The training chamber beneath the Hunter Association's Seoul branch buzzed with arcane energy. Arcane circuits etched into the walls pulsed with blue light, casting eerie reflections across the reinforced obsidian floor. Holographic monsters flickered to life from the enchanted emitters mounted in the ceiling—programmed simulations of dungeon beasts, used to test reflexes, stamina, and killing intent.
Adam stood still at the center, breath steady, eyes narrowed. The Soulfang Dagger remained sheathed at his side, its ghostly energy vibrating faintly in sync with his pulse. He could feel the changes since the Trial—his perception had sharpened, every movement calculated, like instinct wrapped in a blade's edge.
> [Daily Quest Completed: Warm-Up Routine]
Push-ups: 100/100
Sit-ups: 100/100
Squats: 100/100
Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Stamina
Penalty for Failure: Punishment Trial — Mandatory
He exhaled deeply, a light sheen of sweat clinging to his skin. The system didn't tolerate laziness—it forced progress, demanded it. Yet the rewards were real. With every quest fulfilled, he felt stronger—more awake, more aware of the strange, darker world coiling beneath the surface of reality.
> [System Notice: Shadow Affinity Increasing]
Current Death Energy: 120 / 1000
Unlockable at 500: First Summon — Graveborn Shade
The screen flickered away, and his thoughts drifted back to the Death Trial. The cold sting of shadow venom. The overwhelming pressure. The taste of survival in his mouth like blood and victory. It hadn't felt like training. It had felt like war. Real. Brutal. Beautiful.
A knock echoed through the steel door at the chamber's edge, jarring him back to the present.
"You're the F-ranker who walked out of the collapsed D-rank dungeon alive, right?" a clear, commanding voice called.
Adam turned.
And there she was—again.
Lyra.
She stood at the threshold like a ghost from his dreams. Tall, poised, wrapped in obsidian armor marked with glowing silver runes. Her long black hair was tied back, exposing a sharp jawline and eyes like frozen wildfire—burning behind a veil of composure.
A-rank. That much was obvious from the weight of her presence alone.
But Adam saw more than that.
He remembered her face from the hospital. The voice. The way she'd looked at him—not with suspicion or indifference, but grief. Like someone who had already lost him once.
"…Yes," he replied, studying her carefully. "We've met already, haven't we? Back at the hospital?"
Lyra's expression softened slightly. "I was… checking up on you."
"Why?"
She hesitated. Her mouth opened—then closed again. She stepped further into the chamber, changing the subject. "I've been asked to re-evaluate your status. After the dungeon incident… there's interest."
Adam tilted his head. "Interest? From who?"
"The upper council. You've been flagged as a special case." She activated a training dummy with a flick of her wrist. Arcane light shimmered as a humanoid monster projection flickered into form. "They want to know if what happened was luck… or something else."
She tossed him a look. "I already know the answer."
He drew his dagger without a word. The edge shimmered with spectral power. The dummy lunged.
He moved like liquid shadow—fluid, sharp, deadly. One dodge. One counter. The dagger slid through the projection like it was cutting silk. The dummy disintegrated into glowing shards.
Another activated. Then another. Lyra watched as Adam moved through them with the instinct of a killer and the precision of a surgeon. No wasted energy. No hesitation.
It wasn't training.
It was a reminder.
A message.
"I'm not the same as before," Adam murmured, sheathing the dagger.
"No," Lyra said softly. "You're not."
She deactivated the field and turned to face him fully. Her heart beat faster as the silence stretched. Her fingers clenched at her sides. She had to tell him. Now.
"I didn't come just for the evaluation," she said finally.
Adam's brow furrowed. "…Then why?"
"I'm Lyra Han. We… knew each other. Fifteen years ago."
He went still.
"There was a day," she continued, voice quiet but steady, "when the sky ripped open. When monsters poured into the world and everything burned."
Adam's pulse quickened. Images flickered—screams. Smoke. Fire. A scream that was not his own.
"You saved me," she said, stepping closer. "You were just a kid. We both were. But you stood in front of me when that thing came. You didn't have powers. You didn't hesitate. You—"
Her voice cracked. "—you shielded me with your own body."
Adam's throat tightened.
"After that… something happened. You were found days later, but you didn't remember me. Or that day. You just… forgot."
A flicker of static echoed in the back of his mind. A soft whisper—then silence.
"I awakened as a Hunter that day," Lyra said. "And I wanted to see you again. Every year. But I didn't come. I was afraid."
He stared at her.
"Afraid?" he asked.
"That you wouldn't remember me," she whispered. "Or worse… that you would."
A beat passed.
Adam's gaze didn't waver.
"I don't remember much from back then," he said quietly. "Just fragments. Feelings. Like ghosts I can't chase."
His fingers flexed around the dagger's hilt.
"But when I saw you in that hospital room… something stirred. Like I knew you. Not with my head. With something deeper."
Lyra blinked hard.
"I want to remember," he said. "Even if it hurts."
She stepped closer, now only an arm's length away. "Then let's start again."
He nodded slowly.
"I'm Adam."
"I'm Lyra."
They stood in silence.
But for the first time since the Trial, Adam didn't feel alone.
---
Elsewhere — Black Requiem Order
In a candlelit hall of stone and ash, the violet-eyed priest stood before a blazing brazier. Flames curled upward, dancing in unnatural shapes.
"The soul has begun to stir," he murmured. "His essence reclaims the deathline."
Behind him, six acolytes knelt in silence.
"Send the Shades. But do not kill him yet."
He smiled.
"Let the Death God's heir awaken… and then kneel."