Chapter 10: Emergency Protocol - GM Intervention
The sky above Central Skyrealm shimmered like a curtain of pixelated auroras, dancing erratically as system stabilization attempts resumed for the third time in an hour.
The ground trembled slightly as four figures materialized from a swirling vortex of blue code.
Zaphro landed first, still holding the barely stabilized Gwydox. Accel stumbled next to him, coughing from the side effects of chaotic teleportation. Eira followed last, pale but composed.
They had returned from the Hidden Library of the Architect—changed.
Zaphro's avatar still glowed faintly with deep circuit lines running beneath his skin, like a dormant engine waiting to ignite. Accel, meanwhile, had begun radiating faint pulses of energy even while idle. Both of them looked less like players… and more like something else.
Before they could take a step forward, a piercing tone echoed throughout the Skyrealm.
> [Admin Override: Spatial Lockdown - Central Nexus]
[Authority Level: GM_Kaizen]
A flash of gold and black erupted from above, slamming into the ground with a gravity that made everyone flinch.
GM Kaizen appeared in full regalia—his long coat bearing the Enigma sigil flickering violently like a bugged hologram. His eyes burned with equal parts exhaustion and frustration.
"I swear," he growled, pinching the bridge of his nose, "you four are going to make me prematurely delete myself."
Zaphro raised a hand. "Before you yell, let me expla—"
"No," Kaizen snapped. "You don't get to explain anything until I finish this scolding, which is long overdue."
He began pacing in front of them, gesturing wildly.
"Vault XII exploded. Again. Skyrealm's northern server nearly entered meltdown because you funneled literal glitch fire through its portal buffer. The Library, which hasn't existed on official records since Version 1.0.2, is now back online—because apparently, that's something people can just do now."
Accel raised a finger. "Technically it was already online—just hidden—"
"Not helping," Kaizen snapped. "Do you even realize the level of chaos you've caused? GM Aero had to shut down four adjacent zones just to prevent server bleed. Akil is currently hard-coding a failsafe so we don't get another 'Architect' surprise update in the next cycle."
Eira stepped forward, arms crossed. "Would you have rather we let the Chaotic Core detonate without control? Or let Gwydox die? Because that's what was coming."
Kaizen sighed, pacing slower now. "I don't blame your motives, just your complete disregard for protocol. We're GMs, not babysitters for dimensional codebombs."
Zaphro looked away. "...Sorry."
That one word stunned Kaizen into brief silence.
"You—wait. Did you just apologize? You never—ugh, forget it." He turned and pulled out a glowing admin panel from thin air, fingers flying over the interface.
"Here's the bigger problem," he said, more seriously now. "The system doesn't recognize either of you as regular players anymore."
A projection appeared beside him—two distorted avatars flickering with corrupted data overlays.
> Zaphro - Status: Player-Anomalous Hybrid (Core Fragment Host)
Accel - Status: Evolver Class Detected (Unregistered Protocol Branch)
System Response: Flagged for Isolation / External Access Denied
Accel frowned. "Wait—what? You mean we can't log out?"
"Not unless we fix your digital structure," Kaizen said. "You both have either partially fused or evolved into something that the system wasn't designed to track. It's not just cosmetic—it's code-deep."
Eira narrowed her eyes. "Then what's the solution?"
Kaizen exhaled, looking genuinely annoyed again. "We're… writing a new one."
He pulled up a devboard with lines of active code.
"We've got the dev team working overtime on a new player framework—'Spectral Class Layering.' It'll patch you two into a sandbox overlay that tricks the game into thinking you're regular avatars while maintaining your new states. But…"
He trailed off, looking at both Zaphro and Accel.
"You'll be monitored. Heavily. Every login, every combat log, every interface call—you're being tracked. You're technically part of the system now. If things go unstable again…"
Zaphro nodded. "Then you'll shut us down. I get it."
Kaizen gave a reluctant grunt. "It's not what I want to do. But if the Architect embedded anything else in your code… we can't afford another system event."
"Speaking of system events…" Accel muttered. "Why is the Skyrealm flickering? Feels like we're still not stable."
"Because we're not," Kaizen replied grimly. "You caused a full cascade of corrupted code into the core thread between Nexus Layer 3 and the Event Horizon Protocol. The devs have no choice."
He waved a hand.
> [Global System Alert: Emergency Maintenance Scheduled]
[Estimated Time: 6 Hours]
[Reason: System Layer Resynchronization & Player Recovery Protocol Update]
Zaphro blinked. "You're rebooting the entire game… again?"
"We're calling it Routine Emergency Stability Maintenance. It sounds more official."
Accel laughed nervously. "So… no rollback this time?"
"Luckily, no. But this is your last pass," Kaizen warned. "I mean it. One more catastrophic stunt and I'm filing you two under 'Boss Tier Content.' No more resurrection, no more excuses. You'll become world events instead of players."
Zaphro raised an eyebrow. "So basically… we'd be raid bosses."
"Don't tempt me."
Kaizen turned away and opened another portal back to the GM lounge. "Maintenance begins in thirty minutes. Get somewhere safe. And maybe—just maybe—try not to break the game again for at least one week."
He disappeared in a pulse of admin light.
Zaphro let out a long breath. "Well, that went better than I expected."
Eira smirked. "You didn't get banned. I call that a win."
Gwydox stirred, blinking his dual-colored eyes. "Are we… safe now?"
Zaphro nodded and looked toward the rising auroras of the Skyrealm.
"For now. But something tells me the Architect didn't leave all its secrets behind."
Accel stretched, grinning. "Bring it on. Just… maybe not in fire dungeons this time?"
The group laughed softly, letting the strange peace of the moment settle—brief and fragile, but real.
Far above them, the sky glitched faintly.
A new eye had opened. And it was watching.