The shadows didn't attack.
They bowed.
Do-hyun and I stood in a sphere of dim, broken light while silhouettes—hundreds of them, each shaped like a hollow person—lowered themselves to one knee. Their heads bent toward me in perfect synchrony, like puppets waiting for strings to be pulled.
A cold shiver crawled down my spine.
Do-hyun stepped closer, sword raised, his body angled protectively in front of mine—yet his voice was razor-sharp, suspicious.
"Jiho," he murmured without turning his head, "tell me you are not commanding them."
"I'm not," I whispered. "I don't even know what they are."
The shadows lifted their heads slightly.
As one, they said:
"Administrator-Prototype J-0."
The sound didn't come from mouths.It came from the space itself vibrating.
Do-hyun stiffened.
I swallowed. "Do-hyun… I swear I didn't—"
"Quiet," he said—calm, but with a tremor beneath it. "They're not talking to me. They're talking about you."
One shadow stepped forward.
A taller one.Sharper edges.Almost humanoid.
Its voice was like static filtered through a memory:
"Command: Restore Stability."
Do-hyun reacted instantly.
He shifted, blade slicing upward, stance lowering—ready for a fight.
"Restore stability?" he echoed coldly. "By doing what? Removing him?"
All the shadows turned their heads toward him at the same angle.
Too smooth.
Too mechanical.
"Threat Identified: Han Do-hyun."
Do-hyun exhaled, slow and deadly."So that is your plan."
"Wait!" I shouted, stepping in front of him.
Bad idea.
Every shadow flinched back—like my movement rewrote their programming mid-frame.
Then—
"Administrator—command accepted."
The shadows all lowered their heads again.
Do-hyun grabbed my arm and yanked me backward.
"Jiho, don't do that," he hissed.
"I wasn't trying to command—"
"That's the problem," he said sharply. "You don't have to try."
He released my arm as if it burned him.
My chest tightened.
The shadows began rising slowly, their forms glitching like half-loaded characters.
Do-hyun stepped forward again, placing himself between them and me.
"Han Do-hyun," they chorused, "is interfering with restoration."
"Yeah," Do-hyun said darkly, "I've been told."
One shadow reached toward him.
Do-hyun didn't even move.
He just glared.
"Touch me," he said quietly, "and I'll show you interference."
The system flickered overhead.
[CONFLICT DETECTED.][ADMINISTRATOR VS SUCCESSOR.][INITIATING DECISION PROTOCOL.]
My stomach dropped.
"Successor…?" I whispered.
Do-hyun's jaw locked.
"Don't," he warned.
"No." I stepped closer. "Tell me. The system keeps calling you that. What does it mean?"
Do-hyun didn't answer immediately.
His grip tightened around his sword until the leather creaked.
Finally—
"It means," he said quietly, "that if you are the original Administrator prototype…"
His eyes, cold and hollowed by a truth he didn't want to say, lifted to mine.
"…then I was designed to replace you."
The ground cracked.
The shadows reacted instantly—shifting formation, circling around us like guardians or executioners. I couldn't tell which.
My thoughts spiraled.
Replace me.Replace me.
The memory of the file resurfaced.
Successor Compatibility: 98%.
Do-hyun had been chosen long before either of us had realized.
"Jiho," he said softly, "listen to me. Whatever the system wants—whatever it was designed for—I don't care."
His voice wavered, just barely.
"But I'm not losing you to it."
Before I could answer, the shadows moved—
Not attacking.
Not fleeing.
They parted.
Opening a path.
A figure stepped through.
At first I thought it was another shadow.Then the outline sharpened.
Then the details filled in.
And my breath left me.
Because the figure walking toward us…
Wearing my face.Moving like me.Eyes blank and glowing—
…was another version of me.
"Administrator-Prototype J-0," it intoned, voice hollow."You are incomplete."
Do-hyun's grip on his sword faltered for the first time.
And I—
I couldn't breathe.
Because the thing approaching wasn't a shadow.
It wasn't a projection.
It wasn't even a recording.
It was me.
Me, if the system had finished the job.
Do-hyun stepped in front of me.
My double raised a hand.
"Step aside, Successor. He must return to integration."
Do-hyun's voice was quiet.
"Over my dead body."
The double tilted its head.
"That can be arranged."
The ground split between us.
The world shifted.
And the hunt began.