Jihan pulled the end of the dirty bandage with his teeth, while his left hand wrapped the remaining fabric around his chest and right shoulder. He tied his right arm, completely shattered into gravel-like fragments, as tightly as possible so it would stick rigidly to his torso.Every time he pulled the cloth, the sickening sound of bones grinding against each other echoed from within his flesh. Cold sweat poured down his white-streaked temples. His right arm was now nothing more than a hanging slab of dead meat. It was an extra burden he had to carry everywhere."Is it tight enough, Han?" Luna asked from the driver's seat. Her eyes stared at the dark street through the cracked windshield of their stolen sedan. Luna's own right arm was still bound in a sling, forcing her to drive purely with her left hand."Good enough. At least the bones won't pierce my blood vessels when I run," Jihan answered hoarsely. He leaned his back against the seat, holding his breath as a sharp pain pierced h

Smoke smelling of rust and acid filled the cold underground operating room. The four-inch-thick steel that had previously served as a security door now pooled on the floor, melted like rotting butter left on a hot stove.From behind the melted hole, Silas stepped inside very calmly. His leather dress shoes avoided the puddles of molten steel with graceful precision. His gray suit looked incredibly neat, contrasting with the slum he had just walked into. The tall, skinny man held a gold pocket watch in his left hand, its ticking second hand breaking the tense silence."Good evening, Mr. Jihan," Silas greeted. His voice was as soft as velvet, but it radiated an aura of death that made the air in the room feel like it was freezing their lungs.Jihan immediately took a step back, shielding Dian's wheelchair with his body. His right arm, now encased in a pitch-black parasite cast, throbbed wildly. The parasitic thorns inside his flesh writhed restlessly, responding to the threat of the pre

The suffocating smell of rust and rotting blood hung heavy in the underground clinic.Silas stood tall amidst the destruction. The elite assassin raised his right arm, staring at the bloody stump where his hand used to be. A sickeningly dull gray aura suddenly erupted from his severed wrist. Jihan watched with wide, exhausted eyes as the laws of time were violently reversed right in front of him.White bone fragments shot out from the bloody stump, knitting themselves together. Muscle fibers coiled and twisted like living worms, wrapping around the new skeletal structure. Within seconds, pale skin sealed over the exposed flesh, forming a brand new, perfectly intact hand. Silas flexed his new fingers, adjusting the cuff of his gray suit with an elegant, almost bored expression."That was quite a sting, Mr. Jihan," Silas chuckled softly. His voice echoed in the cold room. "But it seems your borrowed time has finally caught up with you."Jihan tried to answer, but a violent cough ripped

The metallic clatter of medical tools filled the cold underground clinic. Krom's hands shook violently. Tears and sweat mixed with the fresh blood dripping from the right side of his head. The crazy alchemist sobbed pathetically as he crushed the gray ash left behind by Silas into a glass beaker. He mixed the dust with a thick, foul-smelling monster blood extract.Jihan stood a few feet away. He leaned heavily against the concrete wall. His newly aged, fifty-year-old body ached in every single joint. His right arm, encased entirely in the heavy black Parasite Cast, pulsed with a dull, hungry throb. His pitch-black eyes watched Krom's every move with a dead, hollow stare."Hurry up, Krom," Jihan rasped. His voice sounded like grinding gravel. "If her breathing stops, I am going to feed your other ear to this parasite.""I am doing it! I am doing it, Jihan! Please, just keep that thing away from me!" Krom cried out, his voice cracking in pure terror. He quickly drew the murky, grayish-g

The darkness at the bottom of this ocean trench was nothing like the dark nights on the capital's streets. It was an absolute darkness that crushed, suffocated, and isolated.Jihan and Luna kept moving down through the ice-cold water. They wore pitch-black tactical wetsuits and stealth rebreather oxygen tanks that did not release a single air bubble. At a depth of fifteen hundred feet below sea level, sunlight was a myth of the past. Their only illumination was the dim green glow from the screen panel on Luna's wrist."Han, is your radio still clear?" Luna's voice sounded static and crackly inside the earpiece of Jihan's diving helmet."Still clear. But my chest feels like it is being crushed by a semi-truck," Jihan replied quietly. His breathing sounded heavy over the comm channel."Hold on. We are almost there. Do not make any unnecessary movements, save your oxygen."Jihan did not reply again. The young man focused his mind on the kicks of his flippers. Diving at this extreme depth