*System Mindscape – Trace Layer*
The grinning figure loomed before Kenji, shifting between humanoid and alien. Its voice vibrated through the code like static and wind.
> *"You're not the first."*
Kenji's fists clenched. "Who are you?"
> *"I was the prototype."*
> *"The Alpha Player. System Version 0.000."*
Fragments of memory—flickers of battles, Olympus in flames, a titan made of glitching light—flashed around him.
The entity turned. "This system… isn't a gift. It's a key. And the door it opens leads to a war even the gods fear."
---
*System Notification*
> *Name: ??? (First Player)*
> *Status: Deleted / Echo*
> *Purpose: Warning*
The echo gestured. A new interface opened—*ARCHIVE: SYSTEM GENESIS*.
Inside: fragments of ancient records. An experiment by *Primordial Forces*, predating the gods. A tool made to find warriors across worlds… to battle something outside reality.
> *System Function Origin: "Containment Enforcement Unit – Chaos Inhibitor Protocol"*
> *Current Stability: 71%*
> *Next Cycle Predicted: Fragment Convergence*
"Others are coming," the echo warned. "Some will wear your face. Some will want your death. All will want your *fragments*."
---
*Camp Half-Blood – Infirmary*
Kenji woke with a start, a nosebleed dripping onto his shirt. Percy was beside him, pale.
"You were out for five minutes. Looked like you were *seizing.*"
Kenji sat up, the message still flashing behind his eyes:
> *New Quest Unlocked: Truth of the System (Chain Quest)*
> Phase I: Investigate "The First Player"
> Phase II: Track All Seven Fragments
> Phase III: Survive*
He didn't speak. He couldn't—not yet.
Because deep in the system's echo… one line haunted him:
> *"The last Player didn't die. He was *reset."*
---
*End of Chapter 26*