The Academy's sky turned strange that night.
Clouds thinned, stars blinked out one by one,
And then… the moon bled—its silver light soaked in crimson, casting shadows long and alive.
Jin stood on the rooftop, arms folded. Bo Lang sat beside him, chewing dried mango.
> "So… moon's dripping blood. You think we're gonna die?"
> "No," Jin said. "But something's waking up."
Down below, Yi Yiran stood alone at the lake.
The wind danced around her, pulling at her long robe like invisible hands. Whispering.
Yooha arrived first. Silent, cautious. She didn't trust Yiran. Not yet.
> "You called us," she said, tone flat.
"What do you want?"
Yi Yiran didn't look back. "This moon calls to bloodlines. Jin must remember."
Jin arrived next. The moment he stepped into the red moonlight, he staggered.
A flash burned behind his eyes. A memory not his own.
—Flash Memory—
A man with white hair and fox eyes laughs under the same blood-red moon.
> "Hide him well," he tells a crying woman.
"The gods hunt my blood now."
A blade named Laughing Blade falls from the sky like thunder.
Back in reality, Jin falls to his knees.
> "W–Who was that?! Was that… my father?"
Yi Yiran walks toward him.
> "Your father isn't dead. But he's not free either. The moon... it's your curse too."
Jin grips the earth.
> "Where is he?!"
Yi Yiran leans in. Whispers.
> "Find the shrine where laughter dies... and you'll find the key."
Suddenly, the moon flashes—bright red—and goes dark.
Everyone gasps. The light returns to silver. The moment is gone.
Bo Lang looks around, finally breaking the silence.
> "…I think I peed a little."
End of Episode 17( continue)