Chapter 5: Elari's Trial and the Goddess of Forbidden Code
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1. The Dreamgate Opens
Night fell uneasily.
Yui and I had barely spoken since the dungeon. Cluckles perched on a branch, quietly snoring. Lyria's system window hovered dimly, like a half-closed eye.
I couldn't sleep.
Because something… was watching.
Not a beast. Not a demon.
Something divine.
The air shimmered above the campfire. Sparks floated in reverse. And then… a portal opened silently in the air, shaped like a keyhole of stars.
> [System Override Detected – Incoming Divine Intervention]
I stood, hand instinctively on my blade.
But the voice that called was… calm.
"Kai of the Broken Code. You are summoned."
Yui stirred. "Kai? What—"
But I was already being pulled.
Into the gate.
Into the Trial of Elari.
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2. Goddess of Order and Glitches
I landed in a void that pulsed like a digital heartbeat.
Floating platforms stretched like broken code. Stars blinked in binary patterns. And at the center… she waited.
Elari.
She looked nothing like Lyria.
Where Lyria was mischievous chaos, Elari was serene logic. Silver-white robes. Hair like flowing code. Eyes that shimmered like perfect mirrors.
> [Divine Entity Detected: Elari – The Forgotten Codekeeper]
She didn't smile.
"You should not exist," she said.
"Thanks?"
"Your system is not my design. And yet… you walk my paths."
"You summoned me."
She nodded.
"I must know if you are a threat. Or the anomaly that brings balance."
She raised her hand.
And the trial began.
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3. Trial 1: The Mirror Code
I stood before a projection of myself.
But this version of me looked… angry. Violent. Unhinged.
[Simulation: Version 0.00.1 – The Kai That Accepted Power Without Restraint]
He grinned. "You held back. I didn't. Let's see who's stronger."
He struck first.
Faster than me. Stronger. Every attack, overclocked. Every glitch, perfectly timed.
I fought defensively. Dodging. Deflecting.
He laughed. "You could win—if you stopped caring about them."
Yui's face flashed in my mind. Cluckles. Lyria's rare sincerity.
"I don't need to be a monster," I growled.
I countered with [Reality Shift – Gentle Loop] — a bug I'd never used before.
He froze.
I struck him down.
> [Trial 1 Passed – Restraint: Proven]
Elari nodded once.
"Interesting."
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4. Trial 2: Memory Cascade
I was back in my old world.
A desk job. Grey cubicles. Faces without names. Loneliness.
Then the moment I died: saving a child from a car.
And the voice that came after:
"You are no hero. You were disposable."
But I stood my ground.
"I made my choice. I'd do it again."
The world cracked. Light poured in.
> [Trial 2 Passed – Core Self: Stable]
Elari watched silently.
"I underestimated you."
"Nice to be underestimated," I said, wiping my eyes.
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5. Trial 3: The Forbidden Code
Elari held out her hand.
A fragment of pure glitch hovered there.
"Take it. Or don't."
"What does it do?"
"It will give you control. Over yourself. Over others. Even over gods."
"But there's a catch."
"Yes. The more you use it… the more it rewrites you."
I stared at the glitch.
It pulsed like a heartbeat. Like mine.
And I took it.
> [Skill Acquired: Forbidden Rewrite – Lv. 1] [Warning: Using this skill beyond 3 times per day risks permanent corruption.]
"I won't let it control me," I said.
Elari stepped forward.
"You've passed my trial."
"Then why do you still look sad?"
"Because I've seen what comes next."
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6. Return and Fallout
I snapped awake.
Yui stood over me, dagger out.
"You vanished. Then screamed."
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
Cluckles hopped onto my chest. Co-co-cooo.
Lyria's system flickered.
> "You met her, didn't you?"
"Elari," I whispered.
"She doesn't trust you."
"She shouldn't."
> "And yet she gave you the Forbidden Code."
Yui's eyes widened.
"What did you take?"
"Something dangerous."
She knelt beside me.
"I trust you. Just… don't use it unless you have to."
"I won't."
> [Affection +20 – Yui: Worry Overrides Jealousy]
I lay back.
And above, twelve constellations blinked.
One of them… pulsed red.
A new goddess had noticed me.
The Game wasn't just beginning.
It was evolving.
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7. End Chapter Tease: The Gathering Storm
At the edge of creation, the goddesses gathered.
Elari.
Lyria.
A flaming war goddess.
A serpent of fate.
And one with eyes of twilight.
Elari spoke:
"He passed the Trial."
The War Goddess snarled. "Then he's dangerous."
"And fascinating," another whispered.
They turned toward a screen showing Kai… asleep beside Yui.
The serpent hissed. "Let the game continue."
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[End of Chapter 5 – Elari's Trial and the Goddess of Forbidden Code]