The Han River Bridge pulsed in Aariz's mind like a ticking bomb. Forty-six hours. That's all the world had left before the first tear in reality ripped open, spewing Aetherborn into the heart of Seoul. In the old timeline, it had been a massacre: panicked civilians trampled in the stampede, military jets vaporized by initial blasts, and the birth of the Hunter era in a baptism of blood. Global news cycles exploded. Governments scrambled. And Aariz—then just a scrawny gamer—had Awakened in the chaos, too late to matter.
Not this time.
Aariz moved through the pre-dawn streets like a shadow, hoodie pulled low, the extracted imp minion dissolved into his palm for later summons. His stats had ticked up from the rift clear:
**Level: 2**
**Strength: 15 (+3)**
**Agility: 22 (+4)**
**Mana: 35 (+10)**
**Vitality: 14 (+4)**
**Skills: Void Blink (Lv.1), Shadow Extract (Lv.1)**
The Fallen System thrummed in his veins, a dark symphony urging him forward. No notifications blared for the world yet; anomalies were still "hoaxes." But Aariz knew the precise coordinates: 37.5665° N, 126.9780° E, under the bridge's central span, where ley lines converged in forgotten geomancy texts.
He needed transport. Cash was tight—future memories mocked his empty wallet—but he remembered a black-market dealer in Itaewon, a pre-cataclysm fence named Ji-Hoon who dealt in untraceable bikes. Aariz detoured, slipping into the neon-drenched alleys where expats and thugs mingled.
Ji-Hoon's stall was a hole-in-the-wall pawn shop, shuttered but for a flickering sign. Aariz knocked the code: three raps, pause, two. The door cracked.
"Who the fuck at this hour?" Ji-Hoon grumbled, bleary-eyed, pistol half-drawn.
Aariz's voice was steel wrapped in silk. "Need a Kawasaki Ninja. Unregistered. Five million won, now."
Ji-Hoon squinted. "Kid, you got a death wish? That's triple market—"
Aariz's hand shot out, Void Blink flickering him inside. The pistol clattered to the floor as invisible force yanked it away. Ji-Hoon froze, eyes wide.
"Five million. Or I take it and your life."
The dealer swallowed, nodding frantically. Cash scraped from Aariz's future knowledge of Ji-Hoon's safe. Minutes later, he roared out on the blacked-out bike, wind whipping his face, Seoul's skyline a oblivious giant.
By noon, he was holed up in a derelict motel overlooking the Han. Gear prep: kitchen knife upgraded via System infusion—**Mana Edge** etched along the blade, glowing faintly. Rations, black gloves, mask. He meditated, reviewing Gate #1 layout from memory: a labyrinthine cavern rift, Class C peak, boss: Void Stalker (Lv.15 equivalent). Minions: Shadow Wraiths (x20), Aether Hounds (x8). Core at the heart.
**Timeline sync: Gate manifests 23:47 tonight.**
Sleep came in fragments, haunted by echoes of New Elysium. Ravian's blade. The Emperor's whisper.
Dusk fell. Aariz arrived at the bridge's underbelly, chaining the bike in shadows. Tourists milled above, oblivious. Military presence? None yet—future intel confirmed response time: 20 minutes post-breach.
The air thickened at 23:46. Reality shivered. A vertical slit of indigo light tore open, ten meters wide, humming with otherworldly pressure. Winds howled, sucking in litter. Alarms blared distantly—first responders en route.
**[Gate Detected: Han River Alpha. Rank: C+. Boss: Void Stalker. Enter to claim.]**
Aariz didn't hesitate. He vaulted the barrier, plunging into the rift.
The world inverted. No longer concrete and river; a vast cavern of pulsating void-crystal walls, veins of aether pulsing like arteries. Gravity warped at edges. Howls echoed.
First wave: Shadow Wraiths. Ethereal specters, phasing through stone, claws dripping void-essence. They sensed him instantly, twenty forms coalescing from mist.
Aariz Blinked—**poof**—ten meters left, kitchen blade slashing the nearest. It shrieked, phasing futilely as Mana Edge bit true, severing its core.
**[Kill: Shadow Wraith. +50 EXP. Essence absorbed: Phase Resistance +1.]**
The pack swarmed. Aariz danced: Blink left, slash; roll, counter; Blink up to ceiling, drop-stab. Blood—black ichor—coated him. His body adapted, Fallen System knitting micro-wounds instantly.
**[Level Up: Lv.3. Agility +5. New Skill Unlocked: Phantom Step (Lv.1) - Chain teleports, 5m radius, 3 charges.]**
Phantom Step! Future pinnacle technique, now at genesis. He chained it: Step-Step-Blink, weaving through wraiths like a phantom gale. Corpses piled, Extract activating on multiples.
**[Shadow Extract: 5x Wraith Shades summoned. Deploy? Y/N]**
**Y.**
Miniature wraiths erupted from corpses, loyal wisps trailing him. EXP surged: **Lv.4** mid-slaughter.
Aether Hounds next—massive, wolf-like beasts with mana-fanged maws, lunging in packs of four. Faster, tankier. One clamped his leg; pain exploded, but **Corruption Heal** cauterized it black.
Aariz roared, channeling: **Phantom Cascade proto**—Steps blurring into afterimages. Blades flew— he'd looted a wraith claw mid-fight, dual-wielding. Hounds fell, cores devoured.
**[Ability Absorbed: Mana Fang - Weapons gain hunger, scale with kills.]**
Deeper. The cavern narrowed to a throne-room expanse: jagged throne of crystal, atop which lounged the Void Stalker. Sleek panther-form, elongated limbs, eyes like dying stars. Lv.18 aura crushed the air.
It uncoiled, voice a psychic hiss: *"Intruder... fresh soul-meat."*
Boss rush. Stalker blurred, claws raking. Aariz Step'd back, shades intercepting—ripped apart but buying seconds. He countered, Mana Edge sinking into flank. Ichor sprayed; Stalker howled, summoning rift-minions.
Frenzy. Aariz's world narrowed: Dodge. Blink. Extract mid-fight—hound shade joins. Step chain evades AOE void-blast. Stats climbed live:
**Lv.6. Strength 25. Mana 60.**
Climax: Stalker pinned him against wall, jaws unhinging. Aariz Blinked *inside* its guard—knife to eye, twisting. Beast thrashed; he rode it, Extracting essence on the fly.
**[Critical Absorption: Shadow Extraction (Lv.1) - Mass-convert corpses to soldiers.]**
Collapse. Stalker dissolved, core imploding into loot:
- **Mind-Fang Dagger (Epic)**: Soul-bound. Eats mana to evolve. +Phase Pierce.
- **Gate Core Fragment**: System fuel.
- **Skill Crystal: Phantom Step (Lv.2 upgrade).**
Aariz claimed them. Dagger hummed in hand, devouring ambient mana, edges sharpening to monomolecular.
**[Gate Cleared. Rewards: +5000 EXP. Title: First Gatebreaker. World Alert Suppressed (Fallen System). Lv.10 Achieved. Ascension Path Unlocked: 1%.]**
Reality rippled. He emerged to sirens, floodlights. Bridge swarmed: police, fire, military choppers inbound. No breach. No casualties. Just a sealed scar—faint glow fading.
Aariz slipped away, shades covering tracks. Bike roared to life; he vanished into night.
News would spin "mysterious anomaly self-contained." No Hunters announced. Yet.
But whispers began. Forums lit: "Ghost on Han Bridge?"
Ravian, somewhere in shadows, would stir.
Aariz smirked under mask. First blood: his.
The rise had claimed its dawn.
**[End of Chapter 2]**
*To be continued in Chapter 3: Rival Organizations Awaken.*