[System Error: Narrative Timeline Breached]
[Recalibrating...]
[Warning: Hostile Interference Detected]
The world didn't shatter all at once—it screamed first.
The Hero stumbled backward, clutching his ears. The divine sword—meant to smite Kai in a radiant blaze of righteousness—flickered, losing its golden glow. Its edge dulled.
Kai stepped forward.
Time was still partially frozen. Everything was lagging. Even the flames, frozen mid-curl, seemed unsure if they should burn.
"Wh-what did you do?" the Hero stammered, voice cracking. "This isn't how the Trial's supposed to go."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
> Good. He still thinks this is a trial.
That means the script's still partially intact. I can weaponize it.
"You're right," Kai said, his voice calm. "This isn't how it's supposed to go. Want to know a secret?"
He held up his hand. The system interface trembled as if in fear.
[Accessing: Trial Parameters]
[Edit Attempt Detected: Unauthorized… Granting Temporary Override (0.01%)]
Kai tapped through menus with a surgeon's precision.
→ 'Trial Outcomes'
→ 'Hero Victory Condition'
→ DELETE
The moment he pressed it, the sky blinked. Not changed—blinked. Like a giant eye had just flinched.
The Hero fell to his knees, gasping. "W-why… can't I feel the System anymore…?"
Kai crouched to meet his eye. "Because I just deleted your happy ending."
---
[Alert: Trial Zone collapsing]
[Consequences: Unstable Timeline | Emergence of Rogue Variables | Divine Attention Acquired]
A sound like chains breaking rang out across the sky.
Above them, the Trial Arena—a cathedral-sized battlefield that existed in a bubble of divine space—began to unravel. Reality peeled like cheap wallpaper. Beyond it: void. Raw, unrendered code.
"Do you even know what you've done?" the Hero spat, fear and rage twisted on his face. "The gods will erase you for this."
Kai laughed. Not mocking. Free.
> "Let them try."
---
Suddenly, the Hero lunged—sword-first, instinct guiding him where the System no longer could.
Kai didn't flinch.
[New Skill Activated: Narrative Override Lv.1 – Command: Redirect Fate]
The Hero's blade veered left—mid-air—like it hit an invisible rail. It plunged deep into the frozen floor, missing Kai by inches.
> He's still bound by plot inertia. Poor bastard's stuck playing a dead role.
Kai leaned close, whispering: "You're not the protagonist anymore. I am. And guess what?"
He tore the divine sword from the Hero's hands.
> "Now I have your weapon…
Your script…
And your fate."
---
[Alert: Incoming Presence – Origin: Divine Server]
[Heuristic Entity Arriving: "Archivist of Order"]
A sphere of pure white light bloomed above the battlefield.
The System had noticed.
Kai smirked.
> Took you long enough.
He turned to the Hero, now broken, kneeling.
> "This trial's over.
Welcome to the real story."
And then he stabbed the sword into the air—splitting the arena open like a zipper.
Beyond it: chaos. A world where the system had no rules.
Kai stepped through.
---