STORYLINE:
"I'm sorry, Jihoon."
Kyle's voice drifted through the darkness. "I never thought..."
Static swallowed the rest.
Still imprisoned within his own flesh, Jihoon lay motionless on the opulent bed of MasterGin's private residence. Kyle sat beside him, whispering a stumbling stream of apologies.
The sound made Jihoon's fractured consciousness glitch.
Then another voice cut through the static.
Kyle. Younger. Meaner.
“Get in there, you wuss!”
This moment. It was the one that changed his life. The reason he was barely alive.
He was hovering at the rusted iron edge of the Forbidden Zone.
Then came the brutal, bruising shove to his spine into the Zone.
The city sounds bled away first. Traffic. Sirens. The electric thrum of Neu Seoul. One step past the rusted warning signs and all of it vanished.
The silence beyond the boundary felt toxic. It was not empty. It was waiting, holding its breath in the dark.
Jihoon scrambled backward, but Kyle already blocked the path. He stood with arms crossed, his heavy boots firmly planted on the safe asphalt.
“No more running away. You get your sorry ass to the center of the Zone and spend the night. Be a man for once!”
Deep within the ruin, a shadow slithered through the neon-tinted smog. Somewhere ahead, an old neon sign swung in a gust of wind. Its broken support chain rattled rapidly against the pole.
Chk-chk-chk-chk.
The sound bounced between the empty buildings.
Jihoon couldn't shake the feeling that something was warning him away. A violent shiver rattled his teeth.
“Come on, man. Let me out! This place is dangerous!” He rubbed his arms.
Kyle shook his head. "If you don't stay until dawn, I send this straight to Minjo." Kyle raised his halophone, the screen glowing with a cruel picture snapped from inside the boy’s locker room.
Hot shame flooded Jihoon's chest, burning the back of his throat. “But this place is toxic. It's an irradiated dead zone.”
“Bullshit,” Kyle huffed. “Bring me a coaster from that ruined club at the center. Prove you didn't just hide in the bushes.”
Jihoon lunged for the exit. Kyle barely flinched, shoving him backward into the dirt with a single, effortless strike. Jihoon’s bookish frame was no match for a security guard.
“You’ve got no dad in your life. So I’m gonna do it. I’m tired of watching you want to talk to Minjo and chickening out. Every day. The same god damned thing. Do it, and I’ll sweeten the deal. I'll give you 100,000 Won to finally take Minjo out for dinner.”
Jihoon turned around to look once more. Was it so bad? No one was here. And that’s a lot of money. Money he didn’t have.
“I don’t like this.”
“I don’t care. Do it.”
Jihoon walked carefully forward, watching for signs of danger.
Unseen things scuttled in the dark. Glowing eyes blinked from the shadows.
Then static.
Chk-chk-chk-chk.
Night had fallen. He was deeper inside the Zone.
In the distance, he heard a faint, deep throbbing beat.
Were there people living inside The Zone? Was that the nightclub?
He picked up his speed and raced towards it.
If nothing else, it was a safe place to spend the night.
Glitch.
Club Apophis rose above him like an Ancient Egyptian temple, pristine, sleek. But instead of being made of sandstone, it was obsidian with decorative elements of gold and pulsing lights.
He pushed the heavy doors open.
Every conversation died at once. Glasses froze halfway to painted lips. Laughter evaporated. A thousand perfect faces turned toward him. Watching. Waiting. Hungry.
He blinked. It was dark inside, hard to see.
“Umm… Uh.. Hello?”
He saw it then for the first time, a gigantic shadowy serpent.
It should have been a projection. A decorative effect. Ancient Egypt meets the cybernetic world.
It was looking right at him.
Its jaws parted slightly. Well, …as much as a snake could smile.
Yet Jihoon could have sworn the serpent recognized him.
He was hypnotized by its gaze, undulating code shimmering down its mighty coils. He wasn’t sure how long he stood staring at it before a tall blonde woman shoved him outside.
"Run."
Jihoon shook off the gaze of the serpent and looked at her. “What?”
"Run." She glanced toward the serpent. Fear flashed across her face. "Before it notices."
“Nonsense.” The most beautiful woman he had ever seen slid between them with grace of a ballet dancer. She shone in the dark, like a disco ball in a sparkling mini dress of small platinum plates. “The guest of honor just arrived. Do make yourself useful, darling, and serve the guests drinks.”
The dazzling lady hooked her arm around Jihoon’s, and waved the angry blonde away. Her smile arrived slowly. Like a knife being drawn from velvet.
This woman, so beautiful, was paying attention to him? He looked around to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.
The city sounds bled away first. Traffic. Sirens. The electric thrum of Neu Seoul. One step past the rusted warning signs and all of it vanished.
The silence beyond the boundary felt toxic. It was not empty. It was waiting, holding its breath in the dark.
Jihoon scrambled backward, but Kyle already blocked the path. He stood with arms crossed, his heavy boots firmly planted on the safe asphalt.
“No more running away. You get your sorry ass to the center of the Zone and spend the night. Be a man for once!”
Deep within the ruin, a shadow slithered through the neon-tinted smog. Somewhere ahead, an old neon sign swung in a gust of wind. Its broken support chain rattled rapidly against the pole.
Chk-chk-chk-chk.
The sound bounced between the empty buildings.
Jihoon couldn't shake the feeling that something was warning him away. A violent shiver rattled his teeth.
“Come on, man. Let me out! This place is dangerous!” He rubbed his arms.
Kyle shook his head. "If you don't stay until dawn, I send this straight to Minjo." Kyle raised his halophone, the screen glowing with a cruel picture snapped from inside the boy’s locker room.
Hot shame flooded Jihoon's chest, burning the back of his throat. “But this place is toxic. It's an irradiated dead zone.”
“Bullshit,” Kyle huffed. “Bring me a coaster from that ruined club at the center. Prove you didn't just hide in the bushes.”
Jihoon lunged for the exit. Kyle barely flinched, shoving him backward into the dirt with a single, effortless strike. Jihoon’s bookish frame was no match for a security guard.
“You’ve got no dad in your life. So I’m gonna do it. I’m tired of watching you want to talk to Minjo and chickening out. Every day. The same god damned thing. Do it, and I’ll sweeten the deal. I'll give you 100,000 Won to finally take Minjo out for dinner.”
Jihoon turned around to look once more. Was it so bad? No one was here. And that’s a lot of money. Money he didn’t have.
“I don’t like this.”
“I don’t care. Do it.”
Jihoon walked carefully forward, watching for signs of danger.
Unseen things scuttled in the dark. Glowing eyes blinked from the shadows.
Then static.
Chk-chk-chk-chk.
Night had fallen. He was deeper inside the Zone.
In the distance, he heard a faint, deep throbbing beat.
Were there people living inside The Zone? Was that the nightclub?
He picked up his speed and raced towards it.
If nothing else, it was a safe place to spend the night.
Glitch.
Club Apophis rose above him like an Ancient Egyptian temple, pristine, sleek. But instead of being made of sandstone, it was obsidian with decorative elements of gold and pulsing lights.
He pushed the heavy doors open.
Every conversation died at once. Glasses froze halfway to painted lips. Laughter evaporated. A thousand perfect faces turned toward him. Watching. Waiting. Hungry.
He blinked. It was dark inside, hard to see.
“Umm… Uh.. Hello?”
He saw it then for the first time, a gigantic shadowy serpent.
It should have been a projection. A decorative effect. Ancient Egypt meets the cybernetic world.
It was looking right at him.
Its jaws parted slightly. Well, …as much as a snake could smile.
Yet Jihoon could have sworn the serpent recognized him.
He was hypnotized by its gaze, undulating code shimmering down its mighty coils. He wasn’t sure how long he stood staring at it before a tall blonde woman shoved him outside.
"Run."
Jihoon shook off the gaze of the serpent and looked at her. “What?”
"Run." She glanced toward the serpent. Fear flashed across her face. "Before it notices."
“Nonsense.” The most beautiful woman he had ever seen slid between them with grace of a ballet dancer. She shone in the dark, like a disco ball in a sparkling mini dress of small platinum plates. “The guest of honor just arrived. Do make yourself useful, darling, and serve the guests drinks.”
The dazzling lady hooked her arm around Jihoon’s, and waved the angry blonde away. Her smile arrived slowly. Like a knife being drawn from velvet.
This woman, so beautiful, was paying attention to him? He looked around to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.
She laughed a deep throaty chuckle. Her smile made him feel like his legs would give out from under him. “Welcome to Club Apophis,” she purred like liquid velvet, guiding him inside. ”I’m the proprietor of this deliciously wicked establishment. You may call me MasterGin," she added, punctuating the statement with a playful wink of her long flirty eyelashes. “Now then, dear boy. What's your name? And what delicious bad decision brought you to my door tonight?"
Jihoon stared at her like a deer in headlights. Had she just hit on him? Was this some kind of high end brothel? Was that what Kyle meant by, “become a man?”
“Don’t keep me waiting, Dear Boy. You wouldn’t like me when I get hungry.”
He looked back at her, a sting rising in his cheeks.
Wait.
That voice was too deep for a lady.
“Oh! Uh… Yoon,” he stuttered. “Yoon Jihoon.”
The smile fell off MasterGin’s face. He quickly guided them to a dark corner and whispered. “Do not tell anyone inside that name.” He pressed his long black fingernail against Jihoon's lips. “Your name is… Lathandro.”
The name struck somewhere deep inside him. Not familiar. Strange. Yet not entirely new.
MasterGin pulled back, and snapped his fingers.
A waiter in a sharp suit ran out with a silver serving tray. He presented Jihoon with a green glowing drink in an elaborate crystal carved glass. The ice cubes inside it glowed cyan and rolling fog fell down its sides.
“Happy Birthday, Lathandro,” MasterGin purred.
“Wait, what? How did you know it’s my birthday?”
MasterGin laughed, waving his elegant hand. “Drink first, talk later.”
The liquid tasted like lime, mint, raw electricity, and something he couldn't name. It fizzed all the way to his fingertips, then reverberated through his body like a struck bell.
The room tilted.
He looked up.
The club appeared different.
He blinked. And rubbed his eyes.
“Have Another!”
Glitch.
He was stumbling on his own feet. His legs too long. He was seeing over the top of other people.
Static.
Laughter.
A skipped frame.
Someone placing a crown on his head.
Glitch.
A waiter handed him another glowing green drink.
“Why do you keep bringing me these? Why am I the only one drinking?”
His clothes had changed. He had no idea how. He was wearing tight black latex, but that couldn’t be his body. He didn’t have muscles like that. But he could feel it against his skin. Hear the way it squeaked.
Visual tear.
The floor swayed beneath him like the deck of a ship.
“Gotta pee. Gotta pee.”
He stumbled down a hallway, steadying himself with hands on the walls. But the texture of the walls changed. It felt like scales, like a massive snake was wrapping its thick coils around him.
Static.
Two girls were pulling each other’s hair. Fighting. “No! I get to dance with Lathandro!”
Skipped frame.
Girls on either side of him. His lap occupied. The room spinning.
Glitch.
Silver hair.
Icy blue eyes above him.
A smile full of broken glass.
White noise.
Kissing on his neck.
A sharp pain. Warmth spreading downward. Then nothing.
Static.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he appeared in the VIP room. It was bright and white, unlike the dark interior of the club. There were balloons, and a sign that read Happy Birthday.
Opened gifts were scattered everywhere. Robots and toys. Everything he wanted but he could never have. Even the ridable Mecha Shark he wanted as a kid was there. It was better than waking up Christmas morning and finding a gift under the halo-tree.
Nobody had ever thrown him a birthday party before. The date of his birth was something to hide.
For a moment, he forgot to be afraid.
“Jihoon” a small whisper behind his ear.
The voice arrived like sunlight through deep water. Soft. Familiar. Impossible.
Every hair on his body stood up.
“Flee this place immediately. It’s not too late. Go into the daylight.”
Jihoon’s mind was fuzzy. But that voice. He knew that voice.
“Mom?”
He blinked and spun around. “Mom?”
There was no one else in the room. He raced outside.
“Mom!"
A man nearby laughed, “Birthday boy wants his mommy.”
“Shut up! I know my mother’s voice, asshole. Have you seen her? She looks like me, about this tall. Yoon Sophia. She’s a mechanical engineer. Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, I know Sophia. But she disappeared two years ago.”
The tall blonde pushed through the crowd. For the first time all evening, genuine fear crossed her face. “Did you just say Sophia?”
The memory shattered.
Outside the void, Kyle was still apologizing.
The smile fell off MasterGin’s face. He quickly guided them to a dark corner and whispered. “Do not tell anyone inside that name.” He pressed his long black fingernail against Jihoon's lips. “Your name is… Lathandro.”
The name struck somewhere deep inside him. Not familiar. Strange. Yet not entirely new.
MasterGin pulled back, and snapped his fingers.
A waiter in a sharp suit ran out with a silver serving tray. He presented Jihoon with a green glowing drink in an elaborate crystal carved glass. The ice cubes inside it glowed cyan and rolling fog fell down its sides.
“Happy Birthday, Lathandro,” MasterGin purred.
“Wait, what? How did you know it’s my birthday?”
MasterGin laughed, waving his elegant hand. “Drink first, talk later.”
The liquid tasted like lime, mint, raw electricity, and something he couldn't name. It fizzed all the way to his fingertips, then reverberated through his body like a struck bell.
The room tilted.
He looked up.
The club appeared different.
He blinked. And rubbed his eyes.
“Have Another!”
Glitch.
He was stumbling on his own feet. His legs too long. He was seeing over the top of other people.
Static.
Laughter.
A skipped frame.
Someone placing a crown on his head.
Glitch.
A waiter handed him another glowing green drink.
“Why do you keep bringing me these? Why am I the only one drinking?”
His clothes had changed. He had no idea how. He was wearing tight black latex, but that couldn’t be his body. He didn’t have muscles like that. But he could feel it against his skin. Hear the way it squeaked.
Visual tear.
The floor swayed beneath him like the deck of a ship.
“Gotta pee. Gotta pee.”
He stumbled down a hallway, steadying himself with hands on the walls. But the texture of the walls changed. It felt like scales, like a massive snake was wrapping its thick coils around him.
Static.
Two girls were pulling each other’s hair. Fighting. “No! I get to dance with Lathandro!”
Skipped frame.
Girls on either side of him. His lap occupied. The room spinning.
Glitch.
Silver hair.
Icy blue eyes above him.
A smile full of broken glass.
White noise.
Kissing on his neck.
A sharp pain. Warmth spreading downward. Then nothing.
Static.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he appeared in the VIP room. It was bright and white, unlike the dark interior of the club. There were balloons, and a sign that read Happy Birthday.
Opened gifts were scattered everywhere. Robots and toys. Everything he wanted but he could never have. Even the ridable Mecha Shark he wanted as a kid was there. It was better than waking up Christmas morning and finding a gift under the halo-tree.
Nobody had ever thrown him a birthday party before. The date of his birth was something to hide.
For a moment, he forgot to be afraid.
“Jihoon” a small whisper behind his ear.
The voice arrived like sunlight through deep water. Soft. Familiar. Impossible.
Every hair on his body stood up.
“Flee this place immediately. It’s not too late. Go into the daylight.”
Jihoon’s mind was fuzzy. But that voice. He knew that voice.
“Mom?”
He blinked and spun around. “Mom?”
There was no one else in the room. He raced outside.
“Mom!"
A man nearby laughed, “Birthday boy wants his mommy.”
“Shut up! I know my mother’s voice, asshole. Have you seen her? She looks like me, about this tall. Yoon Sophia. She’s a mechanical engineer. Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, I know Sophia. But she disappeared two years ago.”
The tall blonde pushed through the crowd. For the first time all evening, genuine fear crossed her face. “Did you just say Sophia?”
The memory shattered.
Outside the void, Kyle was still apologizing.
On him, Jihoon / Lathandro:
Jacket: YUEBIN - Dead Romance, Jacket, LegacyA, fatpack [mesh](Salvage Station)(1290L)
Collar: YUEBIN - Dead Romance, Collar, LegacyA, fatpack [mesh](Salvage Station)(890L)
Pants: Muho - Neon, Pants, 3, LegacyM [mesh](CyberFair)(189L)
Shoes: SEKA's - E-Drop Boot, Legacy M, fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(999L)
Hair: Exile Rory [mesh](390L)
Shine: ABYSSAL - Justice Cybertech With 3d Shine [applier][BOM](499L)
Skin: outernaked - #evox - juhoon skin [NF: natural] - nb [BOM]
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Setting:
Lettering: NI.JU - 3D Text & Retail Signage Pack - Distressed (Salvage Station)(240L)
Furniture, Room: Erfe & Design - Arog Livingroom Set, PG [mesh](CyberFair)(2,790L)
Shark: Moon Rabbit - MR~CYBER SHARK, shards [mesh](CyberFair)(500L)
Robot: Bee Designs Byte Buddies 08, gacha [mesh](CyberFair)(59L)
Arcade Game: Gecko Games - [GG] Whack a Gecko [mesh](CyberFair)(699L)
Robot: BONDI - MEOW BOT . Bubblegum [mesh](CyberFair)(245L)
Robot: HANII - Cyber Rich, CYBER CAT #RARE 2, gacha [mesh](CyberFair)(99L)
Planter: Cerridwen's Cauldron - [CC] SciFi Deluxe Planters [mesh](CyberFair)(649L)
Balloons: Apple Fall - Balloons - Pink & Gold [mesh]
BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky:
