The sorcerer slowly rose from his seat.As his fingertips brushed the air,the candles in the room flickered gently.
"You're going to ask my name, aren't you?"
He spoke calmly, eyes slowly sweeping across Damian and Ian—as if he already knew them.
But before either could answer, he spoke for himself.
"My name is Léan."
Ian raised an eyebrow."Giving your name away so easily... We must be quite the curiosity."
Léan chuckled faintly."That's one way to see it. Most who come to me fall into two categories—those who want to know the future,and those who want to change their fate."
Damian stood silent.He could already guess why Léan was intrigued.As a seer of destinies,a person whose fate he couldn't see would naturally capture his attention.
And with that interest came suspicion—and a thirst to understand.
Léan turned his gaze to Ian."Let's start with you."
Ian's Past
Ian remained more composed than expected.As if hearing about her own past was only natural.
"You were born unseen."
Ian smiled faintly."Not a bad trait for a thief."
"But what you truly wanted to hide wasn't yourself—it was the name of your past, etched into you."
At that, Ian's hand hesitated.Her expression wavered.
"…So you know."
"Your past hasn't vanished.""It will catch up to you one day."
Ian took a slow breath.But she asked no further questions.Nor did Léan offer more.
He already knew—that burden was hers alone to carry.
Damian's Past
Then, his gaze shifted to Damian.
"…And you."
Léan's eyes deepened.He raised his hand, drawing it through the air,sending faint ripples into the space around them.
"You are someone who should not exist."
Damian stared at him, expressionless.
"I tried to look into your past…But something—or rather, several layers—are concealing it."
Léan moved his hand again.As if turning pages in a vast, invisible library,he seemed to peel through the air itself.
But then—Crack!
Space trembled.
For the first time, Léan's face showed true confusion.
What he had tried to uncover—Damian's past—was misaligned, like pieces of a shattered puzzle.
"…This is…"
His eyes shook,and the words that left his mouth struck Damian with eerie clarity.
"This… is an error."
Suddenly, all the candles in the room extinguished at once.
Damian said nothing, simply watching Léan.His gaze was a mix of certainty—and unanswered questions.
Léan slowly stood again, visibly shaken,his face pensive with thoughts spiraling in silence.
Then—
He reached out his hand.The door opened.
To those waiting outside, he gave a clear order.
"All of you. Out."
Ian reacted, surprised."What?"
Léan repeated himself—this time, with firm resolve.
"Out."
As if only they—and no one else—were allowed in this space.
Left alone in the dim silence,Damian and Léan stood in the void between certainty and anomaly.
With a sigh, Léan muttered under his breath—
"…I didn't see this coming."
"What… are you, really?"
And in that room,there was only one person who might answer that question.
***
Part 2: I Am… All of Them
Silence filled the room.After the door closed and the candles were extinguished,only stillness remained in the space.
"…What are you?"
Léan's voice was different this time.It carried not just curiosity,but the confusion of one facing something beyond comprehension.
Damian gave no answer.Or rather—he couldn't.
Who was he?Lee Hyeon-do? Seung-chan? Damian?
None of them?Or all of them?
Every time he tried to recall his past,the memories were not a single, seamless thread.
Sometimes, the clearest memories came from the Murim.Sometimes, the feel of mastering the Samjae Sword Form was most vivid.At times, the sensation of magic coursing naturally through his body felt truer than anything.
Everything overlapped, twisted,and collided within a single being.
Silence.
Léan continued to gaze at Damian,understanding that the silence wasn't just reluctance.It wasn't hesitation—it was a fracture in identity itself.
In this world,there are countless people, countless destinies.But rarely is there one who does not know who they are.
For the first time, Léan felt something like fear.The realization that a fate he could not read—a person whose very existence defied definition—was standing before him.
"…You truly cannot answer."
Léan leaned back slightly as he spoke.
Damian stared at his own hand.By all appearances, it was the hand of the Damian who had lived in this world.But in his fingertips remained the muscle memory of wielding a sword in the Murim.
"…I am…"
His voice was quiet.Even such a simple declaration felt impossibly heavy.
Who was he?
He had awoken in this world as "Damian."But he had also once lived as "Seung-chan," sword in hand.And within him was still buried the name "Lee Hyeon-do."
His past and present were tangled together.As if disjointed data had been forcibly overlaid onto one being.
That uncomfortable sensation he had long ignored—if he were to accept it now, then—
Damian closed his eyes.Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
"…I am all of them."
Léan's eyes flickered for a moment.But he said nothing.
Damian repeated the words to himself silently.I am all of them.
It wasn't the answer he had expected to give.But once spoken,he knew it was the only one that made sense.
He was not a single identity—he was an overlapping existence.Within one body, countless memories intertwined.Not by choice,but because the world had shaped him this way.
Léan exhaled slowly.
Then, raising his hand again to part the air,he looked once more at Damian.
"If you are all of them…then where does your fate lead?"
That, now, was a question only Damian could answer.
**
Part 2: An Unexpected Intervention
1. Damian and Ian leave without persuasion
Léan had ultimately refused to join their party.With no progress made, Damian and Ian left the research facility in silence.
Ian sighed as they walked.
"That guy's not going to be easy."
Damian didn't respond.He was never good at persuasion—not in the Murim, not in this world.Strength, in the end, had always defined relationships.
But this time, the situation was different.
Ian smirked bitterly."Well, it's not the end of the world. Maybe we'll find another way."
Still, Damian had a nagging feeling that they couldn't afford to leave Léan behind.Something in his instincts warned him—this world was not as simple as it appeared.
And then—
A heavy pressure stirred the air from afar.
Damian's head turned instinctively.Ian stopped as well, sensing the shift.
"…That's…"
2. The Wizard Guild appears before the lab
Men in long cloaks were entering the research building one by one.On their garments gleamed the unmistakable crest of the Wizard Guild.
Ian muttered under her breath.
"…They're finally here."
Damian glanced at her.
"What do you mean?"
She nodded toward the building.
"It's no secret the Wizard Guild doesn't like that guy.They used to just keep him under surveillance.But walking in like that? That's new."
"They see him as a threat."
Ian nodded grimly.
"Think about it. Wizards study magic through discipline and theory.But Léan… he is magic.He's a Sorcerer—someone who manipulates the flow of mana intuitively.It's not about power. It's about how fundamentally different he is."
Damian turned his gaze back to the lab.The wizards were already disappearing inside.
He had no intention of getting involved.But then—
3. A clash born of misunderstanding
As Ian moved past the lab's entrance,one of the guild wizards spotted her—and jumped to a conclusion.
"You there. Are you in league with Léan?"
Ian furrowed her brow."What?"
"You approached him before us. You're colluding."
The Wizard Guild, already debating how to coerce Léan,saw Damian and Ian's prior visit as suspicious—as if they were accomplices.
"You'll both come with us for questioning."
Ian clicked her tongue."Tch. I was just passing by."
But the wizards had already made up their minds.They moved in—ready to restrain both Ian and Léan.
And then—
Damian stepped forward.
"Are you abducting people now?"
The wizards turned sharply."This doesn't concern you."
Damian unsheathed his sword slowly."But your tone does."
In that moment—the wizards attacked.And Damian, blade in hand, met them head-on.
4. Léan's realization — fate has changed
From inside the lab,Léan witnessed it all.
This fight was never supposed to happen.
"…This isn't the path fate intended.""…Something's twisted."
Originally, he was meant to argue with the guild—then be forced to abandon the lab.
But with Damian's intervention,everything had shifted.
Watching the clash unfold,Léan realized something profound.
"In the future I saw…this fight never happened."
Still mid-battle, Damian called out:
"So what?"
Léan whispered to himself.
"But now, because of you… everything's changed."
5. After the battle — Léan's resolve
As the guild wizards either fell or retreated,Léan quietly approached Damian.
"In the future I saw… you didn't exist."
Damian answered flatly."So?"
But this time, Léan's voice carried certainty.
"Because of you, the future has changed."
He now understood—a new future lay ahead, one he could no longer predict.
For the first time,the man who saw fate chose to walk into it.
"I'm not following you."
Damian looked at him."Then what?"
Léan slowly clenched his hand.
"I want to watch what you do to fate."
And so, the one who had only observed patternschose to walk beside the one who broke them.
But—what none of them knew was this:
From the moment they left,other eyes began to watch them from the shadows.