Sister [57]

After quickly showing Fanzer and Ichigo into the employee's lounge — which was far more spacious than Jin-Woo thought it would be — and giving them Yama, and basically every Named Shadow he could spare, Jin-Woo left.

He walked down the first hallway to his right, took a left, another right, spun around for thirty seconds, then took another left, and stood there for a moment. He glanced around before closing his eyes.

Like a normal person, he couldn't see with closed eyes. That made sense, in all reality. However, he knew there'd be a weakness there. Blindness was something he'd rather avoid, if at all possible. With the impending threat of many enemies — some known, some unknown — on the horizon, he wanted himself to be as prepared as humanly possible.

So, with closed eyes and a vague sense of where he was, four Shadows moved out from underneath him. Ordering them silently to survey the area, Jin-Woo began Sensory Sharing.

The sensation was not a comfortable one. Four different locations all came into view, and it felt like he was intensely crossing his eyes. However, all it took was focusing on one to make the others… not fade away but become less annoying.

His head also didn't feel the greatest. It wasn't a full-on meltdown or migraine, but the gentle beat of his heart was suddenly a very palpable feeling in his temples.

However, he did succeed in getting a decent idea of the Association's layout. It wasn't confusing originally, but he considered the trial a success. However, he didn't deactivate his skill, he simply opened his eyes and began doing his own thing.

Physically, he could only see from his own eyes, but mentally, he could still see through his Shadows. Furthermore, he was still aware of their locations, even without sharing their senses. As such, it wasn't too hard for him to piece the information together.

He walked through the hallways easily, noting the rooms and what they were for. It was mostly useless information, like offices that were pitch-black or storage closets that were a step too messy.

It helped that his Shadows could see in the dark. He wasn't quite sure why they could, but it was a feature of their senses that he didn't hate in the slightest.

Just to test it out, he even closed his eyes while he was walking, a Shadow directly under his feet remaining as his eyes. And shockingly enough, it was possible for him to still move around somewhat efficiently.

The third Shadow that was moving around stumbled upon Jin-Woo's target first.

Walking away from Jino's room, was a white-haired S-Rank Hunter.

Jin-Woo's breath nearly caught in his throat, halfway expecting the Hunter to notice his loyal ally. However, the Hunter was silent, walking with his hands in his pockets. Jin-Woo was curious, and his Summon circled around Alnair, allowing him to see the man's face.

It was nothing crazy, but it was definitely him.

Jin-Woo noted a few things.

One, even when sharing his Shadow's senses, he could see the name and title above people's heads. He didn't know if it was a result of sharing his soul with his Summons or because it was him looking through the Summon, but either way, the result was useful.

Two, Umbra Observation was still accessible through his Shadow's Senses. With that, his first reaction was to use his skill on Alnair.

Three, Umbra Observation didn't work on Alnair. It was an annoying discovery, but not an unexpected one. After all, beforehand Umbra Observe didn't work on the S-Rank. Jin-Woo didn't quite know why it didn't work, since it was successful on Goto, Cha, and Yogumunt. The former was the type to protect himself, but after Jin-Woo's growth, even that wasn't enough to stop his skill.

And the latter two were incredibly strong, easily some of the strongest beings he'd ran into.

That meant Alnair was either stronger than Jin-Woo thought, or that he was being shielded by a skill stronger than Goto's was.

Jin-Woo was a bit reluctant to meet Alnair in person, since Bellion's presence was still something he didn't quite understand. He also didn't want to set the monster off, one way or another.

Showing up as the Shadow Sovereign may've done just that, and while he knew he may be able to win against the monster, he also knew the damages of such a clash wouldn't be positive either way.

Jin-Woo couldn't say whether or not Alnair knew he had arrived, but he knew where Alnair was heading, to Miyoung's office. With that confirmation, Jin-Woo took the quickest path towards Jino's room, avoiding Alnair entirely. He thought to deactivate his skill, the throbbing in his head becoming more intense, but he didn't do so.

[Sensory Sharing has leveled up.]

Besides, the skill was getting easier to maintain, especially since it was technically being activated four times at once. It had already hit level two, and for a skill he'd only gained recently, that was a development he wasn't opposed to. Every level was making the overall process easier.

As he walked, he made a note to be thankful for the autonomy his Shadows held. He could, of course, micromanage each of their actions, but he wasn't required to. Even without any orders, the four Shadows continued to survey the area.

He stopped in front of the door to Jino's room. The Shadow underneath his feet moved underneath the door, and on the other side, Jino laid in her bed, propped up so she could see the television, which was the only thing that illuminated the room.

Jin-Woo knocked on the door, and he could see Jino's head snap towards the door. She hesitated for a second before opening her mouth.

"You can, uh, come in!" She said, her eyes flickering between the door and the television. She held up the remote, turning the television down nervously.

Jin-Woo slowly opened the door, light from the hallway creeping in. He gave his younger sister a small wave with a gentle smile, "Hey, Sis."

Jino turned her face away, but Jin-Woo could see her eyes glistening. She took a moment to steady her breathing, and during that time, the elder brother closed the door behind him.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, silent. He didn't say anything, giving Jino all the time in the world.

She took a deep, shaky breath. She hiccupped, "It was really, really scary. I thought I would die."

Jin-Woo rose from the bed, turning silently and pulling his sister's head into his chest. They sat there for a moment, the soft noises from the television filling the room's silence.

Well, and Jino's whimpers. But Jin-Woo ignored it, for her pride more than anything.

When she started talking, her voice was quiet. "Alnair told me you left to deal with something. B-But I was so scared. He wouldn't tell me anything else. Why… why am I always left out of the loop? Don't you trust me? D-Did I do something to deserve otherwise?"

Jin-Woo pulled her into his chest tighter. He took a deep breath.

"No, Jino, you've done no such thing. I…." Jin-Woo swallowed. "I decided some time ago to not share details or trust with anyone else. I didn't mean to, but I stopped sharing with you too."

Jino was quiet, so Jin-Woo continued. "But now I know better — or, at least, I like to think I know better. Juice —" Jin-Woo used Jino's nickname. It almost sounded foreign to him, but at the same time, it held an undeniable familiarity. "— it's up to you. I can't make this decision for you. If you want to know, you'll know. If you don't, you won't."

Silence settled over the two. Jino slowly pulled back, not meeting Jin-Woo's eyes.

"Can I ask anything I want?"

"Yeah, I'll do what I can to answer."

"…What happened to that guy that attacked Alnair and me?"

"He's dead."

Jino gasped, her eyes going wide. "You… you killed him. B-But he was a human, wasn't he?"

Jin-Woo shook his head, "He was a monster. I'm sure he wasn't human."

Jino was quiet. "…Are you lying to protect me from the truth?"

Jin-Woo shook his head once again, "No. Never again. Do you want to know the whole truth about that man?"

Jino was still for a few seconds before she slowly, deliberately nodded.

Jin-Woo began, "I'll admit, I don't know if I understand everything properly. But I'll tell you what I can. That man was an intelligent monster who had been creating Red Gates to experiment on Hunters."

Jino's eyes widened once more, looking up and meeting Jin-Woo's. "B-But! Doesn't that—! But I just—!"

Jin-Woo nodded. "Yeah, this information completely changes what we — humanity — thought we knew about the Gates. There's more. Essentially, Yogumunt was in a group known as the Sovereigns. Yeah, like the Sovereign of Hunters. But they're not in the same group."

Jino opened her mouth, but then closed it. Jin-Woo continued.

"The Sovereigns are basically the reasons why the Gates exist. If you know about the old folktale about the first Sovereigns —"

"Oh, the one Dad used to read to us before we went to bed, but you always ignored because you thought it was boring?"

"— yeah, that one. Ashborn and Antares were real people. Something happened — I've got no idea what it was — and Antares sent his dragons to kill humanity. Some of the other Sovereigns joined the attack, others defended humanity — I think."

Jino's mouth hung. "Was that... where Kamish came from?"

Kamish was a dragon that appeared 2 years after Gates first began appearing, 13 years ago, when Jino and Jin-Woo were much younger.

Jin-Woo shrugged, "Maybe. If so, I don't get why it took two years to finally attack. But yeah, it would make sense. After all, Kamish set the undeniable precedent for dragons."

Jino was quiet for a minute. "Never meet your heroes, huh?"

Jin-Woo smiled bitterly, "Yeah."

"If this Yogurt guy wanted to experiment on humanity, why was he —" Jino suddenly fell silent.

Jin-Woo knew she was smart; he didn't feel like it was necessary to lay all the pieces out.

"That Yogurt guy, he… called Alnair… Antares. He said his brother was killed by humans, and that he was the King of Dragons. He even mentioned something about… reincarnation?"

Jin-Woo grimaced. "Yeah. I don't know what's up with Alnair. It can't be reincarnation in the way that one thing dies and then another thing lives though, the times don't match up for that to be the case. But, regardless of that, it's clear that Alnair and Antares are connected, somehow."

Jino nodded, allowing Jin-Woo to continue. "And on that line of reasoning, Ashborn and I are connected. In a different way, but I met him."

Jino just looked confused. She was clearly trying to put two and two together, but she was not getting four as her final answer. Jin-Woo laughed softly, causing her to puff up her cheeks.

He further explained, "I don't really understand what happened, but I met him in my sleep."

Jino looked bewildered, "And you're sure you weren't just dreaming…?"

Jin-Woo smiled, "Yeah, after I met him after… some tough times, he granted me the position as the next Shadow Sovereign, so yeah, I'm pretty sure I met him." He omitted the detail of his own death, hoping to alleviate any unnecessary worries.

Jino just stared.

Jin-Woo shrugged.

Jino shook her head after a few minutes. "Sorry, that… was a lot of information. You took out the Yogurt Sovereign, yeah?"

Jin-Woo nodded, smiling. Jino's decision to call "Yogumunt," "Yogurt" was some dumb fun for him.

"But there are still more Sovereigns, right?" Jin-Woo nodded again. "So, you'll have to fight more, since now you're… the Shadow Sovereign, one of the major protectors of humanity?"

Jin-Woo slowly nodded, looking down. His expression became somber.

"And it's gonna be dangerous?"

Jin-Woo continued to nod.

"Will you be alone?"

Jin-Woo shook his head, looking up with an undeniable intensity. "No, I have friends, allies, and my Shadows. I'll never be truly alone; I can promise that."

Jino let out a sigh of relief. "I'll be honest, I… don't know if I properly comprehended what you told me. But I can understand that you're working hard to help people. You've put your life on the line time and time again, and for that, there's nothing I could do to thank you enough.

"But… I can't lie either. I'm really angry. I don't know if it's at you, or these Sovereigns, or myself, but… I don't want to be left out of the loop anymore. If you're going to go fight and risk your life, I don't want to sit here clueless. So, thank you for telling me."

Jin-Woo nodded softly. And after a moment, he said, "I'm sorry, Jino. I've… failed you."

Jino looked down, silent.

"I've ignored your needs. I won't make any excuses either."

Jino shook her head. "It's okay. You've been busy helping me and Mom. You don't have to apologize."

Jin-Woo sighed, looking down. Jino leaned in and hugged him.

"Hey, Bro?"

"Hm?"

"You've done well. Thank you for your hard work."

Jin-Woo dryly chuckled. "Jeez, I was supposed to be the one consoling you, not the other way around."

Jino shrugged. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean you've had it easy. I can see that. So, thank you for what you've put up with."

Jin-Woo was quiet for a moment, and emotion swelled within him. He pulled Jino into his chest. "Yeah. Yeah, of course, Sis."

The two were quiet for a few minutes, peacefully held in one another's embrace.

Jino was the one to break the silence, pulling back and meeting Jin-Woo's eyes steadily. Her eyes were a bit puffy, but Jin-Woo opted to ignore it.

"Another question, do you have anything you want to share?"

Jin-Woo was quiet for a moment before nodding. "I'm a Necromancer, I see the world like it's a video game, and I'm as strong as an S-Rank Hunter now."

Jino nodded, seeming to file the information away with a unique sense of patience. "Okay, one more question. Are you gonna get a girlfriend?"

"H-Huh?"

"I mean, you never talked about girls before, but it's obvious that's because of… Mom and me," Jino shook her head. "But if you're really as strong as an S-Rank Hunter, you should be able to get a re-examination soon and maybe you won't have to worry about money so much. You'll finally be able to try and live a little bit."

Jin-Woo scratched the back of his head. "I… hadn't thought about it before."

Jino blinked, sighing. "God, you're a trainwreck, bro. An absolute trainwreck."