Leo didn't move.
Every instinct screamed that the two people standing in his doorway were more dangerous than the monster from the alley.
They weren't awakened in the normal sense.
No visible stats. No aura. No pressure.
They felt… empty.
Like mirrors.
The woman stepped inside without waiting for permission. The man followed, silently closing the door behind him.
"Relax," she said, hands raised slightly. "If we wanted you terminated, you wouldn't be conscious right now."
"That's not comforting," Leo replied.
She smiled. "It's accurate."
The room felt smaller with them inside it. The air itself seemed regulated, controlled.
"My name is Director Hale," she continued. "This is Agent Cross. We work under the System Compliance Division. Off-books. Deep layer."
Leo's mind raced. He had heard rumors—stories whispered in shelters and guild halls. People who disappeared after awakening something wrong.
"You're here because of the anomaly," Leo said.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes and no," Hale corrected. "We're here because the System noticed you before we did."
That made his stomach twist.
"The System doesn't make mistakes," she continued. "But tonight, it hesitated."
The air shimmered faintly.
A transparent screen unfolded in front of Hale, filled with data streams Leo couldn't read.
"At 1:47 AM," she said, "a low-class void breach opened in Sector Twelve. Three registered awakened entered. One anomaly emerged."
Her eyes met his.
"The awakened vanished. The anomaly vanished. And you walked away."
"I didn't walk," Leo said. "I almost died."
"Semantics."
She swiped the air.
The screen zoomed in on a single word, highlighted in red.
LEVEL ZERO
Agent Cross finally spoke.
"That designation was deleted thirty-seven years ago."
Leo looked between them. "Why?"
Hale's expression shifted. Not fear—but something close.
"Because the last Level Zero destabilized an entire regional System cluster."
Silence settled heavily.
"What does that mean?" Leo asked.
"It means," Cross said flatly, "that reality stopped following rules."
Leo swallowed. "I'm not trying to break anything."
Hale nodded. "Of course not. None of you ever do."
She leaned against the wall casually, like this was just another meeting.
"Here's the problem, Leo. The System is designed around progression. Levels. Skills. Predictable growth curves."
She tapped the word ZERO.
"You are outside the curve."
The System screen flickered faintly behind Leo's eyes, reacting.
OBSERVATION DETECTED
Hale paused, eyes narrowing slightly.
"You can hear it, can't you?"
Leo didn't answer.
"That's fine," she said. "You don't need to."
She straightened.
"Right now, you're classified as a latent destabilizer."
"That sounds bad."
"It is."
Cross stepped forward.
"We have three options."
He raised one finger.
"Option one: containment. You disappear into a black site. Studied. Isolated. Forever."
Second finger.
"Option two: termination. Clean. Efficient. No ripple."
Leo's heart hammered.
"And option three?" he asked quietly.
Hale smiled again.
"You work for us."
The room felt colder.
"Work… how?"
"We send you into places where the System doesn't behave," she said. "Unstable zones. Failed dungeons. Glitched realities."
Cross continued, "If something breaks, we observe. If it collapses, we log it."
"And if it tries to kill you," Hale finished, "we see what survives."
Leo laughed once. Sharp and humorless.
"So I'm bait."
"You're a variable," Hale corrected. "A very rare one."
The System screen flared brightly.
WARNING: EXTERNAL CONTROL ATTEMPT
Hale's eyes flicked toward him.
"Oh," she said softly. "That's interesting."
"What?" Leo asked.
"The System doesn't like us offering you choices."
The screen updated on its own.
LEVEL ZERO CANNOT BE COMMANDED
Cross stiffened.
"That's new."
Hale studied Leo like a puzzle that had just changed shape.
"You're not just outside the rules," she murmured. "You're unaddressable."
Leo felt that hollow space inside him stir again.
Not power.
Potential.
"What happens if I say no?" he asked.
Hale didn't hesitate.
"Then the System will continue escalating alerts until something worse than us responds."
Leo clenched his jaw. "Like what?"
Her smile vanished.
"Like Architects."
The word echoed ominously.
"Who are they?"
"The ones who built the System layers you're not supposed to see."
The screen pulsed violently.
RESTRICTED TERM DETECTED
Hale waved it off. "Relax. We're already flagged."
She stepped closer to Leo, lowering her voice.
"You don't want their attention. Trust me."
Leo closed his eyes briefly.
He had spent his whole life being invisible. Too weak to matter. Too insignificant to threaten anyone.
Now the universe was arguing over how to deal with him.
"When do I start?" he asked.
Hale smiled, genuine this time.
"Immediately."
The wall behind Leo rippled.
A portal unfolded—not like the one from the alley. This one was precise. Engineered.
Cold light spilled into the room.
Cross handed Leo a small, matte-black device.
"Anchor beacon," he said. "If you destabilize too far, we pull you back."
"If," Leo repeated.
Cross didn't answer.
The System screen reappeared.
MISSION ASSIGNED
LOCATION: FAILED INSTANCE 09
STATUS: SEALED
SURVIVAL RATE: 0%
Leo stared.
"No one's survived?" he asked.
Hale shrugged. "That's why we're sending you."
He took a step toward the portal.
The hollow inside him expanded slightly, reacting to the instability beyond.
"Hey," Leo said, pausing. "If I absorb whatever's in there…"
"Yes?" Hale asked.
"What happens when I run out of room?"
For the first time, Hale looked uncertain.
"You won't," she said.
Leo stepped into the light.
The portal closed behind him.
Darkness swallowed everything.
The System whispered one final line before cutting out entirely.
LEVEL ZERO — ANOMALY SLOT FILLED (1/∞)
DESIGNATION PENDING
And somewhere beyond space and code, something ancient noticed him.