The world of CODE shifted in silence before it roared back to life.
For a long moment, there was nothing—no sky, no ground, no sound.
And then words began to form out of the void. They floated in black mist, glowing with silver light, like commands typed by unseen fingers on a colossal screen that stretched across the heavens. Each letter carried weight, each syllable burning into reality as if the universe itself was speaking:
[Player Harper Hayes. Status: Rule Broken.]
[Penalty: Denied.]
[Designation Changed.]
[You are now: A Special Player.]
[Directive: You must continue playing the game, no matter the cost.]
The words seared themselves across the fabric of existence, lingering for a few heartbeats before shattering into sparks of crimson and white.
And with that, reality fractured.
---
Far away, in a place drenched in shadows and wind, two figures stirred.
Natalie's eyes snapped open first. Her crimson pupils flickered faintly as she sat up, holding her head. "Where… are we?" she whispered, voice trembling between anger and confusion. She could not sense the old coordinates of CODE's structure. Everything she once knew—the careful system of numbers, layers, and cycles—was gone.
Beside her, Vaelthor slowly opened his eyes as well. His usually calm demeanor cracked for the first time in centuries. His black cloak rustled as he stood, scanning the strange landscape. There was no sky, only a dome of twisting violet storms. The ground was barren, an endless desert of ash with rivers of molten light coursing beneath the cracks.
"This isn't the system we know," Natalie muttered, pushing herself to her feet. "It feels… rewritten."
Vaelthor's gaze narrowed. His voice was steady but carried the weight of realization. "We've been shifted."
"Shifted?" Natalie turned to him, her brows furrowing.
"The system relocated us," he explained. "We're not in CODE's primary realm anymore. Something happened when Harper broke the rules. The collapse redirected the axis of the simulation. Now… we're elsewhere."
Natalie's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Elsewhere? You make it sound like a punishment."
"Not punishment," Vaelthor said, eyes darkening as he glanced at the violet storms overhead. "A preparation. The system has thrown us into another realm. We'll need time to understand where we are… and why."
The storm above rumbled as though agreeing.
Natalie crossed her arms. "Then Harper really did something the system couldn't predict."
Vaelthor's silence was answer enough.
---
At the same time, another figure stirred.
Kael gasped as his eyes snapped open. He lay sprawled on cold stone, the bitter air biting into his skin. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. His last memory was blood, Harper's scream, and then… nothing but pain and darkness.
He groaned, pressing a hand to his chest, and realized the wound that mirrored Harper's had disappeared. There was no blood now, no scar. Only the memory of agony remained etched into him like a phantom shadow.
He sat up slowly, his breathing harsh. The place around him was unlike anything he had seen before. A strange city stretched in the distance, built of broken towers and flickering lights, yet silent as a grave. The air shimmered with an unseen current, buzzing like static.
Kael clenched his fists.
"Harper…" he whispered, the name leaving his lips like a prayer. The weight of everything crashed back into him—the bodies, the betrayal, Aliya's death, Harper's collapse, the dagger, the chaos, the darkness.
"Harper!" His voice rose with desperation, echoing across the empty world. "I have to find her… I have to."
He staggered to his feet, determination hardening his expression. He didn't know where he was or what this place meant, but one truth anchored him: he needed to reach Harper.
He had to.
---
******Harper
I woke up to the sound of soft beeping.
For a second, I thought I had crossed over. That maybe death wasn't as quiet as I thought it would be. But when my eyes fluttered open, I saw blinding white light above me, the sterile ceiling of a hospital room.
I froze. My chest rose and fell rapidly. I was alive.
Why?
Slowly, I sat up, my hands trembling against the thin sheets. My eyes darted to my arms, my legs, my body. No scars. No blood. Not even the faintest trace of where I had driven the dagger into myself. My skin was unmarked, smooth, as though nothing had ever happened.
I blinked once. Twice. And then frustration clawed its way into my chest.
I should be dead.
I broke the rules.
Chris screamed at me not to do it. He said it would kill me for real. He said I'd be erased.
But here I was. Breathing. Alive.
Why?
I pressed my hands to my face and let out a shaky sigh. "Why won't it let me die…?"
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes before spilling down my cheeks. The room was too quiet. No voice filled my mind. No sarcastic remarks. No calm guidance. No Chris.
The silence was worse than any wound.
"Chris…" My voice cracked as I whispered his name. "Where are you? Why did you leave me?"
I leaned back against the pillows, my body shaking. I missed him more than I thought possible. The voice that once annoyed me, the voice that had been my lifeline—gone.
The weight of loneliness pressed against my chest until I could barely breathe. And for the first time since all of this began, I let myself cry openly. My sobs echoed in the sterile room, raw and broken, as though the walls themselves mourned with me.
But then—
Something shifted.
The air thickened, pressing down on me. My tears halted as my vision blurred—not from crying, but from something else. My surroundings faded, dissolving into gray mist, until I was nowhere and everywhere all at once.
I froze, heart racing.
Then, a voice.
It wasn't Chris. It wasn't Kael. It wasn't anyone I recognized. The tone was deep, echoing, layered as though thousands spoke in unison.
"Harper Hayes."
My blood ran cold.
"You have been chosen."
I staggered to my feet—or maybe I wasn't even standing. I couldn't feel the ground beneath me. "Chosen? What do you mean?"
The voice continued, ignoring my shaking words.
"You are no longer bound by the old rules. You broke them. You defied them. And yet, the system cannot erase you."
My chest constricted. "I don't… I don't understand…"
"You are now a Special Player. That designation binds you to a new path. You must continue the game. No matter the cost. No matter the pain. There is no escape."
The words crashed into me like a tidal wave. My knees buckled. "No…" I whispered, shaking my head violently. "No, I don't want this! I never wanted this! Just let me die!"
The voice thundered, final and absolute:
"You will play. Until the end."
And then the vision snapped.
I was back in the hospital room, gasping, my hands clutching at my chest as though I could rip the words out of me. My sobs returned, but this time they were strangled by fear.
A Special Player.
The game wasn't letting me go.
It owned me now.