Chapter 117: Ashes in Bloom
The light faded.
Jin’s boots hit cracked pavement, the city rising up around them like a wounded beast. The air was thick with smoke and ash, buildings looming half-shattered, their windows like broken teeth.
Seo stepped beside him, adjusting the gloves on her hands, unbothered by the shift in temperature. Her gaze swept the skyline, sharp, deliberate.
"That felt different," Jin muttered, eyes still adjusting from the brightness of the portal. "Last time, it felt like falling. This time..."
"More focused," she said, already moving. "The ability changes depending on the intent as he implied. The further we need to go, or the more control he has, the harder it pulls. That one was meant to drop us close, with precision."
Jin gave a short nod, then squinted at the nearest building—vines curling up the side like veins under skin.
"No time to stand around. Let’s move."
They started toward the deeper edge of the district. The distant thuds of Gugwe-mok’s footsteps echoed like a heartbeat through the concrete. Even if it wasn’t close, the vines were. Still alive. Still spreading.
Something shifted in the alley beside them.
A sharp rustle.
And then a whip of green burst out from the shadows.