The sky was dim, painted with fading hues of twilight as Jin stood at the cliffside near his mansion, his long white hair flowing in the wind, crimson eyes calm yet reflective. Steve stood beside him—no longer the timid boy he had once saved, but a determined young man whose gaze mirrored purpose.
Jin handed over a scroll and a small medallion, its center engraved with the insignia of a crescent moon bleeding crimson light.
"This," Jin said softly, "is the deed to everything I own in this world. The house, the lands, the relics in the vault beneath the hill—all of it now belongs to you."
Steve's hands trembled as he accepted the scroll. "Master… Why are you giving me this? What's happening?"
Jin smiled gently. "Because your training is complete, and because my time here is drawing to an end. But more than that…" He stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Steve's shoulder. "From this day on, you bear my name. You are Steve Luneblood. My legacy in this realm."
Steve's eyes widened. "Luneblood… your surname?"
"Yes," Jin said. "In my homeland, that name once shook the very heavens. You may carry it however you wish. Forge a new meaning from it."
Steve could feel the weight—not just of responsibility, but of love, pride, and a strange sorrow—as if a father was bidding farewell to a son.
But just as the wind fell silent, Jin's eyes clouded with thought.
[Flashback - Ashes of the Forbidden Flame]
The training fields echoed with the clash of fists and the shimmer of mana. Jin circled Steve slowly, watching his student's every movement with precision. Steve lunged forward, channeling both martial technique and raw will—movements sharp and honed.
Jin nodded. "Not bad. You've mastered the Fifth Form of Lunar Flow."
"What's next?" Steve asked, sweat dripping down his face.
Jin looked to the mountains in the distance. "Magics. But not as you know them. In my cosmology, energies have different names—but they all come from the same root."
He held up a hand. Golden light sparked from his palm, then twisted into a darkened flame.
"Light or Darkness—Mana Essence. Pressure or Bloodlust—Mana Pressure. And what you call divine or demonic energy… in truth, they are Godhood Mana."
Steve watched in awe. "So… can I learn that too?"
"Someday," Jin said. "But your heart must be ready."
Just then, a distant tremor shook the earth. Jin's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"
Miles away, in a hidden underground facility beneath the sleeping city, a group of rogue scientists stood around a circle carved with ancient runes. The air was dense with sulfur and dread.
"This world… so stagnant," one muttered, eyes twitching.
"Progress is slow because we obey the natural laws," another hissed. "But what if we summoned something beyond?"
They placed a broken relic at the circle's center—something taken from an ancient ruin Jin had once explored.
"We have traced the pattern," muttered a tall man in a tattered lab coat. "The veil between realms is thinner here."
"This world has no gods to protect it," another said with a feverish grin. "If we succeed—"
"No when we succeed—we will bring forth the Lord of Fire and Shadow. The pact has been signed in blood."
A trembling assistant hesitated. "But… shouldn't we—shouldn't we stop?"
The lead scientist glared at him. "You don't stop salvation. The world has forgotten fear. Let us remind them."
One of them began chanting in an eldritch tongue:
"By the flame unquenched, by blood unboiled—arise, O ancient terror, the heir of fire and plague. Lord Amon."
Then__
The air split with a violent shriek. The ground shattered. From the smoke emerged a creature of molten skin and infernal eyes.
"Who… dares summon me?" the Amon hissed.
The lead scientist laughed madly. "We offer this city as tribute. Grant us knowledge and power beyond this realm!"
The demon's grin widened. "So be it."
Moments later, fire exploded through the city—black, suffocating flames that would not extinguish. Screams echoed, buildings crumbled, and the night turned to burning day.
Jin and Steve rushed toward the chaos. At the edge of their mansion, Jin turned to Velka.
Steve clutched his head as a pulse of mana surged through him. "Master… something's wrong."
Jin felt it too. His eyes narrowed. The sky darkened unnaturally, flames roaring far in the distance.
Velka stepped outside, her face pale. "Jin… the city…"
Jin immediately held her shoulders. "Stay here. I'll cast a barrier around the house. No matter what happens, you stay safe."
Velka tried to argue. "Jin—"
"I'll return," he promised.
He kissed her forehead and vanished with Steve.
Jin and Steve arrived to a nightmare. The city was gone—engulfed in crimson flame. The scent of blood and ash thickened the air. Bodies lay across streets. Jin's teeth clenched.
"Steve, stay close!" Jin commanded.
They ran to rescue the few who still cried for help, but most were already gone. Then, without warning, the ground tore open—and the demon emerged.
Its form had grown—twenty feet tall, burning wings spread wide, molten cracks running across its flesh like veins.
Steve froze. "W-what is that?"
Jin's eyes turned bright red, power surging.
"Something from the underlayers of forgotten hells."
The Amon roared. "You. You're not of this world."
Jin stepped forward. "And you shouldn't exist in this one."
The clash was earth-shattering.
The Amon's claws slashed through buildings, but Jin dodged, striking with powerful sigil-infused fists. But when the Amon grew wings of flame and conjured a blast of black fire, Jin knew he couldn't hold back.
He whispered, "Forgive me for breaking this peace."
Amon laughed. "Your mortal form is weak."
"Then let me remind you…" Jin raised his hand.
His body erupted in divine flame. Scales shimmered across his skin. Horns curved back from his head. His limbs reshaped.
In a breath, he became a massive dragon, glowing with celestial wrath.
Steve watched from afar, eyes wide with awe and terror.
"...So this is Jin's true form…"
The Amon roared. Jin roared louder.
"BIRTH OF DESTRUCTION!"
A column of pure energy burst from the dragon's maw, engulfing the demon. The city trembled. Amon let out one last scream before vanishing.
When the light faded, Jin stood in human form once more, shoulders heaving. He looked around—charred ground, silence, no signs of life. Steve approached slowly.
"Master…"
Jin looked up, eyes shadowed with sorrow. "We were too late."
Steve said nothing. He placed a hand on Jin's arm. "You still saved me. You saved this world from something worse."
Jin forced a small nod. "Let's go home."
[Back to Present - Rnd of Flashback]
Jin stood silently beside the lake. Velka appeared from the house. Her eyes welled with tears when she saw Steve.
"Steve…" she whispered.
He looked up. "Velka…"
Without warning, Velka Walked forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"You are like our own son," she said, her voice breaking. "You've grown so much. I'm so proud of you."
Steve couldn't hold back anymore. He cried. For the first time in his life, it wasn't from pain… but from love.
Jin walked over and laid a hand on Steve's shoulder.
"My legacy in this world is safe."
Velka whispered to Steve, "You'll always have a home… even when we're gone."
They watched the lake together—no gods, no battles—just three souls bound by a strange fate, carved from war, reborn through peace.
Then, Jin and Velka turned toward the rift forming in the sky—a silent invitation from home.