No Time to Think
The sky above ripped open.
From the tear, Code Reapers descended like executioners, their glowing eyes locking onto MC and Kain. Unlike before, these weren't just foot soldiers. Their bodies flickered, glitching between humanoid and something… far less human.
> SYSTEM ALERT: HIGH-LEVEL ANOMALY DETECTED.
PURGE IMMINENT. ENGAGING FULL NEUTRALIZATION.
MC's instincts screamed—run.
Kain was already moving. "No time for questions! MOVE!"
The first Reaper lunged, a jagged blade materializing in its hand. MC barely dodged as the blade carved through the ground, leaving behind a wound in reality itself—space collapsed inward, folding like torn fabric.
They weren't just attacking. They were erasing everything they touched.
MC's pulse hammered. Rewrite. They could use it. They had to.
Rewrite: The Reapers miss their attacks.
The world bent. The Reaper's next strike veered off course—barely. But the second one corrected mid-swing, adapting.
Kain swore. "They're adjusting. Your ability won't work the same way twice."
MC clenched their fists. The System was learning.
And the fight had just begun.
---
Kain's Power
Kain raised his hand—and the air around him rippled.
For a split second, MC saw numbers and code distort around him, shifting like a living thing. Then—Kain moved, impossibly fast, phasing through the Reaper's attack and reappearing behind it.
A pulse of unseen energy erupted from him. The Reaper's form shuddered, its coding breaking apart—before it quickly restabilized.
MC's eyes widened. "What the hell was that?"
Kain didn't look back. "Later! Just focus on surviving!"
Surviving. Easier said than done. The Reapers were relentless, adapting, getting faster.
> SYSTEM ADAPTATION COMPLETE.
COUNTERMEASURES DEPLOYED.
A new energy surged through the Reapers—this time, a force cancelling out MC's Rewrite before they could even use it.
MC felt a painful backlash shoot through their mind.
Rewrite was being blocked.
The System was evolving.
---
Escape Plan
"We can't win this fight," Kain said, grabbing MC's arm and pulling them backward.
MC gritted their teeth. "Then what do we do?"
A smirk. "We break the rules."
Before MC could ask what that meant, Kain raised his hand—and slammed his fist into the air.
Reality shattered.
A hole in existence itself ripped open—a glitch, a tear in the System's stability. Kain didn't hesitate. He grabbed MC and threw them through it.
MC tumbled through… nothingness.
For a moment, there was no world. No system messages. Just emptiness.
Then—reality snapped back.
They hit solid ground. Hard.
Gasping, MC looked up. They were no longer in the Unmapped Zone.
They were… somewhere else.
---
A World Outside the System
MC pushed themselves up, still dizzy. The air felt different—thicker, more real. Not just a digital construct.
And then they saw it.
A city.
But unlike the mechanical precision of the System's world, this place was alive. Structures made of twisting stone and metal, pulsing with energy. Roads that shifted as people walked, responding like a living thing. The air crackled with power.
MC turned to Kain, breathless. "Where… are we?"
Kain exhaled. "Welcome to the Fractured Realm."
Before MC could process anything, a voice echoed from behind.
"So, you finally brought someone new."
MC turned—
And saw a group of people watching them.
Not Reapers. Not System entities.
Others. Like them.
Anomalies.
The Fractured Realm
A City That Shouldn't Exist
MC stood frozen, taking in the impossible sight before them. The Fractured Realm wasn't like anything they had seen before.
Buildings twisted and shifted, reshaping themselves as if breathing. Streets stretched and coiled, yet people walked them as if they had always known their paths. There were no system notifications, no hovering alerts—this place was beyond the System's reach.
For the first time since they arrived in this world, MC felt… free.
But that freedom came with a price.
The group standing before them—five figures, each radiating an aura of powerful instability—were watching them with suspicion. Their presence disrupted the world around them, subtle distortions rippling outward.
Anomalies. Just like Kain.
One of them, a woman with deep violet eyes that flickered like glitched code, stepped forward. She was tall, her presence sharp as a knife. She didn't speak immediately, just studied MC with an unreadable expression.
Then, she turned to Kain.
"You took a risk bringing them here."
Kain crossed his arms. "Like I had a choice? The System was about to erase them."
The woman's gaze snapped back to MC. "And why should we care? For all we know, they're a trap. A failsafe the System sent to wipe us out."
MC tensed. "That's not—"
The woman moved—too fast, a blur of motion. In a blink, she was inches from MC, a blade of raw energy formed in her hand, pressed just below MC's chin.
"Then prove it."
---
The Trial of Existence
Kain sighed, rubbing his temples. "Damn it, Nova, can you not be dramatic for once?"
Nova didn't budge. "We don't take risks, Kain. You know the rules."
MC swallowed, carefully keeping still. "What do you want me to do?"
Nova held their gaze. "Survive."
Before MC could react, the ground beneath them vanished.
---
MC fell.
Darkness swallowed them whole, a void stretching endlessly in every direction. There was no air, no sound—just the sensation of falling without end.
Then the System's voice spoke.
> ERROR: YOU DO NOT BELONG.
PURGING UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY.
Something cracked.
A force slammed into MC's chest like a wrecking ball. Their vision blurred—the System itself was trying to erase them.
MC gritted their teeth. No. Not like this.
A choice.
Fight against the System's purge.
Use Rewrite—despite the risk.
MC clenched their fists. They weren't going to disappear.
> Rewrite: The purge fails.
Reality shuddered.
The System's grip weakened—but it wasn't enough. The purge was still happening. MC's existence was still being unwritten.
Then—something reached for them.
A hand.
Nova's voice cut through the void. "If you want to live, take it."
MC didn't hesitate. They grabbed her hand—
And the world snapped back into place.
---
Acceptance—For Now
MC collapsed onto solid ground, gasping for breath.
Nova stood over them, arms crossed, watching. After a moment, she smirked.
"You're stubborn. I'll give you that."
MC's chest still ached, but they forced themselves to stand. "Was that… necessary?"
Nova shrugged. "We had to know if the System would claim you. If you were truly one of us."
Kain rolled his eyes. "So? Do they pass your stupid test?"
Nova studied MC one last time. Then, with a small nod, she turned to the others.
"They stay."
The other anomalies exchanged glances, but no one objected.
MC exhaled, tension easing—until Nova added one last thing.
"But if they bring the System here, I'll erase them myself."
---
The Hidden War
Later, after introductions, MC sat with Kain, staring at the ever-shifting skyline of the Fractured Realm.
"This place… How is it still standing?" MC asked.
Kain leaned back. "Because we fight to keep it that way."
MC frowned. "Against the System?"
Kain's expression darkened. "And something worse."
MC glanced at him. "You mean… the Eye?"
A long silence. Then, Kain nodded.
"The System isn't the first thing to control this world," he said. "And it's not the last."
MC's blood ran cold.
They had escaped the System… but the real battle was just beginning.