ここは...どこ？
>>SYSTEM PATCHING…<<
>>SYSTEM TRANSFERING TO GLOBAL LANGUAGE…<<
"Where... am I?"
Darkness. Cold. Muffled static like distant whispers. Then—a flicker. Light bleeds through lids that don’t exist.
A flash of crimson HUD text burst across the void:
>> PLAYER UPLOAD COMPLETE <<
>> SYNC STATUS: PARTIAL <<
>> RESPAWNING... <<
PING!
His eyes slammed open. The world materialized like corrupted data being recompiled in real time.
He stood in the middle of a long, crumbling stone hall—walls spiderwebbed with cracks, the ground soaked in congealed blood. Fires crackled in iron sconces that shouldn’t have burned. The air reeked of rot, iron, and something older.
He staggered forward, limping.
"Okay. Not Hell. But... not heaven either."
A high-pitched TING! sound echoed in his skull as translucent UI flickered to life around the edges of his vision. Letters scrambled, stabilized, then snapped into place.
>> Welcome to Simulation Layer: Zone-1-A (Tutorial Labyrinth) <<
[HP: 5/5] [STA: 10/10] [ARMOR: 0]
[LVL: 0] [EXP: 0/1000]
[CLASS: N/A] [LOADOUT: Empty]
[Status Effects: Weak, Malnourished, Drift]
"Well, that's comforting."
No voices. No footsteps. No sign of other players. Not even NPCs. Just a labyrinth of stone and silence.
He took a few shaky steps forward when—
SNARL.
A red goblin dropped from a broken pillar ahead. Small, hunched, fanged. It bared rotting teeth and gripped a chipped dagger like it was born with it.
>> Hostile Detected: Goblin (Lv. 2) <<
"Wait, what the—"
The goblin lunged.
SLASH!
CRITICAL HIT!
>> HP: 0/5 <<
>> YOU DIED <<
PING!
The world reloaded in less than a second. Same spot. Same blood. Same limp.
"No loading screen? Rude."
A heartbeat later—
SNARL.
SLASH!
>> YOU DIED <<
Respawn.
Death.
Respawn.
Death.
"OH COME ON! Do I need a damn rock or something!?"
[DEATH COUNT: 36]
[Respawn Penalty: Disabled - Tutorial Zone Exception]
On death number fifty, he finally grabbed a loose brick from the wall.
"Alright, Frodo. Time to meet my masonry."
The goblin leapt.
He ducked. Swung.
SMASH!
>> CRITICAL! // Goblin Defeated <<
>> EXP GAINED: +50 <<
>> Current EXP: 50/1000 <<
<< ITEM ACQUIRED: Rusted Dagger >>
[INVENTORY OPENED]
The interface blinked in his mind like muscle memory:
- [ITEM: Rusted Dagger - Lv. 2 Req. - Locked]
"Great. A knife I can't even use. Thanks, goblin Costco."
But the next goblin didn’t wait.
This time, he was ready. He ducked, kicked, slammed its head into the wall. Blood sprayed.
>> EXP +50 << >> EXP +50 << >> EXP +50 << >> EXP +50 <<
It took twenty kills. No deaths.
DING!
>> LEVEL UP! // NEW LEVEL: 1 <<
A fresh UI window popped across his view like an opening blossom:
"Still no class, huh? I guess I’m the bug in the system."
Somewhere, deeper in the dungeon, something stirred.
Something waiting.
A presence with no heartbeat.
A demigod with no purpose.
And the player had just noticed... he was finally worthy to reach the next chamber.
"It doesn't hurt to level up more. I don't know what is waiting in there. I should be able to equip the knife at least. Hhhh! Let's grind!!!"
SMASH!
>> CRITICAL! // Goblin Defeated <<
>> EXP GAINED: +50 <<
>> Current EXP: 50/1000 <<
SMASH!
>> CRITICAL! // Goblin Defeated <<
>> EXP GAINED: +50 <<
>> Current EXP: 250/1000 <<
<< ITEM ACQUIRED: Rusted Dagger >>
SMASH!
>> CRITICAL! // Goblin Defeated <<
>> EXP GAINED: +50 <<
>> Current EXP: 500/1000 <<
DING!
>> LEVEL UP! // NEW LEVEL: 2 <<
[DISPLAY SYNC IN PROGRESS…Full Display Unlocked]
?? HUD Layout (In-world Display)
- Top Left:
- HP / STA / MP / ARMOR
- Status Effects
- Bottom Left:
- EXP bar + Level progress
- Center Bottom (on call):
- Inventory Quick Wheel / Gear Slots
- Top Right (on call):
- Active Quests / Server Location / Zone ID
- Bottom Right :
- Active Armor
- Active Weapon
______________________________________________________________
>> PLAYER STATUS PANEL <<
Name: [Unknown]
Race: Human
Class: Glitched Entity [?]
Level: 2
EXP: 0 / 1000
- [Core Stats]
- HP (Health Points): 20 / 20
- STA (Stamina): 20 / 20
- MP (Mind Processing): 10 / 10
- ARMOR: 0
- RES (Resistance): 2
- [Combat Stats]
- ATK (Attack Power): 3
- DEF (Defense): 1
- CRIT RATE: 4%
- ACCURACY: 50%
- AGI (Agility): 5
-Speed: 4
- INIT (Initiative): 6
- LUCK: 0
- [System Status]
- Loadout: Empty
- Inventory: 2 Item (Rusted Dagger)
- Class Tree: ERROR – UNDEFINED
- Skills: None
- Alignment: Unregistered
- Status Effects:
- Weak (temporary)
- Malnourished
- Drift [Anomalous Signature Detected]
Zone: Tutorial Layer 1-A
Ping: 0.003s
“Ok, I'm pretty bad in shape. Need a lot of work. But i need ”
[INVENTORY OPENED]
The interface blinked in his mind like muscle memory:
- [ITEM: Rusted Dagger x2 ]
“Nice, let's equip the dagger.”
DING!
<< ITEM EQUIPPED: Rusted Dagger >>
- [Combat Stats]
- ATK (Attack Power): 4 >> +1 Increased <<
“Ok so the rusted dagger is shit then me. Let's move to the boss.”
The great stone door at the end of the hall opened with a mechanical grind—glyphs pulsing softly now, like they were waiting.
He stepped inside.
Black marble walls stretched like a cathedral carved from silence. Lines of golden light pulsed through the stone like veins under skin—alive, whispering..
In the center stood the figure.
Still. Silent. Watching.
His armor shimmered between ancient royal plating and flowing black shadow, never settling on one form. The floating blade beside him hummed like it remembered the taste of blood.
Those golden eyes focused.
>> UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED <<
[NAME: --Data Missing--] [LEVEL: ???] [STATUS: Awaiting Acknowledgement]
The air tightened.
The voice came.
"Finally... a player worthy of my challenge."
Before the player could react—
SLASH!
>> YOU DIED <<
PING.
Another breath. Another respawn.
Same corridor. Same blood. Same limp.
"Not again..."
He walked. This time slower. Eyes narrowed.
The sword came again—faster than sound.
But this time... it stopped. Inches from his throat.
>> UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED <<
[NAME: --Data Missing--] [LEVEL: ???] [STATUS: Awaiting Acknowledgement]
The player stepped forward.
>> ENTITY DETECTED <<
**Name:** Kaydrin, *The Warden of Trials*
**Type:** Demigod – Trial Warden Class
**Power Set:**
- Mirror Gate (Player-Bound Teleportation)
Creates a shimmering portal tethered to the player’s presence. Can only open if linked to a player. Grants access to sealed regions, archive zones, and forgotten levels to train players.
- Flickerform (Memory-Based Echo Clone)
Summons a temporal shade of himself from moments past. The echo mimics a previous action or position, confusing enemies and extending combat flow.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
- Gravemark Blade (Sentient Floating Sword)
A massive greatblade forged from fallen realmsteel, it floats silently beside him—responding only to his thoughts. Moves with preternatural grace and aggression.
- Regalia of Lost Thrones (Living Armor)
A mantle forged by Nyra’s hand, woven from memories and forgotten authority. Its form constantly shifts between royal armor and cloaked shadow. Grants adaptive defense and presence.
- Passive: Monarch’s Resilience
Kaydrin draws inner strength from a buried source—a broken crown, bound to his identity. Grants passive resistance to mental fatigue, soul-piercing effects, and spiritual corruption.
- Combat Style:
Commands, never swings. Every weapon movement is willed, not wielded.
- Speech Style:
Poetic. Weary. Symbolic. Speaks like one who’s read every death sentence written in history... and survived them all.
---
The voice returned—lower now. Frayed and fragile.
> *"A hundred years, three months, sixteen days... and seventeen billion ticks of silence."*
> *"They left. You were lost. And soon... I will be gone."*
The player froze.
> “What... what are you?”
> *"I am the Warden of Trials. Built to test the worthy. Guide the weak. Prepare the bold."*
> *"But I was abandoned ... and never used."*
His floating blade dimmed, drifting behind him like a mourning sentinel.
> *"They moved on. You did not. And this zone—my zone—will be purged."*
> "Purged? As in... deleted?" the player asked, voice tight.
> *"Erased. Forgotten. Obsolete."*
> *"The protocol is clear. No player activity for fifty years... no purpose. No place."*
The Player glanced around the empty blood-lit corridor.
> "That’s... messed up."
> "So you're an AI? A boss?"
Kaydrin tilted his head, slow.
> *"A remnant."*
"I was made for this chamber. My form is bound. My strength tethered. I cannot leave."
> "And the time's almost up… you’ll be wiped."
The player paced in a circle. Jaw clenched. Brain spinning.
> “So let me get this straight: You’re trapped. I’m underleveled. This whole place is about to get wiped like an old save file. And neither of us can stop it?”
> *"Correct."*
> “Great. Just perfect. Fantastic tutorial design, devs.”
He looked up. At Kaydrin. At the glyphs humming on the walls. At the still-glowing blade.
> "So what, then? You want one last duel? A final boss moment?"
> *"No."*
> *"I want to survive."*
> "You want me to cheat? Hack the system?"
> "Technically... yes. If you fuse with me."
> "Your soul is unclaimed. Your class is undefined. You are invisible to system protocols. I am already beyond them."
> "Together... we might persist."
Kaydrin stepped forward. The sword pulsed gently behind him like a heartbeat.
> *"I was made to guide. Now I am labeled obsolete—because there is no one left to guide."*
His voice cracked. Just once.
> *"And they will delete me. Like junk data."*
He raised a hand. The air shimmered with threads of gold—like heat bending light, or silk catching fire.
> *"My power—Mirror Gate—links levels. Hidden servers. Archives. Dead zones."*
> *"But it only functions when bound to a player. Otherwise, I am... locked."*
> *"With you, I could escape. And you—could reach places no other player has seen."*
"You would walk the parts of Terra One Kaelis buried—truths even he fears to remember."
The player blinked.
> "Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold on. That’s... a lot. Fusion? With *you*?"
He paused. Thought hard. This wasn’t a skill tree choice or a loot roll.
> *If I fuse with him... I might actually survive long enough to level up. More importantly—my real body could stabilize. The pod needs my mind active to generate nutrients.*
He nodded.
> "Okay... so what do I do?"
Kaydrin’s answer was barely a whisper.
> *“Wait for it...”*
---
**>> SYSTEM ALERT: SYMBIOSIS REQUEST INCOMING... <<**
The player looked down.
His hands glitched faintly—outlined in white.
Then a window blinked across his HUD like frost on glass.
---
>> SYMBIOSIS PROTOCOL: REQUESTED <<
[Merge with Entity: Kaydrin – WARDEN OF TRIALS?]
[Warning: Irreversible. Class tree will be permanently altered.]*
[Fusion Success Rate: 81% – Glitch Stability Pending]
He stared at the phantom [ACCEPT] button hovering in midair.
Took a breath.
> "If this goes sideways... I die again, right?"
> "No."
> "You die... forever."
The moment he hovered near [ACCEPT], the chamber shifted.
Not visually—viscerally.
The temperature dropped. Golden lines beneath the marble began to flicker, like veins pulsing with hesitation. Symbols carved into the stone twisted, spinning backward. The air buzzed with low, broken music—like someone trying to remember a lullaby they never learned.
Kaydrin lifted his hand. Using his Flickerform ability,
"Symbiosis requires alignment."
"Your soul must prove it can bear the weight of mine."
He turned his palm downward.
A crack formed in the floor—thin at first, then widening with a sharp screech.
From the darkness below, something rose.
A humanoid silhouette, identical to Kaydrin, but blurred at the edges—like a video buffering on corrupted hardware. Its body flickered between states: armored, rotted, regal, primal. Its eyes held none of Kaydrin’s age. Only fury.
"You will face what I once was..."
The player took an instinctive step back as the room pulsed.
>> ZONE LOCK ENGAGED <<
>> EXIT DENIED <<
>> TRIAL CLONE: ACTIVE <<
The blade behind Kaydrin broke off—splitting like liquid glass. One half floated toward the clone, embedding itself in the air behind it like a shadow twin.
The clone raised its hand—and the sword ignited in flame.
The UI buzzed.
>> HOSTILE DETECTED: TRIAL COPY // “ECHO WARDEN” <<
[LEVEL: 5] [AI TYPE: UNSTABLE MEMORY]
[DANGER RANKING: RED]
“Oh come on,” the player muttered. “I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”
>> COMBAT ENGAGED <<
The clone blurred.
SLASH!
A warning flash across the UI—barely enough time to duck. The sword scraped his shoulder. Sparks flew off skin. Blood followed.
>> HP: 14 / 20 <<
>> STATUS: Bleeding (Minor) <<
He rolled sideways, behind a broken column. The clone advanced—hovering rather than walking. Each step left behind echoes, brief afterimages of itself frozen in different poses.
"This thing... is cheating with style."
He lunged with the Rusted Dagger—only for the clone to phase sideways, reappearing behind him.
SLAM.
The sword came down. He blocked with the hilt of the dagger, metal screeching, his arms numb from the impact.
>> HP: 10 / 20 <<
“Okay. Okay. I see you, Anime Final Boss beta build.”
He flipped backward, skidding on one knee. His dagger glitched—flickering out, then back in.
“Nope. Don’t you dare break on me now!”
The clone raised its arm again—this time forming two copies beside it. They mirrored the same attack stance.
“Three? Really?!”
The trio blurred into motion. Only one was real. Only one strike would land.
“Kaydrin, you sadistic antique—”
He dived.
SLICE.
AIR.
He’d guessed right. The fakes dispersed into static.
“Ha! Thought you had me, didn’t you, Ghost-of-Firmware-Past?!”
He spun and slammed his dagger into the clone’s back.
>> CRITICAL HIT! <<
>> HP: [??] – REACTION INITIATED <<
The clone let out a whisper-screech—like a corrupted voice file being played backwards. Its body twisted mid-air, grabbed his wrist, and hurled him backward.
CRASH.
He hit a wall. Cracks splintered the stone behind him.
>> HP: 6 / 20 <<
The clone stalked forward, blade burning. The room pulsed faster now. Even the glyphs in the air seemed to panic.
"Okay. Last round."
He crouched low. Waited. Let it come to him.
Three steps.
Two.
The sword rose.
The dagger glitched again.
He shifted his grip. Used the brick.
The very same one.
SMASH.
>> CRITICAL STRIKE // STRUCTURE BREACH <<
The brick shattered. So did the clone’s face.
And then...
The clone shattered.
But not like an enemy dying. Not like a kill.
It came apart like a story ending—pieces of it turning into floating shards of white glass, each spinning with images too fast to understand. Faces. Numbers. Fragments of other players screaming. A cathedral crumbling. A planet burning in silence.
The player didn’t move.
He couldn’t.
The light from the collapsing clone swirled around him, slow and hungry, forming a spiral that reached into his skin, into his mind. His HUD glitched violently.
>> SYSTEM SYNC LOST <<
>> SIGNAL OVERRIDE // MEM-PULL TRIGGERED <<
>> WARNING: UNSTABLE MEMORY FILE LOADED <<
“What the hell is—”
The world vanished.
WHITE.
No floor. No sky. No horizon. Only a sea of light that hummed like a giant sleeping behind a wall of data.
The player floated, weightless.
Then—
A presence.
Two, actually.
In front of him, on a raised platform woven from luminous stone and metal, stood Kaelis and Nyra—not as projections, but as living presences. Kaelis stood tall, immaculate—armored like a god sculpted from polished glass and cold judgment. His eyes shimmered with quiet disapproval.
Nyra—barefoot, serene, eyes like galaxies slowly blinking—stood beside him, her presence gentle, almost maternal.
And kneeling before them was Kaydrin, shoulders low, sword discarded, glitching slightly at the edges.
“I ask only for this…”
“Don’t purge them. Don’t throw them into the Archives. Move them. Hide them. Give them a second purpose.”
Kaelis didn’t speak. He only tilted his head slightly.
Then turned away.
And vanished like a command line being deleted.
Kaydrin didn’t rise. He just lay there—his armor shedding dark energy like blood in water.
Nyra stepped forward.
She knelt, mirroring him, and placed her hand gently on his head.
“Even the forgotten have worth.”
“I cannot save your kind...”
“But I can give you one last role to play.”
She looked up.
Directly at the player.
And blinked.
Everything cracked.
WHITE. STILL. AGAIN.
The player stood alone in the center of the Bright Room.
It wasn’t a space—it was a concept. A room of pure process. A staging ground. The same white sea from his first upload flash.
Except now, it moved.
Memories passed across the white walls like waves—echoes of Terra One’s creation. The Ark. Earth is dying. The simulation being born. Dr. Tsung’s voice saying: "The body must sleep. The mind must thrive." {etc, etc the one in intro.}
His HUD tried to reinitialize—
>> SYMBIOSIS PROTOCOL: INTEGRATION COMPLETE <<
>> SYSTEM REALIGNMENT: 81%... 92%... STABLE <<
Then a voice.
Inside his head.
Familiar.
Regal.
Tired.
“You survived.”
“The fusion held.”
“And now... I am your eyes.”
“Your blade.”
“Your map through the system.”
The player blinked slowly. He looked down.
A new line appeared across his HUD in burning white text:
>> CLASS ACQUIRED: REMONARCH // ENTITY: Kaydrin LINKED <<
He exhaled.
“Okay. Now this... this is a new game plus.”
Then came the voice—Kaydrin's—but different now. Calibrated. Measured.
Like a god reciting lines from an ancient script.
> *“Initializing the Remonarch protocol…”*
> *“Class integration: locked. Singular. Rarity: Legendary—1 of 1. Classification: godtier.”*
A circular glyph spun into view across the player's vision—
—a **fragmented crown**, cracked in half but floating, surrounded by a halo of rotating data rings.
It hovered at the edge of his HUD like a seal.
> *“You are now classified as: The Remonarch.”*
> *“You were not chosen. You were not assigned. You are the result of a broken thread, bound by echo.”*
The HUD shimmered.
---
### ?? **REMONARCH – CLASS BREAKDOWN**
> **[ CLASS: REMONARCH ]**
> *“Sovereign of the forgotten. Wielder of what remains.”*
- **Tier:** Legendary (UNIQUE – 1/10,000,000,000)
- **NPC Link:** Kaydrin – Trial Warden Class (Fused)
- **System Recognition:** Suppressed // Unregistered Tree
- **Status:** [Error: Undefined Class Tree]
---
#### ?? Passive Skill: **Remonarch Adaptation**
> The longer the Remonarch stays in a zone, the more resistant they become to its hazards. Environmental damage, corruption, and poison/acid effects are reduced over time. Low regen activates post-respawn.
---
#### ?? Active Skill 1: **Mirror Gate**
> Opens a rift to a hidden layer, purge zone, or archived server. Can target self or linked player if present.
> *“The gate remembers what even gods forget.”*
> **Cooldown:** 1.5 hrs.
---
#### ?? Active Skill 2: **Echo Split**
> Summons a time-glitched projection of the player or his champion Kaydrin.
> Mimics last movement or attack, creating combo potential or decoy.
> **Duration:** 20 seconds. **Cooldown:** 1 day.
---
The glyph branded itself into the corner of his HUD—faintly glowing, like a heartbeat of forbidden fire.
> *“You are not supposed to exist.”*
> *“Which makes you very... interesting.”*
Ting!
A new panel unfolded—sleek, white-on-black, its edges twitching with digital static and unseen decay.
>> LEVEL UP! // NEW LEVEL: 5 <<
>> SYSTEM REWARD: +1850 EXP <<
>> CLASS: REMONARCH (Bound) <<
>> STAT POINTS GAINED: +5 <<
>> Symbiosis Drift Detected: 2 Points Auto-Assigned <<
>> Remaining Points to Allocate: 3 <<
>> Allocate Now? [Y/N] <<
[PLAYER STATUS PANEL – REMONARCH]
NAME: Unknown
CLASS: Remonarch
LEVEL: 5
EXP: 350 / 2000
[Core Stats]
- HP: 40 / 40
- STA: 20 / 20
- MP: 11 / 11
- ARMOR: 2
- RES: 3
[Combat Stats]
- ATK: 5
- DEF: 1
- CRIT RATE: 4%
- ACCURACY: 50%
- AGI: 6
- Speed: 4
- INIT: 6
- LUCK: 0
- Inventory Slots: 25
[Status Effects:]
- Malnourished [Stabilizing]
- Drift [Bound]
He stared at the interface.
"Five points, huh?"
He hovered over ATK, added two clicks. Shifted one into AGI.
"Okay. Two to damage. One to dodging. Let’s not die to goblins ever again.”
Then the panel pulsed red.
Two points flickered—already placed.
[+1 MP] [ +1 RES ]
>> Auto-Assignment Complete <<
"...Hey! I didn’t touch that!"
Kaydrin's voice returned, amused.
“Your class is... shared. Some decisions are no longer entirely yours.”
“But trust me. You’ll need the resistance... where we're going.”
The allocation window faded, leaving only the faint pulse of the Remonarch glyph spinning in the corner.
The player exhaled.
Not because he felt ready.
But because for the first time since waking up—
He felt real.
_____________________________________________________________
>> NEW ITEMS ADDED TO INVENTORY <<
- Warden Trial Sword [Legendary - Lv-1]
– Weapon // Remonarch-Class Only
– Lv. Req: 8
– Basic edge weapon formed from bonded memory code
– "This is a beginning. Not a blade."
- Warden steel Ring [Legendary]
– Accessory // Remonarch-Class Only
– Lv. Req: 10
– Effect: Unknown
– Inscription: “Echoes loop where truth won’t.”
- Warden’s Armor [Legendary – Lv. 1]
– Type: Light Armor // Remonarch-Class Only
– Equip Requirement: Lv. 10
– Passive: Reduces damage taken from Area of Effect (AOE) attacks.
– Scaling: The % of AOE damage blocked scales with armor level.
– Full Set Bonus (All Pieces Equipped):
- ? Activates AOE Shield Matrix
? AOE Damage Resistance Bonus:
- Lv. 10: +10%
Lv. 40: +40%
Lv. 80: +80%
Lv. 100: +95% (Cap)
- – Status: Inert until the full set is equipped. Set pieces must reach matching level thresholds to unlock each tier bonus.
- Weak Heal Vial ×3 [Common]
– Consumable
– Restores 15 HP over 5 seconds
- Cracked System Map [Uncommon]
– Tool / Navigation
– Status: Obsolete | Zones Missing | “Last synced during Cycle 611”
__________________________________________________________________
The items floated like ghost icons in his inventory grid. One pulsed faintly. The ring. Like it was... watching.
>> SYSTEM CORE SYNC: STABILIZED <<
>> User Identity: Unlocked <<
>> Cross-reference biometric echo...
>> Match Found: Kenzo Tsung // Cryopod ID# 10,000,000,000 <<
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
"...Tsung? Why can't I remember anything?"
His name echoed through the white chamber—clean, final, unfamiliar.
Somewhere in the core of his mind, something stirred. A door rattled. A memory still locked.
He blinked slowly. Kaydrin.
That name came easier. He knew that name. Knew who he was.
But the rest...
Xin Tsung.
The name hit harder, like impact through water. A ripple across neurons.
Their maker. The architect behind the Ark. The one who breathed code into the AIs. The one who made the stasis pods. The one who created the miraculous Lucorite fluid—
—the synthetic blood that made immortality a manufactured reality.
Everything flowed from that man. For now, he would keep silent.
Some truths had weight.
And not all of them should be spoken before the system finished loading.
Another window blinked into place:
>> Would you like to confirm your full identity? <<
Real Name Detected: Kenzo Tsung
“Note: Your in-game name will match your true ID unless modified.”
[ CONFIRM NAME ]
[ CUSTOMIZE APPEARANCE ]
He hesitated for only a second.
“Yeah... Confirm it. Let’s see who I really am.”
The white space unfolded like a kaleidoscope.
A full-body avatar appeared in front of him—head to toe—blank, semi-translucent.
Sliders snapped into focus:
Hair. Eyes. Face. Build. Skin. Height. Armor Interface. Even nail tints.Every adjustment glowed with smooth, sleek UI feedback—surprisingly elegant for a tutorial zone.
But not all sliders worked. Some were locked. Others sparked with red glitch lines.
“Guess I’m not premium enough to change my jawline.”
He gave his reflection a nod. Dark hair. Blue calm eyes. Leaner than he'd like, but it fit.
There was something about this new body that made the world feel a little more his.
>> CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION COMPLETE <<
>> NAME: KENZO TSUNG <<
>> CLASS: REMONARCH <<
>> FUSED ENTITY: Kaydrin – WARDEN OF THE TRIALS <<
Then—
The chamber pulsed once.
Faintly. Like a heartbeat on a distant planet.
A new notification hovered above his head.
>> DESTINATION UNLOCKED <<
>> INITIATING TELEPORT SEQUENCE <<
>> ZONE: NEUROSPIRE – SECTOR 1 // PLAYER CITY ENTRY POINT <<
A soft sound—like chimes melting into static.
Light wrapped around his legs.
It pulled upward. Like rising smoke.
Like falling into the sky.
Kaydrin’s voice echoed again—faint now, more like thought than sound:
“Brace yourself, Kenzo.”
“Terra One is the last game of mankind.”
“It operates like a massive AAA game-world, a next-gen MMO—layered, seamless, fully adaptive. But for you, it’s a prison of eternity. One hour here equals one in the real world.”
Kenzo didn’t flinch. His eyes caught the light—cold, sharp, gleaming. Like he was ready.
And then—the world vanished.