When Fade opened his eyes... the air was familiar.
But... only on your skin.
It's not in your soul.
His feet stepped onto a cracked stone surface.
The sky was no longer blue like before. It was gray and pale. The wind carried the ashes, scattering traces of the past into the air.
[Dimensional Re-Transfer Completed]
[Location: Origin Point – Fade's Home]
The system went silent.
As if knowingly.
Fade looked around. The same street... but no longer the same.
Some houses were completely destroyed. Some walls had system symbols engraved on them, like old graffiti.
And in some of them... digital seals were blinking. It was read not with the eyes, but with the soul.
"This... is no longer my neighborhood."
He started walking with empty steps.
When he reached the door of his house, he took a deep breath.
The wood was covered in moss. The door handle is broken.
But when he entered... the whole house was like it was frozen.
Dust... it had settled even on the old photos hanging on the wall.
On the couch... there was no one.
The person who should be.
Grandfather.
Fade's throat tightened.
He was having a hard time standing up.
But then his eyes caught on the small section inside the kitchen.
Once just a place where they kept books...
The door was open.
There was a chest inside.
On it... his own name.
"FADE"
Fade knelt down on his knees. He slowly placed his hands on the box.
His fingers seemed to recognize the old scratches on the metal surface.
And then he lifted the lid.
Inside:
A sealed memory crystal
A note written in aged, shaky handwriting.
And... an unfamiliar seal – with a spiral eye in the center.
Fade touched the crystal first. But the system blocked it:
[Memory Crystal: Locked]
[Required: Soul Frequency Match to Unlock]
Fade took a deep breath.
Then he read the note.
"Fade... If you're reading these lines, I'm no longer by your side."
"But that doesn't mean you can't see me."
"The eyes that look at you are not only above."
"Where time was ripped apart, your footsteps echoed."
"When I left this house, I didn't leave you alone with the shadow."
That voice… pulling you out of loneliness…
...my piece. "
Fade's eyes were enlarged.
It seemed like the note in his hand was going to fall, but he held on tight.
"Voice..."
That echo that has been warning him for years...
Was it his grandfather?
No.
Maybe it was just a part of it.
But this... was the first door to reality.
At that moment, sounds came from outside the house.
Footsteps. Slow but cautious.
Fade approached the window.
At the end of the street, three people were walking.
Their clothes were unfamiliar. They had holographic system interfaces on their chests.
But they weren't carrying weapons.
"Suspicious energy trace... it's coming from inside the house."
"The coordinates overlap... but there is no record of him living here."
Fade instinctively withdrew.
The chain stirred on his wrist.
But this time... it didn't attack.
As they approached, someone's voice touched Fade's system:
[Access Request: Resonance Scan – Fade]
Fade's eyes gleamed.For the first time… a system beyond his own knew his name.
He bowed his head.
He slowly stood up inside the house.
"I'm not alone."
"Neither am I the old Fade, nor is this world familiar anymore."
At that moment, the crystal in his pocket... shone by itself.
[Locked Memory Approaching...]
Fade walked towards the front door without squinting his eyes.
The Shadow Chain has loosened.
And Fade... for the first time, he didn't draw his weapon against an unknown person.
"Let's talk." He said.
Three people stood silently.
One of them took off their mask.
He was young.
His eyes were light brown.
But... there was recognition, not fear.
When Fade opened the door, the scene outside was unlike anything he remembered.The world was still silent—but it wasn't the silence of peace. It was the silence born from waiting chaos.
Three figures were approaching from the end of the street. Their steps were cautious, their eyes alert. The light armor on their bodies and the holographic system interfaces made it clear—they were not just travelers.
Fade could have, if he wished, lashed out with his chain and dropped them before a single word was spoken.But… he didn't. This time, he chose to listen.
One of them, a man, removed his helmet. His appearance was ordinary, but the clarity in his eyes caught Fade's attention.
"You… it's really you. You came back."
Fade narrowed his eyes. "You know me?"
The man nodded. "We receive system updates with registered anomalies. Some… like you. They rarely appear. Ones who return from the shadows."
That sounded like a threat to Fade. "What do you mean, 'like me'?"
This time, the woman among them spoke. She brushed a strand of long chestnut hair behind her ear. Her eyes were gray, but there was a sharp light within them.
"Those who move beyond the system's boundaries. Uncoded journeys. You, Fade… you're not a bug to the system. You're a crack. One that lets the light in."
Fade stepped back slightly, the chill of his chain tightening around his waist. "Are you planning to run tests on me?"
The third figure—older, quiet until now—finally spoke."No. We only observe. To understand, right or wrong. Are you a threat? Or… hope?"
The words unsettled Fade. Being "observed" was a threat on its own.And yet… the girl's voice, her gaze—cold as it was—didn't seem dishonest.
"Is the crystal from you?" Fade asked, pulling the softly glowing shard from his pocket.
One of them shook his head. "No. It was left for you. We only came closer when it activated."
Fade put the crystal away. "I owe you nothing. And you owe me nothing. But if our paths cross… be careful."
The girl met Fade's gaze directly."Actually… I've seen you before," she said softly.Fade's eyes narrowed."Where?""High school… final year. Same school. We never spoke, but I remember you. You were… different from the others."
Fade paused. A faded image from those days flickered in his mind—but it wasn't clear."That was another world," he said coolly. "And there's no going back to it now."
The girl hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a thin disk and held it out to him."This is a key. Call us—if you choose to. But it's not a command. The choice will always be yours."
Fade didn't take the disk. He only looked at it, then turned his back and walked toward his house again.
"I can't trust anyone yet. But I'll follow the traces."
The wind eased again in the street. The three strangers exchanged silent glances and walked away as Fade turned his back on them.
As Fade stepped back into his home, he felt something inside him shift.The weight of loneliness hadn't grown heavier—its meaning had changed.
In this world, survival wasn't the only battle.…you had to fight for who you chose to trust—and who you chose to keep away.