Overclocked.
The word vibrated in my mind with ominous weight. I had chipped away at the timeline, stolen a few of fate's threads, and now the universe's immune system was kicking in with a vengeance. Lin Feng's protagonist halo wasn't just working; it was working overtime to force the story back onto its tracks.
And its first "correction" was to frame me for high treason.
My moment of triumph in the pavilion evaporated, replaced by the chilling clarity of a predator who has just stepped into a far more complex and dangerous jungle.
Before the echoes of the explosion had even faded, the garden was swarmed by the Imperial Guard, their armor rattling, their faces grim. They were led by Captain Valerius, my eldest brother, the Crown Prince. A man of rigid discipline and zero imagination, who loved the law more than his own family.
"The Imperial Treasury has been breached!" he bellowed, his eyes sweeping over the panicked guests. "A sacred artifact, the 'Dragon's Heart', has been stolen! The entire palace is under lockdown!"
His gaze landed on me. There was no brotherly concern there. Only cold, hard suspicion.
"Kaelen," he said, his voice a low growl. "You were seen near the Black Moon Vault earlier today. You will come with me for questioning."
It was a classic, logical conclusion. The troublemaking Fourth Prince, who suddenly shows an interest in the vaults, is the prime suspect when something goes missing hours later. It was a clean, simple narrative. Lin Feng's overclocked halo was brutally efficient.
Lyra, who had been pale with fury moments before, was now a mask of shocked, sisterly concern. "Valerius, you can't be serious!" she cried, stepping forward. "Kaelen was with me! He is the hero who saved my life!"
It was a brilliant pivot. She was defending me, playing the part of the loyal sister. But I knew the truth. This was damage control. Her plans had been thrown into chaos by Lin Feng's premature arrival. By defending me now, she was reasserting a measure of control, keeping her "foolish brother" under her protection and influence.
Seraphina watched the exchange with sharp, intelligent eyes, her expression unreadable. She wasn't defending me. She was observing. Analyzing.
"His Highness's presence at the banquet is noted," Valerius said stiffly, his gaze never leaving me. "But he will still answer my questions."
This was a critical moment. If I went with him, I would be swallowed by the Imperial justice system. I'd be interrogated, my chambers would be searched, and while they wouldn't find the Dragon's Heart, they would find Malakor's demonic ledger. That would be a death sentence far more certain than mere theft.
I had to refuse. But I had to do it in a way that didn't scream "guilt".
I held up my hands, a look of weary resignation on my face. "Brother, of course. I will answer any questions you have."
Valerius nodded, a flicker of grim satisfaction in his eyes. He motioned for two guards to flank me.
"However," I continued, my voice suddenly ringing with an unshakeable, princely authority that made even him pause. "I will not be interrogated in some damp cell like a common criminal. I am Kaelen Ravencrest, Fourth Prince of this empire. I saved your sister's life not three hours ago. You will question me here, in the presence of my father, the Emperor."
It was a power play. I was leveraging my heroic deed and my royal status to control the venue of my own interrogation.
Valerius's jaw tightened. He knew I was right. Dragging me away without a shred of evidence, right after I'd been hailed as a hero, would be a political disaster.
"Fine," he bit out. "Stay here. No one leaves this pavilion until the Emperor arrives." He turned and began barking orders, securing the perimeter.
The atmosphere in the pavilion was thick with fear and suspicion. The other guests huddled together, whispering, their eyes darting towards me. I was a cornered animal.
But I wasn't. This was all just a distraction.
The theft, the accusation, the lockdown—it was all stage-setting. The main act was about to begin. Lin Feng wouldn't just steal something and remain hidden. His style was to make a grand, dramatic entrance.
"System," I thought, my mind racing. "Scan the entire capital city. Find him. Where is he?"
...SCANNING...
...OVERCLOCKED PROTAGONIST HALO IS GENERATING SIGNIFICANT FATE-BASED INTERFERENCE. SCANNING IS DIFFICULT.
...NARROWING SEARCH PARAMETERS...
...ANOMALY DETECTED.
A map of the Imperial Palace appeared in my mind's eye. A single, pulsating red dot was moving rapidly. It wasn't heading away from the treasury. It was heading here.
Of course. He wasn't just a thief. He was a "hero". He would steal the artifact and then march right into the lion's den to do something impossibly audacious.
He was coming for Lyra.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, a commotion erupted from the edge of the gardens. Guards were shouting. The clash of steel rang out through the night.
"An intruder!" a guard screamed. "He's broken through the perimeter!"
Valerius whirled around, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword. "Impossible! The Imperial Guard is the finest in the world!"
A figure landed in the center of the pavilion, a blur of motion. He landed lightly on his feet, scattering the terrified guests. He wasn't large or imposing. He was a young man, perhaps sixteen, with plain features, common clothes, and an unruly shock of black hair. But his eyes… his eyes burned with an unshakeable arrogance, a certainty that the entire world existed solely for his benefit.
It was him. Lin Feng.
He held a simple, rust-pocked sword in one hand. In the other, he held a pulsating, fist-sized crystal that glowed with the light of a captive sun. The Dragon's Heart.
"I am Lin Feng," he announced, his voice ringing with power that far surpassed his apparent cultivation level. "I have come to return what was stolen and to claim what is rightfully mine!"
My [Eye of Scrutiny] pierced through the interference, giving me a glimpse of his stats.
Name: Lin Feng
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment - 3rd Stage (???)
Status: Protagonist Halo (Overclocked). All stats are temporarily and massively inflated.
Hidden Thought: 'The Princess is even more beautiful than the rumors. She will be the cornerstone of my harem. First, I'll save her from this false accusation, then I will win her heart.'
His cultivation was impossibly high for his age, and the question marks indicated the system couldn't even get a true reading. The overclock was real.
Valerius stared, dumbfounded. "You… you are the thief! Seize him!"
Lin Feng just smirked. He ignored my brother completely. His burning gaze settled on Lyra, and his expression softened into one of heroic determination.
"Princess Lyra," he said, his voice now gentle. "I heard of your plight. An innocent princess, framed by a treacherous and jealous brother."
He pointed his rusty sword directly at me.
"I, Lin Feng, have retrieved the Dragon's Heart from the true culprit," he declared to the entire assembly. "And I have come to expose the real traitor."
The silence was deafening. Every eye in the pavilion—Valerius's, Seraphina's, Lyra's—was now fixed on me.
Lin Feng's overclocked halo hadn't just framed me. It had conjured a "hero" to deliver the evidence and pass judgment, all in one spectacular, story-altering moment.
This was a checkmate situation. There was no evidence I could provide, no argument I could make, that would overcome the sheer narrative force of what was happening.
But I wasn't playing chess anymore.
I met Lin Feng's arrogant gaze, and for the first time, a genuine, bloodthirsty smile spread across my face. He expected me to panic, to deny, to bluster. He expected a cornered villain.
He had no idea he was facing a fellow regressor's hidden weapon. He had no idea about the demon I had just consumed. He thought he was the hero of the story.
It was time to show him how a real villain rewrites the script.
Just as Valerius's guards began to advance on him, a completely unexpected event occurred, a twist so profound it derailed even the protagonist's overclocked destiny.
A chilling, otherworldly pressure descended upon the garden pavilion. The air grew cold, and the floating lanterns flickered and died, plunging the scene into an eerie gloom. A faint, violet mist began to seep from the ground.
From the deepest shadows of the garden, a figure emerged. It was a woman of impossible beauty, dressed in the severe, dark robes of a magistrate. Her face was pale, her eyes were the color of amethysts, and in her hand, she held a black iron scroll.
It was a face I had seen in the history books of my past life. A face that should not have been here. A face that had not been seen in this world for over a thousand years.
The system screamed a single, terrifying line of text in my mind, a name that made even the 'World-Breaker' anomaly seem like a child's tantrum.
[!!! WARNING! A JUDICATOR FROM THE NETHERWORLD'S COURT OF INEVITABILITY HAS ARRIVED !!!]