The night after the demon hunt was restless.
Johan lay beneath the open sky outside the Butterfly Estate, arm bandaged and eyes wide open. The wound wasn't what bothered him.
It was the whisper.
It had started after the fight—an itch in the back of his mind, like a memory trying to claw its way to the surface.
Then the dreams began.
He saw glass towers, glowing screens, cities choked in smoke and neon.
He saw himself in a mirror—older, colder, dressed in a world far different from this one. The faces of people he once knew. Laughter. Loneliness. The sound of sirens. The weight of regret.
Earth.
His Earth.
He jolted awake, breath ragged.
[System Notification:"Suppressed Memory Core has been unlocked."Synchronizing: Johan Seong – Original Identity Confirmed.]
It hit like lightning.
His past life, his death… everything returned.
Johan stood in the mirror that morning and stared into his own eyes.
They looked different.
Sharper.
More alive—and far more dangerous.
He flexed his fingers. The pain in his wound was fading, replaced by something new.
[Unlimited Blade Works — Synchronization 12%]Emotion core stabilized. Projection speed increased.]
He walked out into the woods without telling anyone.
Deep within the forest, far from the estate, Johan drew a circle in the dirt and stood inside.
He closed his eyes.
"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood…"
The chant echoed in his mind—not just words now, but a truth forged in memory and rebirth.
Domain: Unlimited Blade Works — Partially Manifested
For a moment, the trees around him bled away into rust-colored skies. Swords flickered into existence, phasing in and out like unfinished thoughts.
He could feel the blades.
Each one a memory. A concept. A possibility.
And yet... it wasn't complete.
Not yet.
His practice was interrupted by a scream.
Not distant. Not random.
Kanae.
Johan didn't hesitate.
By the time he reached the clearing, the scent of blood was thick.
Kanae was holding off a demon—twice her size, armored in bone and muscles, with a mouth that split open vertically.
One of the younger girls had collapsed nearby, barely breathing.
"Move," Johan said.
Kanae blinked. "Johan—?! This isn't—"
"I said move."
She did.
There was something in his voice.
Something cold.
The demon laughed. "Another bug to squish. You humans are—"
It didn't get to finish.
Johan's hand raised.
Trace… On.
A sword shimmered into his grip—a brutal, jagged thing laced with black and red. A blade he hadn't seen before.
It was born from hate.
He moved like a shadow. One step—and he was in front of the demon. One slash—and the creature's arm was gone.
It howled in agony.
Johan's expression didn't change.
No mercy. No hesitation.
He stepped in again.
This time, he didn't aim for the heart.
He tore through the demon's legs. Then the mouth. Then the neck—but slowly, deliberately.
Kanae watched in stunned silence.
When it was done, Johan stood alone in the clearing, covered in blood. His eyes empty of pity.
"You… killed it," Kanae said softly. "But you didn't just kill it. You… punished it."
He turned to her, slowly.
Something flickered in his gaze.
"…It threatened someone I care about," he said simply.
That was all.
And yet, something in her heart trembled—not in fear, but in realization.
He's changing.And yet, she couldn't look away.
Later that night, Johan sat alone again.
His mind was quiet now.
He remembered everything—Earth, his death, his regrets.
But strangely, he didn't want to go back.
Not anymore.
His place was here now.
And for those he loved…
He would protect them with fire.
[System Update:Earth Memory Core – SynchronizedEmotion Core – Fully StabilizedNew Trait Acquired: Dual Nature(Light to protect, Darkness to destroy)]
[Unlimited Blade Works — Sync Progress: 22%]Johan has begun forging original swords based on his emotions.]