It was quiet in Jaemin's house. For some reason, the sky outside was cloudy, heavy with the promise of rain. Despite the Core of Tempest being in his control, it had taken a heavy toll on Seoul's weather. The city felt gloomy, weighed down by the storm hanging over it.
Jaemin grabbed his bag, making sure to pack his coffee and water. He walked to the center of the room and summoned his rift. It had been a while since he had been here.
The rift shimmered and took shape. It was a distorted version of Seoul, more specifically Gangnam, but twisted—like a reflection in a cracked mirror.
The Warden appeared beside him.
"You've learned how to summon your rift."
the Warden said calmly.
"Now, I'll teach you how to manipulate it. You can reshape its tiers, control the environment inside."
Jaemin nodded, listening carefully.
"The rift can have multiple tiers," "You can switch between them, but be warned—expanding the rift will attract stronger beings. Some might be more powerful than you."
"That's exactly what I want."
Jaemin said.
The Jaeminraised his hand, and the rift began to change. It folded and stretched, reshaping itself. Soon, a new rift appeared—dark and eerie. Shadows clung to the edges, and a cold silence hung in the air.
This place was filled with rewards and artifacts, and the potential to earn a fortune.
Jaemin stepped forward cautiously.
Suddenly, a roar shattered the silence.
From the shadows, a massive beast emerged. It was an Abyssal unlike any Jaemin had seen before. Covered in black scales that shimmered like oil, it had horns twisted like a ram's and eyes that glowed gold. Its wings, jagged and sharp, stretched wide. Its claws dug into the ground with each step, cracking the earth.
"Fenrirak."
the Warden said quietly.
"A powerful Abyssal beast, as strong as you. Facing it could be dangerous."
Jaemin stared at the beast, tension rising.
"This could be a problem."
The Warden warned.
Jaemin's eyes narrowed. He tightened his grip on his daggers.
Jaemin opened his palm. From it, a swirl of beautiful energy blossomed—violet flames licking the right side, cyan flames dancing on the left. The twin daggers, his Binary Stars, materialized with a faint hum, their edges gleaming with latent power. He inhaled deeply, feeling the familiar surge in his chest as his orange aura flared to life, pulsing beneath his skin like a warning signal.
Across the shadowed rift, Fenrirak was already charging—massive, relentless, a nightmare clawing toward him.
The beast's claws slashed through the air with brutal speed, faster than Jaemin's eyes could fully track.
SLASH!!
The first strike tore into his shoulder, sharp pain flaring up, burning through his adrenaline. It wasn't poisoned—thankfully—but the force left him staggering.
Refusing to give ground, Jaemin twisted on his heel and lunged, plunging one of his daggers deep into Fenrirak's scaled leg.
Dark, thick blood oozed from the wound. The beast bellowed, stumbling just enough to give Jaemin the space he needed.
He fell back, panting, voice low and bitter.
"Not a minute in and I'm already on the verge of losing a limb..."
His breath hitched.
"Damn it."
He steadied himself, planting his feet firmly on the cracked ground. A gust of wind swept through the rift, sudden and sharp, swirling around him like a living thing.
His aura shifted, glowing brighter—infused now with the fierce energy of divine wind, crackling with raw power. His orange eyes sparked with lightning as the Core of Tempest's fury coursed through him, even if he filtered its full force for now.
Fenrirak snarled, sensing the shift. It didn't hesitate.
Large chunks of debris tore loose from the shattered ground, hurled at Jaemin in a barrage of destruction as the beast surged forward relentlessly.
The voice of the Warden echoed inside Jaemin's mind—calm, clear, detached.
"Lord, the beast has entered a state called Overdrive. It's unleashing its full potential, but only for twenty minutes. Be cautious."
Jaemin smirked despite the pressure.
"As if being big and fast wasn't enough already."
He muttered, grit sharpening his tone.
Using the momentum, he sprinted forward, dodging rubble with precise, fluid movements. He leapt, twisting mid-air, and sent an 'X' arc. Thunder crackled along the blades, an electrified strike born of his Core of Tempest.
The Arc bit into Fenrirak's thick hide, sparks flying on impact.
But the beast barely staggered.
It didn't paralyze, didn't slow. The wound bled, but Fenrirak's monstrous bulk held steady—unyielding, fueled by Overdrive.
Jaemin landed, rolling to absorb the impact, already calculating his next move. This fight was going to test everything he had.
Jaemin ran, weaving between shattered pillars and collapsing rooftops, each breath sharp in his lungs. Debris rained down like a storm of stone, Fenrirak's rage turning the corrupted ruins of Gangnam into a battlefield. The beast gave him no space—none. Every second was a blur of dodging, evading, surviving.
"No opening… not even a sliver"
He thought, eyes narrowing as his boots skidded across cracked pavement.
He gritted his teeth, knowing he had to take a gamble.
With a burst of momentum, Jaemin launched himself toward the charging beast. His body twisted midair as both daggers plunged deep into Fenrirak's ribcage.
The thick flesh resisted, but the blades found purchase, tearing through muscle. A rumbling screech echoed across the battlefield.
Then came the pain.
The beast's jaws snapped shut around his arm, crushing down with horrifying force. White-hot agony tore through him. Flesh split, bones cracked—every nerve screamed.
"AGH—shit—!"
Jaemin howled, eyes wide with pain.
No... no no no—!
With a raw, guttural grunt, he summoned what strength remained. Divine wind roared to life, swirling around his broken arm in a spiral of violent pressure. The current burst outward in a concussive blast, wrenching Fenrirak's jaws open and hurling the beast back with a distorted snarl.
Jaemin hit the ground hard, rolling once before collapsing onto his side. Blood dripped from both arms—one crushed, the other torn.
He panted, chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. His body trembled. His vision blurred.
"Damn…"
He muttered, barely able to lift his head. The pain was deep. Bone-deep.
Then—movement.
From the shadows.
A hulking blur of gray and fury.
Fenrirak charged again—silent this time, a streak of hate and momentum. There was no roar. Just impact.
Its massive skull crashed into Jaemin's chest like a battering ram, and everything went white. His body slammed into the side of a collapsed tower, and the force was brutal enough to crack the foundation. Steel groaned. Stone split.
Then it all came crashing down.
The entire tower buckled and folded inward, burying Jaemin beneath tons of rubble.
Dust swallowed the sky. The ground trembled with the weight of impact.
Silence fell.
The only thing left standing in the cratered district of this warped, storm-lit Gangnam… was Fenrirak.
Breathing heavy. Watching. Waiting.
The silence shattered.
With a violent explosion of force, the rubble surrounding the collapsed tower burst outward, hurling debris like cannon fire in every direction.
A blinding cyclone of wind erupted at the epicenter, sending shattered stone and dust spiraling into the stormy sky.
From within the chaos—he stood.
Jaemin.
His body was battered, his arms bloodied and trembling, but his aura burned with fierce defiance. The Core of Tempest surged within him, channeling its essence through every breath, every wound, every muscle.
He exhaled sharply, wind funneling around him like a living storm.
His hands opened—Binary Stars summoned into his grip in a flash of violet and cyan light.
Without hesitation, Jaemin bolted forward. His form blurred into a streak of orange and white, wind bending to his speed.
STAB!
His daggers sank deep into Fenrirak's side, piercing the thick hide as arcs of electricity surged through the creature. Thunder screamed from the blades, dancing across the beast's massive body.
But it wasn't enough.
The paralysis didn't take. The creature staggered, but its limbs didn't falter.
"Tch—dammit."
Jaemin hissed, already leaping back before the tail could swing.
Landing in a crouch, he whirled and—recalled the daggers, their glowing forms spinning back into his grip like twin comets.
Then—he threw them.
The Binary Stars flew high into the air, slicing through the dark clouds above.
Jaemin's hands crackled.
Raising one arm to the sky, he summoned the storm.
A massive thunderbolt responded, spiraling into existence as he clenched his palm into a spear-like shape. The bolt twisted into form—charged, glowing, and wild—and with a sharp breath, he hurled it like a javelin.
It tore through the ground.
A scream of raw lightning.
The bolt directly into Fenrirak's shoulder.
The impact was catastrophic.
The ground cracked. The air boomed. And for the first time—
—the beast stilled.
Its body spasmed, limbs jerking as arcs of thunder paralyzed its massive frame. For just a breath, it couldn't move.
"Now!!"
Jaemin muttered, eyes glowing orange, wind howling around his feet.
He surged forward. A blur again. Straight for the kill.
But the second he closed in—
ROOOAAARRR!!!
The beast's head twisted, mouth gaping wide as it let out a furious, deafening roar. Its claw moved—faster than Jaemin could read, faster than his eyes could track.
SLASH!
Blood exploded across the air.
The massive claw tore across Jaemin's chest, ripping through the coat, through the flesh, into the muscle.
The force sent his body flying, spinning midair before crashing into the pavement with a sickening thud.
His breath caught in his throat. Pain rippled through every nerve in his chest. The world blurred again.
The paralysis had faded.
And Fenrirak… wasn't done yet.
Fenrirak roared.
No—howled.
Its voice pierced the sky like a war horn, echoing across the ruined landscape as the storm raged on. For a split second, everything stilled.
And above it all...
The moon shone.
Bright. White. Divine.
Jaemin's bloodied back rested against the crumbling wall. His breath was ragged, and his chest burned from the slash. He looked up, squinting through the chaos—and blinked.
A moon.
Hanging above the Rift like a god's eye.
A moon in the Rift?
Wasn't the sky fake?
"It is fake."
He thought.
"But… it's still a sky."
That's all that mattered.
And Fenrirak… fed on it.
The beast's body shimmered beneath the moonlight, wounds sealing, muscles bulging. Its gray aura turned silver, radiant, monstrous. The howl hadn't been one of rage.
It had been a declaration.
"The beast has entered another state."
The Warden's voice echoed in Jaemin's mind, sharp and cold.
"The Divine Blessing of the Moon. It is immortal… for the minutes that remain in Overdrive. So long as the moon shines."
Jaemin didn't respond right away.
He stood slowly. Cracking his neck. Letting the pain dig into him. The wind around his feet picked up like a restless spirit waiting to be unleashed.
And then he smiled.
A slow, twisted smirk—like something deep inside him had finally snapped.
"The moon, huh?"
His voice dropped an octave. His eye, glowing with orange lightning, narrowed into a cold slit of rage.
The wind around him surged.
Not a breeze.
Not a gust.
A storm.
The kind that could tear cities off maps.
Jaemin lifted one arm toward the sky. The energy in his aura writhed. His entire body screamed with pain—but he didn't care. He summoned the wrath of Tempest.
A cyclone roared into existence above the Rift, twisting and snapping into the sky like a spear hurled by the gods. It climbed high—and devoured the moon.
Clouds churned. Thunder cracked. The divine light vanished.
No light.
No blessing.
No more immortality.
Overdrive shattered like glass.
Fenrirak's body seized as the silver glow fizzled into nothing. The regeneration stopped. The shimmer in its skin vanished. The beast stumbled back, confused, snarling.
It had been blessed.
Now, it was exposed.
Just flesh and fury.
And Jaemin—he walked forward, step by step, eyes locked, his face half-lit by flickering orange lightning. His aura wasn't gentle anymore. It raged.
His daggers flickered into his hands—Binary Stars. Violet and cyan, whispering death.
"Why should you have all the fun?"
He muttered it like a killer, his voice low and full of venom.
In that moment, Jaemin was no longer prey.
No longer the trainee.
No longer the outcast.
He was the storm.
And Fenrirak... was just another pawn that thought being stronger meant it could rule over everything.
Jaemin had always been soft.
He had always held back.
But he never showed mercy to monsters—or to people who acted like them.
And now?
Now he wasn't fighting to survive.
He was hunting.