Jin-Woo smirked. "So… no more amnesia. And your memory's fine?"
Daybit nodded once. "Correct. "Now. Teach me how to be a Sith… and how to use Force Storm."."
Kadoc's head whipped around. "What?"
Ophelia and Hinako gasped in perfect stereo. "EHHHHHHHHHHH?!"
Kirschtaria took a full step forward, eyes narrowed. "You want to be… a villain now?"
Pepe clutched his chest dramatically and nearly fainted. "Daybit has a screw loose! No, several screws. Daybit, darling, this isn't how you get a glow-up!"
Daybit simply looked at Jin-Woo. "I've seen enough light. It's time I learn the dark."
Jin-Woo's expression didn't change. His voice was casual, but the weight behind it felt like a planet on the edge of collapse.
"…Do you want privacy for this conversation?"
Jin-woo asked calmly, eyes narrowed . "Or do we do it now, so everyone knows?"
Daybit didn't hesitate. His gaze burned cold.
"Let me clarify, I'm the one who forced Marisbury to die."
The calm atmosphere cracked. The Crypters froze—every one of them. Shock rolled through the group .
Pepe, voice barely above a whisper, stammered, "…Why?"
Daybit's tone didn't shift. "CHALDEAS was a failure. A ticking bomb masquerading as salvation. It would've made humanity worse. Hollow. Controlled. Marisbury was no leader—he was obsessed with results, not truth. That 'Sirius Light' command spell he embedded in each of us… it's a bomb."
Ophelia's eyes widened. Hinako's mouth parted slightly. Even Kadoc , poker face , looked shaken.
Jin-Woo raised a hand, silencing the reactions with a flick of his fingers.
"Let's skip the details," he said. "I already knew."
He stared at Daybit with the kind of look that didn't need words to express: I've been watching you for a long time.
"But just to get this straight—you're really planning to use Force Storm to blow Earth into a hole, right? Even though Offensive Bias already hacked CHALDEAS, blackmailed the Alien God, and secured your crypters Lostbelt's survival for now?"
"You're still going to go nuclear? Like… summon ORT and make it look subtle?"
Daybit answered without even blinking. "Do I need to answer, although you already know the answer?"
Jin-Woo exhaled and nodded once. "Alright then. Caedus path, it is."
"WOW wow wow—hey—heyyy!" Pepe suddenly shouted, both hands raised, sheer panic turning his voice theatrical. "Daybit! You're going to kill everyone! That's not fashion-forward, that's apocalyptic!"
Daybit still didn't turn to him. "I have my own job. I hope it won't resort to that," he said flatly, "but if it does… I'll follow through."
Then he turned to Jin-Woo again. "You can remove the Sirius Light command spell from us, can't you?"
Jin-Woo nodded slowly. "Technically, yes."
But then his tone shifted—colder, calculating. "But I don't want to. Not yet. I want it. As a booster. If needed, I'll remove it. If not, I'll keep it tethered—to myself."
His gaze fell back on Daybit. "And you… You sure you're willing to give that up? You realize you just lost one of your most valuable assets. That spell is the only reason the Alien God hasn't scrapped your soul yet. The moment it's gone, to them… you're nothing. Just a sack of meat."
Daybit didn't flinch. . "Then I'll forge Force potential that is alien to them all. To the Alien God… to Proper Human History… to even my own world's Lostbelts."
"I bet the Alien God never even held a lightsaber—much less felt the Force. They're not prepared for this. And as for Force Storm…"
"You said it could destroy a planet's core, right?"
Jin-Woo gave a small shrug. "Surface-level. Not the cartoon-level explosion you're imagining. If you actually want to reduce a planet to dust—to turn it into a debris field with no name left on any star map?"
"You'd need a superweapon. Something like the Death Star. Not that you'd know what that is. Though…"
"I've got something close enough in my inventory. But I'm not sharing."
Daybit chuckled without joy. "I don't need a Death Star. I just need enough potential to rival an anti-world or anti-planet Noble Phantasm. That alone will make every faction in my world—every surviving institution—treat me like I'm priceless."
"They'll treat me like a trump card. One they're too afraid to use… but can never afford to lose."
Jin-Woo didn't reply. He turned instead toward the Lostbelt Kings, expression unreadable. The shadows behind him rippled like silent waves, and the Force still stirred faintly in his presence. Without needing to say a word, they understood—he was preparing to offer them the same thing.
Midichlorians. But before he could raise his hand—
Skadi spoke, her breath curling in the black-tinged air. "I think… Ophelia and her comrades are more worthy than any of us."
Ivan the Terrible, arms folded and massive as ever, gave a grunt and a slow nod. "Agreed. We are the old guard. What we've done, we've done. Our hands are soaked, our reigns are ending. Let the future burn its own trail."
Kukulcan, still lazily flicking strands of glowing bioluminescence from her fingertips, tilted her head toward Daybit with a half-laugh and a teasing grin.
"Still didn't expect our guy to go full genocidal evil arc ."
Jin-Woo raised one brow, expression flat. "He's not summoning ORT. If that's what you're worried about... that's probably Option C for Daybit."
The words weren't exactly comforting. Around the field, an uneasy silence spread through the gathered Crypters and their servants. Even those familiar with Daybit's cold detachment felt it now—raw and unfiltered. What stood before them wasn't just a man returning from memory loss. It was a force of calculation. A man more dangerous than even Beryl Gut, who'd been left behind in the Indian Lostbelt with the grim reputation of being the most unstable among them.
Scandinavia Peperoncino, ever the mood stabilizer, clapped his hands together and broke the tension with a dazzling smile. "Jin-Woo, darling, would you be a sweetheart and teach us how to use the Force? Properly, I mean. Teacher mode~?"
Hinako's eye twitched. "Peperoncino, this is not the time to flirt—"
Ophelia gently leaned over, whispering calmly into Hinako's ear.
"Let it go. Right now, Daybit's already ahead of us by at least ten thousand points. His midichlorian count's 19,000—and he did that on his own. We can't catch up in raw numbers. So we'll beat him with skill."
Hinako's jaw clenched… but slowly, she exhaled. "But I still don't like him."
Daybit stepped away from the group, creating some distance between himself, Tezcatlipoca, and Kukulcan. The air around him quieted, and with a single breath, he lowered himself into a perfect meditation pose—calm, focused.
"I'll wait, then," Daybit said flatly, eyes closed. "While you train my comrades, Jin-Woo."
Tezcatlipoca glanced sideways at him, scratching his head with a bemused grin. "Master, you're starting to sound like Yoda now. Should I be worried you'll start talking backward?"
Daybit didn't answer.
Meanwhile, back at Jin-Woo's position,
The Shadow Monarch crossed his arms and looked at the assembled Crypters with zero enthusiasm.
"Alright. Beginner training," he said. "For idiots. And failures."
Ophelia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Jin-Woo, that's word is very mocking."
"It's accurate," Jin-Woo replied, deadpan. "You failed. Betrayed by Lev. Got iced in a space coffin. Crypters. Frozen rejects until the Alien God thawed you out."
Kirschtaria raised one hand like a student about to be scolded. ". But we're not dead anymore. So, Master Jin-Woo, please share your wisdom."
Jin-Woo gave him a long stare. "I hate you."
Peperoncino and Hinako both smiled at that, quietly amused.
He really hates being praised, they thought in sync.
Jin-Woo folded his arms and paced a slow circle around the group, his voice calm—but iron beneath the surface.
"Before we begin," he said, "let's get one thing clear." He stopped. Looked them over one by one.
"I'm not like those Jedi. Not the ones Offensive Bias briefed you on. I don't preach peace, serenity, or any of that balance crap just to sound holy."
"If you want to use the dark side—fine. You'll be cursed. That's just part of the package. But it has its benefits. Power doesn't come free."
Peperoncino raised his hand like he was asking for permission in a classroom. "Wait, wait. Isn't the dark side… like, evil?"
Jin-Woo's reply came instantly. "My power came from darkness."
He turned fully to Pepe. "Do you think I'm evil?"
Jin-Woo tilted his head, deadpan. "Although... I am more sane than Daybit right now. So maybe that's not saying much."
That drew a small laugh from Ophelia, and even Hinako cracked a faint smirk.
"Look," Jin-Woo continued, "get rid of those childish ideas in your heads. There's a way to wield the dark side without drowning in it. You don't have to use rage, but rage is the easiest trigger."
"But if you can find another way—grief, obsession, survival instinct—anything rooted in your truth, it'll work."
"Light and dark are tools. The Force doesn't care about your feelings. It just answers strength."
Jin-Woo let the silence hang for a moment before stepping forward and dragging his hand across the air like slicing through invisible air .
"Now… the beginner lesson. Phase One: Control."
"You don't lift a ship first. You don't throw lightning. You don't scream and crush boulders like some Saturday morning cartoon."
"You learn how not to break a cup. That's where it starts."
Jin-woo knelt slowly, placing his hand palm-down on the ground.
"You calm yourself. You feel the current. You listen—not with your ears, but with whatever part of you is still honest."
Hinako groaned softly. "So… we meditate again."
Pepe raised a hand with a dramatic sigh. "Well, at least we still have our Force 101 guidebook."
"You don't," Jin-Woo replied dryly.
One by one, the Crypters fell into position beneath the strange, twilight hue of Shadow Tython's sky. A surreal calm coated the ruined plains—windless, cold, but humming with energy. Ophelia sat upright, eyes half-lidded. Kirschtaria remained still, as if molded from marble.
Kadoc, however, looked like a kid trying too hard. He squinted into the void in front of him, hand outstretched slowly, fingers twitching like he was grasping the air . as he close his eyes .
Jin-Woo squinted at the gesture, unimpressed. He rolled his eyes with a tired sigh and subtly motioned to Anastasia with two fingers.
Anastasia tilted her head, puzzled. She looked at Jin-Woo, then followed the direction of his hand—and the faintest smirk twitched across her lips.
Jin-Woo plucked a long, dark-silver leaf from the Tythonian grass nearby and held it out toward her silently.
Anastasia took it. Her face remained serene. She walked up beside Kadoc, still utterly still in his forced 'Force' pose , she use the leaf to tickle kadoc tip finger .
"I feel it…" Kadoc whispered, eyes shut with conviction. "There's something in my hand."
Jin-Woo crossed his arms. "Really? Wow. That must be the Force. You're clearly gifted."
Peperoncino stifled a laugh. Ophelia raised a brow. Kirschtaria didn't even open his eyes.
Kadoc beamed slightly, just for a moment. "I never thought I'd actually—"
Anastasia, with calm, surgical precision, slapped Kadoc's extended hand with the long leaf. THWACK.
"OW—! Anastasia?!" Kadoc recoiled, shaking his hand,. "That hurt!"
Jin-Woo didn't even flinch. His tone stayed flat. "Reach out a bit more… with your feelings, not your forehead."
Anastasia rolled her eyes with the grace of someone used to this, then gently pressed Kadoc's hand against the dark, humming soil of Shadow Tython. The surface shimmered faintly where his palm touched it, .
Kadoc blinked, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes again.