The lift hummed as it descended into Sector B-7, cold light washing over Kael's face.
He leaned back against the metallic wall, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
He had no class. No level. No status.
But somehow… he was becoming stronger. Faster. Smarter.
[🧬 Stability: 31%]
[Glitchform Sync: Increasing...]
[Current Condition: UNTRACKABLE]
"Untrackable, huh..." Kael smirked. "Guess I'm not in your books anymore."
The doors opened with a hiss.
Sector B-7 was nothing like the clean white corridors above. This place was rusted, broken. Darkness oozed from the walls like infection. The air was thick with digital static, and strange shapes flickered just out of view.
He stepped out cautiously.
A mechanical hiss echoed through the sector — then something dropped from the ceiling.
It landed on all fours. Hunched. Twitching.
[SYSTEM BIOFORM – DEVIANT HOUND]
[Type: Rogue AI Beast]
[Threat Level: Moderate]
Its glowing eyes locked on Kael. It opened its jaws — lined with data-teeth — and howled like a corrupted modem scream.
Kael didn't flinch.
"Let's test this new 'freedom' of mine."
He activated Phase Echo.
In a flash, he sidestepped the beast's charge. His hand struck the side of its head — not physically, but with energy drawn from the very static around him.
[Phase Echo Strike – Success]
[Damage: x2 Critical]
[Error Stack: +2]
The hound skidded across the floor, body glitching violently.
Kael dashed forward, picking up a broken blade from the rubble. With a single arc, he slashed — clean through the thing's core.
Silence.
Then:
[Entity Eliminated.]
[Absorbing Rogue Code Fragment...]
[Skill Acquired: Static Surge (Lv. 1)]
[Mutation Bonus: +3% Instability 💢]
He wiped blood — or what passed for it — from his hand.
"Not bad."
But then—
[📡 ALERT: Echo Signature Detected.]
[Multiple Entities Converging.]
More shadows. More howls.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "They're sending more?"
[UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY. YOU DO NOT BELONG.]
[YOU ARE NOT A CLASS.]
[YOU ARE NOT A CITIZEN.]
[YOU ARE A VOID.]
"Maybe that's the point," Kael whispered, gripping his blade tighter.
"I don't want to belong."
The corridor pulsed with movement — three more Deviant Hounds, and something larger behind them.
Kael crouched low, energy rising around him like a storm.
"I'm not part of your system..."
He launched forward like lightning, striking first.
"…I'm the glitch that breaks it."
[End of Chapter 3]