(Omegaverse Arc – Part VI)
Darkness.
But not the kind that belonged to sleep or night — this darkness was alive. It pulsed, breathed, and rippled like a living organism. Every flicker of gold light within it throbbed to the same rhythm as Seo Jin's heart.
He floated weightlessly in it — suspended, bodiless, thought and pulse entwined. Each heartbeat was a thunderclap echoing through infinity.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
His mind felt heavy, yet aware. When he opened his eyes, the void itself seemed to respond — a faint shimmer rippling outward, illuminating a vast network of golden veins.
He tried to speak, but his voice sounded small, swallowed by the infinite expanse.
"Where… am I?"
A voice answered — not from ahead or behind, but from everywhere.
> [Welcome back, Host.]
Seo Jin's pulse stumbled. He recognized that voice — the same mechanical calm that had haunted his nightmares.
"The System," he whispered.
> [Not exactly.]
