Min-Jun stumbled deeper into the cavern, his flashlight flickering in his trembling hand. Each step echoed against the cold stone walls, amplifying the eerie silence.
Then, without warning, the ground shuddered. A violent quake tore through the cave, sending tremors racing beneath his feet. The walls groaned, cracks snaking across their surface. Chunks of stone rained from above.
He threw himself to the ground, shielding his head as the ceiling splintered. Dust choked the air, and the thunderous rumble swelled—then, just as suddenly, it stopped.
Min-Jun opened his eyes, coughing. The path he'd been following was buried beneath tons of rubble, but a jagged tear in the wall now bled sunlight into the cavern.
Relief surged through him. Clambering over the debris, he pushed toward the light. The moment he stepped out, the cool rush of fresh air kissed his face. He closed his eyes briefly, savoring it.
But that moment of safety shattered the instant he looked toward the city below.
A City Under Siege
Smoke rose like black fingers into the sky. The bustling metropolis he had known—towering skyscrapers, blinding neon, and crowded streets—was burning. Explosions rumbled in the distance. The air carried the sound of shattering glass and the low, guttural roars of creatures.
They were everywhere.
Grotesque beasts prowled the streets, their bodies twisted into unnatural shapes. Hulking brutes tore through buildings, each swing of their massive limbs reducing steel and concrete to rubble. Smaller, agile creatures leapt across rooftops, glowing eyes scanning for prey.
"What… What is happening?" Min-Jun whispered, fear tightening his chest.
He began descending the mountain, each step heavy with dread.
The First Encounter
A sudden rustle from the treeline snapped his focus.
Something moved—small, fast, and heading straight toward him. It broke from the shadows into view.
A goblin.
Barely three feet tall, with mottled green skin and a mouth full of jagged teeth, it clutched a rusted knife in its clawed hand. Malice gleamed in its beady eyes.
Min-Jun turned to run, but the goblin was fast—far faster than he expected. His backpack felt like a lead weight dragging him down. His lungs burned, his legs screamed, and still the creature closed the distance.
A sudden slash cut through the air as the goblin lunged. Min-Jun stumbled, crashing to the rocky ground.
The goblin loomed above him, blade raised.
Desperation lit a spark in him. Rolling aside just as the knife plunged down, he scooped a handful of dirt and flung it into the creature's eyes. The goblin screeched, momentarily blinded.
Min-Jun's hands scrambled over the ground until they closed on a jagged rock. He gripped it tight, surging forward with all the strength fear could give him. The rock smashed into the goblin's skull with a sickening crack.
The creature collapsed, lifeless.
Min-Jun's breaths came ragged and fast. His hands trembled, the rock slipping from his grasp. He had just taken a life.
But before he could think—before he could even feel—something appeared in front of him.
The Awakening
A glowing window hung in the air, its letters sharp and clear.
[You Have Awakened]
Electricity tore through his veins. His body convulsed, muscles spasming as if his very cells were being rewritten. Flashes of white light seared his vision, and then a voice—not from outside, but from somewhere deep within—spoke with mechanical precision.
"Nanites activated."
The world faded. Darkness swallowed him whole.
Three Years of Silence
Min-Jun's body lay still on the mountain trail. The city below burned. Monsters roamed unchecked.
Atlas Biotech found him that same day. His unconscious body was taken to one of their fortified research facilities. For the next three years, the nanites worked in silence—repairing tissue, strengthening muscles, and reshaping his mind to merge seamlessly with the system now embedded in his very being.
While the outside world descended into chaos, Min-Jun slept, his body evolving.
When he opened his eyes again, he would no longer be merely human.