The world didn't break all at once.
It cracked slowly, like glass you didn't realize was shattered until it started cutting you.
The castle courtyard looked normal at first glance. Blue sky. Clean stone tiles. Guards standing at attention. But the longer I stared, the more wrong it felt. One guard's foot was hovering a few inches above the ground, frozen mid-step. A bird was stuck in the air, wings half-spread, eyes blinking like it was buffering. A fountain that should've been spraying water was quietly dropping gold coins instead.
I scratched my head. "Okay… that's new."
Arcelia stood beside me, sword drawn, posture stiff. She'd been tense ever since the demon princess left, and now her grip tightened even more.
"Master," she said slowly, "the world feels… wrong."
"Yeah," I replied. "That's usually what happens when you poke reality with a stick."
She turned to me sharply. "Stop saying things like that so casually!"
I raised my hands. "Hey, I didn't make the rules. I just broke them."
The floating system menu hovered in front of me, flickering faintly. I hadn't touched it in a while, but it felt… heavier. Like it was watching me back.
Then a voice spoke from behind us.
"Excuse me."
I turned.
A girl stepped out from the shadow of the castle's side corridor, holding a thick spellbook almost as big as her torso. Long silver hair flowed down her back, and round glasses rested neatly on her face. Her green eyes were sharp—too sharp. The kind of eyes that noticed things most people missed.
"Are you," she continued calmly, "the one causing these anomalies?"
Arcelia immediately stepped in front of me. "State your name and purpose!"
The girl blinked once, then gave a small bow. "Lyra Fenwick. Arcane Researcher. My purpose is… understanding."
I leaned to the side so she could see me. "Understanding what, exactly?"
Her eyes shifted to the floating menu near my shoulder.
"You," she said. "And that."
My stomach dropped just a little.
Most people couldn't see the system unless it wanted them to. That wasn't supposed to be visible.
"You can see this?" I asked.
Lyra nodded. "Not clearly. But enough to know it shouldn't exist in its current state."
Arcelia glanced back at me. "Master…?"
I sighed. "Okay, before anyone starts screaming or swinging swords—hi. I'm the problem. Nice to meet you."
Lyra adjusted her glasses. "You altered the Harem System."
I winced. "Wow. Straight to the point."
"You didn't just alter it," she continued. "You bypassed its authority layer. You removed forced affection constraints. You rewrote flags tied to free will."
Arcelia spun around. "You did what?"
I pointed at Lyra. "See? This is why I like smart people. Saves time."
Lyra's gaze sharpened. "People who do what you've done usually vanish."
"Define 'vanish,'" I said carefully.
"Erased. Deleted. Reset along with the surrounding area," she replied calmly. "The system does not tolerate anomalies."
I laughed. It came out a bit forced. "Well, guess I missed that memo."
Lyra studied me for a long moment, then frowned slightly. "You're still here."
"Very observant," I said.
"No," she corrected. "It's not normal. By now, a Correction Agent should have eliminated you."
Arcelia stiffened. "It tried."
Lyra's eyes widened slightly. "And you survived?"
"More like… I paused it," I said. "Then broke it. Then it exploded."
There was a long silence.
Then Lyra smiled.
It wasn't a warm smile. It was the smile of someone who had just found the most interesting puzzle in the world.
"Incredible," she whispered. "You're not just an anomaly. You're an illegal existence."
"Wow," I said. "That phrase is really getting popular today."
Before she could respond, my system menu flickered violently.
System Notification:
Warning — Unstable Variables Detected
I frowned. "I didn't touch anything."
The ground trembled slightly. The frozen guard suddenly snapped back into motion, stumbling forward like nothing had happened. The bird dropped from the air, screeching as it flapped away. The gold coins in the fountain vanished, replaced by water again.
Arcelia exhaled in relief. "It stopped…"
"No," Lyra said quietly. "It corrected itself."
Another message appeared.
Corruption Meter: 10%
I stared at it.
Ten percent.
It had been five earlier.
"That's not good," I muttered.
Arcelia turned pale. "Master… why did it increase?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. "I didn't hack anything."
Lyra's expression darkened. "Then something else did."
The air grew cold.
Not the normal kind of cold—this felt wrong, like the temperature had dropped only around us. The courtyard went quiet. Too quiet. No footsteps. No wind. No birds.
Then the NPCs stopped blinking.
Their eyes flickered faintly, like broken screens.
"Uh," I said slowly, "tell me you're seeing that too."
Lyra nodded. "Yes."
Arcelia raised her sword. "Something is coming."
A whisper brushed against my ears. Not a voice—more like corrupted sound. Static mixed with language I didn't understand.
My system menu shook violently.
Unknown Access Detected
Source: ???
My heart skipped.
"Hey," I said under my breath, "that's my system."
Lyra's voice dropped to a whisper. "No. That's something inside it."
The shadows in the courtyard twisted unnaturally, stretching against the direction of the light. One shadow detached itself from the ground, rising slowly like smoke given form.
Arcelia took a step back. "Master… what is that?"
"I don't know," I said. "And that's the scary part."
The shadow moved.
Not toward Arcelia.
Not toward Lyra.
Toward me.
The system screamed in my vision.
Corruption Meter: 15%
I clenched my fists as the whispers grew louder, clearer.
It wasn't attacking.
It was observing.
Analyzing.
Learning.
Then, deep inside the menu, a single line of text appeared—something I didn't write.
"ILLEGAL EXISTENCE CONFIRMED."
The shadow stopped inches from me.
And smiled.