But another side Ryu's father is still alive
The city lights shimmered beneath Ryu, glowing like stars that had fallen and forgotten how to rise.
Wind tugged at his hair.
He stood on the ledge, overlooking the world he had nearly left behind—twice. Once in the dungeon and once in this hospital bed. But something inside refused to die. Not because he was unbreakable.
But because there was still someone left to kill.
Ryu closed his eyes and whispered into the dark:
"Where are you…?"
[System Alert: Suppressed Memory Fragment Unlocked]
[Trigger: Emotional convergence—Subject: Father]
[Initiating Memory Recollection]
Pain shot through his skull.
His knees buckled and he grabbed the railing for balance as images stormed into his head—memories that weren't his… or ones that had been buried so deep they no longer felt like they belonged.
A man is standing in the rain. Back turned. His coat was soaked. The sound of chains dragging.
A promise.
A lie.
"…I'll come back for you, Ryu."
Then silence.
His father's voice. Calm. Cold. Deceptively kind.
The memory shattered.
Ryu's breaths came sharp and ragged.
He didn't die.
All this time, Ryu had believed his father was dead—slaughtered by a dungeon beast when he was a child. That's what the guild told him. That's what the officials said when they handed his mother the dog tags.
But the voice in the memory was too clear.
He was alive.
And he left willingly.
[System Update: New Objective Unlocked – Trace Signature: "Subject 001 – Seraphim Operative: Daemon Verus"]
[Relation: Paternal Link—Confirmed]
"Daemon Verus…" Ryu whispered.
That was his father's real name.
Not the one on the fake gravestone. Not the one on the report.
Daemon Verus. A Seraphim-class operative.
Which meant one thing:
He worked for the gods.
He didn't know how long he stood there, fists clenched, heart shaking inside his ribcage like it wanted to break out. All this time, his rage had been directionless—a storm without a target. But now…
Now it had a face.
He looked up at the sky, and for the first time, there wasn't just fury in his eyes.
There was purpose.
"You knew."
"You threw me into that dungeon, didn't you?"
"You let Mom suffer alone."
"You left me to rot in chains and thought I'd never crawl back out."
Ryu's voice cracked, low and deadly:
"I'm coming for you, Daemon."
Elsewhere — A Celestial Bastion
High above mortal realms, beyond the veil of normal perception, a man dressed in layered silver-black armour knelt before a divine court. His features were sharp, cruelly handsome. His eyes were empty of remorse.
Daemon Verus.
"Your son has returned," one of the gods spoke, veiled in radiant smoke.
Daemon didn't flinch. "I expected he would."
"He bears the title Godkiller of Chains."
"I know."
"He remembers you."
A faint smile curved his lips. "He was always too stubborn to forget."
The gods murmured. One slammed a staff down.
"This is your failure, Daemon. He inherited your regeneration. Your mental fortitude. Your defiance."
Daemon looked up, eyes gleaming with something unreadable.
"And yet he chose his mother over us."
"Your bloodline is contaminated by human weakness."
"Or purified by it," Daemon replied, unfazed. "Either way, he's coming."
"And what will you do, traitor?"
He stood slowly.
"I'll test him."
Back on Earth—Two Days Later
Ryu sat beside his mother's hospital bed, the moonlight casting long shadows across the room.
He hadn't told her yet.
Not about Daemon.
Not about the dungeon's true purpose.
Not about what he had become.
She stirred faintly, still asleep from the sedatives. Her face was peaceful. It made Ryu's stomach twist—because peace and truth rarely lived in the same room.
A knock came.
Not on the door. On his mind.
[Spiritual Ping Detected—Incoming Message via Soul Mark]
Ryu allowed it.
The voice entered his mind like venom:
"So you survived. Good."
His blood went cold.
Daemon.
"I see the system's finally showing you the truth. I wondered how long you'd survive before it broke you."
Ryu snarled mentally, "You left us. You let me believe you died."
"I needed you to become strong. Not soft. Not safe. Power is born from abandonment."
"You put me in that dungeon."
"I gave you your freedom."
"I gave you the chains to break."
"Now I'll give you a chance to kill me. If you can."
The connection cut.
Ryu stood, shaking.
[New Quest Unlocked: Bloodline Annihilation]
Target: Daemon Verus—Seraphim Rank/Soul-Bound Operative
Mission: Locate. Confront. Decide.
Note: Killing your father may trigger irreversible transformation of Soul Attraction. Proceed with caution.
He stared at the quest details until the words blurred.
The gods. The dungeons. The bindings. It was all connected.
His father hadn't just abandoned him.
He had been building him. Moulding him into a weapon.
And now, he wanted a fight.
Ryu looked down at his palm, where faint energy pulsed from Soul Attraction. Inside, Miyuki's essence flickered softly, warm and sorrowful.
He clenched it into a fist.
"You built me to kill gods, Daemon?"
"Fine."
"But I'll tear you apart first."