Pain.
Not the sharp, immediate kind. No, this was deeper—a raw, burning agony that coiled through his veins like molten metal.
Ryo tried to breathe, but his chest screamed in protest. His broken ribs shifted, and his vision blurred.
The cybernetic soldier—the leader of the Lazarus group—stood above him, watching intently.
> "Yeah, so, fun fact—you're dying. And also mutating. But mostly dying."
Ryo barely processed the system's voice.
Because something inside him was breaking apart.
Or being rebuilt.
A Body Not His Own
His fingertips twitched. His nerves were on fire.
Something shifted beneath his skin—his muscles tightening, his bones creaking. It wasn't just pain anymore.
It was… a restructuring.
Like his body was adapting.
Changing.
Ryo's breathing came in ragged gasps. "W-What… the hell… is happening to me?"
The cybernetic man crouched beside him, curious.
> "You don't know, do you?"
Ryo could barely glare at him. "Shut up."
The man chuckled. "Ah. The resistance of the unawakened."
His hand shot out, grabbing Ryo's wrist.
And that's when Ryo felt it.
A pulse.
Like a signal between machines.
The cybernetic man's grin widened.
> "There it is."
Ryo's heart pounded. He tried to yank his arm away, but the man's grip tightened like a vice.
And then—
> [WARNING: FOREIGN SIGNAL DETECTED.]
[CONFLICTING DATA STREAM – ATTEMPTING TO SYNCHRONIZE.]
> "Ohhh, shit. Someone's trying to hack your brain. This is gonna suck."
Infiltrated
A flood of images.
Not his own.
Not memories.
Data.
His mind drowned in raw information—
Blueprints. War strategies. Names of people he had never met.
And at the center of it all—
A designation.
> PROJECT IRONBORN – PROTOTYPE 001
Ryo's eyes widened.
> "Ooooooh, now this just got interesting."
His stomach churned.
Ironborn.
That's what the cybernetic man had called him.
That's what the system had called him.
> He wasn't just some random transmigrant thrown into this world.
> He was part of it.
Blood and Circuits
The cybernetic man released his grip.
Ryo collapsed, gasping. His mind still felt like it was on fire, but…
His body wasn't broken anymore.
His ribs—he could feel them shifting back into place. The pain was fading. His breath was easier.
> [SYSTEM UPGRADE: IRONBORN PROTOCOL UNLOCKED.]
[NEW PASSIVE SKILL: SELF-REGENERATION (LEVEL 1).]
Ryo stared at his own hands, flexing them.
The shaking was gone.
His wounds were sealing.
Karin's voice broke through the chaos. "What the fuck was that?!"
She and Vos had been thrown back during the override attempt. They were staggering to their feet, weapons raised.
The Lazarus group was still watching.
Not attacking.
Just waiting.
> "It's begun."
The cybernetic man's voice was calm.
Too calm.
Ryo forced himself to stand, rage boiling beneath the surface. "What the hell did you do to me?!"
The man smiled.
> "I didn't do anything."
> "You were always one of us."
Silence.
Karin stared at Ryo, eyes wide with unease.
Vos clenched his jaw.
"…Bullshit," Ryo growled. "I came from another world."
The cybernetic man simply shrugged.
> "Maybe."
> "Or maybe you've just finally woken up."
Ryo's fists clenched. He didn't know what pissed him off more—the cryptic bullshit or the fact that some part of him felt like it was true.
His body had changed.
His mind had changed.
And worst of all—
He wasn't sure if he could ever go back.
> "Yeahhh, so… uh… congrats? You're now a half-cyborg war experiment. Welcome to the club."
The system sounded way too amused.
Ryo exhaled sharply. He needed answers.
And right now—the only people who had them were the ones standing in front of him.
He met the cybernetic man's gaze.
"Start talking."
The man grinned.
> "With pleasure."
The Truth Was About to Break Him.