Beneath the gaze of the twin moons, a massive mountain pierced the sky. Beside it, a smaller peak rose, carved with layered stone plateaus. On one of these circular ledges, a lone figure hunched over, trembling — a pale, exhausted man whose right arm hung uselessly at his side.
It was Ji-Hoon.
The ghost of his conversation with Layla lingered in his mind, whispering impossible promises of strength. A spark of excitement had ignited in his chest, but now only cold ashes remained.
"How…? How do I get strong when I can barely survive?" he rasped.
He had nothing. No knowledge. No allies. Only Layla's voice echoing in his head and the lingering taste of raw fox meat. Dangerous ideas flickered like lightning, but he forced them down. This was only his first day, and fourteen more awaited.
Exhaustion finally claimed him as silver moonlight brushed his face.
His eyes closed.
Then, the heavens shifted.
The twin moons aligned perfectly — impossibly — and a wave of strange, blue radiance poured from them.
But the sky had more in store.
Thousands of stars drifted into alignment, forming a single, brilliant scar across the cosmos. A cascade of golden, blue, and violet light shimmered down, drenching the mountain peaks below. From above, it looked like chains of liquid brilliance, flowing past floating islands, washing over the jagged peaks in a divine torrent.
Where the light touched, the world awakened.
Trees shivered, erupting with fresh, emerald leaves. Grass sprouted from barren stone. The soil pulsed with veins of raw life-energy. Dead vegetation glimmered with faint inner fire.
And the beasts — the foxes, wolves, and creatures Ji-Hoon had slain — began to twitch.
Muscles knotted. Bones grated and snapped back into place. A torrent of life-energy surged through them. One by one, they stirred, a horrific mockery of resurrection.
A fox, its stomach torn open, pushed upright. A severed limb rolled across the ground and snapped back to its body, flesh bubbling and stitching itself seamlessly. This was not gentle healing. This was stubborn, violent resurrection.
---
Ji-Hoon's eyes snapped open on the plateau.
A pillar of light descended, consuming him entirely.
Before thought could form, his body was remade. Bones fused. Cuts vanished. Dried blood evaporated into mist. For a fleeting second, it felt like a miracle.
Then agony detonated in his gut.
A gaping hole tore through his abdomen. The half-digested fox meat was violently expelled, hurled into the trees below. Ji-Hoon fell to his knees, coughing blood, his senses narrowed to a single excruciating point of pain.
And then the light flared again.
Flesh wove itself back together, skin smoothing, organs restored. Within seconds, he was whole. His arm, his body — perfectly healed. Stained wolf fur clung to him, hair wild, body glowing like a spectral avenger on the hilltop.
Everything had happened too fast to comprehend. First bliss. Then pain. Then bliss again.
Breath hitched. Heart pounded. Exhaustion vanished, replaced by raw, electric adrenaline. He was lazy by nature, but now every instinct screamed: run, flee, escape.
He scrambled to his feet, eyes darting toward the forest for a route out.
And froze.
The resurrected beasts had gone still. As one, their heads turned. Dozens of glowing eyes fixed on him.
Their hunter.
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