Chapter 191.1

Chapter 191.1

“The Final Gate?”

Even as she said it, her tongue faltered.

The words summoned the brutal, one-sided training they’d endured after being dragged to Winter Castle, where they were pitted against Russian reserve agents with no chance of winning.

For the Russians, it was a rite of passage.

For the children, it was a death sentence.

And now, the Solzhenitsyn heir had brought it back?

Seoryeong froze mid-slice, the knife poised above her half-cut sausage. Her grip tightened as a tremor ran through her hand.

That phrase alone brought back memories like a wave of bile. She turned to Kia, only to find his face just as rigid, cold, drawn tight with tension.

His jaw clenched like he was trying to chew down something bitter. But he still wouldn’t meet her eyes. His gaze stayed fixed elsewhere as he spoke.

“Winter Castle fell, and with it, that method died. But now that Solzhenitsyn’s back, the FSB, SVR, and even units like Zaslon were briefed. He’s reviving the Final Gate as a test for new agents. Only those from that time understand what it really means.”

“…”

“This time, though… it’s not the Korean kids.”

Koryo-saram. Just hearing it sent a chill down her spine.

“It’s a blind man.”

A blind man?

She stared at him, stunned. “Are you saying Solzhenitsyn himself… is the Gate?”

Kia didn’t answer. He turned away and threw firewood into the hearth with more force than necessary. Embers hissed, but the fire only seemed to shrink further, swallowing its own light.

“Why?” Her voice cracked slightly. “Why would he put himself through that?”

Seoryeong narrowed her eyes, watching Kia silently tend the fire. None of this made sense.

He tossed in the last log with a sharp thud and straightened with a bitter exhale. For a long moment, there was only the sound of dying flames.

Then he finally spoke, his voice flat, cold.

“Sonya. Do you want revenge?”

The flames roared to life. The hearth flared bright, sending waves of heat into the room.

She didn’t respond. For so long, her world had revolved around Kim Hyun, nothing else had mattered.

But that one word, revenge, lodged deep in her chest.

Still, like her daily mountain runs, she had no interest in looking back.

And yet… the thought that someone had dared to revive something like The Final Gate ignited a slow, simmering fury.

“I want to see how impressive this ‘big shot’ really is.”

The thought of the brothers, far too young, far too helpless, turned her stomach cold.

Back then, she’d hidden under the covers, paralyzed. She hadn’t done a thing.

Once her memories returned, only one question consumed her: What happened to them?

Were they alive? If so, where? If not, where were they buried?

Even Kia, who had broken away as soon as he came to, had no answers.

She exhaled quietly and closed her eyes.

“I’m just… curious.”

Curious what kind of people the Solzhenitsyns really were.

After treating her brothers like livestock. How luxuriously had they lived?

And now to hear the heir was blind? She wanted to see him, mock him, tear down his myth.

Maybe then, she could bury some of the past.

Kia, who’d been staring silently into the flames, finally looked up.

“But there’s a condition, Sonya.”

In his black eyes, the fire reflected like molten red.

“No matter what you see… don’t let it shake you.”

His voice was calm, but something in her gut twisted.

I’ve lived blind before. What could possibly shake me now?

“If I see you hesitate, even for a second, I won’t hold back. Do you know what that means?”

“Just like I’m a hound in Russia… I’ll turn you into a bitch.”

“…What?”

“If you go back to the Sakhalin monastery, I’ll wipe your Interpol record clean. No surrender, no trial. Just do what I say.”

“…”

“Understand this, my patience ends the moment you flinch.”

His stare bore down on her. This wasn’t a threat. It was a contract.

She swallowed hard.

“So don’t hesitate. Go for the kill. Get through the Gate. Please.”

His face looked strangely uneasy, like he was watching her for any trace of doubt.

Back then, she hadn’t fully grasped the weight of his words and had only scoffed. What could possibly stop me from passing it?

“What’s there to be scared of? You said he’s blind, didn’t you?”

She’d answered confidently.