Roy_6239

In the year 2090, Edenfall was more than just a game—it was the world’s second reality.

Players fought, traded, and lived inside the virtual realm… until five years ago, when its creator vanished without a trace. Then, the sky cracked.

From the rift between code and reality, monsters poured into the real world—creatures that no gun, no missile, no nuclear weapon could destroy. Cities burned. Nations fell. And billions died.

But from the ashes of collapse, something awakened in humanity. Powers once locked inside the game sparked to life in the real world. Guilds formed. Gates appeared. And the war for survival began.

Edenfall: Recode

The first attempt came before dawn.

Ji-Hoon had ducked into a condemned subway station beneath Mapo—one of the last few places unscanned by GuildNet satellites. He'd barely closed his eyes before the chill hit him.

["Incoming signatures—six of them. No ID tags. No system handshake."]

He was on his feet instantly, boots silent against the cracked tiles.

Above, the flickering remains of the digital map twisted—lines becoming glyphs, glyphs becoming coordinates.

A sniper's round tore through the pillar behind him, shattering ancient concrete. Ji-Hoon rolled forward, drawing no weapon, just intent.

["They're not here to warn you. They're here to erase you."]

"Guild hit squad," he muttered, ducking behind cover. "Private tags. Probably Ghost-level clearance."

✦ Skill: System Trace — Activated

✦ Accessing Target Behavior Matrix…

A glowing thread snapped into his vision—arcing across the empty air and pointing to a rooftop above.

Ji-Hoon's eyes flashed as data filled his mind.

[Enemy Class: Phantom Shot – A-Rank]

[Combat Pattern: Predictive Burstline – Exposed Left Flank in 3.2 sec]

[Weakness: Visual Feed Delay – .8 sec window]

[Countermeasures: Lateral Obstruction – Recommended]

He dove left, timed with the exact tick of the rifle's reload cycle.

A second bullet screamed past, but missed.

["There's another—close range, your five o'clock. Blades. No sound."]

The assassin blinked in, twin daggers arcing toward his throat—but Ji-Hoon was already inside their guard. He twisted, grabbing the assassin's arm with gloved fingers that sparked with system static.

✦ Subroutine Injected: Delay Spike

✦ Effect: Muscle Feedback Loop – 2 seconds

Ji-Hoon shoved, sending them spiraling into a broken stairwell.

["You're adapting. But they're still stronger. Smarter. And there's four more."]

"I'm not trying to win," Ji-Hoon said under his breath, pushing deeper into the tunnels. "I'm trying to learn."

His body moved like water through corrupted steel, each step reading the digital fragments still burned into the world around him.

["That's not normal. That's... an overwrite. Someone injected a gate key without permission."]

"You're not the only Recode, Ji-Hoon."

From the center of the unnatural black Gate stepped a girl—no older than him, dressed in mirrored fragments of code for armor, eyes like data storms.

✦ Authority Conflict: LEVEL 2 ACCESS IN PROGRESS

["Another Recode? No. Worse. She's not waking up to the system like you. She's already inside it."]

Ji-Hoon stumbled as the air inverted, as if gravity flipped and every law of physics tried to rewrite itself mid-frame.

"You're not ready," she said softly.

And with a whisper of her fingers—every member of the assassin squad froze.

✦ External System Override: OBSERVER-CLASS

✦ Status: FLAGGED – High Anomaly

["Run. Now. Even I can't override her."]

And ran straight into the black gate.

Blacklisted