Aryan's breath was still ragged. His hand trembled against the sword's hilt as its glow finally faded, plunging the dungeon back into darkness.
Liana placed a hand on his shoulder. "That was… incredible. But that strike— it wasn't any magic I know of."
Before Aryan could respond, the system's cold mechanical voice rang in his mind:
> [Analyzing…]
[Unauthorized Protocol Detected.]
[Warning: You are not the intended User.]
His eyes widened in shock. "What…?"
Liana tilted her head. "What did it say?"
The system continued:
> [System Glitch in Progress…]
[Partial Memory Fragment Unlocked.]
A vision flashed into Aryan's mind—
A steel bed. Monitors filled with endless code.
A man's voice echoing:
"The Glitch Project must remain secret. If it enters the world, everything changes."
Aryan gasped, stumbling back as the vision shattered.
Liana grabbed his arm. "Aryan, what happened?"
He panted. "The system… it's speaking to me. And… it said I'm not the rightful user."
The silence was suffocating. Only the drip of water echoed through the stone halls.
Liana's brow furrowed. "Then this power… it wasn't meant for you?"
Aryan clenched his fist. "Maybe… maybe I'm just a mistake in this world."
The walls rumbled violently. Crimson symbols—glitching code—spread across the stone. The system's final message appeared:
> [New Directive: Find the Glitched Core.]
Liana whispered, "So defeating this dungeon isn't enough… We need to uncover what this core truly is."
Aryan raised his blade. Whether or not this world wanted him, he had sworn to carve his own path.
— To be continued —