The sun had barely risen when Min-Jun stepped out of his front door, the chill of early morning brushing against his face. He adjusted his hiking backpack—still dusty and faded from years of disuse. Inside were the remnants of a life he’d tried to forget: a scratched-up water bottle, a compass with a cracked glass face, a flashlight with old batteries, and his father’s favorite multitool.
He hadn’t touched any of it in three years.
But today felt different.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Min-Jun wasn’t walking to school, or aimlessly down some sidewalk, or into another pointless video game match. Today, he had a goal. A mission.
To feel something again.
To remember what it meant to be alive.
The streets were quiet at dawn, bathed in a soft amber hue. Not even the occasional barking dog or buzzing scooter disrupted the strange serenity that hung in the air. It felt like the world was holding its breath—waiting.
When Min-Jun reached the trailhead, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over him. The forest loomed ahead, tall and ancient. This was the same path he had taken with his father, once upon a time. But the warm nostalgia quickly faded. No hikers. No early morning joggers. Not even birdsong. The trail was deserted.
Perfect.
He exhaled, steeled himself, and stepped into the woods.
The Ascent
The path twisted and climbed, rougher than he remembered. His boots crunched against gravel and roots, each step kicking up fragments of old memories. His father’s voice echoed faintly in his head—coaching him through slippery slopes, challenging him to race to the next bend, laughing when he inevitably tripped.
Back then, the mountain had felt like a playground.
Now, it felt like a test.
The higher Min-Jun climbed, the more... wrong things began to feel. The trees thinned in odd patterns. Shadows flickered without wind. He paused once to catch his breath and realized he hadn’t heard a single bird or animal since he started.
It was as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Suddenly, a low rumble hummed through the soles of his boots.
The Earthquake
The ground trembled.
Min-Jun froze.
Then came the crack—like thunder erupting from beneath the surface. The earth split open along the path ahead, sending stones tumbling down the mountain. Before he could react, the ground beneath him gave way.
“Wait—!”
Gravity yanked him backward, his limbs flailing as he slid down the collapsing trail. Dust and dirt filled his mouth. Branches scraped across his arms as he fought to slow his descent—but the slope was too steep, too fast.
His scream was swallowed by the roar of falling earth.
Then—impact.
Hard.
Breath knocked from his lungs.
He lay there for a moment, dazed, chest heaving. Pain blossomed in his shoulders and knees, but nothing seemed broken. Slowly, he sat up, coughing, brushing dirt from his eyes.
That’s when he realized:
He wasn’t on the trail anymore.
The Underground Cavern
He was inside something.
A cavern.
No—something more.
The space was enormous. Vast stone walls curved high above, embedded with what looked like decayed panels of machinery and ancient runes. A faint blue glow pulsed from cracks in the rock, casting eerie shadows across the chamber.
Min-Jun grabbed his flashlight. It flickered but held.
“What... is this?” he whispered.
He swept the beam across the floor—littered with rusted metal shards, tangled wires, and shattered glass tubes. Bits of tech he couldn’t recognize. Nothing in this place looked human-made… or if it was, it hadn’t been touched in decades.
Every instinct screamed at him to leave. But something else—something deeper—drew him in.
At the far end of the chamber, half-buried beneath debris, was a smooth, obsidian-like console. Its surface was unmarked, but the second Min-Jun’s light touched it, a pulse of pale light spread from its center.
The cavern hummed.
Then clicked.
Then spoke.
[Host detected. Biological compatibility: 99.8%. Initiating Nanite Integration Protocol...]
Min-Jun’s heart stopped.
Before he could move, the console split open—revealing a swirling core of metallic mist that surged toward him like liquid silver.
“Wait! What—!”
The mist enveloped him.
He screamed.
And then, everything went black.
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