The sun had barely risen, casting its weak rays over the Forgotten Plains, yet the air felt heavy, as though something had shifted overnight. Jin Mu-Won stood on the edge of the temple’s stone steps, staring out over the mist-covered valley below. The world felt different today—quieter, yet filled with unspoken tension.

  He hadn’t slept much since the woman had appeared. Her words had haunted him, a constant whisper at the back of his mind. The Void. A weapon. A force of nature capable of reshaping everything he knew.

  He didn’t want to believe it. But a part of him knew—he was already too far gone to turn back. That power inside him wasn’t something that could be ignored. It was something he had to control.

  But control… how?

  As Mu-Won’s thoughts drifted, a voice broke through the stillness. The blind master had emerged from the temple, his steps slow but purposeful.

  “Mu-Won,” the old man said, his voice calm but carrying an underlying weight. “You’ve been awake for hours. You know what must be done.”

  Mu-Won turned to face him. The old master’s sightless eyes were trained on him, as though he could see through the boy’s very soul. “What must be done?” Mu-Won asked, his voice guarded.

  “The Void cannot remain unchecked,” the master replied. “It will consume you if you don’t learn to wield it.”

  “I don’t want to wield it,” Mu-Won said, his tone more frustrated than he intended. “I don’t want to be some weapon.”

  The master’s expression softened, though his voice remained stern. “It’s not a matter of what you want. The power inside you will awaken regardless of your will. The question is whether you control it, or it controls you.”

  Mu-Won clenched his fists, his body tensing with frustration. “I’ve never asked for this. I’ve never wanted anything to do with the Silent Moon Sect, or its power.”

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  “Fate is not kind to those who run from their path,” the master said quietly. “But you can choose how to walk it.”

  Mu-Won stood there for a long moment, his thoughts swirling. The idea of embracing the Void felt alien, even wrong. But the more he considered it, the more he realized that he didn’t have the luxury of choice. The woman’s words echoed in his mind: Silence is the most dangerous weapon of all.

  “Then what should I do?” Mu-Won asked at last.

  The master nodded, as though he had been waiting for the question. “Come with me. There is someone you must meet.”

  The journey took them through winding paths, past broken temples and over streams that whispered of old secrets. They reached a secluded clearing, where a single figure stood, cloaked in a robe of deep crimson. The wind carried an unfamiliar scent—one of herbs and incense, sharp and invigorating.

  The figure turned, revealing a face that was both young and ancient, ageless in a way that sent a shiver down Mu-Won’s spine. Her eyes gleamed with an unsettling knowledge, and her presence exuded a quiet, almost oppressive strength.

  “Mu-Won,” the master said, his voice measured, “meet Lady Yin, the last keeper of the Void.”

  Mu-Won bowed slightly, though a sense of unease gnawed at him. “Lady Yin,” he said, keeping his voice steady.

  Lady Yin’s smile was small but knowing. “You’ve come far, Jin Mu-Won. Farther than most. But the path you tread is fraught with danger. There are things you must understand before you can learn to control the Void.”

  She gestured to the clearing around them. “This place… it was once a sanctuary. A place where the Silent Moon Sect’s greatest warriors trained in the arts of the Void. But those days are long gone. The Sect has been forgotten, its teachings lost.”

  Mu-Won looked around, sensing the weight of history in the air. “Then why are we here?”

  “Because you are the last hope,” Lady Yin said softly. “The Void was sealed long ago for a reason. It is a force of destruction, but it is also a force of creation. There are those who would use it for their own gain—who would see the world burn to claim its power.”

  Mu-Won’s chest tightened. “And I’m supposed to stop them?”

  She nodded. “Not just stop them. You are the key. You are the one who can either destroy or save this world.”

  Mu-Won felt the weight of her words settle on his shoulders. He didn’t want this responsibility. He didn’t want to carry the burden of an entire world on his back.

  But as he looked at Lady Yin, something within him stirred—a flicker of something deep, something primal. He had no choice but to follow this path, whether he was ready or not.

  “Then teach me,” he said quietly.

  Lady Yin’s smile deepened. “It’s not a matter of teaching you, Jin Mu-Won. It’s a matter of making you face what lies within yourself.”!1!