That night, Ji-hyeon found it difficult to sleep.
The silence of the house was too loud. The whispers in his head—memories not his, voices he had never heard—kept pulling him deeper into confusion.
His body was young. But something old, something buried, stirred inside him.
He stared at the ceiling.
> A Seeker? Runic stones? The truth of the world?
Areum's words echoed.
He had lived his whole life thinking he was just the poor son of a sick mother. Someone with sharp eyes and a love for books. Nothing more.
But now… that seemed like a cover. A small shell barely holding back something far greater.
---
The next day, Ji-hyeon returned to the forest. He wasn't sure what he was expecting—but Areum wasn't there yet.
Instead, he knelt beside the stone himself.
When he placed his hand on it, the runes lit up again—faint, like a whisper, but clear.
And this time, something responded.
A pulse.
From deep beneath the earth, something answered.
The light grew, not just on the stone—but around him.
Then, he heard it.
A voice. Ancient. Calm. Familiar.
> "Welcome back… My King."
Ji-hyeon yanked his hand away, heart racing.
> What was that?
His breathing grew heavier.
Suddenly, the clearing felt darker. The air—thicker.
A soft wind rustled the leaves behind him.
"Looks like it's already begun," said a voice.
Areum had arrived.
She stepped into the clearing, her eyes flicking to the glowing stone. "You heard it, didn't you?"
Ji-hyeon nodded slowly.
Areum knelt. "Then we don't have much time."
---
> "Much time for what?"
Areum didn't answer right away. She stared at the stone for a long while before whispering:
"Every time a soul as powerful as yours is reborn… the world shifts. Something ancient stirs in response."
Ji-hyeon's hands trembled.
He didn't fully understand—but his heart did.
Something was coming.
And he was at the center of it.