In the heart of N-Tokai, where neon lights painted stories on skyscraper canvases and augmented reality blurred with the real, young Kaito was a mere whisper. An orphan who had aged out of the system, he eked out a living by freelancing as a code-jockey. He built tiny fragments of virtual reality, dreamworlds for the elite, but he always felt disconnected from them.

His nights were plagued by dreams of a luminous dragon named Ryujin. This creature’s ethereal scales seemed to pulse with the memories of a world long lost to cybernetic advancement. But recently, these weren’t just dreams. Kaito began spotting glitches in the Matrix — fleeting images of the dragon during his coding sessions.

One evening, while deep in a coding trance, Kaito's virtual realm was interrupted by Ryujin's massive silhouette.

"You can see me?" The dragon's voice echoed, a blend of ancient power and digital distortions.

"Who... or what are you?" Kaito stammered, amazed...