Jin Haru stood alone on the rooftop of the school.
The sky above was cloudy, heavy with wind. His black jacket flapped softly. His hands were in his pockets, his head tilted up. Cold wind brushed against his skin, but he didn't move. His eyes were fixed on the clouds.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
He had just finished watching the file REI had shown him. A locked file from the past. It was hidden deep inside REI's memory.
In the photo… was a boy. Pale, thin, full of wires and scars. The boy was inside a tube, floating in green liquid. His eyes were closed, lips parted like he was sleeping. But the worst part?
The boy looked almost exactly like Jinho.
> "REI," Haru said softly, "what was that file?"
REI's voice echoed gently inside his head.
> "That file was labeled: Vessel #04 — Project Failure. The timestamp is fifteen years ago."
> "That can't be," Haru whispered. "That's… around the time Jinho was born."
He clenched his fists.
> "Am I not the only one?" he asked.
REI paused. Then answered, "Project Vessel was a secret experiment. You were Vessel Zero, the creator's final and perfect body. The others before you… were prototypes."
Haru's chest felt tight.
> "Did I… make them?"
Silence.
REI didn't answer.
The silence told him everything.
He sat down on the rooftop, knees up, arms resting on them. The wind howled louder now. He closed his eyes.
"I didn't want this," he said. "I didn't want to become a monster. I just wanted to live once more… feel what it's like to be young. To smile. To talk to classmates. To walk home after school."
His voice cracked. He almost laughed.
"But what do I get? Fights. Pain. Eyes full of fear. People watching me like I'm a freak."
Images flashed in his head—Jinho smiling, Areum blushing, the cold girl warning him, the fight under the arena, the blue glow of his eyes in the mirror.
He touched his chest. His heartbeat was slow. Calm.
"I have power now. More than before. But the moment I used it… I changed," he whispered. "I didn't feel human."
REI finally spoke.
> "You are still human, Haru. But the world around you… won't treat you like one."
Haru stood up again and looked down at the city. So many buildings. So many people. But even here, on the rooftop, he felt alone.
But not empty.
He thought about Jinho.
> "That boy… he was one of the vessels. But he's just living his life now. He doesn't know."
He took a deep breath.
"I won't let the past decide who I am now."
Suddenly, the school bell rang far below.
And just then, cut to another location—
A dark room. A long table. Men in suits.
At the end of the table sat a man with a scar over his left eye. His hair was silver, his expression calm but deadly. He was holding a small, old photo in his hand.
The photo?
A blurry image of Jin Haru—blue eyes glowing during the underground fight.
> "He's returned," the man said.
> "The Vessel… has awakened."
One man beside him shivered.
> "Should we… prepare the others?"
The scarred man smiled.
> "Yes. Let's welcome him back to the real world."
Back to the rooftop—
Jin Haru opened his eyes, glowing faintly blue. Just for a second.
Then it faded.
He turned around and walked away from the edge.
His school life was no longer normal.
But his story…
Was just beginning.