March 7th, 2027 — 3:41 A.M.
The wind howled through the windows of the rooftop apartment.
Outside, snow had begun to fall again—quietly, steadily, burying Seoul in a soft white hush.
Inside, the bodies of Kang Min-Jae and Kang Yu-Ri sat perfectly still on the living room couch.
Their skin glowed faintly, as though painted with moonlight. Their outlines shimmered, turning slowly translucent.
Not asleep. Not awake.
Gone.
And then…
They opened their eyes—
---
Somewhere Else
The first thing Min-Jae noticed was the light.
It was wrong. Not sunlight, not moonlight—but a pale, swirling luminescence like fog lit from within. The sky above stretched endlessly in hues of lavender and violet, dotted with floating stones the size of mountains. They drifted like whales through the clouds—silent, slow, impossibly vast.
The second thing he noticed was the air.
It was heavy. Not in weight, but in presence. Every breath buzzed against his skin like invisible static. It smelled faintly metallic, tinged with something ancient and alive.
He stood on what looked like stone tiles, cracked and overgrown with glowing moss. Around him, towering trees with silver leaves rose hundreds of meters into the air, forming a canopy that filtered the strange sky into fractured patterns.
Min-Jae blinked, heart pounding.
This was not a dream.
He turned in all directions, spinning slowly, trying to process what he was seeing. The world was too vivid, too crisp, too vast to be anything fabricated by the mind.
Then he heard a voice.
"…Oppa?"
Min-Jae whirled around.
Yu-Ri stood a few feet away, eyes wide, body trembling.
She wore the same clothes from the living room. Her ponytail was messy, her lips slightly chapped from the cold. She clutched the sleeve of her hoodie with trembling fingers.
"Where… are we?" she whispered.
Min-Jae couldn't answer.
Instead, a sudden chime echoed through the sky like a bell ringing underwater.
A translucent screen appeared before them—floating in midair.
---
> [Welcome to the Realm of Exodus.]
Your soul has crossed through the veil of dreams.
This is the world between life and death. Between fear and purpose.
Survive, and your life force shall grow.
Fail, and your essence will drain.
Time here is as unstable as your will.
You have no weapons. You have no skills.
But you are not powerless.
[Tutorial begins in 3 minutes.]
---
"Is this… some kind of game?" Yu-Ri said, voice shaking.
Min-Jae stared at the screen, then at his hands. They looked the same—same calluses, same scars—but he felt different.
Like the very air was reading his thoughts.
Suddenly, another sound erupted—a deep, guttural roar in the distance. Trees swayed. Birds with four wings scattered through the branches. The ground beneath them rumbled slightly, as though something massive had just moved.
"Let's not stay here," Min-Jae muttered.
Yu-Ri nodded quickly. He grabbed her hand, and they sprinted down a stone path lit by faint, floating lights embedded in the grass.
---
2 Minutes Later
A small clearing opened before them, surrounded by thorn-covered trees. In the center stood a pedestal, and above it hovered a shimmering orb the size of a grapefruit.
> [Beginner Soul Armory Detected]
Min-Jae stepped forward cautiously. As he approached, the orb pulsed once—then split into two streams of light, one shooting toward him, the other toward Yu-Ri.
They both flinched.
Suddenly, their hands felt heavy. They looked down to find unfamiliar weapons forming out of nothing—glowing softly in their palms.
Min-Jae now held a long spear, forged from black metal and etched with glowing blue lines. It was cold, but perfectly balanced. It felt… right.
Yu-Ri held two curved daggers, lightweight and sharp as whispers.
> [Basic Weapon Acquired: Soul-Bound]
> Spear of Ashir (Min-Jae)
Twin Knives of Velmira (Yu-Ri)
> [Tutorial Initiating: Combat Trial Incoming]
A rustle came from the thicket behind them.
Then another roar.
Then—
A creature leapt from the trees.
It was the size of a bear, but shaped like a tiger with glowing eyes and no skin—just raw muscle and bone, exposed and glistening.
Its mouth opened in a shriek, revealing hundreds of twisting, knife-like teeth.
Yu-Ri screamed. Min-Jae stepped forward, placing himself in front of her.
The spear in his hand hummed.
He didn't know how to fight. But in that moment, instinct surged. He tightened his grip, planted his feet, and drove the spear forward just as the beast lunged.
A flash of blue.
A burst of pressure.
And then—
Silence.
The creature lay dead, twitching on the moss.
A notification blinked before his eyes.
> [Victory: 1 Monster Defeated]
+10 Life Force
+1 Strength
+1 Agility
---
They panted in the clearing for several minutes, silent, wide-eyed, staring at the monster's corpse.
Finally, Yu-Ri whispered:
"…This is real."
Min-Jae nodded.
"Yeah."
Another screen appeared:
> [You will remain here each time you sleep.]
Your journey will resume from this exact place.
Survive to return.
Die… and the world will forget your name.
---
End of Chapter 2