A Name That Shouldn't Exist
Silence stretched between them as MC processed Nova's words.
"There's another survivor?" MC asked, voice tight.
Nova nodded, though her expression remained guarded. "Yes. Or at least, there was."
Kain frowned. "If someone else made it through the war, why haven't we heard about them?"
Nova exhaled. "Because the Eye didn't just erase the rebellion—it erased every trace of its leaders. Except for me, and…"
She hesitated.
MC stepped forward. "Who?"
Nova's violet eyes locked onto theirs.
"His name was Elias Varian."
The moment she spoke the name, a pulse of static ran through the air, like the world itself had glitched.
MC's vision blurred, and for a split second, they saw flashes of a face—dark hair, piercing silver eyes, a long coat lined with intricate, shifting patterns of code. A man standing at the heart of the rebellion, facing down the impossible.
Then the image vanished, leaving MC breathless.
Kain cursed under his breath. "What the hell was that?"
Nova's expression was grim. "That's what happens when you say his name."
MC's hands trembled. "The System is still trying to erase him."
Nova nodded. "Exactly. The only reason you even caught a glimpse is because your connection to the buried data is stronger than ours. The Eye doesn't want anyone to remember him—but somehow, he still exists."
MC clenched their fists. If Elias was still out there, he might be the key to everything.
"We need to find him."
Nova smirked. "Easier said than done. Elias disappeared after the war, and trust me—we've looked."
MC met her gaze. "Then we need to look harder."
---
The Map of the Unwritten
Nova led them to the deepest part of the Fractured Realm, where the air shimmered like liquid code, and the ground was unstable, shifting beneath their feet.
At the center stood a massive archway, made of twisted metal and glowing circuitry. Strange symbols flickered along its surface, warping in and out of focus.
MC felt a pull in their chest the moment they saw it—like something inside them was reacting to its presence.
"What is this?" MC asked.
Nova placed a hand on the archway. "The Map of the Unwritten."
Kain frowned. "That thing's real? I thought it was just a myth."
Nova smirked. "Most things are—until you see them for yourself."
She turned to MC. "This is the last thing we salvaged from the rebellion before the Eye wiped out the records. It's a living archive—a map that constantly updates itself based on traces of existence that were meant to be erased."
MC swallowed. "So, if Elias is still alive…"
Nova nodded. "Then this will show us where to find him."
She stepped back, gesturing for MC to approach.
"You're the one with access to buried data. If anyone can activate it, it's you."
MC hesitated, then placed a hand against the archway.
The moment they made contact, reality split.
---
A Fragment of the Past
The Map of the Unwritten came to life.
Lines of glowing energy surged through the metal, forming intricate patterns that rearranged themselves like living code. The symbols burned into MC's mind, pulsing with meaning just beyond their understanding.
Then, the visions came.
MC saw a vast desert of shifting data, where time itself fractured and looped endlessly.
A ruined city frozen in a single moment, caught between existence and erasure.
A massive tower, reaching into the void, its structure breaking and reforming with each passing second.
And at the center of it all—
A single figure.
Standing at the edge of a shattered world, staring into the abyss.
Elias.
His silver eyes met MC's.
"You shouldn't be here," his voice echoed. "Not yet."
Then the vision collapsed.
---
The Forgotten Exile
MC staggered backward, gasping for breath. The archway pulsed one last time before going dark.
Kain grabbed their arm. "What did you see?"
MC's mind spun. "He's alive. He's in…" They hesitated, trying to grasp the name that had appeared in the vision.
"…the Ruined Expanse."
Nova's expression darkened. "Figures. Of course he'd be in the one place even the System refuses to touch."
Kain crossed his arms. "Great. So now we just have to travel to the most unstable region in existence, where reality itself breaks apart and time doesn't work right."
MC steadied themselves. "If Elias is there, then we're going."
Nova studied them for a long moment, then sighed. "Alright. But if we're doing this, we're going to need more than just the three of us."
MC raised an eyebrow. "You have someone in mind?"
Nova smirked. "Let's just say I know a few experts in breaking reality."
She turned, leading them back toward the city.
"Come on. We're recruiting a team."
Those Who Defy the System
The Gathering Storm
The decision had been made. They were going to the Ruined Expanse to find Elias Varian. But first, they needed a team.
Nova led them through the fractured outskirts of the city, where the air hummed with unstable energy. The buildings here shifted, flickering between different versions of themselves—some intact, some in ruins, some mere wireframes of what they had once been.
MC had learned by now that this was what happened to places that shouldn't exist.
As they walked, Nova smirked over her shoulder. "Hope you're ready. We're about to meet some of the most dangerous people still left in the System."
Kain scoffed. "I thought that was us."
Nova chuckled. "Oh, we're dangerous. But these people? They've been breaking the System's rules for longer than we've been alive."
MC frowned. "And you trust them?"
Nova's expression darkened slightly. "Trust? No. But I know they hate the Eye more than they hate each other. And right now, that's enough."
They reached the entrance to a massive underground bunker, its exterior hidden behind a veil of shifting code.
Nova knocked three times. The door didn't open. Instead, a distorted voice echoed from within.
> "State your identity or be erased."
Nova smirked. "I'd like to see you try, Phantom."
A pause. Then the door slid open.
"Welcome to the Guild of the Unwritten."
---
The Guild of the Unwritten
The bunker was alive with movement. Figures in cloaks and armor, their appearances flickering as if they weren't fully real, moved through the space. The walls were lined with data archives, stolen blueprints, weapons crafted from rewritten code.
This was no ordinary hideout.
This was a sanctuary for those who had slipped through the cracks of the System. Those who had been erased but refused to disappear.
A man sat at the center of it all, reclining in a chair, arms folded. His golden cybernetic eye pulsed with energy, scanning them as they entered.
He grinned. "Well, well. If it isn't Nova, back from the dead. Again."
Nova rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too, Phantom."
Phantom stood, his movements smooth, controlled. He had an air of calculated danger, the kind of person who always knew more than he let on.
His gaze flickered to MC. "So. You're the one making all the noise in the System lately."
MC tensed. "And you are?"
Phantom smirked. "Someone who knows how to stay off the Eye's radar."
Kain scoffed. "Yeah? Then how come you're still alive?"
Phantom's smirk widened. "Because I don't play by their rules."
Nova sighed. "Enough games. We need your help."
Phantom raised an eyebrow. "That depends. What's in it for me?"
MC stepped forward. "A chance to take down the Eye."
The entire room went silent.
Phantom studied them carefully, then chuckled. "You're serious."
MC nodded. "We're looking for Elias Varian. We know he's in the Ruined Expanse."
A flicker of something—recognition? hesitation?—passed through Phantom's expression.
Then he sighed. "Alright. You've got my attention."
He glanced at the rest of the Guild.
"Looks like we're going to war."
---
Reinforcements from the Shadows
Phantom wasn't the only one who agreed to join them.
Over the next few hours, Nova led them to three more individuals—people who had once been legends, now living in the shadows.
1. Echo – A former assassin who had been erased from existence three times and still found a way back. She could manipulate glitches in the System, moving through spaces that shouldn't exist. Her body flickered as she spoke, as if she was never entirely there.
2. Draven – A rogue engineer who specialized in rewriting reality. He could create weapons that bent the rules of the System itself. He had once built a machine capable of shutting down the Eye's surveillance grid—before it had been destroyed and he was forced into hiding.
3. Vera – A former Inquisitor of the Eye who had defected. She still carried one of their weapons—a spear made of pure System energy—but now, she used it against them. She had more knowledge of the Eye's inner workings than anyone alive.
By the end of the night, their team had doubled.
MC looked around at their new allies. Some of them were legends. Others were ghosts. But all of them had one thing in common.
They had survived.
And now, they were ready to fight.
---
The Journey Begins
They stood at the edge of the city, looking out toward the vast wasteland of broken reality that led to the Ruined Expanse. The sky above it twisted and glitched, constantly rewriting itself.
The journey would be dangerous.
Impossible, even.
But they weren't alone anymore.
Nova glanced at MC. "Still think you're ready for this?"
MC nodded.
"No turning back now."
With that, they stepped forward—into the unknown.
---
End of Chapter 6