The world came back like a punch to the chest.
Yuto hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of him. His back slammed against something cold and solid—stone, maybe. Air rushed in, but his lungs refused to work for a second.
He groaned.
Everything hurt.
"Still alive," he muttered. "Barely."
He sat up slowly, shotgun loose in his hand. The SMG buzzed on the ground next to him, almost out of charge. His vision swam, but the pain was fading. The system must have triggered an auto-stabilizer again.
He looked up—and the figure in the coat was still there.
Standing on the far side of the canyon floor.
Watching.
It hadn't moved.
Not a single step.
But the pressure in the air felt heavier than anything Yuto had faced so far. Worse than the construct. Worse than the mimics. This thing didn't just feel dangerous—it felt wrong.
Like it wasn't supposed to exist.
Yuto stood fully, wincing as his legs adjusted under him. He grabbed the SMG and slowly slid it back into his holster. One gun left. One shot ready. Shotgun humming. Hand steady.
"You gonna just stand there," Yuto called across the canyon, "or are you waiting for a bell to start the round?"
The figure didn't speak.
Didn't blink.
Didn't flinch.
Just watched.
Yuto narrowed his eyes. "You look like Dax. That coat. That visor. Is that on purpose?"
Still nothing.
Yuto shifted his stance. "You were made to look like him, weren't you?"
The figure finally moved.
It lifted its right arm—and raised a gun.
Not a wand. Not a staff. Not a spell.
A gun.
Exactly like Yuto's pistol.
Yuto stared for a full second before muttering, "Okay. That's not fair."
The figure stepped forward. Slowly. One step at a time.
The system spoke in his mind.
> [ WARNING: SIMULATION ENTITY IS USING ILLEGAL CODE TYPE – GUN SYSTEM DUPLICATE ]
[ CAUTION: SYSTEM CANNOT GUARANTEE TACTICAL ADVANTAGE. ]
"Yeah," Yuto said, "you think?"
He raised the shotgun.
And then the copy fired.
CRACK.
The energy bolt exploded near his feet.
Yuto dove sideways just as a second shot followed, then a third.
He rolled behind a rock slab, heart pounding.
"Fast reload time," he muttered. "No chant, no cast delay. Just like me."
He peeked out and fired once.
The blast hit the ground near the copy—but it was gone already.
It had moved.
Fast.
Yuto turned just in time to see it step out of the mist to his left.
He didn't speak.
He just fired.
BOOM.
The blast hit its shoulder—but the figure barely staggered. It took the impact and kept walking.
"That's not normal," Yuto said through gritted teeth. "That's not how these things are supposed to move."
He switched to the SMG, fired a full burst.
The copy twisted, leaned, and slipped between the shots like it had fought Yuto a hundred times.
It dashed forward.
Yuto fell back.
They clashed in the center of the canyon—both weapons raised.
CRACK. TRRT. BOOM.
Flashes lit up the space between them. Yuto ducked. Fired. Backpedaled. The copy mirrored him with perfect rhythm, every step calculated, every angle matched.
It felt like fighting a reflection.
Worse—one that didn't hesitate.
One that didn't fear pain.
"Where did you come from?" Yuto shouted as he took cover behind a pillar.
The figure didn't answer.
He peeked out and fired again.
The copy didn't dodge this time. It stood still and let the blast hit it in the chest.
The smoke cleared—and it was still standing.
The system pinged.
> [ WARNING: DUPLICATE USING ADAPTIVE ARMOR CODE – SHOTGUN EFFECT REDUCED 70% ]
[ SUGGESTED RESPONSE: BREAK PATTERN – UNPREDICTABLE ATTACK ANGLE REQUIRED ]
Yuto gritted his teeth. "Unpredictable? What am I, a street magician?"
He scanned the area. One of the broken walls was leaning at a sharp angle. A ledge above. If he could get up there—
He sprinted.
The copy followed instantly.
Yuto reached the wall, ran up the angle, flipped over the ledge, and spun midair.
The copy leapt after him.
Yuto fired at the peak of his jump.
BOOM.
The shot hit dead center between its shoulders.
The copy slammed into the wall, hard.
Yuto hit the ground and rolled, breath ragged.
The figure stood again—slower this time.
Armor cracked.
One glowing line across its chest flickered.
> [ ENEMY STATUS: WEAKENED – ONE CORE DAMAGED ]
[ CONTINUE ASSAULT ]
Yuto raised the shotgun again, hand shaking.
Then the copy spoke.
Its voice wasn't natural.
It wasn't human.
But it was familiar.
"System… unlocked."
Yuto froze.
The copy raised its hand.
A new weapon formed—big, blocky, heavy.
He recognized the shape instantly.
A launcher.
> [ NEW WEAPON: GRENADE-TYPE MODEL DETECTED – DAMAGE RATING: HIGH ]
[ ADVICE: SEEK IMMEDIATE COVER – IMPACT LIKELY FATAL ]
Yuto turned to run.
The copy fired.
THOOM.
The blast hit the ground behind him and sent the whole canyon shaking. Light exploded behind his back. Pressure threw him forward.
He crashed face-first into the stone.
Darkness danced in his vision.
The system blared warnings.
> [ CRITICAL HIT TAKEN – LIFE STABILITY BELOW 15% ]
[ CAUTION: ONE MORE STRIKE WILL TERMINATE SIMULATION RUN. ]
He rolled over slowly, groaning, guns still in his hands.
The copy stood above him.
Launcher aimed.
No mercy.
Yuto blinked blood from his eye.
Then whispered, "No backup, huh?"
He raised the SMG one last time.
But before he could fire—
The ground under both of them cracked open.
A surge of white light swallowed the canyon.
The system voice changed—deeper, louder.
> [ SIMULATION BREACH DETECTED – EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE PRESENT ]
[ FORCE EJECTION INITIATED. GUNNER – RETURNING TO REALSPACE. ]
Yuto tried to speak.
But he was already gone.
The light snapped back all at once.
Yuto hit the ground hard—again—but this time it was real ground. Grass. Dirt. The sound of birds somewhere distant. A breeze against his skin.
He lay there for a moment, breathing.
Not just because he was tired. Not just because his limbs felt like rubber.
But because he couldn't believe he was still alive.
His system spoke softly, like it was catching its breath too.
> [ SIMULATION COMPLETE – CHALLENGE OVERRIDE ENGAGED ]
[ HOST EJECTED DUE TO INTERFERENCE ]
[ EVALUATION: UNSTABLE CONDITIONS – SYSTEM ERROR LOG GENERATED ]
[ REWARD UNLOCKED: THIRD WEAPON SLOT ACTIVATED ]
[ NEW WEAPON RECEIVED: GREN LAUNCHER – TEMPEST MAW MK0 (Prototype) ]
Yuto opened one eye. "Wait. It gave me the grenade launcher?"
> [ Correct. Weapon locked until stabilization complete. Estimated time: 12 hours. ]
He let out a weak laugh. "Of course. Give me a new toy and tell me I can't play with it."
He sat up slowly.
The dome around him was still active. The safe zone. But the colors were dimmer now, like it was running low. He figured he had a few minutes left before it broke.
Rin wasn't in sight.
"Rin?" he called, voice dry.
No answer.
He stood up, legs shaky but holding. Looked around. No blood. No magic trails. Just silence.
"Rin?" he said again, louder this time.
Still nothing.
Then he saw it.
Near the center of the dome, where the pillar used to be, lay her staff—snapped in half.
His stomach dropped.
"System," he said quickly, "track closest lifeform."
> [ LOCAL LIFEFORM DETECTED – APPROXIMATE DISTANCE: 40 METERS – ELEVATION: LOWER ]
[ STATUS: HOSTILE PRESENCE NEARBY – IDENTIFIABLE ENERGY SIGNATURE UNKNOWN ]
He didn't waste a second.
He ran.
Outside the dome now, deeper into the woods. Through the trees, down a narrow incline where rocks slid under his boots. His heart pounded harder than during the simulation.
He didn't care about the pain anymore. Only the fact that Rin was missing.
He found her near a shallow ravine.
Face-down.
Not moving.
"Rin!" he shouted, sliding down the slope.
He dropped to his knees beside her and turned her over gently. She was breathing—but barely. Her robes were torn. Scrapes across her arms. Bruises on her neck like someone had tried to choke her out.
He shook her shoulder.
"Hey. Come on. Open your eyes. Talk to me."
Her lips moved. A whisper.
He leaned closer.
"…not him," she said, voice faint.
"What?"
She blinked weakly. "It wasn't… it wasn't him. Not the knights…"
"Then who?"
She coughed once, then winced. "Black coat. Masked face. He waited until you disappeared."
Yuto's voice dropped to a whisper. "Dax?"
"No," she said. "Not Dax."
"Then who?"
Before she could answer, the system chimed.
> [ ALERT: ENEMY SIGNATURE APPROACHING – HIGH ENERGY READING ]
[ SUGGESTED ACTION: PREPARE FOR COMBAT IMMEDIATELY ]
Yuto stood fast, both guns already in his hands.
A branch cracked up the hill.
Footsteps.
Deliberate.
Then a voice—calm, almost cheerful.
"Impressive. Most people don't come back from a node run conscious."
Yuto raised his weapons. "Who are you?"
The figure stepped into view.
Black hood. Silver mask. Not Dax.
But similar.
Too similar.
"You can call me Proxy," the man said. "And I've come to collect."
"Collect what?"
Proxy tilted his head. "The system, of course."
"You're not touching her."
"Oh, I don't want the girl," he said with a shrug. "I want you."
Yuto narrowed his eyes. "You want my system?"
"No," Proxy said. "I want what's inside it."
Then his body began to glow.
Not with mana.
With data.
Lines of red and gold code ran along his arms like veins.
The system in Yuto's head went wild.
> [ WARNING: SYSTEM CORRUPTION SIGNAL DETECTED ]
[ HOSTILE ENTITY ATTEMPTING SYSTEM SYNC OVERRIDE ]
[ EMERGENCY MODE: LOCKDOWN RECOMMENDED ]
Yuto stepped in front of Rin, both guns aimed.
"You're not getting anything."
Proxy smiled behind his mask.
"We'll see."
Then he raised one hand—
And the forest exploded in flame.