Reset After Solo Clear: Shadow Master Rebirth

An Unintentional Encounter

"If I disappeared tonight, who would even notice?"

Raka said it to the empty room, an old habit of talking to himself after spending too long as the only voice he heard outside of the game. The virtual capsule hissed behind him, its lid opening and releasing a thin stream of cold vapor that blended into the stillness of a room far quieter than the world he had just left.

No one answered his question. He had known the answer for a long time.

He sat on the edge of the capsule, letting his body readjust, the ache in his muscles, the racing beat of his heart, the lingering scent of ruined dust that had felt almost real just seconds ago. All of it faded back into memory the moment his feet touched the cold floor of his apartment. One bedroom, a living space that was empty more often than it was used, no family photos on the walls. At twenty-five, Raka had long grown used to this kind of silence. It was no longer painful. It simply existed.

His mind was still crowded with the words from the log fragment at the hidden gate.

"Shadow Master," he murmured, standing and stretching his stiff body. "Subject. Hypothesis."

He shook his head slowly, grabbing a light jacket from the hanger by the door. "If this is an experiment, then someone behind the game designed all of it. Not just the fiftieth floor boss. The reset too. My new class as well."

He needed air. He needed something to remind him that the real world was still moving as usual.

The convenience store at the end of his apartment street was still open despite the late hour. The cashier behind the counter looked up when the doorbell chimed and gave a faint smile.

"Iced coffee again, sir?" he asked, already familiar with Raka’s habit.

"The usual," Raka replied, grabbing a can from the refrigerated shelf.

"Not sleeping again today?"

"Can’t sleep," he answered shortly, placing money on the counter. "My head’s full."

The cashier chuckled softly. "Work?"

Raka only gave a faint smile and didn’t answer. If he told the truth, not a single word would make sense.

He sat at one of the small tables outside, a place that was usually empty at this hour, opened his can, and took a sip, letting the bitterness settle his still-racing thoughts.

Footsteps approached from the convenience store door.

A woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat and dark sunglasses, despite the night, walked over to the table right in front of him, carrying a cup of hot coffee. She sat down without much preamble, her phone already active in her hand.

"Yeah, I know this sounds weird," she said, her voice soft but clearly audible in the quiet space, obviously speaking to someone on the other end. "But I actually chatted with him. Just two sentences, but he didn’t feel like someone who would just disappear like that."

Raka glanced briefly, then returned his gaze to his coffee can, but his ears were fully alert.

"The leaderboard is completely empty," the woman continued. "It’s not just a rank drop. I’ve checked all the forums, no one knows anything."

Raka’s fingers tightened slightly around the can.

He recognized that voice. Not from the real world, but from something far more specific, the same tone as the private message he had received last night just before the reset. That face, partially hidden beneath the hat and glasses, was familiar enough from guild tournament coverage he had once watched. Amara, her username is Lumine. One of the most well-known rankers on the server, even though the real identity behind the username Lumine had never been publicly confirmed.

"I don’t even know why I’m this curious," Amara said, her voice softening, almost as if she were speaking more to herself than to the person on the call. "It feels like leaving something unfinished."

Raka held his breath without realizing it.

She doesn’t know, he thought, staring at his coffee can so he wouldn’t look too long. And I can’t say anything, even if I wanted to.

Amara ended her call a moment later, exhaled deeply, and took a sip of her coffee, her gaze drifting toward the empty street. Not the look of someone who had just stopped by for a drink. The look of someone carrying something, thinking it through alone, far from anyone who knew her.

Raka finished his drink in silence, deliberately giving off no impression that might draw attention. No words were exchanged between them. No nods, no eye contact that lasted more than a fraction of a second.

He stood after a few minutes, tossed the empty can into the trash near the door, gave a brief wave to the cashier, who returned it with a small nod, then walked home without looking back.

His apartment was just as quiet as when he left it. Raka sat for a moment on the edge of his virtual capsule, thinking about the figure hidden beneath a hat, the voice filled with curiosity about the fate of someone she did not even truly know.

"If I told you the truth," he murmured, half joking to himself, "you wouldn’t believe it."

He shook his head lightly, pushing the thought away, then lay back inside the capsule. The lid closed slowly, the familiar cold sensation spreading through his body as the system scanned his consciousness back into the world he had left behind.

[Reconnecting to Aurelis Online...]

[Loading character: Nox]

[Last location: Hidden Gate]

The real world faded, replaced by darkness for a brief moment before his vision formed again. Raka stood once more before the same stone gate, its carvings now completely dim.

Erebus Guardian was already waiting at his side.

"Time to continue, Let’s find out what else this place is hiding."