The sound of his name—his real name—hung in the fractured air like a death sentence.

Liu Zhen.

The syllables struck harder than any blade or bullet. Lin staggered, breath punched from his lungs, the tether inside him flaring violently in response. His body convulsed, every nerve alight, as if the abyss itself had seized hold of him through the sound.

Min-joon's grip on him tightened like iron. "What—what did he just say?" His voice cracked, raw with confusion and fear. His eyes searched Lin's face desperately. "Lin… what did he mean?"

But Lin couldn't answer. His vision split again—one eye seeing Seoul in flames, the other locked onto the abyss, where his true name reverberated like a tolling bell. The tether writhed between both worlds, threatening to tear him apart.

The suited figure's smirk widened, satisfaction radiating from every calculated step forward. "There it is. The mask cracking. They don't even know who you are, do they? You've lied to them as you've lied to yourself."

Min-joon's jaw tightened, but his voice rose above the chaos. "I don't care what your name is, Lin. You're here. With me. That's all that matters." His arms braced him firmly, refusing to let Lin fall. "You hear me? It doesn't change who you are!"

The tether recoiled violently at the words, as though resisting Min-joon's defiance. Lin gasped, clutching his chest. "It's not that simple—"

"Make it simple!" Min-joon snapped, his fear boiling into fury. "Don't give him what he wants!"

Hwan's voice cut in, rough, commanding. He fired another burst at the suited figure even though the rounds fizzled uselessly midair. "Stop letting him talk, damn it! He's feeding off the tether!"

But the suited figure laughed, raising both arms as fractures spiderwebbed wider across the ground. Buildings shivered around them, glass panes bursting outward as new seams split their surfaces. Smoke poured like waterfalls into the street, figures twitching behind the veil.

"Feeding?" the figure echoed, his glowing eyes burning holes through Lin. "No. Not feeding. Claiming. The tether is mine. And the name binds it."

Lin's knees buckled again, only Min-joon's hold keeping him upright. Blood dripped steadily from his nose, his skin fevered and clammy.

"Min… I can't—" Lin rasped.

"Yes, you can," Min-joon shot back, dragging Lin's face toward his own. Their foreheads pressed together, breath mingling in the chaos. "You're not his. You're not the scar's. You're yours. And I'm not letting you go."

For a moment, just a sliver, the tether steadied. The glow in Lin's eyes dimmed to a softer pulse, the violent surges easing.

The suited figure's smirk faltered. His voice hardened. "Then you'll burn together."

He slammed his hand down against the asphalt.

The street exploded. Fissures ripped outward in jagged lines, cars tossed into the air like toys, asphalt heaving in slabs. Civilians screamed as the ground collapsed, plunging some into yawning crevices glowing with pale light. Keller dove into the chaos without hesitation, hauling a terrified mother and child out of a collapsing intersection, barking orders into his comm for emergency evacuation routes.

"Keller!" Hwan shouted, firing cover bursts toward the emerging figures. "Keep them moving—east side's still stable!"

"I'm on it!" Keller roared back, dragging civilians through falling debris, his sidearm spitting fire at any shadow too close.

But the center of the battlefield was Lin. The tether flared brighter than ever, pulled taut between him and the suited figure. Every step the man took forward yanked at Lin's body like chains.

Lin gritted his teeth, shaking violently. "He's… dragging me into the scar—"

"Then fight it!" Min-joon growled. His arms wrapped tighter around Lin, anchoring him like bedrock in a storm. His voice was low but fierce, each word a strike against despair. "If he wants you, he's going to have to rip you out of my hands."

The tether screamed inside Lin, the heat unbearable, his skin alight as though cracking from within. He felt it stretching, pulling, threatening to tear him apart. And yet Min-joon's voice was there, steady, relentless, binding him to the here and now.

Lin's vision cleared—just enough. He grabbed the tether with his will, ignoring the agony, forcing it under his command. His glowing eyes locked on the suited figure.

And he pushed back.

The air rippled violently, shockwaves blasting outward. The suited figure staggered a half-step, surprise flickering across his composed mask.

"You dare—"

Lin's voice roared, fueled by fire and fury. "I'm not yours!"

The tether surged outward like a blade of white fire. It struck the suited figure square in the chest, slamming him backward into the smoking seam. He snarled, body jerking violently as cracks spread across his perfect suit, smoke hissing from the wounds.

For the first time, he looked less like a man and more like the shadows he commanded.

Hwan seized the moment instantly. "He's vulnerable! Hit him now!"

Keller fired without hesitation, every round ripping through the air. And this time, they landed. Bullets tore into the suited figure's body, ripping chunks of smoke and ash from his chest. He staggered, eyes blazing with fury, voice booming across the fractured street.

"You think this changes anything? You think a name is the only key?"

Lin's chest heaved, tether blazing, his entire body trembling with the strain of holding it back. "What—what do you mean?"

The suited figure laughed, blood and smoke dripping from his mouth, even as he burned under the tether's fire. His voice was ragged but triumphant.

"You're not the only one!" he bellowed. "There are others. Keys scattered across the world. Each with their name buried, waiting. And when they awaken—" His glowing eyes burned brighter, piercing Lin. "—the scar will no longer need to bleed through. It will swallow everything."

The tether convulsed violently inside Lin, as if resonating with those words. He fell to his knees, Min-joon clutching him tightly, terror written across his face.

The suited figure's body cracked further, seams splitting across his frame as smoke poured from within. But his laughter only grew louder, echoing through the broken district.

"You've only opened the first lock, Liu Zhen! The rest will follow. And then, no anchor will save you!"

His body ruptured in a final blast of smoke and pale fire, the seams around him convulsing before collapsing inward. The high-rise's fractures sealed in violent jerks, windows imploding, asphalt slamming shut as if the city itself was trying to erase what had happened.

Silence fell. The suited figure was gone. The seams retreated.

But the tether inside Lin still burned. And his real name still hung in the air, impossible to take back.

Min-joon knelt with him in the wreckage, shaking, his hands cradling Lin's face. His voice was low, trembling. "Tell me it's not true. Tell me that's not your name."

Lin's glowing eyes dimmed, tears cutting paths through the blood on his cheeks. His lips parted, but no words came.

Keller and Hwan stood guard, weapons raised against any lingering shadow. But both men had heard. And both were staring at Lin with the weight of revelation heavy in their eyes.

The secret was out. The scar wasn't the only threat. And Lin was no longer just their leader—he was the first key.

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