In one of the farthest corners of the icy land, where no sign of life could be found, a glowing portal of deep crimson tore open amidst the raging snowstorm. The scene looked like a rupture in the fabric of reality itself. As the portal exploded, two figures emerged from within.
One of them stepped forward, his long dark hair damp with warm steam that clung to it in the piercing cold, and said:
"It seems we've returned, Ryuji…"
The other replied with a faint smile,
"Yes, Long."
Ryuji took a deep breath, then looked at his hands and said in a surprised voice:
"I'm starting to feel like my body is much lighter…"
Long stared up at the gray sky, as if the very air around them had shifted:
"So do I… My body has changed. It seems what Khalid said was true."
Ryuji smirked, a hint of regret lacing his voice:
"If only he had stayed with us… he would've returned too."
Long shook his head confidently:
"He'll find his way… in his own way."
Ryuji fell to his knees on the frozen snow, then murmured in wonder:
"I don't even feel cold… even though we're in the middle of all this snow. But… where are we now?"
Long answered him as he gazed toward the white horizon:
"It doesn't matter… What matters is that we escaped the hell of that place.
But tell me, Ryuji… isn't it strange that a being dared to rebel against the Creator, and was exiled to another dimension?
And that its power leaked into the second dimension — that desolate hell known as the Forbidden Land — and then seeped into our world?
And just like that… we began to possess these powers?"
Ryuji looked at him with a tired expression, then stood up and said:
"You mean… the Aev? I don't want to overthink it… but yeah, it's terrifying.
We live in a multi-dimensional world, and reality is far more fragile than we ever believed.
That Forbidden Land… it was a real nightmare.
But now… we're considered nobles, aren't we, Long?"
Long replied calmly:
"Yes."
Then he added in a serious tone:
"But even so, the deeper we went into that land… each day felt like a new nightmare.
The monsters, the distortions…
And yet, the density of Aev in our bodies increased, and we grew stronger.
We now hold the rank of Nobles."
Amid the stillness of the snow and the roar of the wind, something strange appeared on the horizon, breaking the sea of white…
A flag fluttered on a rusted pole, its colors barely visible, yet its stripes of red, blue, and white had survived the storms just enough for Long to recognize the symbol.
He pointed with his finger and said:
"Look, Ryuji… the Russian flag."
Ryuji paused for a moment, looked up, then muttered in astonishment:
"Huh? So we're in Russia?"
Long nodded calmly:
"Seems so…"
A short silence followed, then Long spoke in a low voice, staring at the snow beneath his feet:
"Ryuji… since we've lived together all this time… and have become true friends… will you promise me not to expose each other's weaknesses?
You know… our gift is unique, and it could draw greed… or betrayal."
Ryuji smiled lightly, his voice calm and confident:
"We're friends, Long… We never needed a promise like that. You know me."
Long nodded, as if regretting his question:
"Forget it… it was just idle talk."
Ryuji replied,
"Alright…"
Then the two exchanged a deep look — one that held countless memories of the hell they had just escaped — before Ryuji broke the silence again:
"What will you do when you return to Japan?"
Ryuji smiled, but it wasn't an innocent smile; it was sharp as a blade:
"I'll kill the mafia that wiped out my family."
Long didn't comment. Instead, he gave a cold smile of his own, and replied:
"Nice."
Ryuji raised an eyebrow and asked in return:
"And you, Long? What will you do?"
Long answered without changing the calm tone in his voice:
"I have a blood feud with one of the families… I'll wipe them all out, then build an empire from the money I take from them.
And… I will hold a funeral ritual for my brother — the one I searched for in the Forbidden Land."
The two fell silent, their faces bearing expressions free of hesitation…
Men who returned from hell — and now, nothing on this earth would stand in their way.
Not long after they had stood amidst those icy plains, the sound of engines began to rise from the distance, growing louder and louder until a convoy of Russian military vehicles appeared, speeding toward them. Armored vehicles, heavily armed soldiers, and snow spraying behind the massive tires.
Ryuji and Long exchanged a quick glance.
Ryuji said calmly,
"Let's stand here… and raise our hands."
Both slowly raised their hands without resistance, while the vehicles stopped at a close distance. Soldiers dismounted cautiously, their weapons aimed directly at the strangers.
In a sharp Russian voice, an officer ordered them to kneel. They obeyed without protest.
Their hands were bound, then they were led inside one of the vehicles.
On the road, as the vehicle gently shook over the ice, Ryuji sat next to Long, both bound but calm, as if on a leisurely outing rather than in custody.
Ryuji said, looking out through a small window:
"Long… let's keep in touch. Who knows? Maybe we'll go on other trips together…"
Long smiled and closed his eyes for a moment, as if recalling the faces of the monsters they faced—the blood, the hunger, the screams… then he spoke softly:
"I long for that…
Especially after what we lived through together… for two whole years."
On a warm afternoon, with sunlight filtering through the clouds and reflecting off the glass buildings around, Ryuji stepped out of the gate at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, dragging his feet lazily while stretching slowly.
"Hah… I'm back."
He said this as he lifted his head toward the Japanese sky, as if it was embracing him once again after a long absence.
He took a taxi that dropped him at a Shinkansen station, and from there, he set off southward toward the city of Osaka. The train cut through fields and small towns, while Ryuji lay back in his seat, silently watching the passing scenery through the glass.
When he arrived in Osaka, he stepped out of the train station with calm steps. The sun was still shining, and its reflection on his glasses cast a mysterious hint over his features.
The city streets were still noisy, but inside him, there was complete silence.
He headed to an old neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, where a somewhat abandoned building stood, its windows closed and its rusty door barely opening. He climbed the worn stairs and stood in front of the door, placed his hand on the handle, then slowly opened it.
"Hah… it's been a long time."
He said this, taking a deep breath inside the house—or rather… what remained of his family home.
Dust filled the air, and spiders had woven their webs in the corners. Ryuji immediately began cleaning, his eyes serious, as if wiping every speck of dust was a personal revenge against time.
After hours, when the house had regained a part of its soul, he headed toward the bathroom.
He turned on the faucet… tested the water… it was hot.
He smiled faintly, then stripped his clothes and stepped into the bathtub.
He sat there, closed his eyes, letting his body relax and his mind wander.
He slowly opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling of the bathroom. Then he raised his hand in front of his face and spoke to himself in a quiet voice:
"Is this real?
Warm water… a bathtub… a towel… clean clothes…
Hah… it's been so long I forgot what comfort even feels like."
He stepped out of the bathroom, a towel draped around the back of his neck, and walked quietly toward one of the rooms.
He opened the door and found a dusty shelf with an old box sitting on top. He pulled it down and opened it with curiosity.
Inside were his father's journals. He flipped through the pages in silence, one after another, until a photograph slipped out and fell to the floor.
He bent down and picked it up.
It was a picture of him as a small child with his father and mother, perhaps on a holiday… or a picnic he no longer clearly remembered.
He stared at it for a long time… then spoke in a low, deep voice from the depths of his heart:
"Dad… Mom… don't worry. Your son is doing well… better than ever.
And he will avenge you.
I hope you're proud of me."
He placed the photo on the table beside the journal… then sat in silence, enveloped by the warmth of longing and the fire of resolve.
And as Ryuji sat on the floor in the living room, gazing at the photograph beside him, his phone suddenly vibrated on the old table.
He looked over and saw a notification—an incoming video call.
"Hmm… who's this?"
He tapped the button, and Long's image appeared on the screen, standing in front of a window overlooking a bustling Chinese city.
"Ah… Long. Looks like you finally made it home,"
Ryuji said with a faint smile.
"Hello, Ryuji. How are you?"
Long asked, smiling softly.
"Better than you, I suppose."
Ryuji replied as he leaned against the wall.
Long smiled and said, "I hope so."
"Where are you now, Long?"
Ryuji asked, stretching his legs lazily.
"I'm in Beijing at the moment. I'll stay here for two days… then I'll head to Shanghai. What about you?"
"I'm already in Osaka. Just arrived a little while ago."
Long nodded and took a quiet breath, then said:
"Will you start now… or postpone it?"
Ryuji looked toward the small window, then answered in a calm voice:
"Seems like I'll delay it for two days… maybe three.
I've missed the feeling of comfort, but at the same time… I don't want to be exposed.
If they find out I'm back, things could get even more complicated."
"I see…"
Long said with a smile. "Alright, my friend… see you later."
"Alright, take care."
Ryuji ended the call with a smile.
He set the phone aside and leaned his head back against the wall once more.
The silence still filled the room…
In the evening, in one of Seoul's narrow and dimly lit alleys…
Joseph was walking alone, his steps slow, his eyes distant, when a masked stranger suddenly ambushed him.
The man said nothing… instead, he lunged forward and punched Joseph hard in the face, then shoved him violently against the alley wall.
Joseph barely had time to grasp what was happening before he felt something pierce his abdomen…
A knife.
Blood burst out, and the pain tore a scream from him that shattered the silence of the city.
At that moment, both Kim Jong-soo and Elena Volkova were passing by the alley when they heard the scream.
They immediately ran toward the source of the sound, only to find Joseph lying in a pool of blood, while the attacker was still driving the knife into his body.
"Stop!"
Elena screamed as she lunged forward.
But the masked man fled toward the other end of the alley, which opened into another street.
Without hesitation, Elena yanked the knife out of Joseph's body and shouted:
"Kim! Apply pressure to the wound, I'll go after him!"
She took off running, and in a flash, hurled the knife with force toward the fleeing attacker.
But just as the knife shot out of the alley and into the other side… someone else happened to be walking by.
The blade nearly pierced his head—
But he caught it before it could touch him.
That man was Lee Soju…
One of Korea's elite Aev users, and the president of Seven Seas Corporation.
He looked at the knife in his hand, then toward the alley where Elena had just appeared, her face filled with fury.
"Well… the Russian bullet is trying to kill me now?"
He said it with sarcasm, though his voice was loaded with anger.
Elena replied firmly,
"I wasn't aiming at you. There was a criminal who fled in the same direction."
But he didn't believe her.
His aura began to gather around him—thick, suffocating—and rage filled his expression.
Even Elena could feel the weight of it, but her face remained steady, unshaken by fear.
In the back, Kim Jung-Soo was trying to stop the bleeding, calling for an ambulance while pressing down on Joseph's wound. Joseph could barely whisper the name of his sister…
"Mary…"
Suddenly, a strange card appeared out of nowhere.
No one saw it—only Joseph…
It dropped onto the palm of his hand and vanished in an instant.
And with its disappearance… the wound began to heal at an incredible speed.
Kim gasped, unable to believe what he was witnessing.
At that very moment, Lee Soju had already thrown the knife toward Elena.
But she, with astonishing agility, dodged the strike.
Soju grinned wickedly.
"Interesting…"
He lunged at her, attacking with force, but she kept dodging without retaliating.
She was trying to calm him down.
"You know the rules, Elena,"
he said as he slammed the ground, causing it to crack beneath his feet.
"If an Aev user attacks another… they have the right to defend themselves."
But when he uttered the words:
"Seems like you're itching to join your mother… you lit—"
The air froze.
Elena, who had been silent all this time, erupted in fury.
"Don't you dare mention my mother!"
Her aura exploded, her eyes glowing.
She drew her arm back, ready to strike.
"I'll show you now… why they called me the Russian Bullet!"
She dashed forward at a speed even Lee Soju—one of the strongest Aev users in the country—couldn't see.
The strike was aimed at his heart. Unavoidable…
But just before it landed, Kim Jung-Soo stepped in, grabbing her arm.
The moment froze.
Elena stood there, her fist blazing with aura, her eyes gleaming like lightning—ready to end everything.
But Kim Jung-Soo's hand gripped her arm firmly.
"Elena… stop. That's enough."
A spark of rage flickered in her eyes… then she blinked once, realizing her strike wouldn't have stopped if it weren't for him.
At that moment, Lee Soju looked at her with a far more serious gaze, then took a deep breath.
He realized something important…
This woman was no opponent to be taken lightly.
Before he could leave, Elena, still trying to break free from Kim's grip, shouted:
"Let me go! I need to teach that bastard a lesson…!"
But Kim replied in a calm yet firm tone:
"Enough. We're not here to fight—we came to help that man."
He pointed toward Joseph, who was somehow healing, the blood on his skin already drying.
"We didn't even know you were passing by. We don't want trouble."
A short silence filled the alley.
Then Elena said to Lee Soju, her voice sharp:
"If he hadn't stopped me, your heart would be lying outside your chest by now.
Lee Soju stepped back, a crooked smile on his lips, and said mockingly as he turned away:
"All right, all right… don't be so arrogant. I figured you weren't here for me."
Then he began walking off, waving his hand without looking back.
Before disappearing around the corner, he added with a smirk—half mocking, half admiring:
"But I did enjoy that little fight… beautiful."
Elena shot him a sharp glare, but said nothing in return.
Kim simply exhaled in exhaustion as he looked down at Joseph, who had begun breathing deeply, as if life was slowly returning to him.