Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss

The sky was covered in smoke and fire. Giant dragon wings flapped above the kingdom, their screeches mixing with the sounds of battle and magic.

On the floating stepping stones made by wind and earth mages, Min Yoon Ji of the Black Lotus Guild ran fast, her long coat flowing behind her, and her black scythe glowing with dark energy. She leapt high into the air, then spun her scythe once, aiming it toward a group of dragons circling above the castle walls.

With a calm voice, she whispered, "Dark Nova."

A small black orb formed at the tip of her blade, growing brighter, darker—then she launched it.

"IT'S DARK NOVA! TAKE COVER!" someone shouted from below, and many fighters, even other guild members, started backing away fast.

The orb flew straight into the belly of a green dragon, flying close to two others.

A half-second passed. Then—

BOOOOM!

The black orb exploded with a sound that shook the sky.The middle dragon's body ripped apart, scales and flesh exploding outward in black mist. The two dragons beside it were hit by the shockwave, letting out loud screeches, their wings flapping wildly as they spiraled out of control, falling fast.

The explosion left a hole in the clouds, and for a second, even the dragons seemed to hesitate.

From the castle wall, Alexa winced as a healer wrapped her arm, blood soaking through the cloth. She sat down, breathing hard, but never looking away from the sky.

Beside her, Choi Jieun, her violet hair messy from the fight, leaned against the wall, her hand clutching a burned patch of her robe.

"These dragons…" she muttered. "They're just like the ones in Ethereal Online, Alexa…"

Alexa gave a short nod, her voice calm but firm.

"Exactly. In Ethereal, dragons weren't noble creatures. They didn't guard treasure or protect nature. They were corrupted. Driven by madness."She looked up, watching more dragons fly in formation.

"They see humans as food. As weak things to burn and kill. They attack kingdoms for fun, destroy towns, and leave nothing behind but ash."

She turned to Jieun, eyes sharp.

"These ones might look different, but their behavior is the same.They dive in pairs. They fire breath just before they crash—same as in the game. We can't pity them. If we do, people will die."

Jieun slowly nodded, her face serious.

A loud roar interrupted them. Another dragon flew closer—its scales pitch black with glowing red veins—and it began charging a massive fireball in its mouth.

But before it could release it, Min Yoon Ji spun in midair and threw her scythe like a boomerang.

The curved blade sliced through the dragon's neck, sending its head crashing down to the ground, fire still glowing in its jaws.

As her scythe returned to her hand, Yoon Ji landed lightly on the next floating rock.

As the healer finished wrapping the last of Choi Jieun's burns, and she stood up quickly, rolling her shoulder.

"Thanks. I'm heading up again," Jieun said, already running toward the floating stepping stones, her violet hair flowing and petals behind her like a banner in the wind.

The mages in the air had begun to slow, mana draining fast from the non-stop spell casting, but before anyone fell, a powerful wave of cold air passed through—Lee Minjoon had landed on one of the higher stones, standing firm, his black coat fluttering and undead crows circling around him.

"I'll keep the mages up," he said calmly, raising one hand.

Dark blue light pulsed from his fingers, spreading across the stepping stones. One by one, the wind and earth mages gasped as fresh mana regeneration filled their cores, their magic stabilizing once more.

Alexa, now fully healed, stood with both swords drawn. She glanced up at Lee Minjoon and back down at the chaos outside the wall. The sky had started to dim again, like the world itself was shaking.

"If this really is Ethereal Online, then…" Lee Minjoon turned slightly, waiting.

"That only means one thing—this dragon wave will last three days or more," Alexa said, eyes narrowing.

"And if we're following the same rules, we can't just defend endlessly. We'll burn out."

Her eyes scanned the battlefield, looking beyond the skies and toward the dark green blur far in the distance beyond the kingdom's backline.

"We need to find the Zestorian Forest before the second day begins."

Lee Minjoon muttered, "That forest… that's the one with the strange sound barrier, right? Where noise from inside can't be heard outside, and vice versa?"

Alexa nodded, serious.

"Yes. In the game, that place had ancient runes—some kind of barrier or crystals hidden deep inside the forest. They had a unique magical frequency… that caused monsters, especially dragons, to go mad the longer they stayed near it."

Lee Minjoon's eyes narrowed behind her.

"So that is why the final boss always spawned near that forest,"

"Exactly." Alexa sheathed one sword, pointing her other blade toward the horizon. "If we don't stop the dragons from gathering near there… we'll be facing corrupted versions of them. Stronger, faster, and completely uncontrollable."

"You think the system will follow that same pattern?" Minjoon asked.

"I don't think—I know," Alexa replied firmly. "Everything has followed the game so far. Even this wave. The Zestorian Forest… it's our only chance to end this before we all fall apart."

Around them, the other guild members were starting to regroup, voices rising in determination, and the skies filled with light from new spells and dragons incoming.

Alexa looked up, gripping her blades tighter.

"Let's hold this wall… and at the same time, prepare a scouting team. If we're going to find those runes, we need to go soon. The madness will spread fast."

People were shouting, dragons screeching, spells flashing—but her mind wasn't focused on the battle anymore.

Instead, her thoughts were racing. She turned slightly and looked back over her shoulder, her eyes landing on the tall white palace in the distance, its towers rising behind the smoke.

'That's not the palace of Solvenia…'She frowned.

"Why does this feel wrong?" she muttered to herself, barely noticing the heat of nearby fire magic crackling through the air.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember.

In Ethereal Online, there was an event—a dragon war event, one of the hardest and most chaotic raids in the entire game. It was supposed to happen during the third week of the game's Season 3. She had played it, fought in it, led her guild through it.

But something felt off now.

'In the game, that event happened in Solvenia Kingdom… And this Kingdom doesn't exist.' Her eyes opened slowly, her face tense.

She looked up again at the palace behind her. The architecture was different. The color. The emblem. Even the guards wore different armor than what she remembered in the game.

She clenched her fists. "Are we really… inside the game?" she whispered.