Sirens blared. The Mirror Gate hummed. The walls shook.
Ji-hoon saw the truth—this wasn't research. It was a portal.
Su-yeon's eyes gleamed. "This is what it was all for."
No. This is what it was meant to prevent.
Inside the control room, the Gate pulsed. Energy rippled like breath.
"Who's activating it?" Ji-hoon asked.
"Your father," she said. Min-gyu.
Jin-ho's name rang in Ji-hoon's skull. The Shadow King's reflection.
Ji-hoon ran. Lights fractured. Mirrors trembled.
Sector Seven. Jin-ho stood by the Gate.
His face. My blood. Not my father.
"You're just a vessel," Jin-ho said. "Not the bridge. Not like me."
"You're using my father," Ji-hoon said. "Let him go."
The portal pulsed wider. The mirror world peeked through—shapes with no names.
They're coming.
"Stop it," Ji-hoon pleaded.
And then—his father's voice: "Ji-hoon?"
Still there. Still fighting.
Ji-hoon reached inward, offered strength.
Balance. Coexistence. Not conquest.
The portal flickered. Min-gyu broke through.
"I'm proud of you," he said. Then—he jumped.
Into the portal. Taking Jin-ho with him.
The Gate collapsed. The world shook.
Ji-hoon opened his eyes. Balanced. Whole.
But the mirror world was still watching.
→ [To be continued in Episode 43]
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