Three Years Later

Sand covered everything.

The vast desert stretched endlessly, until it seemed as though the entire world had been transformed into a sea of golden sand. The sky was clear and blue, free of clouds, while the first rays of sunlight began to appear along the edges of the horizon.

The sun was preparing to rise slowly, waiting for the moment when it would climb above the desert to announce the beginning of a new day and awaken the people who were still immersed in their sleep.

But somewhere in the middle of this vast desert, there was someone who had awakened before sunrise.

He sat quietly inside a large pool surrounded by sand on all sides. The place seemed strange in such an arid environment. Water flowed continuously from an unknown source, maintaining the pool's water level, while steam rose from its surface due to the high temperature.

The water was hot, but the man sitting in it showed no sign of discomfort.

He leaned against the edge of the pool and closed his eyes slightly, while his gray hair fell across his face. As for his crimson eyes, they gleamed whenever he opened them, as though they concealed something no one could easily understand.

It was Jinsu.

After three years had passed, there was nothing to suggest that this man had changed much in his essence. He was calm and relaxed, as though the world, with all its dangers and problems, meant absolutely nothing to him.

Jinsu slowly opened his eyes and looked at the sky.

Light gradually spread across the sand dunes, announcing that sunrise was approaching.

Jinsu sighed softly before rising from the pool.

Hot water streamed down his body as he stepped out calmly. He reached toward a chair placed beside the pool and pulled the towel resting on it, then dried his gray hair without rushing.

Afterward, he picked up a glass containing juice and raised it to his lips, taking a small sip.

Everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

Jinsu stopped drinking for a moment.

Then he slowly turned around.

There was no obvious movement in the sand, and there was no sound except for the gentle whistle of the wind as it passed between the dunes.

Nevertheless, a small smile appeared on his face.

"Do you think you're hiding?"

He turned his head slightly and examined the surrounding sand, as though looking directly at the people hiding beneath it.

He raised his glass of juice again, then continued in the same calm tone:

"I'll count to three. If you don't come out, everyone will die."

Silence reigned for several seconds.

Nothing in the scene changed, and the sand remained as still as before.

Jinsu raised his first finger.

"One."

There was no response.

He raised his second finger.

"Two."

At that moment, a faint rustling sound emerged from beneath the sand.

Jinsu stopped counting, and a slightly wider smile appeared on his face.

The sand began to move.

At first, the movement was subtle, as though something small were moving beneath its surface. But within moments, disturbances spread across several separate areas, and the sand dunes gradually collapsed as human figures began emerging from beneath them.

Then it happened all at once.

Thousands of soldiers emerged from their sandy hiding places and spread out around the pool from every direction.

They wore combat clothing and carried various weapons. Their faces were concealed, making it impossible to identify them easily.

They quickly surrounded the area, blocking every possible route Jinsu could use to escape.

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But Jinsu did not seem interested in that at all.

He remained standing where he was, holding his glass of juice in one hand while his crimson eyes moved between the soldiers surrounding him.

The scene looked like an ambush carefully prepared to eliminate a single person.

Thousands of soldiers against one man.

And yet, there was no fear on Jinsu's face.

On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying what he was seeing.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers rushed forward from among the ranks.

He carried a long sword and aimed it directly at Jinsu before leaping into the air, taking advantage of the short distance between them.

He raised his sword high, preparing to deliver a decisive strike against the man who had not even attempted to move away.

But at the moment the sword approached Jinsu, the latter smiled.

Why is that bastard smiling?

The thought flashed through the attacker's mind for a fraction of a second.

There was no obvious reason for Jinsu to smile in such a situation. He was surrounded by thousands of soldiers, and one of them was about to strike him with his sword, yet he looked as though he were watching an entertaining performance.

"Watch out!"

One of the soldiers shouted from behind.

But the warning came too late.

"You're too late."

Jinsu spoke the words calmly.

In the next instant, he tilted his body slightly, evading the sword with a fluid movement that required almost no effort.

The blade passed beside his body without even touching him.

Before the attacker could regain his balance, Jinsu moved and placed his hand on the man's back.

The touch was not forceful, and Jinsu performed no flashy movements.

He simply touched him.

Suddenly, the soldier's entire body exploded.

Dust spread through the air, mixing with the flying sand. Almost nothing remained of his body except for his head, which separated from his neck and fell through the air.

But the head never reached the ground.

Jinsu extended his hand and caught it effortlessly, then examined it for a moment.

"Oh."

He turned the head slightly, inspecting it as though he had discovered something that piqued his curiosity.

Then he noticed the mark on it.

There was a distinct emblem bearing the symbol of Gaia.

Jinsu's smile paused for a moment before returning to his face.

"Is Gaia hunting me now?"

He raised his head and looked at the soldiers surrounding him.

No one answered at first, but one of them stepped forward and shouted angrily:

"You devil! Surrender! Our superiors will be here soon to eliminate you!"

Jinsu listened to his words, then tilted his head slightly.

It was not the threat itself that caught his interest, but something else.

He had spotted another emblem on the forehead of one of the soldiers standing in the back ranks.

It was a symbol he had seen before.

He stared at it for several seconds, as though trying to make sure he had not mistaken what he saw.

Then he let out a quiet laugh.

"Oh, really?"

The soldiers did not understand why he was laughing.

Some tightened their grips on their weapons, while others exchanged glances, unsure whether Jinsu was mocking them or had discovered something they had failed to notice.

But they were not given the opportunity to find out the answer.

In the next instant, Jinsu disappeared from his position.

There was no visible movement they could follow, and the soldiers could not see the path he had taken.

Suddenly, he appeared in front of the soldier who had threatened him moments earlier.

The man froze in place.

Jinsu was so close that he could not raise his weapon before Jinsu's hand reached out and seized his head.

Jinsu looked at him calmly.

"Where are they, then?"

He did not wait for an answer.

With a single movement, he separated the soldier's head from his body before disappearing again.

Jinsu rushed through the ranks of soldiers at tremendous speed, making it seem as though his shadow was jumping from one place to another, beyond anyone's ability to follow.

Some soldiers tried to turn toward him, while others raised their weapons to defend themselves.

But they were too late.

Jinsu had already passed them.

Moments later, he appeared behind the entire group.

He stood there calmly, as though nothing had happened.

As for the soldiers, they remained standing in their places for a moment, unable to understand what had just occurred.

Huh? What exactly happened? He didn't even do anything...

The thought had not yet finished forming in one of their minds.

Suddenly, all the soldiers Jinsu had touched exploded.

Shouts echoed throughout the desert as thick clouds of dust, sand, and blood rose into the air, while those who had believed their overwhelming numbers would give them a chance to eliminate him disappeared.

Jinsu had not needed to use his sword.

He had not needed to unleash a complicated skill.

He had simply touched them.

When the commotion finally subsided, he stood in the middle of the area where thousands of soldiers had vanished, holding his glass of juice in one hand as though the entire attack had been nothing more than a minor annoyance interrupting his morning relaxation.

He looked around briefly, then sighed.

"You're still weak, Fario."

No one answered.

The desert remained quiet, and no one appeared before him.

Jinsu raised an eyebrow slightly before taking another sip of his juice.

"Are you going to make me drag you out of your hiding place, or what?"

Silence persisted for a few moments.

Then, suddenly, a rift opened in the air nearby.

It did not resemble the opening of a door or the appearance of an ordinary portal. Instead, it looked as though space itself had split apart, forming a strange tear in the air.

The opening gradually widened, revealing a dark space behind it.

After a few moments, a small creature emerged.

At first, it was difficult to determine what it was, but once it became fully visible, its features became clear.

It was not an ordinary human.

It was a Yami.

Nevertheless, its appearance differed from what one might imagine upon hearing that name. It looked human, with pinkish-purple hair and a pair of small glasses covering its eyes.

It was small in stature, so much so that it looked like a child wearing glasses.

The moment he emerged from the rift, he raised his hands toward his head and shouted in protest:

"NOOO, BOSS! YOU KILLED ALL MY PUPPETS!"

Jinsu smiled, then raised his glass of juice to his lips and drank calmly.

"I killed them because you failed. If you hadn't failed, I wouldn't have killed them."

He said this without the slightest hesitation, as though explaining a simple fact that required no discussion.

Then he turned toward Fario, who appeared upset about losing his men.

"You let them keep their headbands. Why didn't you remove them?"

Fario stopped protesting for a moment, then looked at Jinsu from behind his glasses.

"What? Why? I thought they would make them look less suspicious!"

Jinsu stared at him silently for several seconds.

Then he extended his hand and placed it on Fario's head.

Fario was small enough for Jinsu to reach his head easily, making the scene look as though a leader were reprimanding a child who had made an obvious mistake.

Jinsu spoke in a calm tone.

"Gaia and the Assassins aren't friends, Fario. They won't fight on the same side. Do you understand your mistake now?"

Fario quickly raised his head, looking indignant.

"No! They'll fight together if their enemy is dangerous! They'll unite so they can survive!"

Jinsu did not answer immediately.

He looked at Fario, then turned his gaze forward.

After a moment, he looked at him again.

Then he smiled.

It was a calm smile, but it carried such confidence that Fario stopped speaking for a moment.

Jinsu said:

"If the enemy is dangerous, only those who stand on his side will survive."

Fario continued staring at him.

The sentence was not long, and Jinsu had not raised his voice while saying it, but he sounded as though he were speaking about a settled matter beyond any doubt.

Then Jinsu added, maintaining his smile:

"Even if they unite, they won't win, because their enemy is dangerous."

Silence fell for a moment.

Fario looked at Jinsu, and then a wide smile began to spread across his face.

"I understand, Boss! I understand perfectly! Yes!"

He laughed lightly, as though he had finally grasped the lesson Jinsu wanted to teach him.

As for Jinsu, he merely looked at him before turning toward the place where he had left his belongings.

The sun had risen higher, and the morning light had begun to bathe the desert, transforming the sand into a golden sea stretching to the horizon.

Jinsu finished the rest of his juice, then spoke simply:

"Now, let's go home."

Fario nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes!"

As the sunlight grew brighter over the Great Desert, Jinsu moved calmly, as though what had happened moments earlier had been nothing more than an ordinary beginning to another day.

Nothing suggested that he had eliminated thousands of soldiers in just a few minutes or that he had encountered people bearing emblems belonging to different factions.

To him, the morning had only just begun.

And there were many things waiting for him beyond those endless sands.

As for Fario, he walked behind him with a smile, having learned another lesson from his master.

As the two moved farther away, the traces of the confrontation gradually disappeared beneath the shifting sand, as though the desert itself were trying to erase what had happened.

But one thing remained clear.

After three years, Jinsu was no longer the man he had once been.

And the world had yet to realize what that truly meant.