The world shifted at midnight.
Yuki woke with a gasp, heart pounding like thunder. He sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat. The room was dark—but not the usual quiet kind of dark.
It was a suffocating darkness. Heavy. Alive. Wrong.
"Kuro?" he whispered.
No answer.
That made him freeze. She never ignored him.
He swung his legs off the bed, feet touching the cold wooden floor. A strange glow pulsed faintly from under the door—like pale blue veins of light crawling along the ground.
He stepped outside.
And the orphanage was gone.
The Shift
The hallway had twisted.
The wooden floors were cracked and overgrown with black vines. The windows were shattered, but the sky outside wasn't the night sky of Tokyo. It was purple—swirling with clouds and broken stars.
The walls throbbed like they were breathing.
It wasn't a dream. It wasn't even a nightmare. It was a dungeon.
[You Have Entered: Unstable Zone - "Forgotten Grief"]
[Solo Trial: Initiation]
[Objective: Survive.]
Yuki flinched at the glowing text floating in the air before him.
"What the hell—"
SCREEEEEECH.
A scream. Not human.
It came from the end of the hallway—a grotesque silhouette dragging itself through the shadows.
A child. Or it used to be a child.
Its limbs were too long. Its head tilted unnaturally sideways. Its eyes glowed like molten silver, and it whispered in a chorus of voices that sounded like crying.
"You were always alone… just like us…"
Yuki backed away.
"Kuro?! Where are you?!"
No answer. His heart thundered. His legs refused to move.
The creature began to crawl faster.
[Warning: Soul Shock Detected. Cognitive Breakdown Imminent.]
[Triggering System Override.]
Then—Ame no Kuro's voice, echoing from deep inside his mind.
"Don't run. Channel me."
Yuki gritted his teeth. "What does that mean?!"
[Ascension Protocol: Core Sync – 5%]
[Skill Unlocked: Soul Bind Lv. 1]
Something burned in his chest. The silver eclipse mark glowed through his shirt like fire under skin. His vision blurred—and in its place, clarity. His fear didn't vanish—it focused.
He raised a shaking hand.
"Soul Bind… activate!"
A surge of energy rippled outward. His shadow elongated—and stood up.
A transparent version of Yuki formed behind him—taller, darker, with glowing eyes like Kuro's. The creature stopped mid-crawl. Hissed.
"He's one of them…"
Yuki's voice trembled. "I-I don't want to fight you. I just want to get out of here."
The monster's voice shifted. It wasn't mocking anymore.
"Then die."
It lunged.
Yuki flinched—but his soul shadow moved on its own, intercepting the creature mid-air. The impact sent shockwaves down the corridor, cracking walls and shaking the floor.
Yuki gasped.
The creature screamed in pain as the shadow version of himself impaled it with a spectral blade formed from Yuki's own fear.
[Enemy Defeated: Forsaken Orphan – Rank D]
[Exp Gained: 150]
[Skill Upgrade Available: Soul Bind Lv. 2]
Yuki collapsed to his knees, panting. The body dissolved into light particles and vanished. The hallway shimmered—slowly returning to normal.
The orphanage was… back.
Reality Returns
Yuki sat in the hallway, shaking, as Kuro finally reappeared beside him, kneeling.
She looked… different. Pale. Strained.
"You weren't supposed to awaken yet," she whispered.
He glared at her. "You left me alone in there!"
She touched his cheek, eyes softer now.
"You needed to stand on your own, just once. That dungeon… wasn't a dungeon. It was your fear made real."
Yuki blinked. "What?"
"'Forgotten Grief'—it was born from your suppressed memories. Your loneliness. Your resentment. The orphanage became your trial."
His breathing slowed.
"So that thing… the creature…"
Kuro nodded. "It was you. A twisted reflection. That's why the system called it a Solo Trial. No Guardian interference allowed."
He stared at his hands. They trembled still.
"…I didn't want to kill it."
Kuro touched his forehead gently.
"Then become strong enough that you never have to kill again."
A moment passed between them—full of weight, of silent promise.
Then a notification echoed in Yuki's vision again:
[Trial Complete: Ascension Protocol Unlocked]
[Class Assigned: Phantomborne - Rank F+]
[New Skill Tree Available: Shadowcraft / Soul Weaponry]
[Next Trial Begins: In 7 Days]
Yuki looked up, eyes wide.
"Next trial? Seven days?! I'm not ready—"
Kuro smiled faintly.
"You will be. Because ready or not, your awakening has begun."
End of Chapter 2