Raka's fingers hovered over the glowing exit prompt, hesitating as the swirling vortex pulsed with light and memory. Around them, the Dominion Arena crumbled like ancient ruins eroded by time, yet the light ahead held no comfort. It was bright — too bright — almost unnatural.
> [EXIT: LOGGING OUT…]
A loading bar blinked across their vision.
> [Identity Restoration… 67%]
[Cognitive Anchor: Active]
[System Reconnection Detected]
[WARNING: External Environment Unstable]
"'Unstable?'" Iqiww echoed under his breath. His voice trembled, a rare crack in the usual cocky tone. "The hell does that mean, bro?"
Raka didn't answer. He simply stepped forward — into the light.
It wasn't teleportation.
It wasn't a blink.
It was a ripping.
Their senses were torn apart, scattered into fragments — vision became static, sound turned to silence, then roared like a thousand crashing oceans. Cold wrapped around Raka's chest, pressing down as if the world itself was inhaling.
Then everything collapsed.
---
[...Resyncing Sensory Input...]
A gasp.
A choke.
Raka's eyes shot open.
His lungs burned with the desperate need for oxygen. A tangle of wires unlatched from his temples and chest with a hiss. The faint scent of antiseptic and metal filled his nose — real scent, not digital aroma.
He was lying in a containment pod.
No UI.
No stats.
Just sweat. Shivers. Pain.
This is the real world… he realized.
He pushed himself up slowly. His muscles felt alien — not like the honed, responsive avatar he had controlled in Lost Saga. This was a body atrophied by years of disuse. Each breath was a struggle, each movement a negotiation.
A soft hiss signaled the pod beside him opening.
Iqiww sat up, eyes dazed, skin pale. His voice croaked, dry and hoarse: "Bro…"
They locked eyes. Neither spoke for a full ten seconds.
Then, at the same time: "We made it."
But that victory was instantly swallowed by their surroundings.
The room wasn't a recovery center. It looked more like an underground bunker — sterile white panels, flickering screens, cables coiled like serpents on the floor. Emergency lights pulsed red in slow, measured beats.
On the far wall, a screen booted up.
> Welcome to Nexus Core Research Facility - Zone D14
Last Recorded Human Wake-Up: 2 years, 8 months ago
"What the actual—" Iqiww rasped. "No one's woken up in almost three years?"
Raka stood on trembling legs and approached a terminal, scanning his fingerprint. The screen lit up with detailed logs.
> Subject: Raka Devandara
System Hold Duration: 3 years, 4 months
Physical Condition: Critical Recovery Mode
Cognitive Sync: 71%
Environment Status: RED
Alarms began to blare.
A mechanical voice cracked through the intercom, glitching slightly:
"Containment breach detected. Entities from Class-X project migrating to D-Zone sectors. All personnel evacuate immediately."
"Entities?" Raka turned sharply. "You hear that?"
Iqiww nodded, already pulling at a broken panel nearby, revealing a hallway behind it.
"Bro…" he whispered, pointing to a shattered observation window.
Outside, in the dim corridor — shadowy figures moved.
Some dragged cables. Others twitched with corrupted spasms.
And in the middle of them stood a massive humanoid figure, its face obscured beneath a visor of glowing red hexagons. Its armor looked familiar — too familiar.
Raka's stomach dropped. "That's Zeven's frame…"
"No," Iqiww breathed. "That's a version of him. An export. They brought the virus from the game into the real world."
Raka's fists clenched. "Then this isn't over."
"Nope," Iqiww grinned weakly. "Welcome to DLC: Real Life."
---
They stumbled down the corridor, alarms wailing behind them. Every step forward was a reminder that the world had moved on while they were trapped — and it hadn't gotten better.
As they reached an access elevator, Raka noticed a panel marked:
> NEXUS CORE // PROJECT: LOST SAGA – AI SEEDING PROGRAM
A data slate beside it flickered to life, displaying one final message:
> "Only players who survive the Dominion can counter the virus we created."
"Your trial was never just a game. It was a filter. Now… you're the weapon."