Ascension: Shadow Protocol

Chapter 4: Last Breath, First Code

Pain wasn't new to Ryo.

But this?

This was something different.

It wasn't the searing ache in his ribs or the throbbing behind his eyes. It was deeper — in the marrow of his bones, in the code that now flowed through his veins like blood.

Something inside him had broken…

…only to be rewritten.

Moments After the Fight – Lower Dungeon Level

He stumbled through the shadows, breath ragged, barely conscious.

His body was failing.

The Shadow Protocol wasn't just granting him power — it was rebuilding him from the inside out. Every cell, every nerve, every strand of DNA was being overridden by something ancient, something alien.

[Protocol Sync: 30%]Status: Critical Threshold ReachedInitiating Code Rebirth…Standby.

"No," Ryo whispered, falling to one knee. "Not now…"

A pulse of light flared behind his eyes.

System Command OverriddenOrigin Memory Access Requested…File: [KAZEN BLOODLINE – LOCKED]Decryption…In Progress.

He didn't know what that meant.

But he didn't like it.

The world tilted — dungeon walls stretching and warping like digital illusions.

Then he heard it.

A voice — low, metallic, and echoing with layered distortions:

"You are not the first, Ryo Kazen."

Flashback – 10 Years Ago

A cold room.

Dim lights.

A child — Ryo, barely six — strapped to a metal chair.

His mother's voice was calling his name from somewhere behind a reinforced glass wall. Crying. Screaming.

Scientists watched him like a specimen. Data streamed across floating screens.

"The boy's code is fluctuating — again.""His bloodline… it's not fully human.""Initiate fallback sequence—!"

He didn't understand the words back then.

But he remembered the fear.

The machines. The pain. The needles. The electric hum in his skull.

Then — a sudden burst of black static.

And silence.

Present – Reboot Sequence Activated

[Core Protocol Node: WAKING]

Initiating Failsafe Installation…Designation: SHADOW CORE_001Compatibility: 98.4% – Syncing…

Ryo's body began to lift into the air.

A cocoon of darkness wrapped around him, pulsing with crimson data threads.

Inside, he could feel everything.

The dungeon's layout. The decaying life force of the monsters. The death cries of the assassins he killed. The memories of every shadow within a hundred meters.

He was becoming something more than human.

Something born of lightless code and stolen destiny.

But it came with a price.

[Warning: User Integrity Threshold Falling]Emotional Anchors: WeakeningSuggestion: Establish Core Memory to Stabilize**

"What the hell is a core memory?" he muttered.

Then — images flashed before him.

His sister. Smiling.

A bowl of miso ramen, half-eaten.

Rain on the rooftop.

His first wooden blade, clumsily carved by hand.

And then — blood. Betrayal. Screams beneath a collapsing dungeon.

"Stop it," Ryo hissed. "I'm not losing myself to this thing…"

Establish Anchor: [Y/N]

He focused hard.

Yes.

The system surged.

A beam of energy lanced through his chest — not to hurt, but to bind.

Anchor Set: [Protect Yui Kazen]Emotional Reinforcement: StabilizedProtocol Progress: 34%User Evolution Phase 1: Complete

He fell to the ground, panting — body steaming, fingertips dripping with raw shadow.

But he was alive.

Rebuilt.

Reborn.

Minutes Later – Surface Exit Tunnel

The barrier at the dungeon entrance flickered violently — time was almost up.

Ryo limped toward it, eyes narrowed, dragging the corpse of one of the assassins behind him. He needed answers, and whatever these killers had in their gear — it could help.

He ripped open a metal satchel.

Inside?

A device unlike anything he'd seen before. Not dungeon tech. Not hunter-issued.

It pulsed with the same energy the Protocol gave off.

He activated it.

[HELIX NODE DETECTED]

Classified Intel Accessed.PROJECT: SHADOW REBOOTObjective: Locate and contain all Shadow Protocol Variants.Priority Target: Ryo Kazen – Terminate On Sight.

He stared at it, unmoving.

"They knew my name…"

Someone had marked him.

Not just as a threat.

As the center of the entire system war.

And this wasn't just a dungeon anymore.

It was a testing ground.

Ryo stood at the edge of the barrier.

Behind him: a slaughtered team of black-ops hunters.

Beneath him: the corpse of a forgotten dungeon.

Within him: a power still rising.

He took one last breath.

Then stepped through the barrier — eyes cold, mind sharp, resolve burning like dark flame.

And the world outside?

It had no idea what was coming.

End of Chapter 4