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

Ji-Hoon stared at the final portrait.

The painted eyes of Ryu Jae-Hwan watched him from the wall—calm, calculating, untouchable. Unlike the other portraits, this one shimmered faintly, its code layered deeper, hidden beneath obfuscation fields that even his interface couldn't auto-parse.

["This isn't just a memorial. It's a lock."]

He stepped forward, the hallway too silent.

The instant he crossed the final threshold, the temperature dropped. His interface flickered, then stabilized.

✦ [USER RECOGNIZED – SIGNATURE: RECODE]

✦ [SUBROUTINE: LEGACY.TRANSFER.AUTH – ENGAGED]

✦ [WARNING: Unstable Environment. Security Clearance Incomplete.]

Lines of light bled from the edges of the frame, forming a floating cube that hovered between Ji-Hoon and the wall. Inside, fragmented voice logs and partial dev notes cycled endlessly.

["He's not dead. Or… he wasn't supposed to be. This was a handoff. A planned succession. But something interrupted it."]

✦ [RECODING ACCESS LINE – PATCHING TO BRANCH //ORIGIN_0]

Ji-Hoon's arm lit up in response. Not just the interface this time—his veins. Glowing white lines ran under the skin, flickering like circuit traces, wrapping from shoulder to palm.

Then the cube exploded into data and slammed into his chest.

The pain wasn't physical—it was existential. Like his identity was being pulled apart, categorized, and rewritten on a molecular level.

["Ji-Hoon—! This wasn't a transfer. It's a graft. They're writing you into the codebase."]

He fell to his knees as new permissions flooded him.

✦ Skill Acquired: Root Access (Locked)

✦ Node Access Level: 2 [Partial]

And then everything stopped.

The tower vibrated. The air dimmed like a sudden eclipse.

Above, the ceiling cracked—and the Admin construct outside reappeared, glitching violently.

But it looked wrong now—afraid. Its shimmering body flickered faster, names cycling again, too fast to read.

Ji-Hoon rose slowly, still breathing hard, body trembling from the system rewrite.

["It knows. You triggered something it's not authorized to override. It doesn't have root control here. You do."]

The Admin let out a distorted sound and unleashed a pulse wave, trying to crash the inheritance sequence.

Ji-Hoon raised one hand. Not in defense—command.

✦ Skill: False Echo (Modified) – EX Refracted Layer Deployed

A dozen illusions exploded into existence. But this time they weren't just decoys. Each one pulsed with reactive counter-code, deflecting the Admin's system spears as if running anti-virus subroutines in real time.

Ji-Hoon walked forward through them like a ghost.

"I'm not here to fight you," he said quietly.

He stopped within striking distance.

✦ Subroutine Injection: Legacy Key

Not digitally—viscerally.

It collapsed into a flurry of corrupted fonts, UI elements, and shattered dev menus before bursting into raw light.

The tower shook again. The portraits vanished.

And a single new line of text appeared at the base of where Ryu Jae-Hwan's image once hung.

[SUCCESSOR CONFIRMED – BRANCH ACCESS LEVEL 2 GRANTED]

[INITIATING SYSTEM BOOTSTRAP: EDENFALL // PRIME NODE]

Ji-Hoon stood alone as the walls restructured themselves around him, forming an inner sanctum of pulsing glass code and suspended dev memory.

And far above, in the real world, a new tear opened in the sky—wider than before.

Inheritance Pending