Morning came harshly.
A rough hand shook Seo-jin out of restless dreams.
"Up, maggot!" roared Ko's gravelly voice.
Seo-jin jolted awake. Pale morning light barely pierced the dirty windows of Lotus. The air reeked of oil, sweat, and hot metal.
He rose stiffly. Ha-eun was already bouncing on one foot, pulling on her battered boots.
"First job, Seo-jin! Ready?"
"Not really," he grumbled.
"Perfect! That's when the fun starts!"
They crossed the HQ at a brisk pace. Torn posters clung to the walls, and dead cables swung from the ceiling. A makeshift burner wheezed in a corner, barely pushing away the damp chill.
Seo-jin noticed that despite the decay, every corner served a purpose: a patched-up weapon here, a battered map there.Lotus wasn't rich, but everyone seemed ready to die to defend their scrap of sanctuary.
Outside, the Lower City stretched out under a sky of ashes.
Ha-eun handed him a crumpled old map.
"Our target's here. Rive-Sombre. Easy job: bring back a fragment stone."
"Sounds simple."
"Yeah, well... if you forget about the unstable reality cracks and scavenger gangs, suuuper simple."
She winked.
**
On the way, Seo-jin understood what she meant.
They passed through alleys where buildings slumped like tired giants. The sidewalks seemed... melted, warped. Silent anomalies floated through the air: a streetlamp blinking upside down, a car hovering a few centimeters off the ground.
"Natural trial zones," Ha-eun explained. "When a fragment explodes or a user loses control, reality twists. Most of the time, it's permanent."
She pointed at a rusty beacon with a half-faded golden symbol.
"See that? If you spot a golden beacon that's still intact... run. It means a major fragment owns the place."
Seo-jin nodded, memorizing every detail.
**
They arrived at Rive-Sombre.
A dead zone.
The wind kicked up swirls of black dust. Far off, shattered skyscrapers loomed like skeletal remains. A metallic creak echoed — a torn billboard swinging on rusted hinges.
Ha-eun pointed to a narrow alley.
"In there. The fragment stone's stashed not far inside."
Seo-jin felt his pulse quicken.
They advanced cautiously. Every step seemed to ripple the air. The ground warped slightly underfoot, like walking on a living membrane.
Suddenly, a shadow darted from the side.
Two teenagers in torn leather jackets, marked with the symbol of a chained blade — a minor gang, probably.
"Hey, rats from Lotus," one of them sneered. "This stone's ours."
Seo-jin narrowed his eyes. Both wielded reinforced clubs. Ambush veterans.
No negotiations possible.
**
"Ha-eun," he murmured. "When I move, you rush the stone. Grab it and run."
"But—"
"Trust me."
She gritted her teeth, then nodded.
Seo-jin stepped forward slowly, hands open.
The punks snickered, lowering their guard.
Seo-jin reached for his fragment. A sharp pain lanced through his temples, like a nail driven behind his eyes. His vision blurred for a split second.
He forced through it.
A thin, trembling fissure split the air in front of him. Not flashy. Just a slight tear, lasting only a few seconds.
But enough.
The ground beneath the first thug shimmered — he sank into it as if into quicksand.
"W-What the hell?!"
Seo-jin seized the moment.He lunged, ramming his shoulder into the thug's chest. The boy crashed against a wall.
The second punk roared, swinging his club.
Seo-jin had no weapon.
But he had the terrain.
He flared his fragment again, right above his enemy. A loose chunk of concrete, weakened by distortion, broke off and slammed down between them.
The second thug staggered back, cursing.
Seizing the chaos, Ha-eun dashed forward, snatching the fragment stone from the warped ground.
"Run!" Seo-jin barked.
They sprinted away, adrenaline fueling their battered bodies, curses and angry shouts chasing them.
**
They only stopped several blocks away, panting behind a toppled vending machine.
Ha-eun burst out laughing, clutching the stone against her chest.
"Shit, Seo-jin, you're like a freaking magician!"
He collapsed against the wall, head pounding.
"Not yet," he gasped. "I almost blacked out."
She stared at him, wide-eyed.
"You control something dangerous. It's not easy, using a fragment in a warped zone."
Seo-jin gave a faint smile.
"Not strong enough," he thought. But stronger than yesterday.
**
Back at Lotus, the mood was lively.
They shared the evening's rations around a sputtering brazier. Ha-eun animatedly reenacted their escape, adding wild hand gestures and extra explosions for effect.
Seo-jin stayed back, holding a bowl of lukewarm stew.
The crackling fire and murmured conversations felt strangely... peaceful.
For the first time in forever, he wasn't completely alone.
But he wasn't truly one of them yet.
**
That night, lying on his makeshift mattress, Seo-jin felt the aches in his muscles.
His nerves, his bones — everything felt strained toward the unknown.
"I will survive. I will grow."
He closed his eyes, listening to the slow, steady breathing of the other survivors around him.
Tomorrow, he would be stronger.
Tomorrow, he would take another step forward.
Twilight cast a reddish glow over the dilapidated alleys. Seo-jin and Ha-eun moved cautiously, avoiding the oily puddles and piles of charred garbage.
The fragment throbbed in Seo-jin's hand, a small, irregular stone with metallic reflections. Under his fingers, it pulsed slowly, like a living heart — warm and almost... nervous.
"We're here," Ha-eun whispered.
They stood before a collapsed building, half swallowed by the urban jungle. The air around them vibrated faintly, the light distorting as if through a mirage.
"This is a natural trial zone," Ha-eun explained softly. "Fragments make certain places unstable. Be careful: the ground could give way, or worse…"
Seo-jin nodded, his heart pounding. The adrenaline was rising, but his legs felt heavy, his knees struggling to keep up with his inner rhythm.
They moved forward.
A thin, almost invisible crack snaked along the wall in front of them. Seo-jin stopped.
A noise — the scraping of too-heavy, too-confident footsteps.
Ha-eun had heard it too. She crouched behind a piece of collapsed concrete.
"Scavengers," she murmured. "Probably local vultures."
Seo-jin stood slowly. Three figures were approaching. Black jackets marked with an unfamiliar symbol — a distorted triangle.
No time to run.
He felt the fragment reacting in his pocket, vibrating with a feverish impatience.
"Come on… work."
Seo-jin concentrated. A familiar pain throbbed in his temples, his numb fingers tightening around the fragment.
He imagined a tear. Not a large rift, just a thin thread of instability.
A shiver ran up his spine.
A quiet crack split the air.
Before him, a crack as thin as a black vein briefly cleaved the space. It was no wider than a sheet of paper, but the effect was immediate: the ground beneath the first thug twisted. With a strangled cry, he tumbled forward, falling heavily.
"What...?!"
Seo-jin didn't let hesitation set in.
Seizing the moment of panic, he leaped forward. His body protested, his tired muscles threatening to betray him, but he held firm. He slammed his elbow into the second thug's neck with cold precision.
The third hesitated, then fled.
A heavy silence fell.
Seo-jin panted, hands on his knees. The rift had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Two seconds. No more.
Ha-eun rushed to his side, her eyes shining with admiration.
"That was amazing!"
Seo-jin grimaced.
"Barely enough."
His heart was racing, his legs buckling beneath him. Each use of the fragment seemed to drain something from him — not just physical energy, but something deeper, something more vital.
Ha-eun helped him to his feet.
"Don't worry, you did better than most veterans!"
Seo-jin thanked her with a nod, but he knew he was still far from the level he needed. Far from the top.
He gripped the fragment in his hand. It vibrated gently against his skin, as if sharing in his impatience.
One step further. Always one step further.
In the distance, a pair of eyes watched the scene.
A man in a dark coat smiled faintly.
"Interesting... Very interesting."
Then he vanished into the shadows.