Sung Jinwoo watch the people walking about outside, thinking about his family. He misses them. However, the Envoy was right about his power not meant to remain in this world. He is aware that if he tries to be selfish, other things will come to this world...either out of curiosity because of the power he emit or...because they want said power for themselves. What if, by choosing to stay, he brings about ruin to everyone that he loves?

The Black Heart thumps inside his chest.

Jinwoo closes his eyes, missing a familiar face passing by the window, as he focuses inward...

"It seems that you are never part of this world after all...Ashborn,"

~

While taking over the Black Heart fully in the dimensional crack, Jinwoo learns that the reason that Ashborn were given a fail-safe by the Absolute Being is because Ashborn's origin was a lot more complicated. Ashborn's very core wasn't created by the Absolute Being but was really a fragment that came from beyond Existence. Or rather, something that landed in this world. It was also why the Rulers are all wary of him.

Ironically, this 'intruder' cares more for the world than any other that the Absolute Being created.

~

When the Envoy returns, Jinwoo have his answer ready...

After all, Ashborn remained despite knowing his origin because he couldn't leave the war between Monarchs and Rulers destroy the world. Even though Ashborn could just as easily break the compulsion the Absolute Being placed on him by simply 'dying', he didn't. And even if he could just leave after being 'reborn' as the Shadow Monarch, he remained to try and save the world.

Even though he too have children to return to...he gave it all up for the sake of a world that doesn't even know of him. So, for all that Ashborn had given Jinwoo, and for the fact that staying could expose this world to greater danger that they aren't prepared for, Jinwoo looks at the Envoy;

"Take me to the Edge of the World Tree,"

The Envoy's eyes widens, "How did you...?"

Jinwoo smiles, "...I think a Father should return home to where his children are waiting...don't you?"

His parents and Jinah will be fine. Even though they will be angry and will worry, he only ever wanted them safe from harm. He misses them but...this is the right thing to do. He knows that he could stay if he wanted to. After all, he still have friends and allies in this world. Even if they can't remember him. However, he thinks that they deserves this second chance without death and violence to steal their smiles from them.

But Ashborn...the man that sacrifices even his chance to return home...

Jinwoo touches his chest, "This body is no longer part of this world,"

His surname will always be Sung. He will always be the son of Sung Il-Hwan and Park Kyung-Hye. He will always be the big brother of Sung Jinah. But that boy named Sung Jinwoo had been sacrificed a long time ago. Forged and tempered to be the vessel of power for the Shadow Monarch. At the same time, he is too different. He can tell that he will not age with the rest of the world.

He will not be able to live as Sung Jinwoo the human.

He looks at the Envoy, "The dead should be allowed to rest,"

As ironic as that sounded like, he should know the best.

~

Jinwoo stares at the twisting starlit vines and branches and roots of the World Tree that he had spent the past decades of his life keeping safe. He knows that he can visit it whenever...but first, "I need to find the Heart of Chaos Cauldron,"

~

Chaos Cauldron is certainly big. No matter how far he flies on the back of a dragon, he have yet to find it. Ashborn's original home; Phantom's Keep. With his ride groaning, Jinwoo decides to take a break on a random rock. Fortunately, his constitution as the Shadow Monarch means that he isn't hungry. Still...

"Maybe I should have packed some snacks,"

At least, he'll have something to focus on other than endless expanse of Creation. Then again...

"Space is really loud, huh?"

But there is a kind of music to it, he noticed. If he close his eyes, he can pick up tunes. But it is a little hard because there are many types of rhythm to it. Ranging from classical to electro.

Beru appears, "Milord, there is something very large moving below,"

Jinwoo opens his eyes and jumps onto Kaisel just in time avoid the brush of a creature that is larger than any dragons or giants. Looking down, it seems that it just moving and since Jinwoo is extremely small in comparison, it hardly notice him. Not wanting to pick up for no reason with something so large, Jinwoo urges Kaisel to start flying. Looking behind, he can still see the mass despite being far from his original point.

It is bigger than even Earth.

Jinwoo is powerful, not dumb. It will take more than his whole might to take down a planet sized threat, let alone one that looks like it can crush the planet simply by bumping when passing. Deciding to continue his journey, he turns away.

Hoping that whatever Eldritch beast that was will not follow him...

~

He ends up on another rock. Dismissing Kaisel, he makes sure that there isn't anything like that cosmic beast from before to 'bump' into him before sitting down. Igris appears beside him, joined by the always clingy Beru. Jinwoo is starting to lose heart.

How long has it been?

This place certainly lives up to it's name as the Infinite Realm. The few glimpses of information that he gained from delving deep into the Black Heart doesn't tell him much. Ashborn knew about his origin and how he ended up in Jinwoo's World Tree, but beyond knowing that and that he's a Father, his memories before his time as Ashborn was fragmented. Incomplete.

Still...

"This place is too damn big,"

~

Another day, another rock.

This is getting repetitive.

Except, this time...

Jinwoo stares at the tall man with long white hair that falls to his heels on the rock. He's a little wary, unsure but he could use direction. Approaching the tall, armored man with stark white head (not the strangest appearance he's seen), he calls out, "Excuse me?"

The figure looks towards him and it is only his time as a Hunter and the almost endless war in the dimensional crack that stops him from screaming. This guy seriously look like the kind of ghosts in Korean horror movies would have. After all, his eyes are black but there is now eyeball. It's like looking into the abyss.

Jinwoo presses onward, "Excuse me but...I would like to know how to find Phantom's Keep-?" He stutters to a stop when the tall man walks towards him. Mentally ordering his trigger happy but loyal soldiers back, he waits for the pale, ghost-like man to stop.

[Father...?]

Jinwoo blinks, "Father?"

The man tilts his head, his lips firmly shut but a voice echoes in Jinwoo's ears like the gurgles of a creek, [You...feel like...Father. Why?]

Jinwoo clears his throat, "Are you Ashborn's...child?"

The man doesn't even blink, [I am...Hollow. Son of...the Pale King. Father's name...Phantom. You...feel like...them]

Jinwoo hums, "I don't know either of that name, sorry. But...perhaps if I meet this...Phantom? Maybe he can give me answers?" The names feels familiar to the Black Heart.

Hollow nods, [Very well...come...]

He tilts his body back, falling off the asteroid. Jinwoo blinks when six wings appears behind Hollow from under his black cloak, much like dragonflies, but pale white like the moon with iridescent shimmers, allowing him flight. He looks at Jinwoo and Jinwoo summons his own feathery black wings that he inherited from Ashborn to chase after Hollow, who starts moving the moment Jinwoo lifts off from the asteroid. Jinwoo seldom flies but since there are little things to do in this place full of nothing, he have been practicing.

He can certainly fly faster than Kaisel...much to the dragon's sulkiness.

~

It surprised Jinwoo to see civilization. The city before him are built in a chain of islands that forms like rings, connected by bridges. The edges are clearly for 'soldiers' and inside are clearly farmlands. It made sense, as the farms are important. Then, after the farmlands are the residential areas. Strange beings moves around and no one seems to care about flying people, as even children can fly. Closer to the center are clearly commercial districts and deeper in are the administrative buildings. And there, in the center, is Phantom's Keep.

Like rivers of stars, 'water' flows all around the city from the Keep in the center. Ships docked in the largest channel and Jinwoo wonders where they came from and what they carry inside their vessels. Above all, some ships look like ships from old worlds, some ships look like ships that he was familiar with, and some ships look like they come from science fiction movies. In the narrower canal, he can see people or things simply...living their existence. But even though it looks like it comes straight from high fantasy medieval story, Jinwoo can see modern technologies all around.

There are even hoverboards!

...

Why do they even have them when they can just fly?

Maybe some can't fly?

~

Hollow takes Jinwoo straight to the Keep, a large fortress that looks like someone had taken a slab of crystallized night sky and carves the heck out of it. The result? A stunning and beautiful architecture that are both functional and artistic. Even with all the filigrees and curling ivies all around, with tall and wide Gothic windows allowing whatever it is that dictates daylight in this realm inside, making it looks more graceful than strong, Jinwoo have a feeling that not even a bomb can bring this building down.

Best of all, there are strange fluttering butterflies or something inside a glass sphere that acts as scones to light up the hallways. It makes the whole place feels both bizarre and whimsical. Jinwoo cannot help but admire the harmony of light and shadow in the Keep.

Hollow soon takes him to an open space. A garden of white flowers that looks like Paris Japonica (his mother loves flowers) except that everything about it is white and glowing softly, making it appear ethereal, with fuzzy gray-blue stems and leaves. It looks...delicate.

And it makes his shadows shivers, shying from it.

This makes Jinwoo a little wary of touching it. It might be poisonous to him.

Hollow takes him through the maze of white flowers that grows all across the garden like grounded stars, the grass beneath his shoes are dark purple, almost black, making them stands out even more. A graceful black gazebo stands in the middle with glasses for roof. Jinwoo can see a man sitting on the push recliner inside, possibly asleep. A tall man with silver hair and pale skin watch them approach.

Seph...

Jinwoo blinks as the Black Heart coos with affection.

Another man, this one with black hair and horns, peeks from behind a black pillar.

Mal...

Another one?

Hollow stops before them, [Brothers...this man...seeks Father]

That's new, Jinwoo thinks, but the Black Heart didn't react to Hollow. Are they really brothers?

Seph shifts from casually leaning against a pillar, his green eyes studying Jinwoo, "And why do you seek our Father?"

Jinwoo clears his throat, "Is your Father's name Ashborn?"

Mal quirks a brow, "No? Father's name is Phantom. Danail Khaos Phantom,"

Jinwoo grunts as the Black Heart throbs with recognition. He kneels down, wondering if Ashborn will now take over him instead of disappearing like before. His blood rushes as he tries to calm the racing heart. Jinwoo presses on his chest, trying to stay awake. It feels like he is dying. He would know, having been a Hunter that almost died more time than he cared to count.

A hand lands on his shoulder, "Calm down,"

Jinwoo gasps as he looks up to see glowing green eyes watching him. The racing heart slow returns to it's normal beat. The man, Danail, kneels before him and Jinwoo can feel it, the connection the Black Heart have with this man.

Just a splinter of him is already so powerful.

Danail nods, "This heart belongs to you. I will not take it back,"

The Black Heart completely settles inside his chest and Jinwoo blacks out.

~

Jinwoo learns that Danail, or Danny, isn't aware about what happened during his time as Ashborn. And since that version of him had handed his existence to Jinwoo, Danny will never know. So Jinwoo decides that he have the responsibility to share about Ashborn's trouble with Danny.

After a whole day of sharing his experiences and his troubles, he waits for Danny to come to a decision. He learns that his affinity with the dead and Ashborn's ability to transform into the Shadow Monarch is due to the dual nature of Danny's existence. Danny is the perfect being that straddles both Life and Death.

Once upon a time, he could switch states. As Ashborn, the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light, he was a Living Being. Then, upon rediscovering the power that transformed him into the Shadow Monarch, he was one of the Dead. However, he never did return to being a Ruler. Jinwoo isn't even sure if he's even capable, what with having become nothing more than just a heart.

Still, this is for the good of all...even if he will never see his family and loved ones ever again.

One day, Danny pulls him aside and asks, "Do you want your ordinary human life back?"

Jinwoo blinks, "You can do that?"

Danny nods, "However, Sung Jinwoo will stay Sung Jinwoo. You will not remember being Ashborn's vessel. Clockwork can certainly return you to a time before you left. Your parents will never worry because to them, you never left," He adds, "Frostbite offered to create a heart for you and he will transplant that heart, exchanging it with the Black Heart. The Black Heart will then be placed in a different body. I'm afraid that the core of Ashborn had gone through too much evolution to properly fit back inside me, especially since your personalities have melded," He offers his hand, "Even so...this way, you can go home and forget that life of nightmares,"

Feeling hope for the first time since making his heart rending decision to leave, Jinwoo is quick to grab that hand of salvation, "Please,"

If he can return home to his own family, if he can relive life as an ordinary student, if he can just be himself and not the Shadow Monarch, why won't he take it?

A few days after he managed to hand over his Shadow Army to Ashborn, Sung Jinwoo wakes up in bed as himself once...although his personality is certainly a little more serious than most of his peers. All in all, the world is safe from invasion and he regained his normal life once more.

Sung Jinwoo is happy...

~

Ashborn sits in the barrack. Originally, the ring of military garrisons are just a formality. Seph and Hollow are usually the one keeping things in order there, from the few ghosts of soldiers that are Obsessed with serving. However, now with his Shadow Army taking resident, it is certainly looking more and more like a proper army. Fortunately, since they are all different from one another but still have to work together, arguments are on the lower side.

Discrimination are not tolerated.

Ashborn looks like Sung Jinwoo that battled for 27 years in the dimensional crack, except instead of purple glow, his is green with equally glowing green eyes. Ashborn remembers the short time spent with Jinwoo but is satisfied that Danny found a way to separate them. The boy deserves his rest and his own life.

This way, his Black Heart will not keep the boy immortal, forcing him to watch his world slowly wither around him while he remains the same. There not punishment worse thanthe stagnancy of immortality.

Fortunately, the transfer of the Shadow Army from Sung Jinwoo to Ashborn are without problem. Beru is a little sad but realizes that this is for the best. He then focus on making himself worthy to serve Ashborn. The same goes for Igris and the rest. They will miss Jinwoo but they respect his wish. He had given enough, after all.

"How is it?"

Ashborn turns to Danny, "Everything is in order,"

Danny snorts, shaking his head, "I mean...how are you feeling?"

Ashborn looks to vast void beyond, "I am well...Father,"

The decision to call Danny Father is an easy one. What are parents if not the provider of the material required to create a child. He was a piece of Danny, one who had unwittingly given the Absolute Being the material required to create him. But the Absolute Being is just his Creator. Danny is his Father. It is as simple as that.

Danny sighs, "He'll do fine. He's more focused than the other kids his age, more mature," He looks at Ashborn, "You can watch him with Clockwork if you want,"

Ashborn smiles, "I'll be fine. Thank you,"

Danny pats his armored shoulder, "Don't forget to join us for dinner. I don't want you to alienate yourself, alright? Your siblings wants to know you,"

Ashborn chuckles, thinking about all the Voidlings that enjoys playing with his Shadow Army. Beru are especially affectionate since he is a bug like them. He sighs as he looks towards the direction of Jinwoo's world.

Yes. This is the perfect ending for their long journey.