The gate shimmered with a deep violet hue, standing like a wound in the air. Around it, a rusted fence cordoned off the area, overgrown with weeds and dotted with makeshift warning signs. "Unregistered. Proceed with caution."
Kim Suho arrived just as the last light of day began to dim. His newly cut hair was swept to one side, his clothes crisp and clean—an image of rebirth. But even dressed like a professional, he couldn't hide the quiet aura that trailed behind him like mist. It was the kind of presence that made even the wind pause.
Four hunters stood in a semi-circle before the gate, conversing. The moment Suho approached, they looked up.
"You're the fifth?" Lee Jinho asked, his tone bordering on disbelief. The B-rank swordsman had a long scar on his cheek and an even longer ego. "Thought they were joking. A summoner with no guild?"
"Support summoner," Suho corrected calmly, showing his hunter license. "C-rank."
Jinho snorted and turned away. "Great. Another tag-along."
Baek Mirae, the C-rank elementalist, only gave Suho a polite nod. Her pale blue eyes studied him quietly. She said nothing, but her gaze lingered.
Kang Minho, the D-rank shield-bearer, smiled nervously. "H-Hey. I'm Minho. First real gate, haha…"
Suho nodded. "You'll be fine."
Last was Im Hojin, the tracker. He stepped close, scanning Suho like a threat. "You were rankless until a week ago. No guild. No history. Suddenly you clear a gate and jump to C?" His eyes narrowed. "Either you're hiding something, or you got lucky."
"Maybe both," Suho said with a faint smile.
They entered the gate.
The Screaming Vault was unlike other D-rank domains. A cold draft greeted them on the other side, carrying a scent of damp stone and rusted iron. The sky above was gray, smothered by swirling clouds that never moved. Crumbling ruins rose around them—arches, broken statues, cracked pathways overtaken by vines and bone-white moss.
"What the hell is this place?" Jinho muttered.
"It's a ruin-type dungeon," Mirae answered softly, her breath visible in the air. "Supposedly, it was a crypt for royal soldiers… but something went wrong. People say the dead here never rest."
A low whistle echoed in the distance.
Kang Minho flinched. "Was that… wind?"
"No," Suho said. "It's the gate's voice. This place listens."
They moved cautiously through the ruins. Despite the tension, there were no monsters at first. Just silence, and whispers—faint, almost imagined.
Hojin laid traps. Mirae muttered spells under her breath. Jinho walked ahead with confident strides, his blade resting on his shoulder.
Suho walked near the back, his senses stretched thin. The Necrosystem inside him pulsed, guiding him toward something deeper—something waiting.
They reached the outer vaults by midday.
That's when the screams began.
A black blur darted through the shadows, then another. Suho's eyes narrowed. These weren't normal gate creatures. They didn't move like goblins or ghouls.
The first one struck—a shrieking shadow that lunged at Minho with a face that wasn't its own.
It looked like Minho's dead brother.
Minho froze, shield trembling in his hands. "J-Jaehyun…?"
The thing hissed and raised its claws.
Before it could strike, Suho whispered under his breath. Three undead emerged from behind a collapsed wall—silent as wraiths. A skeletal swordsman, a horned beast, and a flame-eyed archer. They tore through the shadow creature with brutal efficiency.
Minho collapsed to his knees, panting.
"You… you saved me," he whispered.
Jinho's eyes narrowed. "Where did those come from?"
"Support summons," Suho said without flinching. "I use them sparingly."
"Those aren't normal summons," Mirae murmured. "They move… differently."
Hojin didn't speak, but his hand hovered near his dagger.
System Notification:
[Mimic destroyed – Soul Residue absorbed]
Progress: 92% → 100%
Level Up: Kim Suho has reached Level 17.
Stat Points Awarded: +5
New Trait Unlocked: "Soul Saturation" – Stability of undead increased. Autonomous behavior enhanced.
They pressed onward.
The ruins grew more corrupted as they descended. The stones bled dark liquid. Statues wept from hollow eyes. Whispers grew clearer.
"Help me."
"Don't leave."
"I'm still here."
They found a broken chamber filled with bones. Old armor. Rusted blades. The shadows here did not attack—they simply watched, mimicking the faces of long-dead comrades.
Suho's gaze sharpened. The Necrosystem pulsed again. There, beneath the rubble, something stirred—a flickering soul fragment.
[Echo Residue Detected – Class 1]
Binding Eligible: 11/20 Undead Acquired
He crouched near the ground, placing his hand over the stone.
"I see you," he whispered, more to himself than the others.
The soul flickered once. Unstable. Angry.
Not yet.
As evening fell, they reached the heart of the vault—a circular hall surrounded by crumbling pillars. The sky above was gone, replaced by an endless ceiling of roots and bones.
A mass grave lay in the center.
The bones weren't ancient. They were fresh.
Dozens of skeletons, half-decayed corpses. Weapons still clutched in lifeless hands.
"This wasn't a battle," Mirae whispered, horrified. "They were dumped here."
Minho turned pale.
Jinho lowered his sword.
And Suho heard it.
A voice. Quiet, broken.
"I waited. No one came."
The air cracked. A scream echoed—not human, not monster. Something between.
The grave stirred.
A soul had awakened.
System Notification:
[Echo Fragment Recognized – "The Forgotten Vow-keeper"]
Status: Unstable | Bound to Guilt | Hostility: High
Initiate Containment? Y/N
Suho rose, eyes glowing faintly.
"Stay behind me," he said softly.
The others looked at him, not as dead-weight, not as a backup—but as something else entirely.
For the first time, they saw not a support summoner.
They saw a monarch of the dead.