The air crackled with tension.
Ethan took a shaky step forward, staring at the figure in the cryo-pod.
The person inside was identical to him. Same face. Same build. Same scar on the left cheek—a scar he didn't even remember getting.
Aya whispered, "Ethan… is that… you?"
Ethan couldn't answer. His throat was dry, his mind spinning.
The pod fully opened. The figure inside gasped for breath, body shivering as cold vapor poured out. His eyes snapped open—and they were just like Ethan's.
For a long moment, they just stared at each other.
Then—
> [SYSTEM ALERT: UNSTABLE DATA RECOGNIZED]
[WARNING: TWO INSTANCES OF PLAYER_0047 DETECTED]
[INITIATING PROTOCOL: CORRECTION]
The system's words hit like a thunderclap.
Aya grabbed Ethan's arm. "What the hell does that mean?!"
Player_0001's eyes darkened. "It means one of you isn't supposed to exist."
Ethan's heartbeat roared in his ears.
Because he knew—the System was coming to fix that mistake.
---
The System's Correction
The cryo-pod Ethan gasped, struggling to move. His body was still waking up, but his eyes locked onto Ethan.
"You… why do you look like me?" His voice was rough, raw from years of sleep.
Ethan clenched his fists. "That's my question."
The system blared warnings in their ears.
> [SYSTEM RESPONSE IMMINENT]
[ADMINISTRATOR OVERRIDE REQUIRED]
Aya cursed. "Okay, I don't know what's happening, but we need to run."
Player_0001 shook his head. "No."
Ethan turned to him. "What do you mean, 'no'?"
The masked man's voice was calm but firm. "The System is trying to erase one of you. If you run, it'll keep hunting you down."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
"So what do we do?"
Player_0001 glanced at the cryo-pod Ethan. "We make a choice."
Ethan's breath caught. "A choice?"
Player_0001 nodded. "One of you is the original. The other is a copy." He turned toward the console. "And we're about to find out who."
---
Data Fragment Recovered
The room's lights flickered.
Player_0001 tapped into the system's corrupted files.
> [ACCESSING ERASED DATA…]
[RECONSTRUCTING PLAYER HISTORY…]
[WARNING: INCOMPLETE MEMORY SEQUENCES]
Ethan braced himself. Then the files played.
A memory.
He saw himself. But not in the ruins. Not in the apocalypse.
No.
He was in a city. A real one. Skyscrapers untouched by war. Streets filled with people. A world before the System.
And standing beside him—Aya.
But she looked different. Younger. Happier.
Aya gasped. "That's… me."
Ethan's stomach twisted. "That's not possible."
The memory flickered—and then everything changed.
The city collapsed into chaos. Screams filled the air. A red warning flooded the sky.
And then, Ethan saw it—
> [SYSTEM ACTIVATION: GLOBAL RESET INITIATED]
Aya grabbed his hand. "Ethan, we have to go!"
But the memory Ethan didn't move.
Instead—he turned toward the sky.
And smiled.
Then—the world turned to static.
The memory ended.
Ethan staggered back, his mind screaming.
"What… the hell was that?"
Aya was shaking. "That was before the System." Her voice cracked. "I—I don't remember that. Why don't I remember that?!"
Player_0001 exhaled.
"Because the System erased it."
Ethan's breath hitched. "But why?"
Player_0001 looked between him and the cryo-pod Ethan.
"Because the Ethan I just showed you… was the original."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
His world tilted.
Aya turned to him, her face pale.
"Ethan…"
He shook his head, stepping back. "No."
Player_0001's words were quiet, but undeniable.
"You're the copy."
Ethan's heartbeat thundered in his chest.
"No. That's not—" His voice broke. "That's not possible."
But deep down… he knew.
The system had erased the original Ethan.
And created him.
---
The System's Final Warning
The cryo-pod Ethan—**the real Ethan—**was still catching his breath, trying to process what he had just seen.
But the System wasn't waiting for him to understand.
> [WARNING: DATA CONFLICT DETECTED]
[SYSTEM PROTOCOL: PURGING DUPLICATE]
The temperature in the room plummeted.
The air crackled with red energy.
Player_0001's eyes narrowed. "It's coming."
Aya grabbed Ethan's hand. "We have to go. Now."
Ethan couldn't move.
His entire existence had just been shattered.
But the System didn't care.
Because it had decided he wasn't real.
And it was coming to erase him.
The System's Judgment
The walls shuddered as a deep mechanical hum filled the room. The air turned static, thick with energy.
> [SYSTEM PROTOCOL: DUPLICATE PURGE INITIATED]
[TARGET IDENTIFIED: PLAYER_0047 (INSTANCE 2)]
Ethan's body went rigid.
Instance 2. The copy.
Him.
Aya's grip on his wrist tightened. "We have to move. Now."
But Ethan could barely breathe. His thoughts crashed together, a storm of panic and disbelief.
"I'm… not real." The words barely left his lips.
The real Ethan—the one from the pod—was still struggling to move. His muscles weak from stasis, his breaths ragged. But his eyes flickered toward the warnings on the screen.
And suddenly, he understood.
His gaze snapped to Ethan. "It's after you."
Ethan swallowed hard. "No kidding."
The room flashed red.
A shape materialized from the air—a towering System Enforcer.
It was unlike anything Ethan had seen before. A monstrous figure, draped in shifting digital patterns, its body pulsing with raw energy.
Its face was empty, a black void filled with swirling red code. But its voice…
It was his own.
> "Ethan Stryker. Instance 2. You are an error."
Ethan's blood turned to ice.
> "You will be corrected."
And then—it attacked.
---
Running from Death
The Enforcer lunged, moving faster than anything should be able to.
Aya yanked Ethan away, barely avoiding the strike as the floor where he stood disintegrated into code.
Player_0001 pulled out his weapon—a sleek, jagged data blade—and slashed at the Enforcer's side. The strike landed, but instead of cutting through, the Enforcer's body glitched, rippling like a distorted screen.
It turned its head slowly toward Player_0001.
Then, with inhuman speed, it struck back.
Player_0001 barely had time to block. He slammed into the console, sparks flying.
Aya cursed. "We can't fight this thing!"
Ethan's mind was racing. He wasn't a stranger to battle, but this wasn't just another monster.
This was the System itself.
> It doesn't just want me dead.
It wants me erased.
The Enforcer stepped forward, raising a hand. A pulse of red light crackled to life, aimed directly at him.
Ethan knew—if that blast hit, he wouldn't just die.
He'd cease to exist.
"MOVE!" Aya tackled him aside just as the blast fired.
The beam ripped through the air, striking the back wall. Instantly, half the room disappeared—deleted, like it had never been there.
Ethan stared in horror.
Aya pulled him up. "Ethan, snap out of it! We need a way out!"
The real Ethan—the one from the pod—was struggling to his feet. His gaze locked onto the terminal, the remaining fragments of his lost data still flashing on the screen.
And in that moment, he made a decision.
Without hesitation, he ran toward the console.
Ethan's eyes widened. "What are you doing?!"
The real Ethan's fingers flew across the interface.
> [SYSTEM RESTORE: PARTIAL ADMIN OVERRIDE]
[WARNING: UNSTABLE COMMAND]
His voice was hoarse. "If the System wants to delete an error… then let's give it something even worse."
And he slammed a final command.
The entire room trembled.
---
A Dangerous Gamble
The Enforcer froze.
For the first time, the red glow in its body flickered.
Ethan's vision blurred as a pulse of energy exploded outward. The air around them distorted, code unraveling and rewriting itself at rapid speed.
The real Ethan staggered, his hands gripping the console for support. His face was pale, his body weak.
But he looked at Ethan—the copy—and smirked.
Aya's voice was frantic. "What did you do?!"
The real Ethan exhaled. "I sent a request to the System."
Ethan's stomach dropped. "What kind of request?"
The real Ethan turned to him. His eyes gleamed.
> "To make you an Administrator."
---
The System's Error
> [REQUEST PENDING…]
[ERROR: PLAYER_0047 INSTANCE 2 NOT AUTHORIZED]
[ADMINISTRATOR PRIVILEGES CONFLICT DETECTED]
The Enforcer twitched. Its red glow glitched violently.
> "This… is not… permitted…"
The static in its voice shattered. Its form flickered, its code trying to process the impossible.
Ethan stared in shock. "You gave me Admin privileges?"
The real Ethan let out a ragged breath. "Not exactly. I overloaded the System with an impossible command. It doesn't know what to do with you now."
Aya's eyes widened. "You're forcing it to glitch?"
Player_0001, still recovering, let out a low chuckle. "Smart."
The Enforcer shook violently. Its body warped, struggling between two conflicting commands—to erase Ethan… or recognize him as an Administrator.
For the first time, the System had no answer.
Ethan saw his chance.
"Then let's finish it."
He charged forward.
The Enforcer lashed out, its attacks erratic. But Ethan dodged, his body moving faster than it ever had before.
> [SYSTEM RECOGNITION ERROR]
[PLAYER INSTANCE 2: STATUS—UNKNOWN]
With a roar, Ethan summoned his weapon—his blade of energy crackling to life.
Aya and Player_0001 moved beside him.
The real Ethan, still too weak to fight, watched from the console.
And together—they struck.