, and the system told me I needed it—and that I needed to find the other two pieces.”

  Her eyes narrowed at that word.

  “System,” she echoed, stepping back slightly. “You have a system? Like the ones the commoners received when the gates opened? Those… outsiders who clear gates? Who the Alliance keeps like caged animals?”

  “Yes,” Blue said simply.

  She stared, unreadable. Blue took a breath. His voice dropped low.

  “So-Yeon… I spent twenty years on another world. I dreamed of Murim every night—of the black figure who killed me. Of the day I died. Of you. Kwan. Ryul. Seori. Haejin.”

  His voice cracked, just for a moment.

  “I didn’t know what happened to any of you. I was helpless there. Powerless. Until one day… a golden gate appeared.”

  He looked up, eyes meeting hers.

  “And it brought me home.”

  So-Yeon didn’t move.

  “I saw you at the tryouts,” he continued. “Standing proud, commander of the Crimson Veil Corps. You were alive, So-Yeon. Glorious. And I wanted to tell you everything, but I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have the strength. Physically or mentally.”

  He stepped closer.

  “We were the closest, you and I. After Mom and Dad passed… we had to be. For the others. You were my anchor. But I couldn’t just walk up and say it. I needed time. And I knew—if anyone came looking for the truth… it’d be you.”

  He exhaled slowly.

  “Yes. The pendant is broken. There are two more pieces. Yes. It’s Grandfather’s. Yes. I’m Jiung. And yes—Uncle taught me Flowing Steel.”

  He lifted his hand, palm open.

  “And I carry the Ten Thousand Venoms qi.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “But the system’s been suppressing it. I don’t know why.”

  The forest fell silent again.

  Blue stood there—unshielded. Vulnerable. His truth laid bare, waiting for her to do what she always had:

  Strike. Or forgive.

  So-Yeon’s grip on the pendant loosened as her voice dropped to a whisper.

  “You say things only my brother would know,” she said. “Only we… saw that figure. Only we saw it stab you through the heart.”

  Blue raised an eyebrow, expression wry. “You mean when it cut off my head?”

  She flinched. Then stepped back.

  Her tough exterior cracked—just enough to let something softer, something buried, come through. The fierce commander faded, and for a brief moment, she looked like the younger sister he remembered.

  “It… it really is you?” she whispered.

  Blue nodded. “Yes, little sister. It’s me.”

  She rushed forward. Lip trembling.

  He caught her in a tight embrace.

  “I’ve missed you,” he murmured. “Every day. Every year. But damn, look at you. Commander of the Crimson Veil Corps. Matriarch of the Tang Clan.”

  He laughed, low and proud. “Dad would be pissed that you learned martial arts—joined Murim—but he’d be proud, too. So would Grandfather.”

  So-Yeon sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes. “Don’t let this touch the ground again,” she said, placing the pendant into his palm. “Next time it does, my sword goes through your heart.”

  Blue chuckled. “Still playing tough, I see.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “I know. I promise—it’ll never touch dirt again.”

  He looked at her gently. “So… what now? You believe me. So where do we go from here?”

  So-Yeon paused, the fire in her expression dimming into something uncertain.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve buried my emotions about you for so long. I’ve ignored our family. I’ve focused only on the Tang Clan… on the Crimson Veil. I don’t know what kind of sister I’ve been. Maybe a terrible one.”

  Blue shook his head. “You’re not terrible. The way everything unfolded… none of that is your fault. But you can help me now.”

  He stepped back and met her eyes.

  “I need to gather our siblings. That’s my purpose here. I can’t rejoin Tang yet—and I don’t want your seat. But I will protect all of you.”

  So-Yeon nodded, slowly.

  “Then I suppose we train,” she said. “You’ll need real strength if you want to get Haejin or Seori back. They belong to the worst evil Murim has seen. Uncle told me along time ago about his suspicions of the Alliance leader. And the demon cult. They are loyal, and refuse to give up on anyone they consider their own.”

  She turned, stretching her arms, some of her usual sharpness returning.

  “I don’t know why you’re refusing to join Tang. I won’t press you again—clearly, my questions cause problems.”

  Blue smiled faintly.

  So-Yeon looked over her shoulder, smirking.

  “But while we’re here, we’ll train Flowing Steel. Sharpen it. Smooth it. Help you use it properly.”

  She walked a few paces ahead, then stopped and pointed at him.

  “You may have mastered the basics. But as someone who has total control of it—”

  She tilted her head, eyes glinting.

  “You’re… lacking.”

  Blue exhaled, a quiet laugh escaping as he followed after her, the pendant now safe in his hand.

  In a flash So-Yeon dashed through the trees, only looking back to yell at Blue.

  "Keep up big brother. Training starts now!"