Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Jin Ryu woke to the sound of water.
His head throbbed.
His body ached.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
Darkness.
Cold stone walls.
Chains.
"…Where… am I…?"
His voice was weak.
He tried to move—
But his arms were bound.
His legs restrained.
A prison.
Memories returned.
The attack.
The masked figure.
The power.
His heart tightened.
"The sect…"
Gone.
Everyone… gone.
Silence filled the room.
Until—
"You're awake."
Jin Ryu flinched.
A figure stepped into the dim light.
Not the masked one.
This person was older.
Wearing dark robes embroidered with a silver insignia.
"Who… are you…?"
The man smiled faintly.
"That is not important."
Jin Ryu's eyes narrowed.
"Then why am I here?"
The man studied him for a moment.
Then said—
"Because you are dangerous."
Jin Ryu froze.
"…What?"
"The Heavenly Ash Scripture," the man continued, "is not something that should exist in this world."
Jin Ryu's fists tightened.
"I don't even know what it is!"
"Perhaps not consciously."
The man stepped closer.
"But your body remembers."
Jin Ryu looked away.
"…What do you want from me?"
A pause.
Then—
"To see what you become."
Jin Ryu's stomach dropped.
"That's insane."
The man chuckled softly.
"Perhaps."
He turned to leave.
"But you should be grateful."
Jin Ryu's eyes snapped back.
"Grateful?"
"Yes."
The man glanced over his shoulder.
"Because others… would have killed you already."
The door creaked open.
Then closed.
Leaving Jin Ryu alone.
In the dark.
With something inside him…
That was beginning to wake up.