📖 Chapter 4:
I should be running.But something about Nyx Talovar… makes me stay.
She's not like the Crown Guard who came at me with rules and protocols.She's chaos. Controlled chaos.A Mark-Two Fractureborn, someone who willingly broke their system core—twice.
And she's smiling at me like I'm her science project.
"Phase Shift, huh?" she says, blade dancing in her hand."System rewriting… without triggering meltdown. That's impressive. Unstable. Dangerous. But impressive."
I don't answer.
My knees are shaking. My chest feels hollow.That move—Phase Shift Dash—ripped something out of me.
Pix whispers:
"You burned 24% of your core stability. You've got two, maybe three more rewrites before your neural strain reaches lethal levels."
So this system… isn't free after all.
Nyx lowers her weapon. "Tell me, Glitchwalker… what did the system call you?"
"…Riven Kael."
She stares like she's memorizing the name for later. "Kael, huh. That's a name that might make it into a graveyard of kings someday."
Then something shifts in the air.Every sound cuts off.Even Pix goes silent.
A ripple spreads across the corrupted space she created. The rift pulses… and then collapses inward.Something steps through.
Something not human.
👁 Enter: "The Masked Eye" — A Glitchborn Lord
Seven feet tall.Wrapped in tattered system code like a digital cloak.No face—just a cracked white mask with a single glowing eye etched in the center.
"Subject 001 detected," it speaks, but not with a voice. It speaks into my thoughts."Cross-dimensional signature confirmed.You do not belong here."
Nyx instantly kneels.She knelt.
That alone tells me everything I need to know.
Pix: "That's not just a corrupted user. That's a Glitchborn Lord. Tier: Undefined. Classification: Reality Binder. Run. Run now."
I try to step back—but my legs lock. The masked being raises one long, warped hand. The space around us begins to bend. Not like magic. Not like tech.
Like reality itself is being rewritten.
"Your system is not of this plane. Its seed is forbidden. Its code—stolen. Its power—mine."
My interface screams.
[Override Lock Attempt Detected][System Core Shield: 32% Remaining… 27%... 15%...]
He's trying to erase me.
Suddenly—pain hits my chest. Not physical.Memory.
A flash of a child's voice.A tower of glowing circuits.A lab. A girl. Someone screaming:"Not him! He wasn't meant to awaken!"
I don't know what it means.
But my system reacts.Emotion Spike Detected.Rage. Panic. Protect.
[Skill Created: Temporal Flashback (LV. 1)]
The world freezes.
Time halts for 3 seconds.
Even the Glitchborn Lord slows. Just a little.
I dive forward—roll—grab a chunk of corrupted stone and hurl it blindly.It hits the mask.A crack appears.
He stops. Slowly turns. And for the first time… he hesitates.
"So… the seed resists.Very well.""Let the game begin, Awakened."
He disappears. No portal. No flash. Just gone.
Nyx rises from her kneel.
"…That wasn't supposed to happen," she says.
I don't answer. My hands are shaking.
Pix: "Riven... whatever he saw in you, it wasn't normal.You're not just a Glitchwalker.You're a threat to their entire hierarchy."
"…What the hell am I?"
[SYSTEM TITLE GRANTED: Unbound Variable][Reality Write Access Level: Tier 1 Unlocked]
📊 SYSTEM UPDATE
New Skill: Temporal Flashback (LV. 1): Freeze time for 3 seconds per emotional spike. Cooldown: 1 hour
Core Shield Integrity: 12%
Rewrite Limit Remaining: 1/3
Threats Monitoring You: 3 Active | 1 Unknown
As I escape with Nyx into the outer shadows of Ghost Lane, I know one thing for sure:
They know I exist now.And the real hunt has only begun.
🔚 End of Chapter 4