He burst out of the structure into open space.
A drop.
He didn't hesitate.
Jump.
His body slid down broken concrete and twisted steel.
Fragments scraping against his jacket.
Dust rising around him.
He hit the ground, rolled, then came up—
and froze.
A plaza.
Wide.
Destroyed.
But not empty.
Statues lay broken and scattered.
Figures carved in shapes not fully human.
Limbs too long.
Faces too smooth.
Symbols etched into stone.
Half-erased.
At the center stood a sword.
Different.
Clean.
Simple.
Driven deep into the ground.
Jin moved.
Then he felt it.
A presence.
He looked up.
The creature stood on a broken tower.
Too far.
Too still.
Smiling wider.
Jin reached the sword.
His hand wrapped around it.
Cold.
Real.
He turned toward the monster.
Then—
Sound.
A sharp distortion.
Close.
Too close.
The world behind him split.
Buildings cut clean through.
For a second they remained standing.
Then collapsed.
A deafening roar tore through the plaza.
Jin didn't move.
He couldn't.
"…I didn't see it."
Above him, the creature started laughing.
Loud.
But wrong.
Like something breaking apart while laughing.
Or crying.
Jin's grip tightened.
"…I need a core."
But—
[System Unavailable]
"…Useless."
His eyes dropped to the timer.
20:16
20:15
20:14
His fingers tightened slightly around the sword.
"…Right."
The ring.
His hand moved.
He pulled it off.
A simple silver band.
For a moment, he looked at it.
"…You're all I've got.
All the energy that leaked out of me in the last two years.
It's a risk, but it's better than death."
He pressed it.
Crack.
The ring bent.
Metal twisting unnaturally.
Then it broke.
Black energy burst out.
Violent.
Unstable.
It wrapped around his arm, coiling tighter and tighter like it might tear through him at any second.
The air grew heavy.
Even the creature stopped laughing.
Jin lifted his head.
Looked up.
There was no smile now.
Jin's voice was quiet.
Steady.
Cold.
"…Let's see."
The energy pulsed.
Wild.
"…if you can catch me now."