Kairo's eyes fluttered open to dust and silence. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of ash with a crimson sky looming over head. Crumbled stone lay scattered in every direction, massive walls collapsed into fragments. Once, this place might have been a palace or temple. Now, it was nothing but ruins drowned in shadows.
"…I'm… alive?"
He pushed himself up, wincing at the ache in his chest. His fingers trembled, touching the ground beneath him. Cold. Solid. Not a dream. His heart raced.
"I was… dead. The blast, the blood… the hospital… then the sea…" His breath hitched. "So why… why am I here?"
He staggered to his feet, scanning the ruins. Pillars leaned like broken bones, vines strangled what little structure remained. The silence was absolute—until a sharp gasp tore through it.
Kairo froze. His instincts screamed at him to run. Slowly, he turned his head.
And saw her.
The angel. The same figure who had dragged him from the abyss. But now—
Her six wings were shattered. Only one remained, twisted and whole. The rest were broken, burnt, torn away. Her black armor was cracked and bleeding shadow. She towered at nearly three meters, staggering, coughing thick globs of blood into her hand. Her other hand clutched a monstrous black blade, longer than Kairo, its surface writhing with faint light.
She was terrifying.
Kairo's body reacted before his mind did. He turned and ran, stumbling over the stones, breath ragged.
But then—
"—Pathetic."
The single word stopped him cold. The angel's voice was hoarse, cracking with pain, yet it echoed through the ruins like a bell of judgment.
"You dare… run?" she coughed, blood trailing from her lips. "I used the last of my power… and three top-tier artifacts… to summon you. And this… this cowardice is all you show?"
Kairo froze mid-step, her words cutting deeper than he expected. Summoned? Artifacts?
He turned, hesitant, his blue eyes wide. "…Summoned? You mean… this isn't a dream?"
The angel slammed her blade into the ground to support herself. Dust and sparks flew. She leaned forward, her one wing stretching, shadowed feathers trembling. "This is reality, mortal. You are dead in your world. Your body… ash. Your name, mourned. But your soul—your soul, I dragged here. To this… war-broken land."
Kairo's throat tightened. "So… it's true. I'm really dead."
The angel sneered faintly. "Do you think this is a game, Overlord?"
That name—the one from his victories, from Chronicles of War. His chest tightened. "Wait. How do you… know that name?"
Her gaze was sharp as spears. "I know only what mattered. The Command Nexus chose you. Nothing else."
Kairo stepped closer, voice trembling. "You don't know what happened? The stadium… my friends? Were they safe? Did they… survive?"
The angel shook her head slowly. "I know nothing of that world. Only you were brought. Your friends, your family, your people… I cannot answer. I do not care."
His breath escaped in a shudder. His hands curled into fists. (So they could all be dead. Or alive. And I'll never know.)
The angel staggered, her massive frame swaying. "Mortal. Enough of your questions. Listen."
Kairo's eyes lifted, meeting her broken, bloodshot gaze.
She pressed a hand to her chest. "I am dying. My time has ended. But before I fade… you must hear me. The Command Nexus is yours now. I searched centuries for it. I bled, fought, destroyed. All to find it… and you are the one it answered. Not me."
Kairo swallowed hard. "Command Nexus…? What even is that?"
Her lips twisted in something like a grim. "A relic older than history. A seed of dominion. With it… you may uncover the truth of this world. This shattered land, drowned in forgotten wars, choking in darkness. If you will it… you may carve light into it. Become the blade that rewrites history."
Kairo shook his head, backing slightly. "Me? No… I—I'm no hero. I'm just—"
"—A strategist."
The word snapped like thunder. Kairo flinched.
"You are the one who commands when all others falter. That is why it chose you. Not for strength, nor bloodline, nor divine favor. But for your will. For your mind. It gave me a vision of you commanding armies of thousands within you world."
Kairo, confused answered hurriedly. "That was only a game! It wasn't real life."
But before kairo could say another word, the angel raised her hand. A cube appeared—glowing, shifting, every face alive with symbols that rearranged themselves endlessly. It pulsed, humming with power, like a heart carved of starlight.
Kairo's breath caught. "What is… that?"
"The Command Nexus itself," the angel rasped. "I offer it… to you."
The cube drifted toward him. Kairo instinctively staggered back, hands raised. "Wait, I—I don't want—"
The cube surged forward, piercing straight through his chest.
He gasped, choking. His vision flared bright-blue. His very soul burned as light poured from his eyes.
Then—
[Welcome, Host.]
[The Command Nexus is Active.]
Panels of glowing text spread across his vision, lines of data, commands, systems waiting for input. His breath came shallow, trembling.
"…This… this is real," he whispered.
The angel collapsed to her knees, coughing violently. Her towering frame shook as pieces of her black armor fell away. Her body was unraveling into dust.
"Wait!" Kairo cried. "Your name—tell me your name!"
The angel's crimson eyes met his, softer now. Her lips curved faintly, bitter and sad.
"My name… does not matter. Remember only this: do not let this world darken you. Leave your mark upon history… unlike me. I will vanish, erased from time's memory."
Her form dissolved into ash and shadow. Only her voice lingered, fading.
"Do not… be forgotten…"
And then—silence.
In her place stood a small spire, obsidian and jagged, about three meters high. It pulsed faintly with the same light as the Nexus.
Kairo's system panel flickered.
[Territory Core detected.]
[Would you like to connect the Command Nexus to the Black Spire?]
[Y / N]
Kairo blinked, panic crawling into his veins. "Territory? Core? Connect?" His hands shook. "What the hell does any of this mean?!"
The panel pulsed, waiting.
Kairo gripped his head, pacing. His heart hammered. I can't do this. This isn't me. This is insane. This is…
He froze. Closed his eyes. Took a deep, shuddering breath.
"…Calm down. This is nothing big. I've faced worse in-game." His voice steadied, a strategist's cadence returning. "This is just… another match. Another map. Another battlefield. Think. Adapt. Command."
His eyes opened, icy-blue and resolute.
"Alright, Nexus." He reached out, pressing Yes.
The spire flared with light. Energy pulsed through the ruins, cracks glowing with spectral blue. The ground shuddered, a deep hum filling the air like the awakening of something ancient.
The panel blazed.
[Congratulations, Host.]
[You have formed your first Territory.]
Kairo stood there, breathless, the spire's glow reflecting in his eyes. For the first time since death claimed him, a strange feeling coiled in his chest.
Not fear. Not grief. But something sharper.
Command.