On the morning of the magic tournament finals, an eerie silence blanketed the entire academy. When Sophia opened her window, she noticed all the birds had stopped singing. The air reeked of rusted iron.
System Self-Check CompleteCurrent Permission Unlock Rate: 42%Warning: Anomaly Detected in Tournament Arena Data
Her fingertip brushed across last night's decoded cipher. The mysterious letter "O" glowed faintly on the parchment. She pinned the silver brooch Lucien had forcibly given her before they parted—it shimmered slightly.
Item: Starfire Amulet (Effect: Negates one fatal blow)Note: This item is not in the original database
The arena had been changed to Abyssal Gorge—a high-level dungeon that should only be unlocked in the late stages of the game. The floating spectator stands were filled with faculty and students, but their expressions were eerily vacant, like poorly rendered NPCs. Only Lillian waved frantically at Sophia, her hair clip blinking with an unnaturally bright blue glow.
"Participants, enter the arena!"
The referee's voice sounded like a distorted recording. As Sophia stepped onto the cliff's edge, glowing red patterns formed beneath her feet—she recognized the forbidden sigil she had designed, but the lines that should have been golden were now soaked in blood.
"This isn't a match," Lucien suddenly appeared beside her, his voice a low whisper. "It's a sacrificial ritual."
Sweat glistened at his temples beneath his silver hair, and his right hand remained pressed over his pocket watch. Sophia's system pinged with a mechanical sound detected from within:
Countdown: 01:23:45Synchronization Rate: 89%
Across the gorge stood Bianca and her team. Bianca's eyes were pitch-black voids, and purple web-like veins crept along her neck.
When the match bell rang, the sky cracked open.
A crimson lightning bolt struck the gorge center, and a hundred-meter-wide black vortex emerged. On the stands, the "spectators" stood in unison, chanting in inhuman tones:
"By the Creator's blood, open the gate of truth."
"Run!" Lucien grabbed Sophia's wrist and darted the other way—but the ground sprouted countless pale arms. Instinctively, Sophia activated the game's Blink ability—only to find a new prompt:
Skill Mutation: Temporal Shift (Basic)
Her body reappeared 30 meters away, while the phantom she left behind was torn apart. Lucien's eyes widened in shock, but urgency quickly took over. "The northern ridge—there's a suppression array!"
Suddenly, a black mist-wrapped arrow pierced Lucien's shoulder. He groaned, falling to one knee, blood blooming against his white uniform. Sophia turned and saw Bianca levitating above the vortex, her bow trained on Lucien's heart.
Warning! Male Lead HP reduced to 47%Plot Branch Triggered: Critical Choice Point
A. Use untested Temporal Shift to save him (Risk: Data Loss)
B. Force event termination using Designer Permissions (Risk: World Corruption +15%)
Sophia bit her fingertip, drawing a composite sigil in midair—something she'd once doodled as a programming "trash idea."
"By the name of the Creator—Reconstruct!"
The entire gorge froze as if paused. Bianca's arrow hovered three inches from Lucien's chest; the vortex became a grotesque sculpture. But her system glitched out in static:
Error! Error!World Stability Down to 61%
Lucien's pocket watch buzzed furiously, the countdown accelerating. He grabbed her bloodstained hand.
"Listen… No matter what happens, don't trust Mortimer—"
The ground collapsed.
When Sophia awoke in the infirmary, stars glittered outside the window. Her palm was clenched tightly around a shattered sapphire—the ornament from Lucien's watch.
"He took the curse for you." Lillian's eyes were red as she handed her a cup of tea. "He's in the ICU now."
The door creaked open. Mortimer entered, leaning on his serpent-headed cane. His kindly smile didn't hide the writhing shadows in his eyes.
"Poor child. The tournament ended in an unfortunate accident."
He handed her a steaming cup of cocoa. Instantly, a scarlet warning popped up.
Mental Manipulation Medium Detected!Recommended Response: Pretend to Drink
Sophia feigned a sip while secretly channeling the liquid into a hidden magical vial. Mortimer nodded with satisfaction.
"Rest well. You're needed for the royal delegation's visit in three days."
Once his footsteps faded, she spat out the remaining drops. In the mirror, faint gold code flickered at the corners of her eyes—aftereffects of the Temporal Shift.
That night, outside the ICU, she unlocked the protective barrier with a stolen spell. Inside, Lucien lay wrapped in a silver-blue cocoon. The life monitor blinked dangerously low.
When she touched the cocoon, the system suddenly projected a foreign memory—
Under the blood moon, Lucien stood in the same ward, speaking to an empty bed:
"The seventh cycle… and she still chose to save me."
His pocket watch clicked open—inside was a photo of Sophia from the real world.
The memory cut off.
In real time, Lucien's eyes shot open. He grabbed her wrist, golden data flowing in his pupils.
"Find the mirror in the Blood Corridor… it's the only thing that can fight O…"
The alarm spell shrieked. Sophia was forced out, but not before seeing Lucien scratch a symbol into the bedsheet:
∇
A glyph never found in the game.
Back in her dorm, Sophia opened the system backend and found a newly added encrypted folder marked with her designer ID. Cracking it revealed a video—
Her real-world self slumped unconscious at her desk. On the screen: corrupted code from Love & Time. A hooded figure placed a purple crystal inside her PC.
The video ended on a sticky note showing a real-world date and time—
Tomorrow at 3:27 PM