Chapter 18: The War That Was Erased

The world beyond the rift was not made of sky and earth.

It was made of memory.

Burned. Shattered. Stuck in a loop that never ended.

Jin stepped into a realm where time fractured like broken glass—battlefields frozen mid-strike, spirit-beasts locked in endless roars, and warriors who never got to fall or rise.

The First Chain War.

Noctis hovered behind him, cloak fluttering in the timeless wind. "This place wasn't destroyed. It was sealed. Buried in every ranking stone, every ritual. A silent history."

Jin touched the scorched soil.

It pulsed—recognizing him.

Because he had been here before.

Back in the Echo Gardens, Yuri collapsed to one knee, clutching her chest.

Kael and Arin arrived seconds later.

"He went through, didn't he?" Arin asked.

Yuri nodded. "The Warden baited him. But Jin's presence there might awaken more than just memories."

Kael narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

She looked up, pale.

"If the fifth chain breaks… he won't be Jin anymore."

Inside the sealed warzone, Jin walked past still-locked combatants—spirits that were once considered gods. Tamed not by power… but by oaths. Ranks hadn't existed here.

Only truth.

Then he saw it:

A throne of bone and chain in the center of the field.

Empty.

Waiting.

A whisper ran through the battlefield.

"The Unranked King returns."

Suddenly, the silence shattered.

From the sky descended a storm of Ashborn Knights—spirit-entities bound in armor made of rank sigils. Their blades hummed with laws: B-rank precision, A-rank force, S-rank fury.

But Jin felt no fear.

He raised a hand.

And the fifth chain… cracked.

The battlefield responded.

Frozen warriors moved. Ancient spirit-lords breathed. The War That Was Erased began again.

Noctis grinned darkly. "You've awakened the field, Jin. Now it remembers you."

One Ashborn Knight lunged—

And Jin met it barehanded, shattering its sword with a single punch, eyes glowing with chainlight.

The broken blade burst into dust.

The knight fell to its knees.

"You… you carry His mark…"

More knights hesitated.

Jin looked down at his chest as the fifth chain sigil flared into view.

Five broken. Two remain.

And far beyond the veil, watching from a palace built on lies…

The High Exorcist turned away from his crystal wall.

"Send the Reclaimer," he whispered. "If he awakens the sixth, we lose control."