James moved swiftly through the underbelly of New Chicago, keeping to tunnels, sewers, and the hollowed-out bones of the city's forgotten infrastructure. Above ground, his name spread like wildfire. But below, he searched for silence. Control. Clarity.
Instead, he found a vision.
The Core had been quiet since the last message, but James could feel it—waiting. Watching through him. It pulsed faintly in his chest, each beat more in sync with his heart.
That morning, his interface flared without warning:
INTERFACE LINKING... GLOBAL LEGENDARY CLASS CONNECTION REQUESTED ACCEPT?
James frowned. He hesitated. But curiosity won.
ACCEPTED
Light burst into his vision. Not real—virtual.
His body froze in place as his consciousness was projected into a simulated chamber. A spherical, glass-like space, its walls shimmered with live data, world maps, energy readings, and Class profiles.
He wasn't alone.
Five others stood in the sphere. Each unmistakably powerful. Each... different.
They turned to him, one by one.
"So the Iron Ghost lives," said a tall man encased in molten red armor. Lava pulsed through his veins, and his eyes burned like furnaces.
CLASS: MAGMA KING (Legendary - Elemental Ascendant) NAME: KOJIRO (Tokyo, Japan)
Another laughed. She floated slightly above the ground, surrounded by glimmering veils of psychic light.
"You took your time joining. We felt your awakening days ago."
CLASS: MIND PRISM (Legendary - Psionic Path) NAME: DR. NYA SETH (Cape Town, South Africa)
James's eyes narrowed. He said nothing.
A third figure approached. Humanoid, yet digital, pixelated around the edges like a living glitch.
CLASS: DATASPINE (Legendary - Codeform Shifter) NAME: 001011 (Berlin, Germany)
It spoke in layers. Voices echoed over each other.
"He's unstable. The integration rate is too high, too fast. He'll fracture."
The fourth was silent. A towering woman with antler-like growths and golden skin. Energy from nature itself seemed to pour from her.
CLASS: PRIME WARDEN (Legendary - Terra Guardian) NAME: AMARA (Amazon Basin, Brazil)
Finally, a man cloaked in black fog stepped forward. Masked. Void-like.
CLASS: EIDOLON (Legendary - Shadow Incarnate) NAME: UNKNOWN
He simply said, "Your Core is unlike ours. It speaks. That makes you a threat."
James stepped forward, unshaken.
"I didn't ask for this meeting."
Kojiro scoffed. "None of us did. But now that we're aware of each other, the rules change."
Dr. Seth added, "This world won't survive unless we unite. Or at least don't kill each other."
James crossed his arms. "So what's this? An alliance? Or a warning?"
The glitch-being replied, "A signal. The interface brought us together for a reason. Global systems are collapsing. The monsters aren't random anymore. Something organizes them."
Amara finally spoke, her voice like wind through leaves. "We were chosen to be weapons. But something's coming that sees us as prey."
James turned slowly, scanning them. Each of these people could raze a city block. And they were afraid.
He felt the Core stir.
INCOMING TRANSMISSION [PRIVATE CHANNEL: IRON GHOST ONLY] WARNING: One of them will betray you.
His eyes sharpened.
The meeting began to fade. The sphere collapsed. The data walls fell like shattered glass.
GLOBAL LINK CLOSED
James awoke with a start, back in the sewer tunnel. His heart thundered. The glow in his chest pulsed with intensity.
He wasn't alone anymore.
And among the strongest, someone was already planning his end.
But the Core didn't stop.
That night, James returned to an abandoned military relay tower to scan for secure frequency patterns. While he calibrated, the Core spoke again.
"Would you like to review the others?"
"You mean spy on them?"
"Observation is critical. Engagement is optional."
Reluctantly, he agreed. The Core opened echo-data—recordings captured during the meeting from every participant's signal.
EIDOLON - UNKNOWN LOCATION
Fog blanketed an island fortress off a sunless coastline. The shadow-cloaked man moved between silent corridors where even cameras glitched.
"He's an anomaly. A natural Core user? No tether? No artificial key? He will burn out. Or I'll make sure he does."
MIND PRISM - SOUTH AFRICA
Dr. Seth floated in a chamber of crystalline energy, meditating with data spirals circling her.
She whispered, "He hears the Core. That shouldn't be possible. Not without side effects."
Her fingers tapped against her temple. She smiled slightly.
"Curious little machine."
DATASPINE - GERMANY
Inside a vault of cables and hardlight constructs, 001011 fragmented and reformed.
"Biological interface nearing critical threshold. Observation will determine viability. Prepare sandbox simulation models. If Iron Ghost fails, his data remains useful."
KOJIRO - JAPAN
Surrounded by volcanic forges and a training field of molten steel, Kojiro stood shirtless, flames licking his arms.
"Let them come. Let the monsters evolve. I will carve their bones into mountains. But that cyborg... that Core-touched thing... if he threatens the balance, I'll reduce him to slag."
AMARA - BRAZIL
A verdant sanctuary bloomed beneath her feet. Amara walked slowly along roots that sang.
"He is not of the Earth. But neither is he enemy. Yet. Should the Core overgrow its garden... I will prune it."
Back in the relay tower, James closed the feed.
His Core offered one last message:
LEGENDARY THREAT ASSESSMENT HIGHEST PROBABILITY OF HOSTILE INTENT: EIDOLON / DATASPINE LOWEST PROBABILITY: AMARA
James nodded.
"Then I know who to watch."
The interface blinked again.
NEXT GLOBAL DUNGEON EVENT IMMINENT EST. MANIFESTATION: 72 HOURS TYPE: ???
James tightened his grip on the console. Whatever was coming next, he'd face it. Alone if he had to.
And if any of the Chosen Few turned on him, they'd learn firsthand what it meant to challenge the Core.