Soren sat in the waiting hall of the Hunter Association, chewing slowly on a piece of convenience-store candy like he was attending a dentist appointment rather than a government-sponsored power evaluation.
The room was enormous. Too clean. Too quiet.
Walls of reinforced glass rose on all sides, displaying floating holographic statistics: threat indexes, erosion activity maps, guild influence rankings. Everything was categorized. Everything was monitored.
Everything was controlled.
And that bothered him.
He leaned back in the chair, hands behind his head, eyes half-lidded.
"So this is what you turned it into," he murmured.
In that other world, warriors were blades. Here, they were assets.
Not much of a difference.
Across the hall, dozens of applicants whispered nervously. Some checked their equipment. Some meditated. Some stared at him when they thought he wasn't looking.
He had already made a mistake.
He had stood out.
And standing out meant attention.
That was bad.
Very bad.
A door slid open silently.
A woman stepped inside.
Every conversation in the hall died.
She wore a dark coat with a silver insignia stitched at the collar — a stylized serpent biting its own tail. Jannabi Guild.
Her presence wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
Mana rolled off her in slow, controlled waves, dense enough that weaker hunters subtly leaned away without realizing it. Her silver eyes scanned the room with professional detachment.
Then they stopped.
On him.
Soren felt it.
Not pressure.
Assessment.
Calculation.
Danger.
He straightened slightly.
"…Took you long enough."
Her footsteps echoed as she approached.
"You're Soren," she said.
Not a question.
"Depends who's asking."
"Lyra Ashveil."
He smiled faintly. "I know."
Her eyebrow twitched — the smallest reaction.
Most people fawned.
He didn't.
That was mistake number two.
"You defeated three academy candidates and a B-class applicant without using mana," she said. "Your movements were inconsistent with civilian combat data."
"I tripped a lot," he replied.
Silence.
Then—
"Come with me."
Soren blinked. "That's not ominous at all."
She turned without waiting.
He sighed and stood.
Eyes followed him.
Fear.
Curiosity.
Suspicion.
Let them.
The corridor beyond the hall was sterile white. Cameras tracked them from every angle.
"So," he said casually, "are you here to recruit me, arrest me, or dissect me?"
"Yes."
He snorted.
They entered a private evaluation chamber. A round table. Anti-mana fields embedded in the walls. Hidden weapons.
Professional.
Lyra sat.
He didn't.
"Sit," she said.
"No."
She studied him.
Then smiled faintly.
"Interesting."
He finally sat.
"I don't join guilds," he said.
"I didn't ask you to."
"Good."
She tapped the table, and a hologram flared to life between them.
It showed erosion points across the world.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Spreading.
"Thirteen years," she said. "That's how long Earth has been losing."
Soren's eyes sharpened.
"Officially," she continued, "we're containing them. Unofficially—"
"—you're bleeding manpower, territory, and public trust," he finished.
She paused.
Then nodded.
"You've seen this before."
"Yes."
"In a game?"
"In hell."
Silence again.
"Tell me," she said, "what do you think erosion points really are?"
He leaned back.
"They're not portals," he said. "They're wounds."
Her fingers stilled.
"Reality injuries," he continued. "Something is eating through structural layers of existence. Not invading. Replacing."
Lyra's gaze sharpened.
"That theory isn't public."
"It shouldn't be."
"Then how do you know?"
Soren smiled.
"Because I killed something that did the same thing."
She watched him for several seconds.
Then she exhaled.
"You're not here for money."
"No."
"Fame?"
"No."
"Revenge?"
"…Maybe."
That was honest.
She nodded slowly.
"You're dangerous," she said.
"So are you."
"Different kind."
"Same result."
She leaned forward.
"Then I'll be direct," she said. "Something is manipulating the erosion network. It's not random. And it's not natural."
Soren's smile faded.
"Good," he said.
"Why is that good?"
"Because random disasters can't be hunted."
Her lips curved.
"There it is."
She slid a file toward him.
On it:
SPECIAL CONSULTANT – STRATEGIC THREAT ANALYSIS
"Not a guild position," she said. "No command. No chains. You advise. You observe. You intervene when necessary."
"And the catch?"
"You'll be watched."
He laughed softly.
"You already are."
She didn't deny it.
"You want to pretend you're doing nothing," she said. "I want you on the board where I can see you."
Soren stared at the file.
This was fast.
Too fast.
Which meant something was already wrong.
"Who else knows about me?" he asked.
Lyra's smile thinned.
"The Association."
"And?"
"…Three guilds."
"And?"
"…One government."
"And?"
She met his gaze.
"Something else is watching."
His fingers stilled.
Ah.
There it is.
The monster behind the curtain.
"Fine," he said.
She blinked.
"Fine?"
"I'll play," he said. "But I don't follow your rules."
She smiled.
"I wouldn't trust you if you did."
He stood.
"Then we're aligned."
"Barely."
He turned to leave.
"Soren."
He paused.
"If you're as strong as I think you are," she said, "why hide?"
He looked back.
"Because the moment the world realizes you exist…"
He smiled faintly.
"…it stops being a game."
Soren didn't go home immediately.
Not because he had somewhere else to be—but because he wanted to see it.
The Hunter Association's lower levels.
Most applicants only saw the recruitment hall and the testing chambers. That was intentional. The real machinery of power was underground—literally.
Lyra didn't stop him.
She watched him walk.
Then followed.
The elevator descended in silence, numbers ticking down far beyond what civilians were allowed to access.
"Basement twelve," he muttered. "You people really like hiding things underground."
"Less panic that way," she replied.
"That's not comforting."
Doors opened.
The air changed.
Not temperature—density.
Mana density.
Soren felt it immediately.
Not wild. Not violent.
Regulated.
Flowing through channels in the walls, ceiling, and floor like invisible veins. Sigils glowed faintly beneath reinforced glass panels. Every corridor pulsed with quiet, measured power.
"…So this is how you stabilize erosion-adjacent zones," he murmured.
Lyra's steps slowed.
"You really shouldn't know that."
"Then you shouldn't have built it so obviously."
She studied him more closely now.
Not as a hunter.
As a threat.
They passed rooms filled with analysts, engineers, tacticians. Some human. Some… not entirely.
Hybridized.
Mutated.
Modified.
"Not all of them volunteered," he said.
Lyra didn't deny it.
"They're called Adapted," she said. "Erosion exposure. Some survived. Some changed."
"And you kept them," Soren said.
"Because they can see what we can't."
He nodded.
Logical.
Cold.
Familiar.
They entered a circular chamber.
At its center was a floating model of Earth.
Covered in red fractures.
Some glowing.
Some dormant.
Some moving.
"This is the live erosion network," Lyra said. "Updated every twelve seconds."
Soren stepped closer.
"…No," he said.
She frowned.
"No?"
"These aren't just points," he said. "They're nodes."
Lyra's gaze sharpened.
He reached out, rotating the model. Patterns became visible.
Spirals.
Chains.
Webs.
"…You're not being invaded," he said quietly.
"You're being rewritten."
Silence swallowed the room.
Lyra turned to him slowly.
"Explain."
"These nodes," he said, tapping several clusters, "aren't random. They're forming narrative anchors. Conceptual footholds. Something is establishing rules."
"Rules for what?"
"For this world."
Her jaw tightened.
"That's impossible."
"No," he said. "It's expensive."
She stared.
"You've seen this before."
"Yes."
"Where?"
He didn't answer.
She exhaled slowly.
"You said you didn't want to save the world."
"I don't," he said.
"Then why are you analyzing it?"
He looked at her.
"Because if I don't, it will become the same kind of place I escaped."
She didn't smile.
Not this time.
"Show me your rankings," he said.
She hesitated.
Then gestured.
The model shifted.
Guild Influence Index.
Hunter Rankings.
Political Pressure Lines.
Corporate Contracts.
Public Sentiment Curves.
Military Response Probabilities.
"…Wow," he said. "You've monetized apocalypse."
Lyra folded her arms.
"You think we had a choice?"
"Yes."
"Then you're naive."
"No," he said. "I'm experienced."
She met his gaze.
"What do you see?"
He studied the data.
"The top-ranked hunters aren't your strongest assets," he said. "They're your distractions."
Her expression tightened.
"Rankings don't measure lethality," he continued. "They measure visibility."
He pointed.
"This one—Rank 3—too many public endorsements. This one—Rank 7—sponsored by three tech conglomerates. This one—Rank 2—constantly reassigned to 'symbolic' battles."
Lyra stared.
"…You just mapped political manipulation in under ten seconds."
"Low bar."
She exhaled sharply.
Then—
"You," she said, "are not normal."
"I've been saying that."
"No," she said. "You're not a warrior."
He looked at her.
"You're a strategist."
There it is.
The word.
He didn't flinch.
He hadn't heard it in twenty years.
"You don't want to fight monsters," she continued. "You want to outthink them."
He tilted his head.
"Correction," he said. "I want to make them predictable."
She watched him.
Then smiled faintly.
"Dangerous."
"Yes."
"Perfect."
"No."
She ignored him.
"Let me introduce you to the board."
The hologram expanded.
New layers unfolded.
Hidden guilds.
Black-market mana trade routes.
Illicit relic networks.
Government veto systems.
Shadow hunters.
"…You have unofficial factions," he said.
"Every system does."
"And none of them trust you."
"Trust is inefficient."
"Fear isn't."
She gave him a sharp look.
"Careful."
He smiled faintly.
"You're already afraid."
She didn't deny it.
"You said something is watching," he said. "Not a guild. Not a government."
"Yes."
"What?"
She hesitated.
Then activated another layer.
Unknown classification.
Redacted.
Fragmented.
Only partial data.
"They call themselves Narrators," she said.
His breath stilled.
"…That's not good."
"You know the term."
"Yes," he said quietly.
"In my old world, they were gods' accountants."
Her eyes widened.
"They don't fight," he continued. "They curate. Shape outcomes. Rewrite probability. Turn reality into a story with winners and losers."
"That's impossible."
"No," he said. "That's entertainment."
Silence again.
"This world is becoming content," he said.
Lyra's fists clenched.
"Then we destroy them."
Soren looked at her.
"…You can't."
"Why?"
"Because they don't exist as entities," he said. "They exist as systems."
She stared.
"And systems can't be killed," he continued. "They can only be hijacked."
She was silent.
Then
"You're not running," she said.
"No."
"You're preparing."
"Yes."
She laughed once.
Low.
Sharp.
"So that's it."
"That's what?"
"You're not a hero," she said.
"No."
"You're not a hunter."
"No."
"You're not even trying to save anyone."
He met her gaze.
"I'm trying to prevent a future."
She watched him for a long moment.
Then extended her hand.
"Welcome to the board, Strategist."
He didn't shake it.
"I'm not on your board," he said.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Then where are you?"
He smiled faintly.
"Above it."