The hospital room was unusually quiet.
Outside, the night had already swallowed the city. The lights of Seoul shimmered through the tall window like distant stars, but inside the room, everything felt heavy… almost suffocating.
Jeong Min sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his hands.
The bandages around his arms were stained faintly with dried blood.
His body still hurt.
But the pain wasn't the thing bothering him.
It was the feeling inside his chest.
Ever since he woke up in the Temple of Light Hospital, something felt… wrong.
A faint pressure lingered in his veins, like a presence quietly waiting.
Watching.
Waiting.
Across the room, Yuna leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
Her expression was calm, but her eyes were studying him carefully.
"You're thinking too much," she said suddenly.
Jeong Min looked up.
"Can you blame me?"
Yuna didn't answer immediately.
She walked toward the small table beside the bed and placed something on it.
A crystal.
It was small enough to fit in her palm, yet it emitted a faint dark glow.
Jeong Min frowned.
"What is that?"
"A catalyst," Yuna replied.
He raised an eyebrow.
"For what?"
Yuna looked at him directly.
"For awakening."
The word hung in the air.
Jeong Min laughed quietly.
"You're joking."
But Yuna's expression didn't change.
"You survived the Dark Forest."
"So?"
"No ordinary human survives shadow corruption."
Jeong Min rubbed his forehead.
"Maybe I just got lucky."
Yuna shook her head.
"Luck doesn't leave marks like these."
She pointed at the faint dark veins spreading beneath his skin.
Jeong Min looked down.
He hadn't noticed them before.
Thin black lines crawled along his wrist like tiny cracks in glass.
His stomach tightened.
"What… is that?"
Yuna's voice was calm.
"Shadow residue."
Silence filled the room.
Jeong Min slowly exhaled.
"So what you're saying is…"
He looked at the crystal again.
"That thing will fix it?"
Yuna hesitated.
"No."
Jeong Min frowned.
"It will reveal it."
Before he could ask another question, Yuna lifted the crystal.
The temperature inside the room dropped instantly.
A faint hum filled the air.
The crystal began glowing brighter.
Dark mist slowly spread across the floor.
Jeong Min felt it immediately.
A stabbing pain exploded behind his eyes.
"Ugh—!"
He grabbed the edge of the bed.
His vision blurred.
Something cold crawled through his veins.
Then—
A voice echoed inside his head.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Mechanical.
[System Initialization…]
Jeong Min froze.
"What…?"
The words didn't come from outside.
They came from inside his mind.
Another message appeared before his eyes.
Floating in the air like a translucent screen.
[Host Detected.]
Jeong Min blinked rapidly.
"…You see that?" he asked.
Yuna stepped back.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"So it worked."
Jeong Min looked at her.
"Worked?"
Another line of text appeared.
[Analyzing host compatibility…]
Seconds passed.
Then the result appeared.
[Compatibility: 3%]
Jeong Min stared at it.
"…Three percent?"
The system responded instantly.
[Evaluation Complete.]
[Conclusion: Host is unsuitable.]
Silence filled the room again.
Jeong Min blinked.
"Unsuitable?"
Another message appeared.
[Attempting system detachment…]
The crystal in Yuna's hand suddenly cracked.
A sharp sound echoed in the room.
Then—
The screen flickered.
[Error.]
[Detachment failed.]
Jeong Min felt a strange chill run down his spine.
"…That doesn't sound good."
The system continued.
[Emergency Protocol Activated.]
[Shadow Trial Initiated.]
Jeong Min felt the ground disappear beneath his feet.
Darkness swallowed everything.
The hospital room vanished.
The city lights disappeared.
The air became cold and damp.
When Jeong Min opened his eyes again—
He was no longer in the hospital.
He stood in the middle of a forest.
But it wasn't a normal forest.
The trees were twisted like broken bones.
Dark mist slithered between the roots.
And the sky above was completely black.
The system window appeared again.
[Trial Location: Shadow Forest.]
[Objective: Survive.]
Time Limit: 30 Minutes
Jeong Min slowly exhaled.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Another message appeared.
[Note:]
Host survival probability: 4%
Jeong Min looked around the forest.
Something moved in the darkness.
Then—
A deep growl echoed between the trees.
Two red eyes opened in the shadows.
Jeong Min slowly clenched his fists.
"…Yeah."
He muttered quietly.
"This is going to be a long night."