Red barely slept.
Three nights had passed since the Primordius System awakened in him, and nothing in his life had felt real since. He wasn't just Red anymore—the scrappy kid from Westblock scraping credits by fixing busted gear. Now, he was someone—something—else.
Every time he blinked, a faint HUD hovered in his vision. Transparent. Responsive. Full of mysteries. Most menus were still locked, labeled "Access Pending: Bloodline Sync Incomplete", but one stood out.
[Legacy Trail: Trace the Sunblood] Objective: Find the Forgotten Shrine of Ilustra Reward: Class Awakening | Legacy Weapon | Core Expansion
Ilustra.
He knew that name. Everyone in the metro did. It was a cautionary tale—an entire district flattened in the war two decades ago, sealed off by government quarantine. Ghost town. No-go zone.
But Red had to go there.
He spent the days tinkering in secret. With old holomaps and scrap parts, he created a low-frequency signal jammer to hide his location. If this system was real—and everything so far proved it was—he couldn't risk anyone else tracing it.
Then, late one evening, while crawling through the under-tower sewage maintenance shaft, something strange happened.
[Passive Skill Unlocked: Technomancer Instinct Lv. 1] Effect: Mechanical repairs performed 30% faster. Error detection enhanced.
His fingers twitched.
So the system wasn't just cosmetic—it enhanced his skills. Real world abilities. The implications made his stomach churn with excitement and fear.
That night, he had a dream.
He stood in the middle of a battlefield, ash falling from the sky like snow. All around him, bodies in armor littered the ground—some with glowing runes, others with jagged cyber-enhancements. In the distance, a tower cracked and fell into the earth, lightning coiling around its spire.
And then—he saw him.
The masked warrior from before. Only this time, he removed the mask.
It was Red. An older version of him. Scarred. Fierce. Eyes full of pain... and fire.
"Lionheart," the dream-Red whispered. "You are the last of us."
He woke up in a cold sweat.
He couldn't delay anymore. He packed a sling bag with salvaged gear, rations, and a makeshift baton charged with a shock core. If Ilustra held the answers—if it held this "Shrine"—he had to get there before anyone else.
The city was stirring with unrest. Word spread that strange power signatures were flaring across the metro. The Orion Syndicate was tightening their grip. Red knew this was all connected.
As he stood before the dark tunnel that led out of Westblock—his escape route to the outer rings—he took one last look at the only home he'd ever known.
"This place never gave me anything," he muttered. "But maybe I can still take something back."
He stepped into the tunnel, shadows closing around him.
Beyond the wall, Ilustra awaited.
So did the truth.
And for the first time in his life, Red wasn't running away from something.
He was running toward it.