The moon hung high, yet its silver glow could not pierce the abyss that swirled within Jin's gaze. He stood before the dark pool, its surface eerily still—mirroring not the sky, but something deeper, older.
As the wind whispered through the marble colonnades, a voice echoed from the shadows.
"A storm gathers behind your eyes, Jin."
Athena emerged, her hair catching moonlight, her armor gleaming like wisdom forged in steel.
"You've stirred the sea, the sky, and the underworld," she said. "What remains?"
Jin did not turn.
"The earth," he replied. "Gaia."
Athena narrowed her eyes. "She is no mere god. She is the memory of the world. A force older than us all."
"I don't intend to sway her," Jin said, voice cutting like obsidian. "I intend to expose her."
A pause.
Athena studied him, the pieces falling into place behind her emerald green eyes. "You're ready to risk it all."
"I already have."
And as the night thickened, the flashback came—unbidden, but burning.
[FLASHBACK — One Night Before the Dreamwalk]
The world was quiet, a space between dimensions, cloaked in starlight and silence.
Jin stood at the edge of a forgotten field, where shadows bent unnaturally and time had no dominion.
She stood before him—Nyx, the Primordial of Night.
Her beauty was terrifying. Her hair fell like a curtain of galaxies, and her eyes... were voids with memory.
"You walk toward Gaia's dream," she said, voice layered with eternity, "but dreams are not kind to those born of rebellion."
"I don't seek kindness," Jin answered.
"Then you are ready to see what she has hidden. But beware," Nyx said, stepping closer, her fingers ghosting along his cheek, "Gaia does not lie with words. She lies with truth distorted."
Jin's jaw clenched. "That's why I need your gift."
Nyx's laughter was cold silk.
"I do not grant powers, Jin Shang. I grant burdens."
Then, slowly, she raised her hand and pressed her thumb against his forehead.
"You will see beyond words. Beyond illusion. But the price is clarity… and clarity burns."
Suddenly, stars shattered across his vision. He staggered, gasping.
And her voice echoed as he fell to one knee.
"When you enter the dream, remember this: not all that is broken wishes to be healed. And not all monsters wear their hunger on the outside."
[BACK TO PRESENT — Olympus Gardens]
The air crackled. Athena felt it. Jin opened his eyes.
"The gift of night still lingers on you," she whispered.
He gave a faint smile. "Enough to blind a goddess of earth."
Athena's face darkened. "Then be ready. Gaia will not tolerate games."
Jin turned away, cloak fluttering like smoke.
"I'm not playing a game."
Jin didn't look at her and he vanished into the shadows.
"I'm ending one."