Rin sat up slowly, her arms shaking as she braced herself against the ground.
Yuto moved to steady her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Easy," he said. "You need to rest."
"I'll rest when we're out of this forest," she muttered. "It feels wrong here now. The air's too thin. Even the ground feels strange."
"It's not just you," Yuto said quietly. "The system says something breached a node—Sector Seven. Whatever that means."
"Is that where we are?"
"No. But someone just opened something they weren't supposed to."
Rin looked at him, face pale. "You think it was that guy—Proxy?"
"No," Yuto replied, his eyes scanning the trees. "He just reported it. Someone else answered."
"What did they say?"
Yuto hesitated before repeating, "Trace complete. Target locked."
"Target… as in you?"
"I'm the only one here with a system like this."
Rin rubbed her forehead, voice unsteady. "Great. So now the whole world knows where we are?"
Yuto didn't correct her.
He didn't need to.
She already understood.
He stood, offering her a hand. She took it and rose, still unsteady.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
"I can try."
They moved slowly at first, weaving between burned trees and cracked dirt. The remains of the explosion were everywhere. Trees still smoked. The ground steamed in places where the energy had scorched deep. Birds were gone. Even the wind had stopped.
"How far to the village?" Yuto asked, eyes forward.
"If we move straight through the edge of the forest," Rin said, "maybe two hours. But that's if nothing slows us down."
Yuto nodded. "Let's not stop again. Not until we're out of here."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, the tension between them thick. Yuto kept one hand on his pistol grip, the other free in case Rin stumbled again. His shotgun was holstered across his back, and the SMG's barrel was still warm at his hip.
The system remained quiet.
But Yuto knew it was watching.
It always was.
"You're not going to ask?" Rin said suddenly.
He looked over. "Ask what?"
"About what he said. About the system. The original node. All that cryptic stuff."
"I've been trying not to think about it."
"Why?"
"Because it's the kind of thing that leads to more questions than answers."
Rin frowned. "Maybe. But if someone's hunting you for what you're carrying, don't you think you should figure out why it matters?"
"I know why it matters to me," Yuto said.
"And that is?"
"It's the only thing that's helped me survive here. That's enough for now."
Rin didn't argue.
But she didn't agree either.
A few more steps later, she asked, "What was that weapon? The big one. The one that exploded the forest."
"Tempest Maw," Yuto said. "Prototype. The system only gave me one shot."
"You nearly destroyed yourself using it."
"I didn't have a choice."
"You always have a choice."
Yuto looked at her then. "He was going to kill you, Rin."
She stopped walking.
He stopped too.
"You don't owe me that much," she said.
Yuto's voice didn't rise. "You're wrong."
Her brows pulled down. "Why?"
"Because if I start choosing who to protect, then I'm no better than the people hunting me. If I only care about my own survival, I might as well be Proxy."
She didn't know what to say to that.
So they walked again.
They reached a slope, and as they climbed it, the forest began to thin. Light filtered down more clearly. The smell of burnt wood faded behind them.
Yuto paused at the top of the rise, glancing ahead.
Then he raised his arm fast.
"Wait," he whispered. "Do you see that?"
Rin crouched beside him. "Where?"
"Straight ahead. That clearing."
She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah… there's something standing there."
They crouched together at the edge of the hill, staring into the clearing.
There was a figure standing in the center.
Alone.
Not moving.
Long black coat.
White hair.
Hands behind his back.
He wasn't wearing armor.
He wasn't armed.
And yet, something about him made the air colder.
"Is that Dax?" Rin whispered.
"No," Yuto said. "That's someone new."
The man turned slowly, like he'd been waiting for them.
And he smiled.
Not friendly.
Not warm.
Just precise.
Then he spoke.
"You're late."
The man's voice was calm, steady. No anger. No urgency. He said it like someone pointing out the weather.
Yuto stepped slightly ahead of Rin, both hands near his weapons. "Do I know you?"
The man didn't move. "You don't."
"But you know me."
"Of course," the man said. "Everyone important does now."
Rin leaned toward Yuto and whispered, "I don't like this."
"Me neither."
The man took a step forward. Not threatening—measured. Controlled.
He wore simple black clothes. Clean boots. No armor. His coat shifted in the wind like it belonged in a world with no dirt. His face was pale, almost too smooth, like it had been carved instead of born.
"You fought well," the man said. "Against Proxy. Against the simulation. Most candidates don't survive that kind of exposure."
"Candidates for what?" Yuto asked.
The man paused. "You're still being polite. That's good."
"Answer the question."
The man looked at him. Really looked.
"Tell me, Yuto. Has your system told you what it is yet?"
Yuto's hand twitched slightly near the grip of his pistol. "It tells me what I need to know."
"That's not the same thing."
"Then why don't you explain it?"
The man smiled again. Not smug. Not cruel. Just precise.
"I'm called Argus," he said. "And I was the first."
Rin frowned. "The first what?"
Argus turned toward her, eyes sharp but not cruel. "The first Gunner."
Yuto blinked once. "That's not possible."
"It's not only possible," Argus said, "it's necessary."
He folded his arms behind his back again and began walking slowly in a circle, like a teacher beginning a lecture.
"You're not the first system-bearer to land in this world," he said. "And you won't be the last. But you are the only one whose system still carries the original core framework. The one that came straight from the Source."
Yuto didn't move. "So Proxy was right. I'm some kind of blueprint."
"You're the fallback," Argus said. "The backup plan for a cycle that broke long ago."
"I don't even know what that means."
"I know," Argus said gently. "Because the system won't tell you until it's too late."
Rin stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "What is the system?"
Argus didn't answer her.
He kept looking at Yuto.
"The system is not your ally," he said. "It's a tool left behind by something bigger. Something older than this world. It uses you because you're useful. Not because you're chosen."
"You're lying," Yuto said.
"I wish I was."
The wind blew between them for a moment. Branches creaked above.
Rin's voice was quiet. "If you were the first… why are you here now?"
Argus finally turned his full attention to her.
"I'm here," he said, "because the others are coming."
"Others?"
"Receivers. Architects. Those who still watch from the outside. The ones who made all this."
Yuto's voice came out low. "You mean… the system wasn't made here."
"No," Argus said. "It was installed."
Rin blinked. "Like a spell?"
"Like software."
Yuto shook his head. "That's not possible. This world has no machines. No tech. No interface systems."
Argus nodded. "And yet you hold a gun."
Yuto didn't speak.
Argus stepped closer. "You've felt it, haven't you? The moments when the system makes decisions for you. The times when it nudges you forward, unlocks something before you're ready, pulls you into challenges you didn't ask for."
Yuto's fingers twitched on the grip again.
"It wants you to grow," Argus said. "But not for your sake. For its own."
Rin looked at Yuto, then back at Argus. "Then what happens when he gets too strong?"
Argus was quiet.
Then he said, "They'll come to reclaim the system. And if they can't take it…"
His eyes met Yuto's.
"They'll erase you."
Silence followed.
Yuto's voice came out dry. "And I guess you're here to stop that?"
"No," Argus said. "I'm here to warn you. And give you a choice."
"Choice?"
"You can go north," Argus said. "There's an old node outpost—buried under the ruins of the first breach site. It has answers. It has access to code the system doesn't want you to see."
Yuto narrowed his eyes. "And if I go there?"
"You'll see what they did to the others. The ones who came before you."
Rin asked, "And if we don't go?"
Argus turned his back. "Then you'll still end up there eventually. Just not on your terms."
He began walking into the trees.
"Wait," Yuto said. "Why are you helping me?"
Argus paused.
And this time, when he spoke, there was a sadness in his voice.
"Because I used to believe in the system too."
He vanished between the shadows before Yuto could say another word.
Yuto stood there in silence.
Rin exhaled slowly. "What now?"
He didn't answer.
The system did.
> [ MAP UPDATED – RUINS: NORTHERN NODE FRAGMENT DETECTED ]
[ STATUS: CLASSIFIED DATA – ACCESS REQUIRES MANUAL OVERRIDE ]
[ LOCATION: ACTIVE – TRACE BEACON PLACED ]
Then the last message flashed.
> [ NEW CONTACT ADDED: ARGUS – STATUS: UNKNOWN ]
[ WARNING: SYSTEM CONNECTION UNSTABLE – EXTERNAL MONITORING DETECTED ]
[ HOSTILE OBSERVER ONLINE. ]
Rin read it over Yuto's shoulder.
"Hostile observer?" she asked.
Yuto turned slowly.
And saw a drone.
Floating just a few meters away.
Small. Black. Unmarked.
Watching them silently.
Then it blinked.
And self-destructed.