The silence that followed Do-hyun's revelation was heavier than all the fighting he had fought. Ji-eun stared at him, his teenage face crossed by a kaleidoscope of emotions: disbelief, fear, anger, and a painful understanding that slowly set in, like ice water.
"Vampires?" she finally whispered, her voice small and fragile in the vast space of the base. "A system... in your head? And our parents... they weren't just soldiers? They created... that?"
She pointed with a vague gesture to the Blade of Light that Do-hyun had briefly made appear to illustrate her claims.
"Yes," confirmed Do-hyun, his throat tight. He had said almost everything. The secret war, the System, the true nature of their parents' death, the Heart of the Phoenix. Only the Guardian's words and the cosmic scale of the stakes had been watered down. She had enough to digest.
Ji-eun stood up and began to walk the room, his hands clasped on the arms of his school uniform. "All this time... all these lies... "They died as heroes for our country." "She chuckled, a sound without joy." It was more than that, huh? They died for... for that." She waved her hand back to the training space, the screens, Min-ho's equipment.
"They died to protect us, Ji-eun," Soo-ah quietly intervened. She had stood back, watching the exchange with restrained empathy." To protect everyone. Their work, their sacrifice... it was to give humanity a chance to defend itself against a threat that most people ignore."
"And they put it on my brother's shoulders!" cried Ji-eun, turning abruptly towards her, her eyes shining with tears repressed. Without telling me! I had a right to know! I had the right to... prepare!"
"Prepare for what?" asked Do-hyun, rising in turn. "To live in fear? To look at every shadow and wonder if it's a monster? To have nightmares every night? That's what I wanted to avoid!"
"And look where it's taken us!" she yelled. "There I am, in a secret warehouse, surrounded by vampire hunters, and my brother is a living target with a computer in his head! You think it's better? Do you think that not knowing anything protected me? I was just an ignorant prey, Do-hyun! A prey!"
His words hit Do-hyun in the chest. She was right. Her silence, dictated by love, had made her more vulnerable, not less so.
Min-ho, who had remained silent near the control screens, finally spoke, his neutral voice cutting like a blade. But it is counterproductive. You're here now. The question is no longer what should have been done, but what needs to be done now."
Ji-eun glanced at him. "Oh, who are you? His new bodyguard?"
"Min-ho," he said simply. "And I'm a pragmatist. Your presence here represents a security flaw. Your brother has chosen to reveal the truth to you. Now you have to make one too."
"What choice?" she asked suspiciously.
"Stay here, under our protection, and accept the rules. Or leave, and live with the knowledge you have, knowing that you are a direct link to Do-hyun, and therefore a potential target for his enemies."
Ji-eun's face blew. The reality of the threat, abstract until then, suddenly became very concrete.
"I... I can't leave," she whispered. "Now that I know... I could never live normally again. I'd be terrified all the time."
She looked at her brother, his expression of teenage rebellion melted down to give way to naked fear and deep weariness. But I won't sit in a corner and be afraid. Tell me what I can do."
Do-hyun felt his heart tighten. He didn't want that for her. He wanted her to study, to go out with her friends, to live. But Min-ho was right. The choice had been made. The only way to protect her now was to integrate her.
"You can help us by staying safe," said Do-hyun. "By monitoring communications, information flows. You're good with technology, aren't you?"
A small flash lit up in Ji-eun's eyes. "I can do that. I can monitor networks, rumors. If these... vampires... use the Internet in one way or another, maybe I can spot them."
Soo-ah nodded, looking like a smile on his face. "It's a start. We need all eyes and all ears."
Thus began the chaotic integration of Ji-eun into the nascent Order of the Phoenix. The following days were a mixture of accelerated formation, tension and adjustment. Ji-eun was smart and learned fast, but she was also emotionally unstable, moving from anger to tears and then to feverish determination.
She set up her own workstation, plugging her devices into Min-ho's secure network. She began scanning dark webs, paranormal forums, social networks looking for strange patterns, rumors of disappearances or inexplicable events that might be related to vampiric activity.
Meanwhile, the countdown to the full moon was advancing inexorably. The atmosphere in the base was electric. Gwanghui-dong station's sensors were sending out increasingly frequent alerts. The vampires were approaching, raking the upper levels with a method that betrayed serious intent.
Three days before the full moon, Ji-eun, leaning over his screen, suddenly raised his head, his face pale.
"Do-hyun. Come and see."
He approached. She had on her screen a grainy video stream, apparently from a pirate surveillance camera pointed at a secondary entrance to the station.
"Look," she said, scrolling through the video in slow motion.
They saw silhouettes moving with supernatural speed. Vampires, at least a dozen. But that wasn't what alarmed Ji-eun. In the center of the group stood an imposing figure, dressed in a long dark cape. Even in the low-quality video, the authority that emanated from him was distinguished. And from his belt hung a badge that Do-hyun recognized: a black sun rising on scarlet mountains. The emblem of the Council of Ancients of the Purple Dawn Clan.
"They don't just send soldiers," murmured Soo-ah, who had joined them. "They send one of their leaders."
[Visual analysis: Male vampire, esteemed level: 6.]
[RANGE: FORMER OF THE POURBE COUNCIL.]
[Dangerousness: Extreme.]
"They know," Min-ho concludes, arms crossed. "They may not know for the Heart, but they know that something important is hidden there. And they will do anything to get it."
The situation had just become catastrophic. A level 6 vampire, accompanied by a small army, was waiting for them - or would precede them - in the station.
"We can no longer wait for the window," said Do-hyun, a cold decision forming in him. "They will be in a strong position, installed, ready. We have to come in now. Before the full moon."
"It's a suicide," Min-ho objected. "The Heart will not be accessible. And we will be outnumbered and out of uncharted territory."
"Not if we use the element of surprise," Do-hyun retorted. "They expect us to come to the full moon. Not now. We can take them backwards, destabilize them. And even if we can't reach the Heart, we can stop them from taking it. Delay them."
Soo-ah was thinking, biting his lip. "It's bold. And very, very dangerous. But he may be right. To wait is to give them the initiative."
"What about me?" asked Ji-eun, his voice trembling.
All eyes turned to her.
"You stay here," said Do-hyun firmly, and who did not admit of a reply. "You are our link to the outside. You're monitoring communications. If something goes wrong..." He paused with his throat tight." ...you contact the emergency numbers Soo-ah gave you. And you disappear. Do you understand?"
Ji-eun's eyes fogged up, but she nodded, clenching her fists. But you... you come back. All of them. Promised?"
No one promised. They couldn't.
Preparations were quick and macabre. They checked their equipment, loaded the weapons, prepared the explosive diversionary charges. Min-ho drew up an infiltration plan through a forgotten ventilation duct that he had spotted during his first reconnaissance, which led directly to level -3, above the target area.
Do-hyun spent the last few hours training, pushing his body and mind beyond their limits. They were no longer simulations. It was for real. He would face the elite of the Purple Dawn Clan, without the power of the full moon to help him.
[SYSTEM IN MAXIMAL COMBAT MODE]
[ALL OPTIMIZED FUNCTIONS]
[ALERT]: PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS TO LIMITS. Imperative control.
As he equipped, Ji-eun approached him. She held in her hand a small, woven bracelet, of those that schoolgirls sometimes exchange.
"Here," she said, her voice strangled. "It's stupid, I know. But... wear it. For me."
Do-hyun took the bracelet, a simple red and white thread. A piece of normality, of innocence. He tied it around his wrist, over the sleeve of his fighting garment.
"I'll come back," he whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I promise you this time."
She nodded, unable to speak, and threw herself into his arms for a brief, feverish embrace.
A few minutes later, Do-hyun, Soo-ah and Min-ho stood in front of the secret exit of the base. They were dressed in dark combat gear, their faces concealed by hoods. The air was charged with palpable tension.
"The main objective: to wreak havoc, evaluate their strength, and, if possible, eliminate the Elder," Min-ho summarized, checking his dart gun. "Secondary objective: to survive."
Soo-ah slid the blade of his spear, a metallic rattling that sealed their fate.
Do-hyun inhaled deeply, feeling the energy of the System flowing through him, ready to be channeled. He looked at the red and white bracelet on his wrist.
"For Ji-eun," he whispered.
They rushed into the night, a team of three against an army, marching towards a battle they weren't sure they could win, but couldn't avoid. The fate of the Phoenix Heart, and perhaps much more, was about to be played out in the dark depths of Seoul, beneath the feet of a city oblivious to the peril that was rumbling beneath its foundations.
The final dance had just begun, and it would be set not to the peaceful rhythm of the moon, but to the brutal and unpredictable tempo of the war.