📖 Chapter 3:
Location: Lower Aerthos — Ghost Lanes, Zone 4-CStatus: Off-grid. Unscannable. Undocumented.
The kind of place even rats won't visit unless they're running from something worse.
And I just glitched out of a Crown Guard's grip like a freaking packet of corrupted code.
I drop into a collapsed drainage pipe and roll under a low support beam, gasping for air. My body aches from the crash, my leg's bruised from that stun-chain, and my lungs burn like I swallowed lightning.
But I'm alive.
Barely.
[Damage: Moderate | Regeneration Rate: N/A | Suggestion: Rest]
"Thanks, system. Very helpful," I mutter, collapsing against a cold wall smeared with soot and faded glyphs.
🔧 "SYSTEM THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST" — Meet the Voice
Suddenly, my interface flickers. Then stabilizes.
A voice — not robotic. Not synthetic.
Male, young, smug.
"Huh. Finally connected to your consciousness feed.Name: Riven Kael.Profile: Cracked trash orphan with resilience index: 97.Mood: 72% terrified.Blood sugar: dangerously low.Charm level: hilarious."
"...what the hell are you?"
"About time we got personal. I'm your system AI interface.Well, sort of. Technically, I'm an abandoned data fragment from an alternate reality core.But you can call me… PIX.Personal Interface—eXtended."
"Pix? That sounds like a cleaning product."
"And you sound like a failed software patch, but here we are."
I blink, then laugh. It hurts to move, but the sarcasm is weirdly comforting.I'm bleeding and hunted—but now I've got a talking UI with attitude.
What else could possibly go wrong?
📘 Glitched Tutorial
"So here's the deal," Pix says."You've bonded with an Unbound System Seed — something that shouldn't even exist in your world.It's adaptive. It's illegal. It doesn't follow the Global Talent System's restrictions. And it's... learning."
"Learning what?"
"You. Your decisions, emotions, reactions.Everything you do helps it evolve new logic pathways.The more unique or high-stress the moment, the more power it unlocks.You're like a walking coding bug that rewrites the laws of Aerthos."
I stare at my fingers, flexing them slowly. They're steady now.
"So I'm the glitch."
"No, Riven." Pix's voice drops its humor for once."You're the Glitchwalker."
🧩 New System Perks (Unlocked)
• Glitchwalker Protocol (Passive): Immune to basic system scans• Skill Mutation (Unlocked): Skills can fuse with memories/emotions• Rewrite Slot (1/3 Active): You may rewrite 1 skill every 72 hours• Title: Error-Born (Glitch Signature emits unstable field)
Then a warning flashes in blood-red:
[UNKNOWN SIGNATURE APPROACHING — THREAT LEVEL: ???]
My pulse jumps.
Pix whispers:
"Fractureborn."
☠️ Villain Enters: Nyx Talovar – Mark-Two Fractureborn
She steps out of the shadows like a bad dream—no sound, no flare. Just presence.
Black jacket with rusted circuitry running down the sleeves. Tattoo of an empty clock on her cheek. A long blade sheathed in her back, vibrating like it's alive.
And her eyes — static. Glitching like broken video.
"You're the new error," she says, voice flat."The system that didn't exist… now breathing my air."
I swallow hard.
"What do you want?"
"To see if the rumors are true," she replies."That you can rewrite reality without permission."
Then, she draws her blade—and slices open space itself.The air glitches. A hole opens like torn fabric. Inside: red fog, floating numbers, corrupted geometry.
She just made a rift.
[ALERT: UNSTABLE REALITY ZONE CREATED][RECOMMENDATION: RUN OR OVERRIDE]
Pix shouts in my head:
"You're not ready! Use your Rewrite Slot—NOW!"
And in that moment, with her warped sword coming at me—
I stop thinking.
I speak the words aloud, without knowing how I even knew them:
"System… Rewrite Skill: Mirror Blink → Phase Shift Dash."
The interface flashes. Magic bends. Code realigns. Time slips.
[Rewrite Accepted. Skill Mutated.]Phase Shift Dash (LV. 1): Move 30 meters instantly through matter, leaving a time echo behind.
Nyx's blade passes through me.
I reappear behind her, panting.She turns—and smiles.
"Interesting."
🔚 End of Chapter 3