Silence.
But not the comforting kind.
This silence listened back.
Aiden stood frozen, every nerve drawn tight as the voice faded into the dark. The dungeon's air had changed — thicker, heavier, as though the shadows themselves were watching. The faint blue glow from the system screen flickered like a dying flame.
> [System Alert: Unknown Entity Connection — Ongoing.]
[Attempting Isolation… Failed.]
The System's tone, usually drenched in sarcasm, now sounded sharp. Mechanical. Almost… afraid.
Aiden swallowed. "You're glitching again, aren't you?"
> [Negative. Glitch implies imperfection. I prefer the term existential panic.]
He tried to laugh, but the sound cracked in his throat. His hands trembled — not from cold, but from something deeper. Fear mixed with awe.
That whisper hadn't felt digital. It had felt alive.
> "So you're the one who broke the rules…"
The words still echoed in his skull, soft as silk and twice as dangerous.
---
He looked down at the Minotaur's corpse — or what was left of it. The bones were already crumbling into dust, leaving behind a faintly glowing shard embedded in the ground.
Aiden crouched. "You think this is safe to touch?"
> [Probability of Explosive Reaction: 48%. Probability of Reward: 51%.]
"So… basically a coin toss."
> [Correct. Flip wisely.]
He smirked despite himself. "You're the worst motivational coach ever."
Without hesitating further, Aiden reached for the shard. The moment his fingers brushed it, light erupted — cold, piercing, beautiful.
> [New Item Acquired: Soul Fragment — Undead Core.]
[Effect: Unknown. Synchronizing with Host System…]
His vision blurred. Heat surged through his veins. His System interface flickered and warped, lines of code rewriting themselves across the floating screen.
> [Integration Complete.]
[New Passive: Soul Resonance.]
[Warning: External Presence Detected Within System.]
Then he heard it again — a faint giggle, soft and feminine, echoing through his thoughts.
> "You're braver than I thought."
Aiden's breath caught. "Who are you?!"
No answer. Only the flicker of blue light and the slow pulse of the shard, now melted into his palm like a faint sigil.
---
Minutes passed. The tension eased, replaced by a heavy exhaustion.
Aiden leaned against the cold wall and slid down until he was sitting. Every muscle ached. His arms were streaked with blood — his and the Minotaur's. His chest rose and fell in uneven rhythm.
He'd killed a monster. Alone.
And somehow, he'd survived.
He glanced at the glowing System panel floating beside him. "Hey, System… was that voice part of you?"
> [Negative.]
[Classification: Unknown Spirit Signature. Possibly linked to dungeon core. Possibly haunting you out of spite.]
Aiden groaned. "Oh great. I've got a sarcastic AI and a ghost in my head."
> [Correction: One sarcastic AI. One possibly flirtatious ghost.]
"…Wait, what?"
> [Voice modulation analysis: 72% probability of seductive tone. 28% probability of homicidal intent.]
Aiden buried his face in his hands. "That's not comforting."
> [You're welcome.]
---
He rested for a while before forcing himself up. The dungeon corridor stretched forward — narrow, twisting, and faintly lit by veins of blue crystal. Strange runes pulsed along the walls, their glow syncing with his heartbeat.
The air tasted metallic. Old. Hungry.
As he walked, the System projected small notifications — subtle lines of information appearing near his vision.
> [Stamina Regeneration: +5%.]
[Skill Progress: Reverse Overflow — 8%.]
[System Tip: Try not to die. Again.]
He almost smiled. "You really think you're funny, huh?"
> [Affirmative.]
Despite the banter, something in him had shifted.
The fear that once choked him was giving way to curiosity — and something dangerously close to hope.
If even this broken system could help him grow stronger… maybe he wasn't doomed after all.
Still, the memory of that whisper haunted him.
Who — or what — had spoken? And why had it felt like she was inside the System itself?
---
After what felt like hours, Aiden reached the end of the corridor.
A door — massive, carved from obsidian, its surface etched with spiraling patterns of light. Each line pulsed with faint energy, resonating with the sigil on his hand.
He hesitated. "This feels like a bad idea."
> [Assessment: You have precisely two options — go forward or starve.]
"Yeah, that tracks."
He placed his palm against the door. The sigil flared — and the carvings moved, sliding apart like veins of liquid fire. The door groaned open, releasing a gust of stale, ancient air.
Inside was a cavernous chamber — vast and silent.
At its center stood a crystal pillar, fractured and flickering with ghostly light. Fragments of bone circled it like frozen stars.
And at its base… a figure.
A girl.
She looked no older than eighteen, her hair pale as moonlight, her body translucent — fading in and out like mist. Her eyes opened slowly as he approached, glowing faintly with the same light as the shard embedded in his palm.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then she smiled.
Soft. Sad.
> "So… you're the one who killed my guardian."
Aiden stiffened. "Your… what?"
She stepped closer — or rather, floated closer. Her feet barely touched the ground. "The Minotaur. He was bound to protect the dungeon core… me."
His pulse quickened. "You're the dungeon?"
She tilted her head. "Part of it. What remains of it, at least."
> [System Notice: Spiritual Entity Detected — Dungeon Spirit: Seraphine.]
[Warning: Power Level Unknown. Interaction May Affect System Integrity.]
Seraphine.
The name whispered through his mind like a forgotten melody.
"Why are you inside my system?" he asked cautiously.
Her smile widened. "Because you broke the cycle. You weren't supposed to survive the first floor. When you did, part of me… attached to you."
Aiden frowned. "Attached?"
"You could say," she murmured, voice like wind through glass, "that your system is holding a piece of my soul."
He felt the air grow colder. "That doesn't sound healthy."
Her laugh was faint, echoing softly around the chamber. "No, it isn't. But it's fascinating."
> [System Remark: Request to uninstall intrusive ghost denied.]
Seraphine glanced upward, eyes narrowing. "Your system has quite the attitude."
"Yeah," Aiden muttered, "you have no idea."
> [Counter-remark: Statement inaccurate. Ghost seems entirely aware.]
For a heartbeat, both of them just stared at the glowing screen — then, unexpectedly, Seraphine laughed.
It was a sound so human, so fragile, that Aiden forgot where he was.
---
Her expression softened. "You're not from this world, are you?"
Aiden hesitated. "What makes you say that?"
"You move differently," she said quietly. "Like someone pretending to breathe."
He didn't answer. Couldn't.
There was no point denying it. He'd already died once — maybe twice. Whatever this world was, it wasn't his.
Seraphine floated closer, her presence faintly warm despite her ghostly form. "If your soul came from another world, then perhaps that's why the System chose you."
He met her gaze. "You mean cursed me."
"Same thing, sometimes," she replied with a sad smile.
---
A low tremor rolled through the ground.
Dust drifted from the ceiling. The pillar at the chamber's center began to crack further, light leaking through its fractures.
Seraphine turned sharply. "No… no, no, no. The seal's breaking."
"What seal?" Aiden demanded.
Her voice grew frantic. "This dungeon isn't supposed to exist anymore. When the guardian died, the core destabilized. It's collapsing!"
> [System Alert: Structural Integrity — 27%. Evacuation Required.]
"Great," Aiden muttered. "I finally talk to a ghost girl and the whole world falls apart."
> [Sarcasm detected. Suggest focusing on survival.]
Seraphine's light began to fade. "Listen to me, Aiden Cross."
He froze. "You… you know my name?"
"I know everything your system does," she whispered. "And something's watching through it. If you want to live, find the Tower of Origins. It's where all systems begin… and end."
Before he could respond, the crystal core exploded in a blinding flash.
---
He was thrown backward as the entire chamber collapsed. Shards of glowing crystal rained from above, slicing through the air. The ground split open beneath him, swallowing the ruins of the dungeon.
> [Emergency Teleport Sequence Activated.]
[Destination: Nearest Safe Zone.]
The last thing he saw was Seraphine's fading form, reaching toward him — her lips forming silent words.
> "Don't trust the gods."
Then everything turned to light.
---
Aiden gasped.
Cold air. Open sky. The scent of earth and rain.
He was lying on grass, beneath a gray dawn. The horizon stretched endlessly — forests, mountains, ruins glittering in the distance.
For the first time, he saw the world he'd been reborn into.
And in the center of his vision, the System flickered:
> [Welcome to Elarion.]
[Tutorial Complete.]
[Main Quest Unlocked: Survive the Game of Gods.]
Aiden stared, heart pounding. "Game… of gods?"
The System beeped cheerfully.
> [Hint: Try not to lose.]
He laughed — a sharp, breathless sound that faded into the wind.
Above him, the sun broke through the clouds, its light cold and unforgiving.
Somewhere far away, unseen eyes watched him — and smiled.
---