The wind howled over the snowy cliffs of Mount Seoraksan.
A small monastery stood at the edge of a jagged ridge, its stones worn by centuries. Lanterns flickered against the wind, casting trembling shadows along the wooden beams. Inside, silence reigned until the man in the inner chamber stirred.
Seonwu had not moved in for three days.
Kneeling in the lotus position, palms open, breath shallow, he had become part of the stillness. His long hair was streaked with grey, though his face remained untouched by time. Scars peeked from beneath his robes marks from battles long buried in history.
When his eyes finally opened, they were sharp, golden-brown, ancient.
A whisper stirred his mind.
"Hana."
He had not heard that name since the last war. The war where he had died and yet had not.
Seonwu rose.
He went to the edge of the cliff and gazed down at the valley below. The moon's reflection danced on the frozen river like memories.
"They've awakened the Oracle," he murmured.
Behind him, a younger monk approached, carrying an encrypted satellite phone. "Master, it's ringing again. The same frequency as before."
Seonwu took it.
A voice crackled through the static. "The tomb is gone. She's been found. It begins."
Seonwu said nothing.
Then calmly: "Where is she?"
The voice replied, "Seoul. But not for long."
The line cut...
Seoul – Underground Safehouse
Hana couldn't sleep.
She sat on the floor beside the bloodstained Oracle Dagger, still wrapped in cloth. The scroll lay open before her, the words glowing faintly even under dim light:
"The end will always remember the beginning."
Her mind kept drifting to the name she had spoken in the tomb Seonwu and the strange certainty it gave her.
Lucien entered, coffee in hand. "I know that look."
"I don't even know him," Hana said quietly. "And yet I do."
Lucien knelt beside her. "Then trust that feeling. Every time you've remembered something… it's been real."
She looked at him. "What if he's the only one who can unlock the rest?"
Lucien took a slow breath. "Then we find him before they do."
Elsewhere in Seoul – A Private Military Bunker
Shin Dae-hyun stood over a digital map of Korea, a red dot blinking in the mountains.
"He's on the move," one of his operatives confirmed. "After two decades of silence."
Shin turned to Minjun. "Send the Raven Unit. He must not meet her before we control the sequence."
Minjun raised an eyebrow. "You think she'll awaken fully once they reunite?"
Shin smiled thinly. "She already has. The dagger chose her. Now, it's only a matter of when the soul-lock completes."
Minjun's gaze flicked to the screen. "And Lucien?"
Shin's smile faded. "Kill him before he remembers too much."
Next Morning – Road to Gangwon Province
Lucien's car cut through mist-covered roads, winding higher into the mountain range. Hana sat beside him, a folder in her lap filled with decrypted Oracle files.
She pointed to a line. "According to this, Seonwu was last recorded near an abandoned Shilla fortress. No digital records after 2004. It's like he vanished."
Lucien glanced at her. "And yet you remembered him."
"I don't know why."
Lucien gripped the wheel tighter. "Because he's part of this. Just like me."
Hana looked over. "You've been having dreams, haven't you?"
Lucien didn't answer.
But his silence was enough.
"I've seen flashes," he admitted. "Of a palace. Of blood on snow. Of holding your hand… and losing it."
Hana's voice softened. "You were the masked man."
Lucien turned toward her, startled. "What?"
"In my visions," she said. "The man with the bone-carved mask… the one who protected me. That was you."
Lucien slowed the car. "But I didn't remember any of that until I met you."
"Neither did I."
He looked forward again. "Maybe this life isn't our first together."
Hana looked out the window. "But it might be our last."
High in the mountains -Hidden Monastery Gates
The car finally stopped at a remote trail. The snow was untouched, pristine.
Lucien opened the trunk, pulled out a duffel of weapons and survival gear. "Let's hope he's still here."
They walked in silence.
But they weren't alone.
From the trees, black figures tracked their movement stealth suits, infrared lenses, silenced rifles. The Raven Unit had arrived.
Just as Lucien and Hana stepped through the final clearing to the monastery, a single word crackled over a comms channel:
"Engage."
Gunfire shattered the silence.
Lucien yanked Hana to the ground. Bullets peppered the trees around them. He returned fire, sharp and efficient. "Move!"
They sprinted for cover.
But there were too many.
Three shadows flanked them from behind, weapons raised.
Suddenly,
A blur of motion.
One by one, the soldiers dropped, disarmed, disarmed, unconscious.
Standing among the fallen was a man in monk robes, long hair tied back, eyes glowing like embers in the twilight.
Seonwu.
Hana froze.
It was him.
Older. Stronger. But undeniably the man she saw in her visions.
He didn't smile. He simply said, "You shouldn't have come here. The past is waking."
Lucien lowered his weapon. "We need your help."
Seonwu studied him. "You were the one who bled for her. And bled again."
Then to Hana: "And you… have no idea what you've become."
She stepped forward, heart racing. "Do you?"
Seonwu paused.
Then nodded.
"I was there. When it all began."
FLASHBACK – 1,000 Years Ago
A hidden temple in the Joseon dynasty.
Princess No-eul sat beside a lake, painting. Seonwu approached silently, in the uniform of a royal guard.
"You should not linger here," he said.
She smiled. "If I always did what I should, I'd never have met you."
They stood close, their hands nearly touching. But in that lifetime, they never kissed. Never could.
"You will live beyond me," Seonwu had whispered once. "You were chosen by the stars."
"And what of you?" she'd asked.
"I'll wait. Even in death. I'll wait."
Back to present
Hana stared at him. "You were there."
Seonwu nodded. "I never reincarnated. I broke the cycle. To guard the world from waking what sleeps."
Lucien asked the question they both feared. "And now that she's awake?"
Seonwu's eyes darkened.
"They'll come for all of you. Because the war we died in… wasn't the end."
In a surveillance room below Seoul
Shin Dae-hyun stared at a screen showing the satellite image of the monastery.
A new red flare pulsed near its center.
Operative: "Sir, what's that spike?"
Shin narrowed his eyes. "The Soul Beacon just activated."
Operative: "Which means?"
Shin stepped closer, smile chilling.
"It means… all of them are together again."
He tapped a final command into the console.
And from deep within a vault below the city, something old… something chained… began to stir.