The sky above Jakarta trembled.
Arlan stood at the center of Bundaran HI.
The place felt familiar.
But wrong.
The intersection that used to be full of noise was now silent. No engines. No horns. No people rushing past each other.
Just quiet.
A golden dome covered the entire area.
Soft light spread across the ground, steady and warm.
The moment Arlan stepped inside earlier, everything changed.
The cold from outside disappeared.
The sounds from the ruins vanished.
Clean.
Like the world had been cut in half.
Inside, it felt safe.
Outside, it wasn't.
Arlan lowered his mother onto a stone bench near the fountain.
She sat there stiff.
Too stiff.
Her posture didn't change. Her eyes didn't move.
Empty.
Above her head, green text floated.
Maid NPC Level 1
Arlan's jaw tightened.
He looked around.
The same thing was everywhere.
People filled the area.
Office workers. Students. Elderly.
All of them the same.
Standing. Walking. Repeating.
No reaction.
No emotion.
Above their heads, the same green labels.
Commoner NPC Level 1
Arlan clenched his fists.
"…everyone became NPCs?"
He walked toward a man near the road.
"Hey. Can you hear me?"
No response.
The man stepped forward.
Stopped.
Waited.
Turned back.
Repeated.
Like a loop.
Arlan gritted his teeth.
This wasn't just a glitch.
They were gone.
Not dead.
Worse.
Empty.
A sound rang in his head.
A system window appeared.
Status Window
Name AzureBound
Class Unknown
Level 1
Active Skill Flash Step
Status Anomaly
Arlan read it slowly.
"…so this is real."
AzureBound.
His in-game name.
Now his identity.
He let out a slow breath.
His eyes stopped at the last line.
Anomaly.
"…why only me?"
Before he could think further, the sky shifted again.
Arlan looked up.
The purple sky twisted.
The cracks widened.
Then everything changed.
The entire sky became something else.
Like a giant screen.
Symbols appeared across it.
Glowing.
Unreadable.
At the same time, a voice spoke inside his head.
Cold.
Flat.
GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT
SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE
REALITY OVERWRITE JAKARTA SECTOR 55 PERCENT
SURVIVAL PROTOCOL ACTIVATED
ALL HUMANS REGISTERED AS PLAYERS
WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD
Silence.
Then panic.
"What is this?!"
"Players? What do you mean players?!"
"There's something in front of me!"
People started reacting.
Hands moving in the air.
Trying to touch something invisible.
"This is… a menu?"
"I can see stats… what is this?!"
Everywhere, people were opening their system windows.
Inventory. Skills. Status.
Things that should only exist in a game.
Now real.
Then another message appeared.
Warning
Monster Spawn Initialized
A low growl came from the street.
Something moved in the shadows.
Small figures stepped out.
Green skin.
Red eyes.
Short. Twisted.
Holding rusted blades.
Goblins.
Someone whispered it.
Then they attacked.
"HELP!"
A man near the edge screamed.
A blade cut into his shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
People broke.
They ran.
Screaming.
No direction.
Just panic.
Arlan didn't move.
He watched.
Their movement was rough.
Unbalanced.
He knew this pattern.
He'd seen it thousands of times.
The only difference now.
It smelled real.
One goblin locked onto him.
It charged.
Knife raised.
Arlan didn't react right away.
Flash Step
His body moved.
Gone.
Then behind it.
The goblin didn't even turn.
Arlan drove the hilt of his sword into its head.
It dropped.
Its body broke into light.
Exp plus ten
Another one came from the side.
Flash Step.
Again.
Then again.
Within seconds, all of them were gone.
Only light fragments remained.
Silence returned.
Heavy.
The few people still standing stared at him.
"He… did that alone?"
"I didn't even see him move…"
Arlan ignored them.
A new window appeared.
Different.
Darker.
Unstable.
Scanning Player
Name Arlan
Classification Error
The text flickered.
Re analyzing
Re analyzing
Then it changed.
Final Classification Anomaly
Arlan narrowed his eyes.
"…figures."
The system couldn't read him properly.
Something was off.
Again.
The sky shifted.
Regional System Activated
Region Jakarta
Registered Players 12482
Murmurs spread.
"Only twelve thousand?"
"There were millions…"
Arlan stayed quiet.
He already understood.
The rest were gone.
Another message appeared.
Regional Quest Activated
Jakarta Survival Trial
Participants 12482 Players
Required Survivors 1000
Time Limit 72 Hours
The crowd erupted.
"Only a thousand survive?!"
"That's insane!"
Then the final line.
Reward Retain Player Authority
Failure Player Status Revoked
Remaining Humans Converted To NPC
Silence fell.
Cold.
Heavy.
Arlan looked up.
So that's how it works.
Lose, and you don't die.
You disappear.
Become one of them.
Empty.
Then the ground shook.
Near the fountain.
The surface cracked.
Split open.
Something rose from below.
A massive black gate.
Cold air leaked from it.
Dark.
Heavy.
Additional Event Detected
Location Bundaran HI
Event Dungeon Manifestation
Difficulty Unknown
People stepped back.
Fear spread again.
Arlan stepped forward instead.
"A dungeon…"
Another line appeared.
Dungeon Event Start
First Clear Reward Unique Skill
A faint smile formed.
Finally.
Something worth it.
He walked toward the gate.
Slow. Steady.
No hesitation.
He stopped in front of it.
Looked into the darkness.
"If this world wants to be a game…"
His voice was low.
"…then I'll play it my way."
He stepped forward.
And the darkness swallowed him.