The scent of ash still clung to the battlefield.
Smoke drifted across the broken street as Kim Suho stood silently beside the scattered bones of his undead, waiting for the hunters to clear the area. The skeletal wyvern curled near him, motionless, like a faithful guardian watching over its master.
But Suho wasn't there.
The moment the Death Knight fell, something inside him broke. Not in pain—but in memory.
Because when the black sword fell… all he saw was her.
Flashback – One Year Ago
"Areum, don't go."
"I have to, oppa. We need the money."
Kim Areum smiled, her silver-rank guild badge gleaming on her jacket. She was younger than him by four years but had long surpassed him in everything—grades, awakening, approval from their parents.
"You could quit the guild," he argued. "Get a scholarship, do healing support at a private clinic. There are safer ways."
"I'm not afraid," she said, lacing her boots. "Besides, you'll be there to protect me one day, right?"
That day never came.
The Kim family wasn't poor. But they weren't whole either.
Their father worked late, barely speaking more than a grunt. Their mother held onto pride like a blade, shaming Suho for not awakening. While other sons joined guilds and rose in rank, Suho remained "ordinary." Invisible.
But Areum saw him. Always.
She'd sneak him new system guides, encourage him to test his mana again, and once even lied to a recruiter to get him a mock entrance test at a C-class training hall.
He failed.
He remembered her words after that. Soft, warm.
"You don't need to be strong to matter, Suho. You just have to choose who you want to be."
Then came the gate in Sector 8.
A basic C-rank cleanup mission. Two support types. One tank. Four DPS. Areum volunteered without hesitation.
It was supposed to take twenty minutes.
It took twelve… for the screams to stop.
Two days later.
There was nobody.
Just a scorched pendant—the little star charm she always wore.
The Association listed the incident as a "Gate Failure – Overload Event. Unknown entity classified." No one claimed responsibility. No one followed up.
And no one apologized.
Suho took the pendant and walked to the site.
That's where everything changed.
The Awakening
It was quiet at the ruin.
Cold. Burned-out mana stones flickered in the earth like dying embers. His hands trembled as he clutched the pendant. Tears blurred his vision.
He screamed.
Once. Raw. Unfiltered.
And something… answered.
[System Detected: Unclaimed Soul Fragment Located.]
Initiating Override… syncing soul with residual grief and anchor.
Host State: Broken.
Awakening Path: Necrosystem – Monarch Variant.
A pulse of darkness spread from the ground beneath him.
A crown of twisted bone appeared in the dirt. Runes etched themselves into his soul.
[Necrosystem Activated.]
New Class: Soul-Bound Necromancer (Unique).
Title Gained: He Who Mourns the Dead.
Passive: Death-Linked Memory (Areum).
Bones in the ruins stirred.
From the ash, a single spectral hand reached upward. Transparent. Faintly glowing blue.
Her hand.
"Oppa…"
Suho collapsed, clutching the pendant, sobbing until he passed out beside the phantom of his sister.
When he awoke, the system remained.
Present Day – Back on the Street
"Suho."
Han Yura's voice brought him back.
He blinked, realizing his fists were clenched so hard his nails had drawn blood.
"You okay?" she asked, softer this time.
He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just… remembering."
She glanced at the wyvern, then at the scattered bone fragments. "You've lost people."
"Yes."
There was a long pause. Yura stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"Did you… lose her to a gate too?"
He didn't answer.
Because the pain in his silence said enough.
[New Notification – Necrosystem Memory Sync at 35%]
"Key Memory Fragment integrated: 'The Day She Didn't Come Home.'"
Skill Potential Unlocked: Soul Recall (Locked).
New Objective Added: Locate a Memory Anchor.
— "Reconstruct Areum's Soul."
In the dark beyond the city, another unregistered gate stirred.
Not with beasts.
But with the whispers of the dead.