The First Hunt Begins
A metallic screech echoed through the narrow corridor. A hook wire shot down from the ceiling, slamming into the wall just inches from Eiden's head. The impact blasted dust and shattered concrete into the air.
The atmosphere collapsed into silence.
Eiden ducked sideways and yanked Lina to her feet. She was still trembling, her wide eyes fixed on the place where Reaver Phantom had just appeared.
"Run. Don't look back."
He didn't need to repeat it. Lina bolted toward the rear exit, stumbling but determined. Eiden turned back, locking eyes with the creature that still hung from the ceiling.
Reaver Phantom rotated midair, its wires creaking like a violin string stretched too far. But it didn't lunge.
It waited. Watching.
It wanted to learn.
Eiden understood. This wasn't just another Hunter.
This one… wanted to play.
Eiden smirked. "So you wanna hunt? Then come hunt me."
He tossed an illusion dagger toward the floor. A clone burst forward, sprinting in the opposite direction from Lina. As expected, Reaver Phantom vanished from view, chasing it with terrifying speed. No sound. No footsteps.
"Not the only one who knows how to fake it," Eiden muttered, sprinting through the hallway toward the central control room.
---
20:15 – Central Control Room, B2
Sinn was already inside, sweat running down his face as he worked furiously at a massive generator console. Beside him stood Daz—or rather, his shadow—silent and still, staring out the observation window.
"Daz?" Eiden called. "You good?"
The white-haired boy turned slowly. His face was blank, expressionless, but his eyes were fixed on the faraway darkness.
"The Hunter isn't the only thing on this map," Daz said. His voice was strange—almost hollow.
Eiden's brows tightened. "What did you see?"
"A door. Not part of this map. And behind that door… something is beating. Like a heart. But made of living data."
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
Eiden stepped closer. "You serious?"
Daz didn't answer. He turned away.
"I'll go check it out. You two finish the generator."
Then he vanished into the shadows.
---
> [Generator #3 – Completed. 2/5 Activated.]
Sinn exhaled sharply and tapped the display.
"This night's gonna be long, Eiden. And I've got a bad feeling... this is just the beginning."
Eiden looked at the faint glow from the generator, then toward the corridor where Daz had disappeared.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "The night's only started. And the real game… is just getting serious."
20:27 – Unknown Area – Below B3
No light.
No map.
No signal.
Daz moved as if he'd been here before—each step precise, deliberate. The scout's dagger in his hand glowed faintly, but he didn't need it. The darkness here wasn't natural. It wasn't the absence of light...
It was forced darkness.
After about ten minutes, he stopped.
In front of him stood a massive steel door, rusted and twisted as though it had been burned in another world. Strange symbols covered its surface—symbols that belonged to no language from the game, or even real life.
A heartbeat.
Thump.
Daz stood still.
His own chest didn't move. The heartbeat wasn't his.
Thump.
"Living data…" he murmured.
He raised his hand and touched the door.
At that moment, a message appeared—
not on the HUD, but inside his mind:
> [UNILATERAL ACCESS – DATA FLOOR 404]
[WARNING: NON-SYSTEM ENTITY IS WATCHING.]
[DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED? – YES / NO]
He chose YES.
The door creaked—not open, but vanished.
---
Inside…
No map. No terrain. Just an infinite void where data fragments floated like shattered memories—warped, corrupted, stitched together by something without a name.
Daz stepped forward.
And the moment he did, the outer game system began to flicker.
---
20:30 – Central Control Room
Eiden frowned, staring at the radar.
"Wait... Daz's position just disappeared."
Sinn looked over. "That's impossible. Even if you die, your icon still stays."
Eiden felt it.
Something was opening beneath the map—consuming data in a way that broke the rules.
Not disconnected.
Erased.
---
Below – Floor 404
Daz looked up.
Before him stood a human-shaped figure. No face. No voice.
But it radiated presence.
This being didn't belong in the game.
> "You... are a thread unwoven from order."
> "I seek a body."
Daz didn't back down.
Didn't ask questions.
He simply answered:
"If it means I can awaken…
Then take my body."
Living Data – Floor 404
No sound. No sensation. But Daz could feel it—something creeping inside him.
Like a virus, but sentient. It didn't take control.
It negotiated.
> "You seek power. I offer it."
> "Then let's trade."
A circle formed beneath Daz's feet. It didn't glow. It had no sharp form. But the symbols within it whispered directly to his soul.
> [PACT FORMING…]
[HOST: Daz – Scout – ???]
[ENTITY: Unknown – Parasitic Consciousness Type]
[TEMPORARY EFFECTS: Unlocks system-breaking skills / Conceals presence / Accelerates cognitive evolution within time limits.]
> "From this moment, you are no longer a 'player.'
You are a seed."
Daz opened his eyes.
One of them had changed—pitch black with a violet ring, like a void that swallowed light.
He exhaled.
"I can feel it now… This world can't chain me anymore."
---
20:42 – Generator Site #4
Eiden and Sinn worked on the generator. Signals from the rest of the map were still unstable. Reaver Phantom hadn't returned.
Sinn whispered, "Still no sign of Daz?"
Eiden nodded, eyes fixed on the control panel.
"No. But I don't think he's dead.
It feels like he's… crossed into something else."
---
20:45 – Sky Above B1 Layer
A ripple of corrupted data surged across the sky like thunder. For several seconds, the map glitched—player icons flickered in and out.
Eiden looked up.
> [Hidden System Alert: A non-system entity has triggered a global effect.]
[Warning: One Escaper has exceeded Rank-S protocol.]
Sinn froze. "What the hell was that? Who just...?"
Eiden closed his eyes. Then murmured a name.
"…Daz."
---
21:00 – Daz Returns
In the shadows of B2's lower halls, a figure appeared.
No footsteps. No sound.
He stood in front of the main terminal.
A new interface emerged—not from the original system, but custom script commands, as if Daz was rewriting the game.
He raised his hand.
> "Let's begin editing... the rules."