Chapter 2 – The Ruins Beneath
The silence after battle had its own kind of weight.
Eion sat amid the wreckage of the upper lab, his breath rasping through strange lungs that still felt foreign in his chest. The remains of the malformed chimera lay crumpled nearby, dissolving into a dark residue that smelled faintly metallic. The System's faint hum faded from his vision, but its presence lingered behind his eyes — a constant awareness, like a second heartbeat made of light and logic.
He could feel the pulsing warmth of his Core, deep in his sternum. It throbbed faintly in time with his breathing, responding to his thoughts. Whenever he focused too long on it, a shimmer of information flickered behind his eyelids — energy levels, recovery rate, something like data streams written in a language both alien and familiar.
"Okay," he muttered, voice rough. "Monster corpse. Check. Creepy lab. Check. No idea where I am… check."
The sound of his voice helped ground him. The accent, the cadence — it was still his. Ethan Cross, the gamer, the guy who had spent way too many nights grinding for loot and arguing online about skill-tree balance. Somewhere in the impossible merging of flesh and code, that person still existed.
He pulled himself up, joints creaking softly. His body responded better now — steadier, stronger. The strange mismatched legs balanced naturally. The System had calibrated, adjusting his posture automatically. He was learning how to move again, like a child with too much power in too many unfamiliar limbs.
The lab stretched before him, half-collapsed and silent. Glass panels reflected his faint glow in warped shards. Runes etched into metal plates pulsed intermittently, fusing arcane patterns with circuitry. Whoever built this place hadn't chosen between magic and science — they'd blended them until the line vanished.
"Fantasy biotech," he murmured. "Guess somebody read too much Fullmetal Alchemist."
The humor barely masked his unease.
He followed a corridor deeper into the complex. Each step echoed through the empty halls, accompanied by the soft hum of dormant machinery. Signs written in two scripts lined the walls — one in runic glyphs, the other in blocky, angular characters that looked digital. Most of the doors were sealed, their panels dark. But at the end of the hall, a faint light glowed above an open stairwell leading down.
A flicker of warning text appeared in his vision.
[Environmental Status: Energy Reserves Critical – Lower Sublevels Active]
[Advisory: Unknown Hostile Activity Detected]
He stared at it, then at the darkness below. "Yeah, that sounds exactly like the kind of place I shouldn't go."
The message didn't change.
He sighed. "Fine. Tutorial dungeon it is."
The stairwell descended deeper than he expected, the steps slick with condensation. The air grew colder and damp, tasting faintly of rust and ozone. His bioluminescent veins cast a dim green glow over the walls, illuminating faded warnings and scratched sigils. The deeper he went, the more the structure shifted — metal and stone giving way to something more organic. The walls curved, as if grown rather than built.
Halfway down, he paused. A faint vibration trembled beneath his feet — rhythmic, like a heartbeat.
"Please don't be another me down here," he whispered.
When he reached the sublevel, the stairs opened into a vast chamber. It wasn't like the sterile lab above; this space looked ritualistic, almost cathedral-like. Massive containment pods hung suspended from the ceiling by thick cables. Runes crawled across the floor in spiraling patterns, converging on a massive glass cylinder at the center of the room.
The label etched above it glowed weakly:
PROTOTYPE GUARDIAN – STATUS: DORMANT
Inside the tube floated a humanoid figure the size of a small truck. Its frame was plated in dull silver carapace, its limbs jointed too many times, its face obscured by a helm of fused bone and metal. Blue liquid surrounded it, alive with slow-moving particles that shimmered like stars in water.
Eion's pulse quickened. He took a hesitant step closer. "Guardian, huh? So… boss fight."
The System flickered in agreement — or warning.
[High-Level Entity Detected]
[Power Source Link: External Reactor, Sublevel B3]
Reactor. That explained the faint hum he'd felt earlier. It was still active, feeding energy into this thing. The thought made his skin crawl.
He approached the control console beside the tank. The screen blinked erratically, half the text unreadable. He brushed away dust and touched a button labeled in both glyphs and letters: STATUS QUERY.
A chime answered — then the room came alive. Lights flared. The glass tube vibrated with a low, building hum.
[Security Override Engaged.]
[Releasing Containment Locks.]
"Oh no no no—"
The explosion of shattering glass drowned him out. Blue fluid erupted across the room, washing him off his feet. He hit the floor hard, rolling to avoid a falling chunk of debris.
From the wreckage rose the Guardian.
It moved like an ancient machine learning to breathe again. Its limbs flexed, shedding shards of glass. Light ignited behind the slits of its helm — a burning red core where eyes should be. It scanned the room once, then fixed on Eion.
[Hostile Detected: Non-Authorized Entity]
[Engaging Defense Protocol.]
The voice wasn't sound; it was vibration, echoing directly through the floor and into his bones.
Eion grabbed the nearest piece of debris — a jagged metal shard. "Yeah, great. Let's just fight the Terminator on day one."
The Guardian lunged.
The floor cracked under its weight. Eion rolled aside, barely avoiding a downward slash that split the floor in two. Dust exploded around them. He swung instinctively, scoring a line of sparks across its leg. The blow barely left a mark.
[Damage: 2]
[Enemy Health: 98%]
He backpedaled, breath coming in harsh bursts. "You've got to be kidding me."
The Guardian's arm transformed mid-motion, metal flowing like liquid into a massive blade. It swung again. He ducked, but the edge caught his shoulder — pain seared through him, white-hot. The System screamed warnings.
[Health: 52/100]
[Structural Integrity: Minor Fracture Detected]
He staggered back, clutching his shoulder. Blood — or whatever passed for it — dripped down his arm in glowing rivulets.
"Okay… strategy," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Big. Slow. Dumb. Focus the joints."
The Guardian advanced, each step a thunderclap. Its body radiated power — not just mechanical strength, but raw mana. The runes carved into its armor flared with blue fire.
Eion dodged another swing, rolled under the next, then slashed upward. His claws bit into the joint behind its knee — sparks flew, and the creature buckled slightly.
[Damage: 6]
[Enemy Health: 92%]
Progress. Minimal, but progress.
He darted aside as the Guardian's tail — he hadn't noticed it before — lashed across the room, tearing through metal like paper. He barely avoided being cut in half.
[Health: 37/100]
[Core Integrity: 39%]
"Not… good."
His vision pulsed red. The System flickered wildly. Then a new message appeared:
[Instinctive Adaptation Triggered.]
[Analyzing Threat Profile...]
[New Combat Subroutine Available: Bone Reinforcement]
"Do it!"
Pain flared down his arm. His bones hardened, white plating crawling up his skin in ridged layers. When the Guardian swung again, he raised his arm — and blocked it. The impact sent shockwaves through him, but the bone held.
He countered, driving his other claw straight into the Guardian's abdomen. The plating split with a metallic shriek. Blue liquid sprayed out.
[Damage: 12]
[Enemy Health: 78%]
The creature reeled back, venting sparks. Its core pulsed erratically. Eion's mind raced. That core — the glowing energy in its chest — looked like the same light that pulsed in him.
Could he take it?
The System seemed to hear the thought.
[Core Resonance Detected.]
[Assimilation Potential: 64%]
"Worth the risk."
He charged. The Guardian raised its arm for another swing — but the conduit feeding energy from the wall to its back caught Eion's eye. A power tether.
He changed course mid-sprint, diving beneath a blade that cut a crater where he'd just stood. He rolled, came up on one knee, and slashed the conduit clean through.
Electricity arced across the chamber in a flash of white light. The Guardian convulsed, roaring — the sound half-machine, half-beast.
[Power Supply Interrupted.]
[Core Unstable.]
Now.
Eion sprinted straight toward the thing, claws gleaming. The Guardian swung blindly, but he slid under its arm and leapt upward, driving both claws into its chest. They sank deep into the pulsing light of the core.
[Assimilate Core Fragment? Y/N]
"Yes!"
Agony engulfed him. Energy poured through his body like fire and ice, tearing and rebuilding him at once. The Guardian disintegrated in a wash of blue flame, collapsing into motes of light that streamed into Eion's chest.
Then — silence.
He dropped to the floor, panting. His vision swam, filled with cascading notifications.
[Enemy Defeated: Prototype Guardian (Lv. 3)]
[Experience Gained: 275]
[Level Up: 1 → 3]
[Core Stability Increased: 43% → 58%]
[New Skill Acquired: Core Resonance (Passive)]
For a long moment, all he could do was breathe.
When he finally looked up, the room was in ruins. The air shimmered with fading blue light. Shattered glass crunched under his hands as he pushed himself up.
He flexed his claws experimentally. They responded smoothly now, without pain. His wounds were already closing, glowing faintly as they knit together.
The System's hum was softer now — less invasive, more like a quiet companion.
He caught his reflection in the pooling coolant. His eyes glowed brighter than before, clear and sharp. Beneath the strange face, he saw something human again — determination, curiosity, fear.
[Quest Complete: Survive the Awakening.]
[New Quest Available: Exit the Facility.]
He looked toward the massive sealed hatch at the far end of the chamber. Symbols pulsed along its surface — a lock, a warning, and a promise.
Eion took one last breath of the stale, electric air. "All right," he whispered. "Let's see what kind of world I've respawned into."
The System pulsed once, as if in approval.
And the homunculus stepped toward the unknown light beyond the door.