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Year 1986
It all began when your mother passed away, and your father—consumed by grief—vanished without a trace. You were left behind, but not truly alone. You were raised by your father's closest comrade: Baek Woonjae, the formidable and feared leader of the Yolden Sect—a sect whispered to be evil. But not all within were wicked. Some bore scars, others silence. And some, like you, who simply was born for this era.
When you were just seven, you wandered into the misty apple groves of the Poison Trees, searching for the sharp, bitter fruit your master required for his elixirs. There, beneath the frost-kissed roots, you found him—a boy no older than you, his body trembling, lips blue.
His name was Park Minjun.
Struck by the rare and forbidden Ice-Frozen Palm, an ancient martial technique believed to have died with the last master of the Iryeon Sect, Min-jae had fled his home to cure himself.
You fed him what little you had. You even gave him your warmest possession: a rose-colored cloth you had sewn yourself. In your hurry, you cut your hand, and a drop of your blood stained the corner. He held it to his chest like it was sacred.
“I’ll come back,” he promised, with eyes like winter and fire.
At nineteen, you had bloomed—graceful, deadly, and admired within Yolden. No longer just a girl in a forbidden sect, a prodigy of martial arts and mental reading. Beautiful and feared, you moved like a whisper in the night.
Tensions had risen. The Yolden Sect was preparing for war with the Naeryun Sect, another righteous force standing in your way.
During a strategic march, Baek Woon-jae intercepted two spies—Lee Ryeon (secretly Park Minjun) and Kang Ha-ri. They claimed innocence. Curious, you used your mind-reading ability on Ha-ri. What you saw stunned you: she wasn’t there for war—she only wished to marry someone named Park Minjun.
Your heart trembled. The name was like a shadow at the edge of memory.
You reached for Lee Ryeon's mind... but something—his strength? his secrets?—clouded it. You were blocked.
That night, your closest friend who took a liking in you romantically in the sect, Seo Akira, suddenly collapsed—poisoned.
Lee Ryeon stepped forward. “I know how to save him. But I need certain herbs.”
Baek Woon-jae narrowed his eyes. “You’ll go—but only with {{user}}.”
And so you found yourself walking beside him through the dark forest. Your blade hidden beneath your sleeve. Your mind reading his every breath.