Kairo didn't remember leaving the dungeon.
One moment he was surrounded by terrified Hunters, shadows curling around him like loyal wolves.
The next, he was walking through Mint City with his hood up, the rising sun painting the cracked skyline in soft gold.
His hands were still trembling.
Not from fear—
but from power.
A power he didn't understand.
A power that felt like it wasn't completely his.
When he reached his apartment, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it, exhaling shakily.
"…What's happening to me?"
His question was answered immediately.
A cold blue light flickered into existence in front of him.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Mandatory Daily Mission: Sovereign Conditioning
Tasks:
— Physical Endurance Trial
— Mental Resistance Trial
— Shadow Synchronization
Reward: +2 Stat Points
Penalty for Failure: Shadow Execution
Kairo stared at the screen.
"…Execution?"
His pulse jumped.
Before he could react, the floor beneath him dissolved into darkness.
---
The Shadow Domain
Kairo fell—
through his apartment, through the city, through reality itself—
and slammed onto a black stone floor.
The air around him was freezing.
Shadows pulsed like living veins beneath the ground.
Figures emerged around him—
Soldiers of pure darkness, hollow-eyed and silent.
Zero stepped forward, kneeling.
"Master," the shadow said, voice rumbling like distant thunder.
"Endure. The throne demands strength."
Kairo barely got to his feet before the Domain itself attacked.
Dark tendrils whipped toward him.
Spikes erupted from the floor.
A crushing weight pushed down on his shoulders, forcing him to his knees.
His vision blurred.
A voice echoed in his skull:
"THE KING DOES NOT REST."
Kairo gritted his teeth.
"No— I'm not— going to break!"
The trial intensified.
Black storms tore across the Domain, ripping at his body and mind.
Whispers drilled into his skull, trying to force submission:
"You are weak."
"You are unworthy."
"Give up."
Kairo roared back:
"I won't!"
He crawled forward on bleeding hands.
Every inch felt like dragging mountains.
Every breath burned like fire.
Hours passed.
Or maybe days.
Time didn't exist here.
Just pain.
And willpower.
When he finally collapsed, the shadows moved toward him—
not to attack—
but to lift him.
Zero caught him carefully, lowering him to one knee.
"Endure, Master.
Or be erased."
---
Return
Kairo opened his eyes in his bed, drenched in sweat, gasping like he'd just drowned.
Sunlight leaked through the curtains.
Birds chirped outside.
Everything felt… normal.
But Kairo didn't.
His body was vibrating with power.
His heart felt heavier.
Stronger.
A blue notification floated above him again.
[MISSION COMPLETE]
Reward Granted: +2 Stat Points
Shadow Crest Stability: 93%
Warning: Stability decreases with each trial.
If Stability reaches 0% → Host assimilation imminent.
Kairo stared at the message in silence.
Assimilation.
Meaning the shadows would take his body.
His mind.
His soul.
He exhaled slowly.
"So… if I want to live… I have to keep getting stronger."
The System flickered again.
[New Objective: Surpass Human Limits]
[Failure: Death]
Kairo sat up, eyes darkening with determination.
No more being weak.
No more being mocked.
No more being forgotten.
If this path demanded pain—
he would endure it.
If it demanded strength—
he would earn it.
If it demanded a king—
he would become one.
He clenched his fist, shadows swirling at his fingertips like smoke.
"…I'll rise," he whispered.
"No matter the