Falling felt different this time.
Not because the chains released differently.
Not because the dragon below had changed.
But because I wasn't empty anymore.
As gravity pulled me down, the blue window followed.
It didn't flicker.
It didn't vanish.
It remained locked in front of my eyes like it belonged there.
I hit the ground.
Pain exploded through my legs.
The dragon moved instantly—massive body shifting through darkness, claws scraping against stone.
The crowd above roared.
They thought this was just another round.
They had no idea something had broken.
The dragon lunged.
I rolled to the side—barely.
Its jaws slammed into the ground where my torso had been.
Heat gathered in its throat.
Three seconds.
I remembered.
One—
Instead of panicking, I focused on the blue window.
"Status."
The word left my mouth instinctively.
The world dimmed slightly.
A new panel opened.
[Name: Slave No. 317][Level: 1][Rank: Unawakened][Strength: 5][Vitality: 4][Agility: 3][Magic: 0][Dragon Affinity: 0%]
[Skills:]— DEVOUR (Unique) [ERROR]
[System State: Unstable][Rebirth Loop: Active][Administrative Authority: Missing]
Two—
The dragon exhaled.
Flames scorched past my shoulder as I dove forward.
I felt the heat singe skin but not fully consume me.
Three—
I rolled beneath its neck.
Alive.
Still alive.
My heart hammered.
The window didn't disappear.
It adjusted as I moved.
Responsive.
Real.
The line that mattered most blinked red.
[DEVOUR (Unique) – System Integrity Conflict Detected]
Conflict?
"Explain," I muttered under my breath.
To my surprise, the window shifted.
[Rebirth Loop Explanation:]
[Host death triggers temporal rollback to anchor point.]
[Anchor Point: Dragon Pit Suspension Phase.]
[Loop Source: Unknown.]
[Loop Stability: 87%.]
[Anomaly: DEVOUR Skill not registered in original system framework.]
[Classification: Foreign Authority.]
Foreign.
Authority.
The dragon's tail slammed into my ribs, launching me across the pit.
Something cracked.
Pain flared white-hot.
I coughed blood.
The crowd screamed in excitement.
They thought I was about to die.
They weren't wrong.
Not yet.
I forced myself up against the wall.
"Foreign authority," I whispered.
So the loop wasn't natural.
It wasn't mercy.
It was interference.
Something—or someone—had attached me to this point in time.
And now this DEVOUR skill didn't belong to the system running this world.
Which meant—
It wasn't supposed to exist.
The dragon charged again.
This time I didn't dodge fast enough.
Its claws tore through my thigh.
I collapsed.
The beast lowered its head, jaws opening slowly.
It enjoyed this part.
Predators sense when prey understands it's over.
I stared at the red error text.
If this was truly different—
Then dying again might change something.
Or it might erase the anomaly.
The system window pulsed suddenly.
[Warning]
[Repeated Termination May Trigger System Correction]
[DEVOUR Skill at Risk of Deletion]
Deletion.
So this wasn't just a gift.
It was unstable.
If I died again, the system might "fix" the error.
Which meant this was my only chance.
For the first time since the loops began—
Death was no longer safe.
The dragon's breath heated my face.
I could end it here.
Let the flames take me.
Reset.
But what if the next loop removed DEVOUR?
What if I returned to being nothing but meat again?
No.
Not this time.
"DEVOUR."
I didn't shout it.
I whispered.
The dragon's jaws closed around my shoulder.
Teeth pierced muscle.
Pain blinded me.
But I held on.
And the world glitched.
The dragon froze.
Not physically.
Existentially.
Its outline fractured into blue shards.
The torches flickered as if reality itself had skipped a heartbeat.
Above us, the crowd's cheers warped into distorted echoes.
[DEVOUR Activated]
[Target: Juvenile Fire Dragon]
[Compatibility: 3%]
[Warning: High Strain on Host Vessel]
Heat poured into me.
Not from outside.
From inside the dragon.
Its fire.
Its blood.
Its life.
The scales beneath my hands cracked like drying earth.
The dragon tried to roar—but its voice fragmented into static.
My veins felt like molten metal.
I screamed.
Not because of pain.
Because I could feel something merging.
Images flooded my mind.
Flying above mountains.
Hunting in volcanic caverns.
The instinct to dominate weaker creatures.
To burn.
To rule.
The dragon collapsed inward, dissolving into light.
That light entered me.
I fell to my knees.
The pit was silent.
No dragon.
No body.
Just scorched stone.
The nobles gasped.
The guards shouted in confusion.
The Overseer stood.
The window exploded with notifications.
[Target Consumed]
[+10 Strength]
[+14 Vitality]
[+7 Agility]
[Dragon Bloodline Acquired – 2%]
[Level Up]
[Level: 1 → 2]
[Level: 2 → 3]
[System Instability Increased]
[Rebirth Loop Stability: 74%]
Loop stability dropped.
So using DEVOUR destabilized the reset.
Good.
That meant change.
I staggered to my feet.
My wounds closed slowly—not instantly, but visibly.
Heat radiated from beneath my skin.
Smoke escaped with every breath.
This wasn't just power.
It was alteration.
Above, panic spread.
"Where is the dragon?!"
"What did he do?!"
The guards moved to open the gate.
In previous loops, this was where I tried to run.
I would sprint toward the exit.
Make it halfway up the stairs.
Then arrows.
Then Overseer.
Then death.
Always death.
But the red warning still blinked.
[Repeated Termination May Trigger System Correction]
Running meant dying.
Dying meant risking deletion.
Which meant losing the anomaly.
No.
Escape was not the goal anymore.
Survival was.
Long enough to stabilize the error.
Long enough to understand it.
Long enough to grow.
Two guards dropped into the pit.
Rank 2 Hunters.
Stronger than me.
Before today, I couldn't even scratch them.
They circled carefully now.
One pointed his blade at me.
"What are you?"
I checked my status again.
[Name: Slave No. 317][Level: 3][Strength: 15][Vitality: 18][Agility: 10][Dragon Affinity: 2%]
[Skill: DEVOUR (Unique – Foreign)]
[System State: Destabilizing]
Stronger.
But not unstoppable.
I couldn't afford reckless fights.
Not until I understood the limits.
The first guard attacked.
His sword cut across my arm.
Shallow.
Painful.
But survivable.
I grabbed his wrist.
For a moment—
I considered using DEVOUR again.
But the system window flashed.
[Warning: Rapid Consecutive Consumption May Accelerate System Correction]
So spamming it was dangerous.
I shoved him back instead.
Used his momentum to throw him into the wall.
The second guard hesitated.
Fear.
Good.
Fear slowed people down.
Above, the Overseer's voice cut through the chaos.
"Capture him."
Not kill.
Capture.
That was new.
He wanted answers.
Which meant he didn't understand this either.
Good.
For the first time—
He wasn't certain.
More guards gathered at the edge.
Crossbows aimed downward.
If I fought here, I would be overwhelmed.
If I ran, I would die.
If I died, the system might correct itself.
My mind raced.
Then I saw it.
The slave chains along the wall.
Metal.
Tools.
I grabbed one and hurled it at the nearest torch.
Darkness swallowed half the pit.
Confusion erupted.
I moved into the shadows.
Not escaping upward.
Not attacking the Overseer.
Just disappearing inside the arena's lower tunnels.
Places even guards avoided.
Because sometimes—
Older things lived there.
The system window flickered softly.
[Host Behavior Divergence Detected]
[Timeline Deviation: Confirmed]
Good.
This was different.
For the first time, I wasn't repeating the same doomed choice.
I wasn't trying to flee like prey.
I wasn't trying to die bravely.
I was adapting.
Like a dragon.
In the darkness beneath the arena, I pressed my back against cold stone and forced my breathing to slow.
The heat inside me pulsed rhythmically.
Alive.
Hungry.
Unstable.
I looked at the window again.
"Clarify objective."
It responded after a brief pause.
[Primary Directive: Survive]
[Secondary Directive: Increase Compatibility]
[Tertiary Directive: Avoid System Correction]
I smiled faintly.
Survive.
Not escape.
Not revenge.
Not freedom.
Not yet.
First—
Stabilize.
Grow.
Understand the error.
Then—
Devour everything.
Above, the guards searched.
The Overseer gave orders.
The nobles complained about the interrupted show.
They still thought I was trapped.
They were right.
But not the way they believed.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Eight deaths.
Eight resets.
And now—
A glitch in the system.
This wasn't salvation.
It was a crack.
And I intended to widen it.
The blue window dimmed slightly, settling into the corner of my vision.
Not intrusive.
Not temporary.
Persistent.
Like it had always belonged there.
Except it hadn't.
And that made it dangerous.
For them.
For me.
For the system itself.
I exhaled slowly.
"No more running," I whispered into the dark.
"If I'm going to live… I do it differently."
Not as prey.
Not as a slave.
Not as a fugitive.
But as something the system itself did not recognize.
Far above, I felt the Overseer's presence move closer to the edge of the pit.
Searching.
Calculating.
He would come down eventually.
And when he did—
I wouldn't be trying to escape.
I would be trying to survive.
And surviving—
Was the first step to becoming untouchable.