Jin stood before the massive door, staring into its abyssal presence.

It loomed, monolithic and ancient, towering fifty feet high. It wasn't just large—it was inhuman. Something meant for giants, not mortals. It pulsed as if breathing, its cracked surface lined with golden veins that shimmered like molten metal.

For the first time, Jin realized something chilling.

This door had never been a gateway.

It was a mouth. A gaping, silent maw waiting to consume.

A shiver ran through him, but his face remained blank. He had no fear left to give. If this was where his miserable life ended, so be it. He had nothing left.

No friends. No family. No future.

This thing had haunted him for years, appearing whenever his life collapsed. Every time, it had watched from the edges of reality, waiting for him to break.

Jin exhaled, voice hollow.

"…It's always been you."

The door didn't move. It didn't react.

His fingers curled into fists.

"My nightmares, my doubts… you were always there when something went wrong. When I lost everything."

Silence.

His shoulders trembled, not from fear—but from exhaustion.

"Is this it, then? Is this the end? Is this what you wanted?"

The stars above flickered, and the purple mist coiled tighter around him.

Still, the door did nothing.

Jin let out a bitter chuckle.

"No answer, huh?" His voice cracked. "I should've known. I'm not even worth an explanation."

The moment he spoke those words—

—Something clicked.

A deep, mechanical clatter echoed from within the door, like ancient gears grinding into motion.

Jin stiffened.

A sudden gust of wind burst from the door's depths, howling into the void. The force sent his hair whipping back, his clothes rippling from the sheer pressure. The mist churned violently, spiraling as though being sucked inward.

Then, slowly—too slowly—the door began to open.

Beyond the threshold, there was no light. No realm. No world.

Only pure, endless nothingness.

Jin felt his feet lift off the ground.

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At first, he thought he was moving forward.

Then, he realized—

The door wasn't pulling him in.

It was consuming him.

The illusion of movement was just his mind rationalizing the impossible. He wasn't stepping forward—he was being erased, piece by piece.

His body was weightless.

His consciousness blurred.

The last thing he heard was the thunderous slam of the door sealing shut—

—And then, the universe blinked him out of existence.

When Jin opened his eyes, he was somewhere else.

He was lying on solid ground—no, not ground. Something else. Something impossibly smooth and cold beneath his palms.

His breath hitched.

Pillars.

Massive, monolithic pillars stretched into the darkness above, too tall for him to see their end. Each one was adorned with flickering torches, their golden flames crackling in the silence. The firelight reflected off something strange—tiny, floating stars that drifted through the air like embers.

A deep pink mist swirled around the floor, rolling like ocean waves.

For the first time since waking up in this nightmare, there were no whispers. No shadows crawling at the edge of his vision.

Just silence.

Jin slowly pushed himself to his feet. His head pounded, but the pain felt distant. His body, his mind—everything felt light.

And then, he saw it.

At the center of this celestial abyss, spiraling upward like an infinite spiral, was a staircase.

The steps were formed from an obsidian-like material, outlined in a golden, starlit glow. They ascended endlessly, vanishing into the darkness above.

And at the top—

A figure.

Sitting beside a small Victorian-style table, just at the peak of the stairs, was someone.

A woman.

She was draped in flowing black, her dress billowing as if woven from the night sky itself. It shimmered, stretching beyond her, almost as if it were part of this space rather than clothing.

Jin's breath hitched as his gaze traced her form.

She was flawless.

Golden hair cascaded down her back like molten sunlight, long enough to touch the ground. Her skin was pale, radiant—almost celestial.

But her face—

It was veiled.

A thin layer of black cloth covered her features, like the delicate fabric worn by mourning brides. He could see only her lips, perfectly shaped, pressed in an unreadable expression.

And on her chest, embedded into her very being—

A symbol.

A carved moon, embedded with an all-seeing eye.

A mark of something ancient. Something beyond comprehension.

Jin couldn't breathe.

His body locked up, every muscle freezing as an unnatural presence crushed down on him.

It wasn't power. It wasn't mere pressure.

It was authority.

Raw, undeniable, and absolute.

It was the feeling of a god looking down upon an insect.

Jin's mind screamed at him to move—to run—to do anything.

But he couldn't.

He was paralyzed, not by force, but by sheer existence.

And then—

The woman raised a hand.

A simple gesture.

Come closer.

The moment she did, the crushing weight vanished. Jin gasped, stumbling forward, his body suddenly his again.

The woman said nothing. She merely waited, watching as he approached.

Jin's legs trembled with each step, but he forced himself forward.

He didn't know why.

Maybe it was curiosity.

Maybe it was fear.

Maybe it was because, in this impossible place, there was nowhere else to go.

As he reached the top of the stairs, standing mere feet from the veiled woman, the silence stretched impossibly long.

And then—

She finally spoke.

Her voice was empty. Hollow.

Like the vast, endless void itself.

"Tell me, stranger… what is the difference between a hero and a fool?"

Jin's throat went dry.

For the first time, he felt something he hadn't felt in years.

A primal, bone-deep dread.