The facility's lights flickered, struggling to stabilize after the Watchers vanished.
Ethan and Aya exchanged a glance.
"We have to move," Ethan said, pushing himself up. His body still ached from the forced System integration, but there was no time to rest.
Aya frowned. "You sure you're good? You just got half-fried by a Watcher."
"I'm fine." Ethan shook off the lingering pain. He had to be.
Because the moment the Watchers disappeared, the System changed.
> [System Notice: Facility Lockdown Engaged]
- All Exits Sealed
- Emergency Security Protocols Online
- Unregistered Entities: Detected
A new alarm blared through the facility.
Red warning lights bathed the corridors in an eerie glow. The doors slammed shut, locking them inside.
Aya groaned. "Oh, come on. They just keep making this harder."
Ethan's mind raced. The Watchers failed to capture them, so the System had activated a containment protocol.
If they didn't escape fast, they wouldn't have to fight the Watchers again—
The facility itself would kill them.
---
Trapped in the Maze
They rushed into the nearest corridor.
The moment they stepped in, the walls shifted.
Ethan skidded to a halt. "What the—"
The hallway in front of them changed shape. Sections of the walls moved, rotating like a puzzle, creating new paths and sealing others.
Aya cursed. "Great. It's a freaking shifting maze."
Ethan's System pulsed with alerts.
> [Updated Threat: Adaptive Security Maze]
- Layout: Constantly Changing
- Exit: UNKNOWN
- System Override: POSSIBLE
Possible? Ethan focused, searching for a way to override the maze's controls.
Aya was already moving. "We don't have time to stand around. We pick a direction and run."
She was right. Ethan's heart pounded as he pushed forward.
They ran down a twisting corridor, turning at every open path they could find. The walls kept shifting, cutting off exits, opening new ones.
The System wasn't just locking them in—it was trying to trap them permanently.
Then—
A sudden hissing sound.
Ethan's System screamed a warning.
> [Security Protocol Engaged: Automated Drones Deployed]
Aya swore. "Drones now? Are you kidding me?!"
From the ceiling, black metallic spheres descended, each one humming with charged energy.
Ethan didn't hesitate. "MOVE!"
The first drone fired.
A plasma bolt shot past them, scorching the metal floor where Ethan had stood a second ago.
Aya reacted fast, flipping her knife in her hand. "Can these things be killed?"
> [System Scan: Drones are Shielded]
- Weakness: EMP Disruption
Ethan's mind raced. They had no EMP, but—
The shifting maze.
"Aya!" he shouted. "We need to use the walls against them!"
Aya dodged another plasma shot. "How?"
Ethan grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward, running straight toward an active shifting wall.
"Trust me!"
Aya gritted her teeth but followed.
The drones pursued them.
Ethan counted the seconds, watching the way the walls moved—the rhythm.
Then—he saw it.
A section of the wall was about to snap shut.
"Now!" Ethan pulled Aya through just as the drones followed.
The moment they passed—
The walls slammed closed.
The drones on the other side were crushed instantly, sparking and sputtering before shutting down.
Aya let out a breath. "Holy shit. That actually worked."
Ethan grinned. "Told you."
Aya rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
They didn't have time to celebrate.
The System wasn't done with them yet.
---
The Core Override
After what felt like an eternity of running, dodging drones, and avoiding shifting walls, Ethan and Aya finally reached a large, circular chamber.
At the center, a glowing console pulsed with blue light.
Aya let out a relieved breath. "That's it, right? The control room?"
Ethan nodded. "It has to be."
But his System wasn't celebrating yet.
> [Warning: Security Lock Engaged]
- Core Access Requires Administrator Authority
Aya frowned. "And I'm guessing you don't have that?"
Ethan stepped forward. His System flickered as he placed his hand on the console.
A holographic interface appeared.
> [System Prompt: Access Override?]
Ethan's fingers hovered over the interface.
Aya hesitated. "Is this safe?"
Ethan wasn't sure.
But they didn't have a choice.
He pressed the override command.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—
The entire facility shook.
> [System Override Confirmed: Resetting Facility Layout]
The walls began shifting rapidly, pathways snapping back into their original form.
Then—
A new notification appeared.
> [Hidden Data Unlocked]
- Accessing Restricted Files
- Data Corruption Detected
Aya frowned. "What's it doing?"
Ethan's hands clenched.
"It's… unlocking something."
The console flashed rapidly, lines of corrupted code running across the screen.
And then—
A single phrase appeared.
> "He was never meant to wake up."
Ethan's breath hitched.
Aya whispered, "What the hell does that mean?"
Before Ethan could answer, the entire console shut down.
And the doors to the outside world unlocked.
The maze was gone.
But they had just uncovered something far worse.
---
The Forgotten War
The facility doors slid open.
For the first time in hours, Ethan and Aya stepped into fresh air.
A vast, desolate wasteland stretched before them. The sky was a swirling mix of gray and deep violet, the aftereffects of the System's collapse still warping the world. Jagged ruins of ancient skyscrapers stood in the distance, their skeletal remains half-buried in sand and debris.
Aya exhaled. "I never thought I'd be happy to see the outside again."
Ethan's system pulsed with alerts.
> [Location Discovered: The Ruined Frontier]
- Once a thriving megacity, now a wasteland of forgotten battles.
- Danger Level: High
- System Activity: Unstable
Ethan frowned. "System activity is still unstable out here. That's not good."
Aya kicked at a rock. "Yeah, well, what part of this whole apocalypse is?"
Ethan didn't have an answer.
Because he was still thinking about the message on the console.
> "He was never meant to wake up."
Was it about Player_0001? Or something else entirely?
Either way, they had bigger problems.
---
The War That Never Ended
They moved cautiously through the ruins.
The deeper they went, the more signs of old battles they found—rusted war machines, shattered Watchers, and crumbling remains of past players.
Aya knelt beside the remains of a half-buried mech. "This wasn't just some random city. It was a battleground."
Ethan's system confirmed her theory.
> [Historical Data Fragment Recovered]
- The Ruined Frontier was the last known battlefield before the System's reset.
- The war was fought between rogue players and the System's enforcers.
- Final Outcome: UNKNOWN
Aya tilted her head. "So… a war happened here, but no one knows who won?"
Ethan's grip tightened on his weapon. "Or maybe no one won at all."
Aya stood, dusting off her hands. "So what now?"
Ethan checked his quest log.
> [Main Quest: The Forgotten Command]
- Locate Player_0001 Before the System Does.
- Current Progress: UNKNOWN
They had no idea where the first player had gone.
But Ethan had a feeling their answers lay somewhere in this wasteland.
Then—his System flared a warning.
> [Warning: High-Speed Object Approaching]
Aya's eyes widened. "What—"
Before she could finish, something slammed into the ground in front of them.
The impact sent a shockwave of dust and debris flying. Ethan and Aya shielded their faces, the ground shaking beneath them.
As the dust settled, a figure emerged.
Tall. Cloaked in ragged black armor. A long blade strapped to their back.
And the moment Ethan saw them—
His entire System froze.
> [ERROR: ENTITY RECOGNIZED]
[UNKNOWN CLASS: PLAYER_0001]
Ethan's heart pounded. They found him.
But the real question was—
Was he friend or enemy?
---
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