Seoul, South Korea
Arcade Headquarters – Support Division.
Monitoring Area – 7:05 A.M.
The aggressive clatter of a keyboard ruled the room.
Only three people were present: Kim Sohoon, Fernán Lodeira, and Carl, who was completely locked in, eyes glued to the monitor.
Kim Sohoon: —"This isn't my fault. I didn't think the Temporal Modulator thing was that serious."He ran his hands through his hair.
Carl: —"If Lodeira hadn't called me and told me about this, I wouldn't have paid it any attention."He turned slightly, still digging through the system logs.
Fernán Lodeira: —"Sohoon, the Temporal Modulator regulates and controls time inside the simulation. It recalibrating twice isn't normal—and it's definitely not a good sign."
Kim Sohoon: —"Then what could cause a failure that severe?"
Fernán Lodeira: —"A glitch. A continuity error. In other words, something altered the time processor inside the game world."
Carl: —"Found it!"He froze.—"The logs say the failure started five days ago. January 18th, 9:00 P.M. What the hell happened that day?"
They tried to connect the dots.
They knew they had worked that day like always.
Yet the same question echoed in all their minds:
Why didn't we remember anything specific?
Carl: —"I remember having coffee with Lara. From the Marketing department."He admitted it, a little too proudly.
Fernán Lodeira: —"You mean the curvy Brazilian?"He raised an eyebrow.
Carl: —"Yep."He nodded, even more smug.
Fernán Lodeira: —"Son of a bitch… how did you pull that off?"His mouth fell open—half awe, half disbelief, like he'd just heard the gossip of the month.
Carl: —"No idea, Lodeira. It just happened."From his chair, Carl puffed out his chest.
Kim Sohoon: —"Well, I don't have a story that good. I only remember watching the Champions League during my morning shift."He said it, slightly embarrassed.
Fernán Lodeira: —"No judgment, Sohoon. European football is brutal to watch here in Asia. These damn schedules are made for morning zombies."The disappointment was obvious in his eyes.
Carl: —"Back to the point. Why don't we remember seeing any failures?"
Kim Sohoon: —"Exactly. A Temporal Modulator failure that big would've crashed the simulation for hours. Everyone would remember something like that."
Fernán Lodeira: —"But the simulation never went down. Not even once. What do the logs say, Carl?"
Carl: —"This can't be right… this is impossible."
—"What is it?"Sohoon and Lodeira asked in unison.
Carl: —"Look for yourselves."
They read the logs.
The macro-code flow had been broken—and restored—like a patch.
But that patch showed something disturbing:
Time inside the game had slowed down… then accelerated in intervals.
That meant only one thing.
The continuity flow had been completely broken—and rewritten.
Lodeira put the pieces together and turned to Carl.
Fernán Lodeira: —"When did you first notice the Mob 858191 anomalies?"
Carl: —"Three days ago. I remember it clearly. The whole department went into chaos."
Fernán Lodeira: —"Temporal Modulator failure. An NPC developing AI. A hacked Erling account. What does this pattern mean?"
Kim Sohoon: —"Erling… you mean the worst gamer alive? The former model—Brian Dreifus—the one in a coma?"
Fernán Lodeira: —"In a coma?"
Carl: —"Yeah. I heard about that. Poor bastard got struck by a damn lightning bolt near his room."
Fernán Lodeira: —"When did that happen?"
Kim Sohoon: —"Five days ago. It was all over celebrity forums."
Before Lodeira could finish connecting the dots—
The monitor suddenly went dark.
Darker than night.Darker than outer space.
Sohoon looked around.
All the lights were still on.
No blackout. No power failure.
They leaned closer to the screen—
And then it appeared.
A flash of neon-green code.
Columns and rows of symbols and syntax, flowing in an almost hypnotic sequence.
It blinked once—
And vanished.
They stared at each other, confused.
At the doorway stood Hakari Ozawa, writer and member of the Content Development Department, watching them with a puzzled look.
Hakari: —"What are you doing here? Go back to your respective departments. The Vice President and President's announcement is in ten minutes."
They checked their watches.
8:50 A.M.
They exchanged looks, unsure why they were even there.
Carl was the first to complain.
Carl: —"Damn it, I'm gonna be late. Don't call me again just to argue about who's hotter in Marketing, idiots."
Sohoon left in silence.
Lodeira followed him.
They walked together, already talking about something else.
Ninth Floor – Conference Hall – 9:00 A.M.
A woman stood before a massive crowd of employees from every department in the building.
An important announcement was about to be made.
Kim Nayeom: —"Please welcome President Shimamoto and Vice President Wonyoung."
Choi Wonyoung: —"What's up, nerds?"
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"You never change, huh?"
Choi Wonyoung: —"As you all know, we only make these mandatory announcements for major events. And with just one week left before launch… the timing couldn't be better."
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"Hey, let me announce it."
Choi Wonyoung: —"Be my guest."
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"As all of you know… the effort poured into creating [War of Kingdoms]—the only real simulation that has ever existed… and ever will."
Behind him, the massive digital screen lit up with streams of programming code.
The room fell silent.
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"But [War of Kingdoms] had already been conceived. It was this writer… who wrote what already existed—and what needed to exist."
The images stopped playing.
No one noticed.
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"You're all aware that [War of Kingdoms] was designed like a novel, but programmed as a game. Only now… it's real."
The Vice President stepped in, cutting straight to the point.
Choi Wonyoung: —"I'll take it from here. Please welcome one of the writers who influenced the creation of [War of Kingdoms]—Mr. Nelson Velázquez."
The young Latino—who had arrived in Korea just hours earlier—was presented before the entire company by the two biggest figures in the gaming industry.
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"Ahem. Mr. Velázquez was hired under the condition that he would begin as a Creative Advisor."
Choi Wonyoung: —"As you've probably heard, only two people have been hired this way, despite the rumors these past weeks."
The Vice President gestured.
A shy yet cheerful Han So-mi stepped onto the stage.
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"And this is the genius computer scientist Han So-mi, who will soon take charge of the Programming and Support Department."
Choi Wonyoung: —"And Mr. Velázquez, of course, will lead the Content Development Department."
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"Miss So-mi was personally recruited by the Vice President."
Choi Wonyoung: —"While Mr. Velázquez was personally recruited by the President."
Shimamoto Mitsuki: —"We ask everyone to show these two the respect they deserve."
Choi Wonyoung: —"That's all. You may return to work."
Among the seats in the middle of the crowd, members of Programming & Support and General Supervision sat together.
Carl: —"Pray for yourself, Alison."
Alison: —"Shut up, Carl."
Carl: —"Hope So-mi isn't the vengeful type."
Takeshi Hamada: —"Carl-san is right."
Alison: —"Do you even know what happened?"
Takeshi Hamada: —"Of course. Carl-san and I are friends."
Alison: —"No way… you and that idiot?"
Carl: —"Problem, Alison?"
Alison: —"None. Just surprised."
Glenn: —"I'm going to lose my position… who would've thought?"
Fernán Lodeira: —"You might get promoted instead. Don't worry."
Glenn: —"I hope so. Nothing's more humiliating than getting replaced by a newcomer."
Li Yuan: —"Han So-mi is backed by the Vice President. That has to mean something, right?"
Hideko Tamakashi: —"Are you implying they're involved?"
Li Yuan: —"I didn't say that."
Su Qingying: —"That's how it sounds."
Takeshi Hamada: —"Hey… aren't we supposed to report the Erling–Mob connection?"
Seop Ming-Jae: —"That issue's already been handled."
Takeshi Hamada: —"What?"
Sung Kang: —"Relax. That was Programming and Support's responsibility, not ours."
Li Yuan: —"You should've told us before doing something like that."
Sung Kang: —"I'm your boss. So it stays that way."
The chatter between departments kept escalating—
Until the President's secretary stepped in, firm but polite.
Kim Nayeom: —"Programming and Support Department. General Supervision Department. Please leave."
Sung Kang: —"You heard her. Let's go."
Glenn: —"See you, Kang."
Sung Kang: —"Good luck with your position, Glenn."
Glenn: —"Haha. Very funny."
Sung Kang: —"Hahaha. Later."