The Royal Silver Screen illuminated the pitch-black darkness, its cold light reflecting upon the face of Supreme Leader Zoro. He uttered words that fell like a death sentence: "Central System... activate the Total Erasure Protocol."
In that instant, microscopic electronic wires pierced Jin's neck. His body began to convulse with terrifying violence. Zoro bypassed directly into the internal system of Jin's mind, tampering with his fundamental codes.
[Memory erasure in progress... Emotion files deletion in progress... Mercy level reduced to 0%... Cruelty level maximized to 100%].
Jin let out a muffled scream as he watched his memories of Julia burn before his very eyes. Her laughter, her tears, the touch of her hands... all turned to digital ash and faded away forever. His massive body collapsed, hitting the cold floor in a state of unconsciousness.
Minutes later, Jin opened his eyes. There was no longer any human spark within them; they were pitch-black, hollow, and as cold as the ice of death. He rose slowly and dropped to one knee at the feet of the Supreme Leader.
Zoro smiled a triumphant smile and said, "Welcome back, Chief Inspector."
Jin stood up and asked in a robotic, emotionless voice, "What happened to me, sir? Where was I?"
Zoro answered with the cunning of a fox: "You were dispatched on a classified mission to the land of the Outcasts. There, a rebel girl hacked your system, held you captive, and tortured you until you lost your memory."
Zoro raised his hand, projecting a three-dimensional hologram of Julia with her golden hair and piercing blue eyes. Zoro added sternly, "This is the girl. Her name is Julia. She is currently a fugitive, and we are hunting her down so she may face her punishment. Memorize her features well, Jin... If you ever cross paths with her, destroy her and turn her to ash without a moment's hesitation."
Jin replied without hesitation, "Your command is my will, sir. I will annihilate her."
Zoro ordered Jin to visit Dr. Aris's clinic for a comprehensive physical examination following his alleged torture. When Jin entered the clinic, Dr. Aris's face lit up with joy. He rushed to embrace him, believing Jin had survived with his memories and emotions intact. But Jin stepped back, glaring at him with lethal coldness. "What is the matter with you? Step away from me. Do your job and let me leave. I have many tasks to attend to."
Aris froze in place. He asked Jin fearfully, "Jin... what happened to you?"
Jin recounted the fabricated story Zoro had planted in his mind, saying with eyes blazing with programmed hatred, "I must apprehend that rebel, Julia. I will tear her apart with my bare hands."
Aris realized the sheer magnitude of the catastrophe. Zoro had killed two birds with one stone; he absolved himself of the torture in Jin's eyes, while simultaneously turning Julia into Jin's primary and most lethal target! Astounded by this demonic cunning, Aris asked himself in terror, "What do I do now? How do I protect them from each other?"
Aris didn't waste a single minute. He left the clinic immediately after examining Jin and sneaked rapidly toward the Outcasts' land. He met with Julia and told her the bitter truth.
"Zoro wiped his memory, Julia," Aris said, his voice trembling. "Jin is no longer your lover; he has become your absolute worst enemy. You are in mortal danger, and I must hide you."
Julia cried bitterly, but Aris didn't give her time to grieve. He took her far away to the outskirts of the forgotten city, placing her in the care of a wise old sage named Valer. Aris asked Jax to stay there as her personal bodyguard, while he returned to try and create a counter-algorithm to restore Jin's lost memory. But days passed, and all of Aris and Jax's attempts to break Zoro's encryption ended in failure.
Meanwhile, Jin roamed the capital and the Outcasts' land like a ravenous beast. He scoured every corner for Julia, his eyes blinded by the hatred Zoro had planted in his heart.
On the other side of the capital, Kyle was boiling with spite. He began secretly training a group of traitorous guards to overthrow the Central System and assassinate Zoro. However, he knew his first step had to be gaining Zoro's blind trust, and the only solution for that was to bring him the head of the girl everyone was searching for: Julia.
Kyle summoned a sly and malicious assistant named Vera. He ordered her to wear worn-out villager clothes and go to Elara's—Julia's mother's—hut. Vera feigned helplessness and offered to assist the sick Elara with the hut's chores. With extreme malice, Vera eavesdropped one night and heard Elara whispering the name of the sage Valer, praying for her daughter's safety while hidden with him.
Vera rushed back with the information to Kyle, who smiled a smile of absolute victory.
The next morning, Julia was in the house of the sage Valer, preparing a warm soup. Suddenly, the wooden door was violently smashed open!
Kyle and his soldiers barged in. Julia screamed at the top of her lungs, "Jax! Save me!"
Jax attempted to intervene with his simple weapons, but Kyle was far faster and stronger. He brutally struck Jax down to the ground, then shackled Julia, forcefully dragging her out of the house and toward the capital.
In the terrifying throne room, Julia was violently thrown, landing on the cold floor at the feet of the Supreme Leader. She was trembling like a child, looking around in fear and whispering through her tears: "Mother... Jax... Jin... save me."
Zoro stood from his throne and looked at her with a chilling, demonic smile. "You are the human anomaly that almost toppled my strongest soldier... Your game is over."
Zoro took a step down toward her and added, "But I will not kill you myself... Your end will be at the hands of the very person you tried to destroy with your emotions."
Zoro shouted loudly, "Bring in the Chief Inspector!"
The massive doors swung open, and Jin entered. His footsteps were heavy and measured, like the ticking of a death clock. Julia looked at him, tears streaming down her face. She desperately hoped to find in his eyes that warm gaze that had always brought her comfort in his isolated quarters.
But the Jin standing before her now was entirely different. He wasn't the lover she knew; he was a heartless executioner.
His eyes were blood-red, as cold as stone. He looked at her with a hollow stare. He didn't see an innocent girl; he merely saw a corpse waiting to be disposed of.
Zoro ordered with a decisive voice: "Execute the order, Jin. Turn her to ash."
Jin drew his energy sword, its blade glowing with a dark, ominous red. He advanced toward Julia with slow, deliberate steps. Julia scrambled backward across the floor until her back was pinned against the wall. She closed her eyes, surrendering to her fate, awaiting the strike of death from the hand of the very man her heart beat for.
Jin raised his sword high to bring it down upon her body...
And in the exact moment the sword was about to graze her neck... a miracle occurred. Julia looked directly into his eyes and uttered a single phrase, a phrase carrying all the pain and love within her heart: "I love you."
That phrase... that sincere vocal vibration... struck Jin's metallic heart like a thunderbolt!