Hunter of the Lost Gates-Chapter 3 - : The System’s Voice

Sai's breath came in ragged gasps as he stood frozen, staring at the empty space where the monster had been.

No corpse. No blood. No sign that the hulking beast had ever existed.

Only the faintest shimmer of light flickering in the air before vanishing completely.

His hands trembled around the hilts of his daggers. His heart was still racing, his pulse pounding in his ears. The fight had lasted minutes, but it had drained him as if he'd been battling for hours. And yet, something terrifyingly real had happened—something that shouldn't have been possible.

A notification blinked before his eyes.

**[Lost Gate System Synchronization: 10%]**

Sai swallowed hard. "Lost Gate... System?"

He had heard of unique hunter abilities before. Some people awakened skills, others were gifted with specialized senses or physical enhancements. But this—this was something entirely different.

Before he could process the meaning behind it, another notification appeared.

**[New Ability Unlocked: Time Reversal (Limited)]**

**[Effect: Grants a single rewind per dungeon attempt. If activated, the user returns to the state they were in five minutes prior.]**

Sai's breath caught.

Time reversal?

For a long moment, he just stared at the words, unable to believe them.

Did this mean he could—undo death?

If he made a mistake, he could go back? If he died, he could try again?

That wasn't just an ability. That was a second chance at life.

Before he could fully comprehend what he had just unlocked, another chilling notification appeared.

**[Warning: The Lost Gate System is unstable.]**

**[Proceed with caution. External forces have detected an anomaly.]**

Sai stiffened.

Anomaly? External forces?

A chill ran down his spine.

I'm not alone in here.

The chamber around him pulsed with an unnatural energy, the runes on the walls glowing brighter. Sai took a cautious step forward, daggers still in hand. The eerie silence returned, but this time, it felt different—as if something, or someone, was watching him.

He needed to move. Find an exit.

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The dungeon was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The walls, carved from blackened stone, pulsed faintly, alive with magic. Strange glyphs flickered in and out of sight, moving like shifting smoke.

Sai swallowed.

He adjusted his grip on his daggers and started walking. His footsteps echoed against the stone floor, each sound unnaturally loud in the suffocating silence.

Then—

A door materialized before him.

It hadn't been there moments ago.

A massive archway, carved from obsidian, stood at the end of the corridor. Etched into its surface were countless symbols, none that he could recognize. At the center, a single rune glowed a deep, foreboding crimson.

Sai hesitated.

Everything in his instincts told him to turn around. This wasn't normal. Dungeons didn't change their structure like this.

And yet...

Something in his chest ached—a strange pull, as if something beyond logic was calling him forward.

His fingers twitched.

Should he open it?

The Lost Gate System had provided him with information before. Would it give him an answer now?

He waited.

Nothing.

No prompts. No warnings.

It was his choice.

Sai clenched his jaw, took a breath, and reached out.

His palm pressed against the glowing rune—

And the world beneath him vanished.

He was falling.

A violent force yanked him downward, pulling him into a spiraling abyss. Wind screamed past his ears, his body tumbling through darkness. He had no sense of direction, no control over his movements.

Sai gritted his teeth and tried to stabilize himself, but the force was too strong.

A notification appeared.

**[Initializing Next Trial.]**

Another—

**[Welcome to the Forgotten Depths.]**

Then—

Light exploded around him.

Sai hit the ground hard.

Pain jolted up his legs as he collapsed onto a solid surface. His breath came in ragged gasps as his vision adjusted to his surroundings.

The dungeon he had been in was gone.

Instead, he stood in an underground ruin, massive and untouched by time.

Towering structures loomed around him, built from dark stone, their surfaces covered in ancient glowing glyphs. Massive crystals jutted from the walls and ceiling, illuminating the cavern in a ghostly blue light. A thick, swirling mist blanketed the ground, its movement almost alive.

Sai pushed himself to his feet, his heart still racing.

Where... was he?

A new notification appeared before him.

**[Trial #2: Survive.]**

Sai's stomach dropped.

He wasn't alone.

The mist around him stirred, shifting unnaturally. Shapes began to emerge, dark silhouettes rising from the depths.

Then—a growl.

Sai barely had time to react before something lunged at him from the shadows.

A claw swiped at his head. He ducked, barely avoiding the strike as he stumbled backward. His eyes locked onto the attacker—

And his blood ran cold.

It was the same monster from before.

No. Not just one.

There were many.

At least six of them, identical to the one he had fought earlier. Their golden eyes glowed, their ashen-black scales shifting in the dim light.

Sai gritted his teeth.

He was already exhausted from the last fight. And now? He was surrounded.

The System's warning echoed in his mind.

**[Survive.]**

Sai exhaled.

"Yeah," he muttered, flipping his daggers into a combat grip. "I figured."

The monsters attacked.

And the battle began.