Heavy rain pounded the city that night, pounding against the narrow apartment windows with a random rhythm that sounded like the endless drip of code.
Inside the cramped room, the green light from twenty-seven holographic monitors danced, piercing the darkness like a digital aurora.
Streets of green and blue code stretched through the air, forming patterns that only the truly trained or the insane could decipher.
Amidst it all, a young man with tousled black hair and dark brown eyes stared at a single home screen with frightening focus.
His hands danced across an old mechanical keyboard, his thin fingers pounding the keys as if speaking another language, a language only legendary hackers could understand.
His name was Arjuna Kusuma. In the real world, he was virtually unknown, merely a shadow to those around him.
But in the dark world of cyberspace, within the international underground network, he was known as Ghostline, a hacker who had penetrated the security walls of three countries simultaneously without leaving a trace.
"Heaven Gate..." he murmured, his voice hoarse but determined.
"A top-secret system that even the world government wouldn't dare acknowledge."
That night wasn't just any hacking mission. No corporate data, no military data was the target.
That night, Arjuna was attempting to penetrate something more legendary than anything humanity had ever touched: Heaven Gate, a secret server believed to connect the human mind with God's system.
His hands moved quickly. Layers of intricate encryption were unraveling one by one.
The supposedly impenetrable firewall crumbled beneath his self-created algorithm.
Every defense protocol that tried to deny him access was destroyed by a combination of mathematical logic and a hacker's near-divine intuition.
A system message appeared on the screen:
[ACCESS LEVEL: OMEGA]
[WARNING: BACKTRACE DETECTED]
Arjuna smiled faintly, as if mocking the system that thought it could withstand him.
"Look at you," he muttered. "You think I'm not ready for that?"
He activated the dual firewalls, activating an illegal neural interface—a device that connects the human brain directly to a digital network, turning every neuron into a data cable.
But before the shield could fully form… something uninvited broke through.
A mysterious virus shot through Heaven's Gate, bypassing all defense protocols, and into his brain system.
Arjuna gasped. His fingers continued to dance on the keyboard, typing the final combination to close the entry point too late.
Heat radiated from the back of his neck. His body convulsed violently, the chair nearly toppled over, and the monitor screens, once filled with code, now displayed unfamiliar symbols, glowing blue and green, like an ancient mantra come to life.
"Tch... whoever you are... this isn't over yet..."
Gasping for breath, he managed to type the last line before losing complete control of his body.
Then, the entire screen lit up brightly, emitting a piercing blue-white light.
The monitor before him transformed into a single sentence, appearing from a system that seemed to have a life of its own:
[Eternal System initializing...]
The lights in the room went out. Amidst the darkness, a blue-glowing holographic eye appeared, staring unblinkingly at Arjuna.
The light penetrated his bones, penetrated his mind, and sent shivers down his spine.
"...What is that...?" Arjuna muttered hoarsely, but before he could move away, the blinding light exploded throughout the room.
His brain seemed to explode in a wave of digital energy, his neurons copying a code incomprehensible to mere mortals.
His body slumped against the chair, fell, and lay there. His expression was calm, as if he understood that this death was merely a transition to something greater.
It was silent. Only the buzz of electricity lingered in the air.
Yet amidst the utter darkness, Arjuna's consciousness remained. He sensed a soft but firm voice, resonating in every fiber of his being:
"You are the one who rewrites destiny…"
The voice came not from his ears, but from within. Each word vibrated, creating a resonance that caused his digital and biological memories to interact.
From the darkness emerged a vortex of blue-white light, a mixture of codes, symbols, and patterns that swirled in a rhythm only those who truly understood the "language of the world" could understand.
Arjuna's body was sucked into it. He tried to fight, but the energy was far more powerful than all the hacker powers he had ever possessed.
"This… this is not the human world…" he muttered to himself.
Light engulfed everything. His mind, body, and identity disintegrated into luminous data fragments, past memories mixed with code.
All his sins, all his pride, all the victories he had achieved in the real world were now part of a new algorithm.
Meanwhile, in the infinite void, Arjuna felt absolute silence—no sound, no light, just an infinite space like a world that had just rebooted.
But amidst the silence, something was alive, something calling to him.
"Am... I dead?"
There was no immediate answer. All that could be heard were vibrations, like data pulses resonating in every fragment of his consciousness.
Then another voice emerged, softer, but full of authority:
"The system you opened is not for humans. But you... are different. You have access rights that even the Gods don't understand."
"Access rights…?" thought Arjuna. "The Eternal System recognizes my consciousness as the root identity."
The light spun faster. Thousands of glowing symbols appeared, forming a pattern like a cosmic architecture of pure code:
[Eternal System - Sync Start]
User: Arjuna Kusuma
Memory Integration: 47%
Body Reconstruction: 3%
"What is this...? An upload?" he muttered, horrified but intrigued.
"Reincarnation," the voice said.
"A world where logic and magic meet. A world where you will become more than human… or lose everything."
Arjuna smiled slightly, for the first time since this death.
"Heh... even dead, you can still log in, huh?"
Below him, a vortex of light opened, resembling an infinite data hole.
His body began to dissolve into pixels, each fragment containing his memories, sins, and pride.
He glimpsed his reflection: no longer human, but a glowing figure with neon blue eyes, the eyes of the Eternal System itself.
"If this is a new world... then allow me to rewrite everything."
Before his consciousness completely faded, a final whisper emerged:
[Transfer Complete]
Welcome to Aetherion.
And the world... vanished. Absolute silence enveloped everything.
-----
After that, the white light slowly faded, leaving an almost blinding silence. The air felt cool, clean, and fresh, as if the earth had just been rebooted by a logic far beyond the laws of ordinary physics.
Arjuna opened his eyes slowly. His first gaze no longer fell on the small room walls, the cables, or the green monitor screens arrayed like a mantra.
Instead, he saw a vast meadow, stretching endlessly to the horizon, illuminated by soft, warm sunlight, yet with an unfamiliar, pale blue hue.
Every blade of grass seemed to tremble slowly, as if obeying the rhythm of some invisible code.
The wind carried the scent of wet earth mixed with the scent of wildflowers, and the leaves danced in the air, forming a perfect animation seemingly orchestrated by the hand of an all-powerful programmer.
The distant sound of trickling water, the song of birds, and the rustling of the wind felt like an audio loop orchestrated to aesthetic perfection.
His body felt light. There was no pain, no aches, no nervous tension like when a normal human is connected to a neural interface.
His hands were firm, his skin supple, his muscles supple, as if he had returned to his twenties with perfect physical strength, the result of the Eternal System's reboot.
Arjuna took a deep breath, feeling the air flow through his veins.
"Is this... a dream?" he muttered, almost laughing to himself.
But the answer came not from the air, but from within his own mind.
[Eternal System: User Arjuna Kusuma - Logged in.]
[Welcome to Aetherion World.]
The voice wasn't just audible, it penetrated every neuron in his consciousness, vibrating the fragments of memory and code within his brain.
Mechanical, clean, yet familiar, like an old friend that only his own logic could comprehend.
Arjuna looked around, observing the grassland that seemed alive and breathing.
A holographic panel appeared in the air, translucent with a pale blue glow, displaying a jumble of information in a format that was familiar yet still felt new:
[Status Window]
Name: Arjuna Kusuma
Class: Undefined
Level: 1
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
Skills: —
System Access: Partial (Locked)
Arjuna smiled faintly, raised his hand, and looked up at a sky he had never seen in the real world.
< "Huh… even after dying, you can still log in?"
"If this is hell, at least the UI is cool."
He began experimenting with the new system. His hands danced in the air, calling out commands one by one.
< "/status."
The panel changed, displaying more detailed statistics: physical condition, geographic coordinates, probability of interaction with the environment.
< "/scan."
The environment around him flickered slowly, as if digital sensors were activating an augmented reality overlay.
Streaks of light swept across the grass, marking every rock, tree, and other flora with digital coordinates.
Even the footprints of passing insects were recorded in the light matrix beneath the grass.
< "/logout."
Only a notification appeared:
[Error: Command not available in physical environment.]
[Error: Command not available in physical environment.]
"Huh… so I can't get out. Interesting," he muttered, patting the ground.
Arjuna walked slowly, taking in every detail. The meadow was beautiful, yet something felt… unnatural. The movement of the leaves, the direction of the wind, even the birdsong were all too structured, too perfect.
He bent down, touched the ground, and saw a web of faintly glowing patterns beneath the surface, like a living, pulsating data matrix.
"So… this world runs on code?"
Step by step, he headed towards the distant forest. The stones engraved with ancient symbols, the faintly glowing purple flowers, and the birds in colors he had never seen in the real world all seemed real, yet they had an artificial aura, as if the system had tagged each element with an internal tag.
He tried to interact with the humanoid creature walking in the distance.
The words that came out sounded foreign to him; the system's translation module hadn't been unlocked yet.
"Okay, noted. Language hasn't been unlocked yet," he noted in his head.
Suddenly, a strange gurgling sound came from the bushes. The ground shook gently, and from beneath it emerged a translucent, light blue slime creature, vibrating like gel.
"Slime?" Arjuna smiled amusedly.
"Seriously? The first monster shouldn't be something this cute."
But the slime moved quickly, faster than he expected. Its body vibrated, extending like a liquid whip, and slashed towards him. In a split second, Arjuna's reflexes activated. His body moved faster than his own thoughts.
[Eternal System: Combat Mode Activated.]
[User's reflex strength adjusted to adaptive parameters.]
[Temporary skill — "Reflex Overdrive" has been activated.]
He stared at the slime with neon blue eyes. His next move wasn't just a natural reflex, but a predictive algorithm:
Arjuna twisted his body and kicked the slime squarely in the center, shattering it into thousands of blue light particles that evaporated into the air.
[Enemy defeated.]
[Exp +10]
[System Sync: 3% → 5%]
Arjuna stared at the panel, a faint smile spreading across his lips.
"Very well, Aetherion… if this is your new world…"
"…then I'll learn to rewrite you from scratch."
He took a deep breath, staring out at the horizon. The wind blew, his hair swayed, and the scent of grasslands he'd never experienced before wafted into his nostrils.
Each step felt light, yet filled with the determination of someone who had just realized the extraordinary abilities he now possessed.
But in the distance, beyond the horizon, a dark silhouette moved slowly across the sky, like a mechanical eye silently watching him.
Arjuna smiled mischievously, sensing that he wasn't truly alone.
"Hmm… it seems I'm not alone here," he murmured, clenching his fists.
He stepped forward. Every step on this blue-green prairie was a promise—a promise to understand, rewrite, and conquer the new world that awaited him.
Beyond the horizon, Aetherion awaited a system writer.
And the adventure had only just begun.
Chapter 1 finished
Author's Note – "Eternal System" World Terms
The Eternal System world contains many technical and digital terms related to the mysterious power within Arjuna Kusuma's body. Here are some key terms that have emerged so far:
Technology & Systems
Holographic — A three-dimensional display projected directly into the air by the Eternal System. Usually appears when the system displays data or warnings.
Augmented Reality Overlay — A transparent visual layer visible only to Arjuna. Like a game interface that displays enemy data, distances, or coordinates.
Neural Interface — A bridge between Arjuna's mind and the Eternal System. He simply thinks, and the system responds as if reading his thoughts.
System Reboot — The process of a system restarting, much like a computer. Usually occurs during a power-up or after a system crash.
Firewall — A digital defense wall that protects the Eternal System from attacks by malicious data or entities in the cyber world.
Adaptive Parameter — An automatic mechanism that adapts Arjuna's powers to the surrounding situation or threat.
Reflex Overdrive — A mode that increases the body's reflex speed. In this state, Arjuna can respond to attacks in fractions of a second.
⚙️ System Codes & Commands
[Eternal System initializing...] — Indicates that the system is active or executing a new function.
[ACCESS LEVEL: OMEGA] [WARNING: BACKTRACE DETECTED] — ACCESS LEVEL: OMEGA = highest permissions in the system.
BACKTRACE DETECTED = an entity is attempting to track Arjuna's location through its systems.
Biology & Energy
Neurons — Arjuna's brain nerve cells, directly connected to the system to accelerate the body's reaction processing.
Resonance — A state where the system's energy and Arjuna's body's energy vibrate at the same frequency, drastically enhancing abilities.
Aetherion — A major world or city that serves as the center of civilization in the Eternal System story. Designed to resemble a combination of a fantasy world and a sophisticated virtual system, where technology, magic, and digital data intermingle to form a living reality.
️ Digital World & Space
Cyber Dark World — A hidden dimension behind the world's network. Accessible only to high-level systems or certain digital beings.
Ghostline — A secret communication path between systems. Like a "shadow tunnel" within the data network.
Heaven Gate — The gateway to the Eternal System's highest data center. Believed to be the source of all the system's codes and power.
Light Matrix — A luminous energy array that forms physical objects such as portals, weapons, or protective fields.
Geographic Coordinates — Arjuna's exact location in the real world or digital dimension; often used for teleportation or area marking.
Creatures & Living Worlds
Humanoid Creatures — Non-human entities that resemble humans, whether from the digital or biological world.
Slime — Liquid-like monsters that often appear in low-energy areas. Although weak, they can evolve.
Narrative Terms
Programmer — A mysterious figure believed to have created the Eternal System or installed it in Arjuna's body. His identity is unknown.
Eternal System — A mysterious system with limitless capabilities, capable of copying, adapting, and even manipulating reality.
Beyond the Horizon — A term denoting a region or dimension that Arjuna has yet to explore—the place where the true mystery begins.
"This world was created not only by human hands, but also by minds that dare to transcend its limits." — Notes from Andy_AI