DarkSync: Shadow Protocol
Chapter 2 — Part 1
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MC's Perspective
Pain faded, replaced by an unbearable darkness pulling at me.
My mind slipped away like water through my fingers.
Everything went black.
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(Blank panel or black screen)
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MC's Perspective — Awakening
A faint light filtered through my eyelids.
I blinked.
The rough texture of sheets beneath my fingertips.
I was… home.
My room.
The familiar clutter—the posters, the worn desk, the old books stacked in careless piles.
But something was wrong.
Too wrong.
My leg… it didn't hurt.
I threw the blanket aside.
No blood. No bandage. No scar.
The injury from the alley—the deep slice, the pain—it was gone.
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I stood up. Slowly. My body felt… fine.
No bruises.
No soreness.
Just this strange, cold energy pulsing under my skin.
Almost like it wasn't really my body anymore.
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Then—a word slipped into my head.
Not a memory. More like a whisper.
> "DarkSync System."
I don't know why I said it.
But I did.
> "DarkSync Panel… open."
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SYSTEM INTERFACE — APPEARS (floating in front of MC)
Soft static. Violet-blue glow. Angular, shifting UI design — like it's alive.
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📄 DARKSYNC SYSTEM STATUS
[SEAL 1: UNLOCKED]
Biometric Sync: 34%
Host: Luo Shen
Darkness Core Status: DORMANT (Surface Access Enabled)
Cognitive Bridge: STABLE
Neural Status: CLEAN — Residual Surge Traces Detected
System Permissions: TIER 1 ACTIVE
Autonomous Protocol: PARTIAL (Low Alert Mode)
Memory Logs: LOCKED
Combat Modules: LOCKED
Command Access: VOCAL + INTENT BASED
Next Seal Condition: UNKNOWN
The screen hovered silently in the air, flickering softly like it was breathing.
I reached for it instinctively, but my hand passed right through.
A projection? A hallucination?
No—this was real.
Somehow, it felt more real than anything else.
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> "Darkness Core… dormant?" I whispered.
"Seal 1… unlocked."
It didn't make sense.
Nothing did.
But the system didn't care about my confusion.
It just waited—calm, emotionless, patient.
Like it had all the time in the world.
FLASHBACK: When Luo Shen Lost Consciousness (Chapter 1)
A Hidden Place — Deep Within Luo Shen's Consciousness
Visual:
Darkness. But not empty.
This isn't the outside world.
This is inside — buried deep within Luo Shen's mind.
A space untouched by light. Unreachable by thought.
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A figure... no, a presence begins to form.
Not flesh. Not machine.
Smoke. Living shadow.
No limbs. No face. Just endless wisps of black coiling in slow spirals.
And eyes.
Two piercing violet eyes, glowing like dying stars—watching, ancient, and impossibly still.
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Voice — low, layered, inhuman — like it's speaking directly into the bones
> "It finally begins."
(The air trembles with the weight of the words.)
> "But the time... is yet to arrive."
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The presence lingers for a moment longer, tendrils twitching like it senses something incomplete.
Then it fades, dissolving into the dark corners of Luo Shen's subconscious.
Gone. But not silent.
Never silent.
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SYSTEM VOICE — Immediate Transition
> [Memory Error Detected]
> Line: "Because the client... was me."
> Deleting corrupted memory fragment...
> Executing Physical Restoration Protocol...
> Healing Process: 94%... 100%
> Movement Override Enabled.
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Visual:
Luo Shen's unconscious body rises in the alley, shadow swirling at his feet
Wounds reverse like time rewinding
His eyes flicker open momentarily — blank and glowing
Then he vanishes in a silent distortion
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Transition: Luo Shen wakes up in his room
Back to the Present Time.
Chapter 2 — Part 2: Hello, Viewers
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MC's Perspective – Luo Shen Speaks to the Reader (breaking the fourth wall)
> "...Hello, viewers."
A pause.
> "I just realized... with everything that's happened, I never introduced myself."
"Sorry. I guess almost dying and waking up with a mysterious system in my head will do that to you."
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He stands up, stretches his arms slightly, and exhales.
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> "My name's Luo Shen."
"Age: 17."
"High school student. Average grades. Lives alone."
"And… I have no memories before the age of 7."
"Nothing. Just a blank slate. Doctors said it was trauma-related amnesia. But… I never believed that."
"It always felt like… something was missing."
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(He moves to the window, looking out over the city)
> "This world? It's not the one you know."
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World Exposition — Through Luo Shen's Voice
> "In the year 2051, everything changed."
> "Portals—rips in space—started appearing all over Earth. Random at first. Then… more frequent."
"And from those portals? Monsters. Beasts. Machines. Creatures that don't belong in this world."
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> "But there was a catch—thank god for that."
> "Only monsters below a certain power threshold could exit the portal into our world."
"The big ones—the real threats? They're stuck inside. Locked behind invisible laws, like the world itself refuses to let them out."
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> "To close a portal, we have to kill the boss inside."
"That's the rule. No boss kill, no closure."
"So we go in. We fight. We die. Or survive."
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Luo Shen turns, smirking slightly
> "You're probably wondering—how can humans fight monsters like that?"
"Well… we couldn't. Not at first."
"But then, something started happening."
"People began to Awaken."
> "Abilities. Strength. Speed. Powers that made no sense. People started evolving."
"And just like that… the age of the Hunters began."
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> "Hunters are humans who Awakened to fight within the portals."
"Some can manipulate fire. Others use shadows. Some have reinforced strength, some… data abilities. Everyone's different."
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> "But power needs control."
"So each country formed their own Hunter Association. A governing body that ranks, regulates, and watches over all hunters."
"Beneath them? The Guilds."
"That's where most hunters end up—mercenaries, soldiers, adventurers. Some protect. Some kill. Most do it for money."
> "Now, some of you might be thinking…"
'What if an entire country's Hunter Association turns corrupt?'
"Yeah. It happened. More than once."
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> "That's why the Central Hunter Association was formed."
"A global council made up of elite representatives — the most powerful hunters and commanders from different countries."
"They oversee everything. The ranks. The guilds. The rules. The balance."
"They're not saints — but they're the reason this world hasn't crumbled yet."
> "As for power? Everything has a rank. Monsters, hunters, even dungeons."
> "From the lowest E-Rank to A-Rank — those are considered standard or normal grades."
"Above that is S-Rank — the Special Grade. Strong enough to solo most dungeons."
"Then comes the SS-Rank. You only see a few of those in a generation."
> "But at the very top... is SSS-Rank."
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> "Those ones?"
"Even a team of A-Ranks would get slaughtered just standing near them."
"Even S-Ranks wouldn't last long alone."
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> "To take down a single SSS-Rank entity, it'd require a minimum of five to eight SS-Rank hunters, working together. Perfectly."
"Any less, and it's a massacre."
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> "They're not just monsters. They're walking natural disasters."
"You don't fight them to win. You fight them to survive."
"Or… stall them long enough to close the portal behind them."
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> "The fact that this system chose me…"
"Makes me wonder—was it a blessing… or a warning?"
> "This world isn't normal anymore."
"And after last night… neither am I."
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He looks at his hand. The screen flickers again — faint violet glyphs pulsing in his vision.
> "I don't know what's happening to me."
"But I know this — the system inside me… it's not from this world."
> "And the real story? I think it's only just beginning."
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End of Chapter 2 – Part 2