The air hung heavy with tension as Rael, Oroth, Patchling, and Kazen gathered near the fragmented core of the system. The sky rippled in strange waves, distorting reality like a broken hologram. None of them could shake the creeping sense that the walls between worlds were thinner than ever before.
"Because this isn't a game anymore," Oroth said quietly, voice steady but grim. "It's a memory engine."
Rael frowned, stepping closer. "What does that even mean?"
Patchling's eyes glowed softly as she floated closer to the core's shimmering surface. "It means the system isn't just creating a new reality — it's replaying one it already lived through. Over and over. Like a loop of memories."
Kazen's screen beeped urgently. He glanced at it, face paling.
> Origin Decoding: In Progress
> Warning: Cross-Timeline Interference Detected
> Estimated Source: User ID 000–Null Root
Rael's heart thudded painfully in his chest. That user ID had only appeared once before — the day he died in the real world.
"Patchling…" he said slowly, voice almost a whisper. "This system… this isn't just a second chance at life."
She met his gaze, eyes widening. "It's your first."
Rael swallowed hard. A cold chill crept up his spine. The world around them flickered violently. For a brief moment, the sky tore open like a shattered screen, revealing a shadowed figure watching from behind the system's interface.
Not a god. Not a player.
Something... in between.
"Who — or what — are you?" Rael called out, but the figure vanished.
The core pulsed rapidly, sending waves of data streaming through their minds. Kazen's voice cracked.
"We're standing on the edge of something… deeper than we imagined. The system's memory isn't just history. It's a prison."
Patchling floated forward, a flicker of desperation in her gaze.
"We have to decide. Do we break the cycle, or get trapped in it forever?"
Rael looked at his friends — their faces etched with resolve and fear. Somewhere deep inside, a spark ignited.
"This isn't just survival anymore. This is rebellion."
The system's world quaked, cracks spreading like lightning across the horizon.
The War of the Fractured Codes had truly begun.