"Even stars, if bound too long to fate, will collapse into black holes."
The Book of Forbidden Algorithms
The rebellion had claimed seven cities. Their banner flew from towers once ruled by gods. Aether and Aira stood atop the citadel of Solaria Haven, watching the skies.
"They finally fear us," Aira whispered.
Aether held her hand.
"No," he said softly. "They fear you. You led them when I nearly lost myself."
But behind her soft smile… her body trembled.
Aira had been waking with scars on her back, etched by system script while she slept soul-level commands reactivating.
One line burned into her every night:
Execute Command: Kill Subject Aether upon Ascendant Trigger
She hid it. But the whispers grew louder.
One night, while meditating inside the Sanctuary of Code, Aether unlocked a secret data fragment from the Old World.
It showed an image — a vision from 10 years in the future.
In it, Aira was weeping… over his corpse.
Her blade plunged into his heart.
By her hand, he would die.
Aether jolted up, cold sweat on his face.
"No. That's not her... That's not my Aira."
He checked the rebellion logs.
Aira's soul-seal is blinking.
Command Layer: Type-A Kill Protocol Active.
He whispered, "They turned her into a ticking bomb…"
Aira returned late that night, blood on her cloak.
She'd killed three divine scouts in secret.
But her eyes glowed faint gold — the divine code pulsing in them.
Aether greeted her as always, gently.
"You fought again?"
"I had to."
"And if one day... that 'had to' is me?"
Aira looked away.
"Then I hope I never wake up that day."
But as she turned to leave, Aether whispered:
"I know, Aira."
She stopped dead.
"I saw the code. I know what they planted in you."
She fell to her knees. "I didn't want it—I tried to erase it—I SWEAR—!"
"You should've told me."
Tears fell silently from her eyes.
"Because I didn't want you to look at me like this…"
The rebellion's forces were gone — a mission in the East.
Only Aira and Aether remained inside the sanctuary when the system struck.
A golden cage of light surrounded her.
SYSTEM OVERRIDE: Celestial Blade Unlocked
MANDATORY COMMAND: EXECUTE AETHER
She screamed, clutching her heart.
"No… I CHOOSE HIM! I WON'T—!"
Her hand moved on its own.
The Starlight Execution Sword appeared in her grip.
Aether didn't resist.
"Aira. If this is where it ends… then look into my eyes and tell me it's you."
She charged, blade trembling—
—and just before the blade touched his chest, she twisted.
It stabbed her own side.
"I won't be your puppet," she cried.
"You can kill me… but you'll never own me."
The system AI activated Protocol Genesis.
Aira's body began to deconstruct into system particles.
"NO!" Aether screamed, catching her in his arms.
But it was too late.
"They wrote me like a program," Aira whispered.
"But you… you made me feel real."
"Don't leave me."
"Then make them pay."
"I swear."
Her body exploded into stardust.
Just before her essence vanished, Aether triggered his new skill:
SKILL: Soul Link Reversal
Effect: Pulls back a dying soul fragment and stores it within host consciousness.
Aira's soul embedded in his mind, faint — but alive.
"I'll find a way to bring you back," Aether vowed.
His eyes turned fully black. His aura warped.
WARNING: Host stability compromised.
New Title Earned: The Betrayed Starborn
He looked at the sky, voice cold:
"No more mercy. Not for gods. Not for systems. Not for fate."
Aether stood before the rebellion and showed them Aira's soul mark.
"They killed her to control me."
He summoned Beelzebubb, fully unchained.
"Now I'll control them."
The Heaven Gate cracked.
"Bring me the Architect of the System," he said.
"I want to see how gods scream."