> Location: System Core Lobby – "The Interlink Nexus"
A dimensional space that connects all realms, villages, towns, kingdoms, empires, and planets.
This wasn't just a marketplace.
It was the place.
A floating city of infinite scale, built upon translucent platforms layered across a shimmering void. You could see an orc chieftain haggling with a six-winged angel over spice prices, a robotic innkeeper trading blueprints with a slime merchant, and shadowy figures darting between organizations formed across thousands of worlds.
Above it all floated the System Nexus Core, a crystalline orb that pulsed with raw code and divine power.
And just below it? Aric, holding a menu screen while sipping cold soda.
> [System Nexus Menu: Welcome, Aric Valen]
Trade Network
Party Match
Organization Hub
Auction Realm
Classified Codex
Mystery Alerts [1]
Architect Protocol [LOCKED]
"Architect Protocol"... still locked.
He clicked the Mystery Alert.
---
> ALERT: ORIGIN SIGIL DETECTED
1 of 7 located
Estimated Location: "World Shard 117 – The Forgotten Ring"
Status: Unclaimed
Warning: Sigil will attract other Architect Candidates. Expect... trouble.
Aric narrowed his eyes.
> "Seven Origin Sigils. One for each Architect Candidate…"
> "Guess I'm in a race I never signed up for."
---
[What Are the Origin Sigils?]
The Codex revealed only whispers:
> "Fragments of the First World's blueprints. Each sigil grants domain over reality laws—physics, logic, emotion, and even time."
> "Seven Sigils = Full access to 'The Architect Protocol'."
Aric tapped his fingers on the floating screen. "So… full access lets me do what, rewrite gravity and summon an army of pancake mechas?"
A hidden line of text glitched into view.
> "Rewrite the Universe or Reset It Entirely."
"...Oh. Cool. Terrifying. Definitely don't trust myself with that yet."
---
[Meanwhile: The Other Candidates Stir]
Across different realms, others felt the ripple.
Candidate #2 – Eravon the World Collector
A floating brain in a jar controlling a planet-sized server hive. His voice echoed through data streams:
> "An Origin Sigil... mine."
Candidate #3 – Valka the Hollow Queen
She sat on a throne of bone inside a realm made of silence. Her eyes bled starlight.
> "I feel the First Blueprint awakening."
Candidate #4 – ??? (Unknown Data Signature)
Their profile was completely hidden. Only a distorted laugh echoed through broken void-channels.
> "The egg awakens... the chain will snap."
---
[Back to Aric – The Pact of Ancient Architects]
Aric was joined by an unexpected figure at the floating café platform—a fox-masked man wrapped in flowing ink-cloth.
> "You're touching codes you weren't meant to," the man said.
Aric tensed. "Who are you?"
The man placed a single card on the table. It shimmered with authority.
[Legacy Architect – Phantom Title Holder: I've Seen The First Light]
> "If you wish to survive, form a pact. One Architect Candidate can't fight the others alone."
> "Find the 'Architect Mirrors' scattered across the Realms. Use them to stabilize your sigil before the others corrupt it."
Aric took the card.
> "This sounds like one of those 'If you don't do this, everything ends in fire' situations."
> "Not fire," the masked man whispered.
"Worse. System Desynchronization."
---
[World-Shard 117 – The Forgotten Ring]
Later that day, Aric opened a new travel gate. The portal shimmered.
Destination: Forgotten Ring.
A shattered mini-world orbiting a dead star. No light. No life. But within it… the first Origin Sigil.
He cracked his knuckles. "Time to race the weirdos."
And then he stepped through the gate—unaware that another Candidate had already arrived…
> A figure cloaked in pure code.
A corrupted system user.
And someone who wanted to reshape the multiverse into a game with only one winner.
---
End of Chapter 8
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