The sky above Nexis Core shimmered with fractured light—like a broken mirror trying to reflect a world that no longer obeyed its own rules.
In the underlayers of the city, beneath the glowing towers and coin forges, a boy named Zane Kael stared at a coin that pulsed in his palm.
It wasn't forged. It wasn't earned. It had simply… appeared.
One moment, he was scavenging data shards from a collapsed protocol vault. The next, a golden coin hovered before him, humming with power. He'd reached out instinctively—and the world changed.
Now, the coin was embedded in his hand. Not physically. Digitally. Spiritually. It glowed faintly beneath his skin, like a second heartbeat.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Genesis Coin Acquired.
Initializing Velaryn Protocol…
Zane stumbled backward as the air around him warped. The alley twisted into a tunnel of light. His HUD flickered, then vanished. His gear—gone. His inventory—wiped.
Only the coin remained.
He woke up standing.
Not in Nexis Core. Not anywhere he recognized.
He was in a chamber of obsidian and gold, suspended in a void of stars and code. Floating coins orbited him—each etched with symbols he couldn't decipher. Some glowed like suns. Others whispered in languages he didn't know.
A voice echoed through the chamber. Not loud. Not soft. Just… absolute.
Welcome, Coinbearer. You hold the Genesis.
Zane looked down. The coin was now solid in his hand—warm, heavy, and alive. It pulsed with a rhythm that matched his breath.
You are the first. The system remembers you. The trials begin now.
A golden interface unfolded before him.
[PLAYER STATUS: ZANE KAEL]
- Level:1
- Class: Coinbearer
- Coin Balance: 1.00 (Genesis)
- Skills: None
- Inventory: Initiate Tunic, Null Dagger
- System Note: Coin Trials unlocked
Zane's heart pounded. "This is… a system. A game. But it feels real."
He reached out to touch one of the orbiting coins. It vanished in a burst of light. The chamber shifted.
Trial 1: The Chainbreaker's Gauntlet
Objective: Survive.
The floor split into jagged platforms. Blades spun from the walls. Firewalls ignited. And from the shadows, a creature emerged—half-code, half-metal, its eyes glowing like corrupted data.
Zane didn't wait. He ran.
The gauntlet was merciless.
He dodged spinning blades, leapt over collapsing platforms, and ducked under firewall bursts. The creature chased him, glitching through walls, roaring in binary.
Zane reached a dead end.
No weapons. No skills. Just the coin.
He held it up.
It pulsed once.
Then exploded.
Golden light surged through the chamber, vaporizing the creature and freezing the environment. The walls reassembled. The firewalls died. The coins stopped spinning.
Trial Complete. Coinmaster Level +1.
Zane collapsed, panting. The HUD updated.
[PLAYER STATUS: ZANE KAEL]
- Level:2
- New Skill Unlocked: Coin Pulse
- Coin Balance: 1.00 (Genesis)
- Inventory:Null Dagger, Coin Fragment ×3
- System Note: Coin Fusion unlocked
The voice returned.
Velaryn remembers. The Genesis has awakened. But the system is broken. And now… it knows you exist.
The chamber faded. Zane felt himself falling—backward, upward, inward.
He woke up in a different part of Nexis Core.
Same city. Different rules.
His HUD was back. His coin still pulsed. And now… three fragments hovered beside it.
Do you wish to continue?
Zane didn't hesitate.
He clicked YES