Joon-won’s breath was ragged. His pulse thundered in his ears as the golden glow from the statue of Seoha pulsed through the chamber. The dust from the broken stone swirled around them, illuminated by the eerie light.
Min-jae had his sword raised, muscles tense, ready for another fight. Haneul stood still; eyes locked onto the figure before them.
And Joon-won…
He couldn’t move.
The weight of her gaze held him in pce. It wasn’t just that she was looking at him; it was that she knew him.
But that was impossible.
She was a queen of a civilization long lost to time. A name carved into stone, a relic of history.
And yet, in this moment, standing before him, she felt more real than anything else.
Joon-won swallowed hard. “Who are you?”
The words left his lips in a breathless whisper.
The golden light flickered, shifting around her form. Her body was still encased in remnants of stone, her figure blurred between what was once a statue and something… more.
Her lips parted. And this time, when she spoke, her voice wasn’t just an echo.
“…I remember you.”
A chill ran down his spine.
Min-jae stiffened. “Joon-won…?”
He didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know what she meant.
She remembered him? That wasn’t possible. He had never been here before. This was his first time stepping into these ruins, into this forgotten world.
So why—
Why did it feel like some part of him recognized her too?
Seoha took a slow step forward, the stone that encased her body cracking, falling away in small fragments. Each movement was careful, hesitant, as if she were testing the limits of her own existence.
“I… waited,” she murmured. Her eyes, golden like the energy that ran through the ruins, flickered with something he couldn’t pce. “I waited for so long.”
Joon-won’s throat tightened.
The way she looked at him—
It was as if she had been waiting for him.
But that wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible.
His mind raced, grasping for logic, for reasoning. He must have triggered something in the ruins. The energy in this pce had responded to his voice, to the name carved into the stone. That was all this was; a reaction.
And yet…
He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more.
“Who are you waiting for?” Joon-won asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
She didn’t answer right away. Her gaze didn’t waver, but there was hesitation in her eyes, as if she were searching for the right words.
Then, she finally spoke.
“…You.”
The air stilled.
Joon-won felt his heartbeat thunder against his ribs.
This time, Min-jae reacted. “What the hell do you mean, him?” His grip on his sword tightened, his entire body coiled like a spring. “He’s not from here. He’s not from your time.”
Seoha’s gaze flickered toward Min-jae, then back to Joon-won. “No,” she agreed softly. “Not from here. Not from this time.” Her golden eyes locked onto his. “But still… you.”
Joon-won didn’t know how to respond to that.
Because deep down; somewhere buried within him—
Something inside him knew she wasn’t wrong.
.. ..
The ruins still hummed with energy, though the statues around them had gone still. Whatever had caused them to awaken had settled, as if they were now waiting.
Seoha stood before them, fully freed from the stone, though her form still seemed to flicker between something ancient and something alive. She wasn’t fully here. Not yet.
Min-jae didn’t lower his sword. “If you know him,” he said slowly, carefully, “then expin how.”
She tilted her head, studying him. “I know only what remains. Pieces. Echoes.” Her gaze flickered toward Joon-won again. “The rest… is lost.”
Lost.
That word struck something inside Joon-won.
A forgotten past. A lost civilization. And a queen who had been waiting for something; for him.
Haneul finally stepped forward; her presence eerily calm amidst the tension. “You aren’t whole,” she observed, eyes sharp. “You’re… fractured.”
Seoha’s expression didn’t change, but there was something in her eyes; a silent agreement.
“Yes,” she admitted. “Only part of me remains.”
Joon-won exhaled slowly. “Then tell us what you do remember.”
Seoha hesitated. And then—
She lifted a hand.
The golden energy that pulsed through the ruins fred, illuminating the chamber. The air trembled, and suddenly—
They weren’t in the ruins anymore.
The world around them shifted, twisting, like the edges of a dream coming into focus. The walls of the ancient structure melted away, and in their pce—
A city.
Not ruins.
Not remnants of the past.
But a thriving city, bathed in golden light.
Joon-won’s breath caught in his throat.
This wasn’t just a memory.
This was a glimpse into the past.
The structures around them were vast, grander than anything on Cheongseong. Towers that stretched toward the sky, roads paved with intricate symbols that pulsed with faint energy. People walked the streets, their robes flowing, their voices a soft murmur in the wind.
And above them, in the sky—
Hwangcheon.
No longer a barren wastend.
But whole.
Alive.
The vision shifted, faster now, as if it were unravelling. The people moved in a blur; their faces indistinct. But at the centre of it all—
A throne.
And seated upon it—
Seoha.
Joon-won inhaled sharply.
She looked the same, yet different. Regal. Steady. Her golden eyes held a sharpness, a presence that was undeniable. She was a queen.
And she was looking at something—
No.
Someone.
Joon-won followed her gaze and—
His heart nearly stopped.
It was him.
Standing there, before the throne, in the vision of the past—
It was him.
But it wasn’t.
The clothing was different. The stance, the presence; everything was off.
And yet.
The moment their eyes met—
He felt it.
A connection.
And then—
The vision colpsed.
Joon-won staggered, gasping for breath as the ruins snapped back into existence. The golden glow dimmed, the city disappearing like a mirage in the desert.
He was back.
But his mind was still reeling.
Because what he had seen…
It couldn’t have been real.
Could it?
Seoha exhaled slowly, her form flickering again. “Now you understand.”
Joon-won clenched his fists. He wasn’t sure what he understood.
But he knew; this changed everything.
.. .. .
