The world was silent.Not the one within the dungeon.Another one.
A grey light floated in the air—soft, cotton-like. The atmosphere was neither cold nor warm. Yet, a shiver crawled across the skin.
Lin opened his eyes.
But it wasn't his body.
He saw himself… younger.More human.This was one of his former worlds. Not Earth. Not the dungeon realm. A forgotten transition—A testing ground of silence and solitude.
He walked across an endless plain, each step leaving a golden trace in the black grass.
Someone was waiting for him.
A slender young man cloaked in grey watched him with serious eyes. His name? Lin didn't want to remember.But he knew him.His rival. One of the few who had ever challenged him seriously in that transitional universe.
"Still incapable of slowing down. Always chasing further, Lin."
The tone wasn't mocking or bitter.It held admiration—laced with deep regret.
"Even back then, this world listened to you, you know?You thought it was just your imagination."
Lin—his past self—smiled.Proud. Almost arrogant.
"If it responded, then it wanted to play."
The rival nodded, but his eyes hardened.
"No. It's because only you asked the right questions.Only you had… that thing.That strange spark that made even the laws want to listen."
He paused.
"It's not normal, Lin. You weren't supposed to be able to.Not like that. Not here."
The words echoed in the void.
The present returned in waves. Lin, back in his real body, was still in the Heart Chamber, leaning against the monolith—his eyes vacant, yet alert.
This memory wasn't random.
It had chosen him.
He exhaled slowly.
"Even back there… I was already different."
A noise broke his reflection.Someone was entering the dungeon. Another group. Stronger, better equipped.
But this time, Lin didn't need to act.
The dungeon... reacted on its own.
Walls subtly shifted. A hidden hatch sealed shut. A trap triggered for the first time—one he had never programmed.
He smiled.
"So, you're truly beginning to live…"
His bond with the dungeon had just transformed.He was no longer just the creator.
He was becoming the soul of the labyrinth.
[System Notification: Mastery Point Gained – "Living Connection"][The Dungeon's Heart recognizes you as Nexus][New Option Unlocked: "Semi-Autonomous Organic Adaptation"]
Lin stood up and snapped his fingers.
A tile opened beneath his feet.He vanished—teleported to the surface.
Above, the auroras still danced in the sky.
But what Lin didn't yet know…was that this dance wasn't merely beautiful.
It was a signal.
And far, far away… Nebula looked up, intrigued.
"Finally… someone moving the right way."