Yun sat alone on the cold bench outside the dungeon gate, the only sound accompanying him was the occasional rustle of wind and the low, humming vibration that always came from the portal. It had been three days since the S-rank team vanished inside, and the world had finally started to notice. But no one had noticed him.
Not until this morning.
A representative from the Guild Enforcement Division had come — not to question him, but to tell him to "stay quiet." They didn't ask for details. They didn't ask what he saw. It was almost as if they already knew.
Or were afraid of what he knew.
Yun clenched his fists. The Watcher of Death system had shown him flashes — brief, fragmented memories from the fallen S-rankers. Screams, betrayal, and a single name whispered over and over: Lucien.
A name never registered in any raid team logs.
"Who the hell is Lucien?" Yun muttered, staring at the blue swirling gate.
The system interface flickered before him:
[Memory Fragment Recovered – 2% Integrity]
"—we weren't supposed to open that door—"
It was from Aira, the team's healer. Her death had been the most violent, her body completely torn apart as if something had exploded from within.
But something new appeared beneath the system prompt:
[New Ability Unlocked – Residual Echo]
View and hear echoes from significant deaths near your location.
Yun's breath caught. Was this why the system chose him? Not to fight directly, but to become the bridge between life and what came after?
He stood up and approached the gate slowly. The air grew colder with each step, a pressure building around his ears like diving too deep underwater.
"Activate Residual Echo," he whispered.
The world blurred. Colors faded. Then—he was there.
Not in the present, but surrounded by ghostly silhouettes. Transparent images of the S-rankers frozen mid-action. They were in panic. One man was slamming his fists against the dungeon walls. Another screamed while pointing deeper into the shadows. Aira was holding her staff high, her mouth open in a silent cry.
A dark figure stood in the center, cloaked in unnatural mist.
Yun couldn't see his face, but he heard the voice:
"You were never chosen. You were sacrificed."
And then it vanished.
Yun stumbled back, nearly vomiting. His chest ached from the sudden return to reality. Sweat soaked his back.
This was no normal dungeon.
It was a trap.
Someone had lured the S-rankers here, knowing they would die. But why? And what was inside that forced even the strongest to fall?
He wiped his face and sat down again. The world wouldn't believe a gatekeeper. They never did.
But the system had chosen him for a reason.
The world only respected power… so Yun would gather the dead's strength, memory by memory. Power by power. Truth by truth.
Even if it meant becoming something the world feared.
He opened his system log and whispered, "Show me Aira's memory. I need to see it all."
This time, the system didn't hesitate.
[Processing Full Memory Integration – Estimated Duration: 12 Hours]
Warning: Psychological strain may occur.
Yun leaned back, eyes burning with resolve.
Let the strain come.
He was no longer just a gatekeeper.
He was the one who saw everything.
And he was ready to understand.