The first thing Kairo noticed was the sound.
It wasn't silence. It was too alive for that. The low hum of distant engines, the soft rumble beneath his feet, like the heartbeat of something massive and restless. And then the breathing—metal and stone exhaling through vents, machinery, and steam.
He was standing on cracked concrete, beneath a towering metal overpass lined with rusted pipes and neon signs written in a language he couldn't read. The sky above was a dull, artificial gray, glowing with the reflection of city lights that had no sun to answer to.
His hand twitched. Instinctively, he reached for a blade that wasn't there. A sword forged in divine fire, left behind in a world that no longer held him.
"...Where am I?" he murmured, voice hoarse.
No answer. Just a flickering streetlight buzzing overhead, and a wet wind carrying the smell of oil, ash, and something acidic.
He checked his body. No armor, no sword. Just black pants, boots, and a faded jacket—something close to his old world, but not quite. His chest burned with a subtle ache, like a thread was still tied between here and there. The empire. The throne. The ones he left behind.
Not left. Taken from.
It had happened in an instant. One moment, he stood before the Gates of Eternity, preparing to pass judgment on the remnants of the divine council. The next—nothing. A falling sensation, like the world itself had ripped him out and thrown him into a different existence. There had been no enemy. No god with enough strength to touch him. No reason.
Just... disappearance.
A screen blinked to life in front of his eyes.
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZING...] [Welcome, "Kairo Valen." Classification: Foreign Entity.] [Synchronization Level: 0.4%...]
His brow tightened. He didn't flinch, not outwardly. But his breath slowed. Different from the previous system. This one felt... awake. Watching.
> **[Status: Anomaly.] [Penalty Applied: Restriction - Power Compression Active.] [Tier: Unknown.] [New Ability Acquired: Core Sync Lv.1]
> Ability Description: This ability allows the user to temporarily bond with dungeon cores, extracting latent traits, abilities, or memories. Compatibility rate: variable.
Kairo stared. Dungeon cores?
> [WARNING: Host body is not calibrated for this world.]
A pulse rippled through his veins. For a second, his legs buckled—like gravity had twisted. He staggered, caught himself against a bent railing.
Then it passed.
Another figure appeared in the corner of his vision—not a real person, but a glowing, flickering guide shaped like a woman made of data and mist. She bowed her head slightly, expression unreadable.
> "Welcome to Bastion-Null. Your presence is unsanctioned. Surveillance has been notified."
Her image vanished.
Bastion-Null. That name settled into his thoughts like ash. This city was a fortress. A dead end. A beginning.
He turned slowly, taking it in. Towering skyscrapers covered in digital moss. Roads split by ruptured earth where glowing veins pulsed beneath like dying stars. People walked in the distance, armored, armed, fast-moving. Hunters. Survivors.
This world wasn't peaceful.
Kairo exhaled and looked at his hands. "So this is the new game."
He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
Then something roared.
From the alley to his left, metal screeched. A creature burst from the shadows—spindly limbs, red eyes, jagged teeth grinding together like broken gears. A dungeon spawn.
Kairo didn't move. The thing lunged.
Time slowed.
His system pinged again:
> [Dungeon Core Signature Detected Nearby: React?]
His eyes flashed.
> "Yes."
The moment he answered, he felt it: a sharp tug inside his chest, like invisible threads connecting him to something deep within the earth. His right hand ignited with ghostly blue light, fractals forming across his forearm. The air shimmered.
The spawn reached him—and he moved.
One step forward. Fluid. Calculated.
His foot came down with a thud, cracking concrete. He grabbed the creature's extended claw, twisted, and slammed it into the wall.
Bones cracked.
The spawn shrieked, but he didn't stop. His fingers glowed brighter as his palm pressed against its chest.
> [Core Sync Activated.] Result: Partial Extraction - Trait: Adaptive Muscle Fiber Lv.1 Acquired.]
The light faded. The spawn collapsed.
Kairo stood over it, breathing steady.
"Still clumsy," he muttered, rotating his shoulder. The movements weren't quite right. His body felt slightly too heavy, sluggish in places where it should have been responsive.
This power wasn't his. Not yet.
Footsteps.
He turned.
A small patrol rounded the corner—three figures in sleek armor, visors glowing orange. One raised a weapon shaped like a hybrid between a rifle and a sword.
"Step away from the corpse! Hands visible! Identify yourself!"
Kairo didn't move. The system whispered in his mind.
> [Alert: Local Enforcers Detected. Risk of Conflict: Medium.]
He raised his hands slowly. "I don't want trouble."
One of the guards moved closer, scanning him. Her eyes narrowed behind her visor.
"You're not tagged. No ID chip. You came from the alley, where that spawn breached. That makes you a suspect."
He glanced down at the broken spawn.
"I killed it."
"That's exactly what worries me."
The guard gestured to her partner, who tapped a device. A drone floated forward, buzzing as it scanned Kairo. It paused. Blinked. Then projected something onto the air.
> [Subject: Unknown. Threat Level: Unassessed. Origin: Unverified Dimensional Signature.]
All three guards flinched. The one in front of him raised her rifle. "You're coming with us."
Kairo sighed. "Figures."
The world around him dimmed slightly, a pulse echoing from the depths of his mind.
> [System Notice: Dungeon Signature Detected - Beneath Bastion-Null Sector 7.] [Quest Offered: Investigate Anomaly. Reward: ???]
He tilted his head. "...That's more like it."
With a flick of his fingers, he accepted the quest. The guards shouted something, but he was already moving.
Down the alley. Over the railing. Into the undercity.
The chase began.