Darkness.
That was the first thing Jinsu saw when he opened his eyes.
There was no light.
No sky.
No ground.
Only an endless darkness.
He tried to move his body, but immediately stopped.
Dozens of black chains were wrapped around his arms, legs, and neck, holding him firmly in place.
The sound of metal scraping echoed through the dead void.
Jinsu slowly raised his head.
"...Where am I?"
No one answered.
Then...
The darkness began to crack.
The world around him changed.
An endless sea appeared.
But it was not water.
It was blood.
Crimson waves moved quietly beneath a black sky, while countless corpses stretched endlessly across the horizon, as though they were a part of this world.
And above that sea...
There was a throne.
A massive black throne.
Upon it sat a man with one leg crossed over the other.
Crimson eyes.
And a calm smile.
Kaizen.
"At last, you're awake."
Silence filled the air.
Jinsu stared at him for a moment before whispering,
"...Let me out."
Kaizen smiled.
"No."
He slowly rose from his throne.
"This place belongs to me now."
Jinsu's eyes widened.
"What is this place?"
Kaizen spread his arms.
"Your mind."
In an instant...
Jinsu froze.
"What?"
"Still don't understand?"
Kaizen descended the steps of his throne.
"You're imprisoned here... while I'm living your life out there."
Jinsu clenched his teeth.
"Give me back my body."
Kaizen stopped before him.
"And why would I do that?"
He raised a hand toward the sky.
"This body has given me more than I could have ever imagined."
Then he leaned slightly toward Jinsu.
"But I came here today for something else."
"..."
"I want you to surrender."
Silence.
Then Jinsu laughed.
A weary laugh.
"You came all this way just to tell me that?"
Kaizen's smile faded.
"No."
He raised a finger.
"I came to show you the truth."
Snap.
Suddenly...
The world changed.
Jinsu found himself standing in an old street.
He recognized it.
That place...
It was his home.
His eyes widened.
"This..."
Footsteps began to approach.
Then he heard a voice he had not heard in years.
"Jinsu."
Time stopped.
His body trembled.
"No..."
He slowly lifted his head.
And there...
Stood a woman smiling at him.
His mother.
"M-Mom?"
He didn't realize when tears began to stream down his face.
He tried to move toward her, but the chains held him back.
"Mom! Wait!"
She smiled gently.
Just as he remembered.
"You've grown so much, Jinsu."
His breathing faltered.
"How...?"
Kaizen laughed as he walked between them.
"It's only a memory."
He stopped beside her.
"But memories are beautiful things, aren't they?"
His mother stepped closer.
"Jinsu..."
"Mom! I'm here!"
She lowered her head.
"You've suffered enough."
He froze.
"...What?"
"You've endured more than enough."
Her smile slowly disappeared.
"Isn't it time for you to stop?"
His eyes widened.
"No... that's not true."
Kaizen looked at her.
"Tell him."
Silence.
Then she raised her head.
Tears streamed from her eyes.
"Surrender, Jinsu."
Everything stopped.
"What...?"
"You're tired."
"No..."
"Sleep."
"No!"
In the next instant...
Kaizen's hand pierced through her chest.
Jinsu froze.
He stared at the blood dripping from her body.
"M-Mom...?"
Her body fell to the ground.
"No..."
Kaizen's smile widened.
"Did you see that?"
Jinsu lowered his head.
"She died once because of her weakness."
He stepped closer.
"And she will die a thousand more times because of yours."
BOOM!
The world changed once again.
More faces appeared.
People Jinsu knew.
Friends.
Companions.
And finally...
Nairobi.
She stood before him in silence.
"Jinsu."
His eyes trembled.
"Even you..."
She stepped closer.
"How many people have to die before you understand?"
"I..."
"You don't save anyone."
The chains tightened around his body.
"Everyone who gets close to you ends up dying."
Kaizen appeared behind her.
"Do you want to see the future?"
He raised his hand.
And suddenly...
He saw Yuna.
Drenched in blood.
Then Kenji.
Standing over Jinsu's corpse.
Then Thalen.
Alone beneath a black sky.
"No..."
Jinsu staggered backward.
"Stop!"
Kaizen laughed.
"This is what will happen."
"You're lying!"
"Really?"
He stepped forward until their eyes met.
"Then tell me..."
"What have you saved since the day you were born?"
Jinsu opened his mouth.
But...
He couldn't answer.
He froze.
Because for the first time...
He could not think of a single person he had saved.
The chains tightened even further.
"You're not a hero, Jinsu."
Kaizen whispered.
"You're just a weak child trying to save a world that doesn't want to be saved."
Jinsu lowered his head.
"I..."
"Say it."
"..."
"Say it!"
His body trembled.
"I..."
Silence.
Then, in a broken voice, he whispered:
"...I'm weak."
Kaizen smiled.
"Finally."
The sea of blood began to rise.
One by one...
The memories disappeared.
His mother vanished.
Nairobi vanished.
And everything else faded away.
Only Jinsu remained.
Alone.
Bound.
Broken.
Kaizen returned to his throne and sat down once more.
"You've fought long enough."
Jinsu closed his eyes.
And for the first time in a very long time...
He felt tired.
A weariness beyond words.
"...I'm tired."
Kaizen's smile widened.
"Then sleep."
The chains slowly began to consume him.
His neck.
His face.
His eyes.
And just before he disappeared completely...
He heard a distant voice.
A very faint voice.
The voice of a woman.
"Live..."
Jinsu's eyes stopped moving.
"What...?"
But the voice disappeared.
As if it had never existed.
And Kaizen...
Never heard it.
He raised his head toward the sky and laughed.
"It's over."
And at last...
Jinsu closed his eyes.
While the last thing he saw...
Was an endless sea of blood.