Cherreads

Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 — Sync Beyond Shadows

🎮 Scene 1 — 7:32 AM | Red Portal, Sector 9 | LIVE FEED

[Operation: Vein Reaper Program – Phase II]

A thick red mist crawled across the battlefield, clinging to cracked stones like blood-soaked fog. Static buzzed in the air as five system users stepped through the glowing rift—each one focused. Silent.

The terrain was ruined and cursed. Veins of pulsing crimson light ran beneath their feet, twisting between bones, debris, and fractured ruins.

Then, the ground trembled.

A deafening hiss tore through the silence.

From beyond the ruins, a massive serpent slithered into view—five heads, each glowing with a different element: flame, frost, poison, lightning, and void. Its scales rippled like liquid armor. Its presence suffocated the air.

And then came the swarm.

Hundreds of smaller serpents poured from cracks in the rocks—hissing, writhing, snapping like a living flood.

> SYSTEM ALERT

"BOSS IDENTIFIED: HYDRASKIN (Five-Headed Variant)"

"Threat Level: RED-CLASS"

"Time Limit: 12 Minutes"

"Team Sync: 89%"

[Mission Program: Vein Reaper Active]

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💥 Team BRAVO-9 – Vein Reaper Unit

Do Kyun — Tank (Team Leader)

Min Jae — Assassin

Seo Rin — Mage

Hana — Healer

Ji Woo — Marksman

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> Do Kyun (steady voice):

"Nobody dies today. Formation B. I'm going in."

> Min Jae (sharpening blades):

"Left flank's mine. Eyes up."

> Seo Rin (raising her staff):

"Frost Net charging… two seconds."

> Hana (voice tight):

"I'll stay close. Don't go too deep."

> Ji Woo (locking scope):

"Last clip loaded. Let's end this fast."

---

Do Kyun lunged forward with his shield raised. The center head met him with a roar, its fangs crashing into metal. His boots scraped against stone. The beast didn't flinch.

Suddenly—venom burst from the green-scaled head.

> Min Jae:

"Incoming—poison spit!"

He blinked behind it, blade flashing.

CLANG.

Steel sparked against scale.

> Min Jae (grimly):

"Under the jaw—go for the pulse!"

The serpent shrieked. Ji Woo opened fire from a high ledge, his shots aimed at the second head's eye.

PING. PING.

Nothing pierced.

> Ji Woo:

"Scales are too damn thick—aim for the joints!"

The tail snapped like a whip.

> Seo Rin:

"Duck—!"

CRASH.

Ji Woo was flung into a wall. His body dropped, motionless.

For a moment, no one moved.

> Hana (voice cracking):

"Ji Woo—!"

She dashed toward him, breath shaking. Golden light flared from her hands.

> SYSTEM:

"Heal Successful. Battery at 58%."

Ji Woo groaned. Alive.

> Hana (whispers):

"Don't scare me like that…"

No time to breathe.

---

> Do Kyun (gritting his teeth):

"Pressure left side! Keep pushing!"

Seo Rin raised her staff. A cold shimmer flashed across two of the heads—crackling, freezing, locking them in place.

> Seo Rin:

"Two frozen—go, now!"

Min Jae blurred forward, slicing deep into the eye of a frozen head. Blood and crystal exploded.

The beast roared. Its coils tightened.

> Min Jae:

"Not done yet. Keep it angry."

Suddenly, the earth cracked open again.

New snakes emerged—dozens more, a flood of fang and scale.

> Seo Rin:

"I've got the swarm—finish the boss!"

She unleashed a cone of flame, torching the smaller serpents in a wave of fire.

Then—

BOOM.

A shockwave exploded from the central head.

Do Kyun was hit point-blank. His shield shattered. His body fell limp, blood spreading beneath him.

> Hana (screaming):

"DO KYUN!"

She rushed forward, nearly tripping. Her light flickered weakly.

> SYSTEM:

"Sync Level Critical. Auto-Eject: DISABLED."

> Seo Rin (furious):

"Min Jae—NOW!"

---

Min Jae didn't hesitate.

His system flared red—Overdrive Mode: Engaged.

He sprinted up the beast's back, scaling it like a shadow. Daggers gleamed in both hands.

> Min Jae (shouting):

"Give me the core—NOW!"

He plunged his blade deep into the glowing white skull. Blood sprayed into the sky.

Seo Rin released her final lightning arc.

> Seo Rin:

"Clear!"

The bolt struck the last head with divine precision.

The beast collapsed.

Dead.

---

> SYSTEM REPORT — VEIN REAPER PROGRAM

"RAID COMPLETE."

"Remaining Users: 3"

"Casualties: 2"

"Extraction in: 60 seconds."

---

🎮 Scene 2 — 8:00 AM | District 13 | Jax Lee's Apartment

Plink. Plink.

A leaky faucet echoed in the silence.

Jax sat on a torn mattress, tugging a hoodie over yesterday's bruises. Same hoodie. Same pain. Same cold walls.

No one called for him. No one waited.

> Jax (thinking):

"Same crap. Different morning."

He bit into a dry slice of bread. Chewed once. Tossed it away.

Outside, the sky flickered with holographic ads. New gear drops. Top guild rankings. Tournament footage.

A replay of the Red Portal flashed—the five-headed serpent collapsing in flames.

Jax looked up, eyes narrowing.

> Jax (soft):

"…Someday."

His phone buzzed.

No messages.

Just one article, pinned for months:

> 📂 [MISSING: SYSTEM USER — LEE DAEJUN. STATUS: UNKNOWN]

His father.

Jax locked the screen, shoved it in his pocket, and walked out.

One hand in his pocket. The other clenched tight.

> Jax (inward):

"He entered a portal and never came back."

"They say he vanished."

"…I think he was taken."

---

🎮 Scene 3 — 8:22 AM | Observation Room, Sector 1

Monitors flickered. Operators worked in silence.

The Vein Reaper raid replayed—ash, blood, static.

> Officer 1:

"They cleared it. Barely. Two down."

> Agent Corrin:

"Mark the survivors. Especially the healer."

A console blinked red.

> Officer 2:

"Sir… sync echo anomaly detected. District 13."

> Corrin:

"Unregistered?"

> Officer 2:

"Seventeen. Male. No awakening log."

> Corrin:

"Name?"

> Officer 2:

"Jax Lee."

Corrin leaned closer. A blurry cam-feed showed a boy in a hoodie.

> Corrin:

"Trace him. Quietly. No alerts to the net."

> Officer 2:

"Understood."

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🏛️ Scene 4 — 8:30 AM | Skyward Command – Executive Wing

The city skyline shimmered beyond reinforced glass.

President Seon Juwon stood, arms folded, watching the slowed footage of the raid.

Expression cold. Silent.

> Seon Juwon:

"It mutated mid-raid. It didn't just fight—it learned."

> VP Rika Han:

"It copied user abilities. That's outside Red-Class behavior."

> Seon Juwon:

"Someone pushed it."

> Rika:

"From the raid team?"

> Seon Juwon (quietly):

"No. From outside. Unsynced."

He turned to the skyline.

> Seon Juwon:

"We're picking up echoes. Old signal types. Off-grid syncs."

> Rika (tense):

"But those systems were sealed decades ago."

> Seon Juwon:

"Not all of them."

He paused.

> Seon Juwon (darkly):

"Find the source. If a Hidden System has reawakened..."

The room fell silent.

> Seon Juwon:

"…then the rules are about to break."

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🩸 TO BE CONTINUED

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