Zane stood at the edge of the rooftop, the wind pulling at his coat like the breath of a dying city. Below, the academy's lights flickered in perfect sync—like a machine breathing in a dream that never ended. Neon veins pulsed through the buildings, casting ghostly reflections across glass windows and dripping wet steel.
But his eyes weren't on the horizon.
They were locked on the stream of cascading data flooding into his interface.
The Root Access terminal displayed a new subroutine—raw, unstable, and dangerous.
[Ghost Protocol: Active]
Status – Beta
Functions – Stealth, Signature Masking, Passive Memory Erasure
A sharp exhale escaped him. This wasn't just a new tool. It was a declaration. A boundary crossed. Ghost Protocol wasn't supposed to exist outside military-level admin systems, and now it sat quietly in his HUD like a ticking virus waiting to spread.
His duel with Nero had cracked the veil. Too clean, too fast. The way Zane had hijacked Nero's system mid-attack had raised red flags—no one was supposed to override another user in real-time. But Zane had done it. And the System noticed.
Rumors were already threading through the academy's underground networks. Shadow posts, encrypted threads, smuggled Arena footage. A glitch had shown just enough—Root Access, briefly flickering like a cursed sigil.
[Notice: Surveillance satellites reorienting. Tracking probability at 63% and rising.]
"Shit," he muttered. That number was climbing fast. He didn't have much time before real trouble arrived.
Then the comm crackled in his ear.
"Zane. We need to meet. Now."
A voice, sharp as code. Laced with quantum encryption. Untraceable.
Only one person spoke like that.
Kiera.
He didn't hesitate. The rooftop folded beneath his leap, and he dropped three stories, landing with a practiced roll that barely made a sound. A shimmer rippled over him—Ghost Protocol cloaking his presence. Street cams blinked, then went blind. He slipped into the alley like vapor.
[Location Lock: Sector C-9. Data Drain Market.]
C-9. The black lungs of the academy. A zone the System pretended didn't exist. It was where failed experiments went to disappear, where rogue coders sold forbidden subroutines, and broken AI fragments whispered in dead languages.
The market was pulsing when he arrived. A skeletal construct of rusted metal and neon mesh, filled with traders in cracked visors and system tattoos. Illegal firmware was displayed like candy—Anti-Trace Chips, Mirror Masks, Zero-Day Keys.
Kiera waited in the shadows of a crumbling VR café, its ghost-advertisements flickering uselessly over the entrance. She wore her usual black hood, eyes like mercury, digital tattoos pulsing along her neck like circuits under skin.
"You triggered something," she said.
"I usually do."
She didn't smile. Her eyes narrowed.
"No, Zane. This time is different. They've deployed a warden."
Zane froze. The last time he heard that word was in a deepnet file marked [CLASSIFIED: ORBITAL LEVEL THREAT].
"They sent one already?" he asked.
Kiera nodded, pulling a data spike from her coat and tossing it to him. He caught it mid-air and plugged it into his wrist terminal. The screen lit up.
[Subject: Kael]
[System: Paradox Core]
[Status: Autonomous Enforcement Unit]
[Clearance Level: Null-Layer]
[Threat Rating: Undefined]
The moment Kael's signature hit his HUD, Zane's display glitched violently. Code bled down his interface like corrupted tears.
Even Root Access was struggling to parse him.
"He doesn't follow the system's rules," Kiera whispered. "He rewrites them."
Zane's heart beat louder.
"I thought Null-Layer was a myth."
"It was," she said. "Until you started unlocking doors."
He stared at her, voice low. "Why me?"
"Because Root Access isn't just a hack. It's a legacy. And you've inherited something you don't fully understand yet."
A tremor passed through the ground. Somewhere deep beneath the academy, another system pulse triggered—a warning flare.
[Alert: Null Signature Detected. Warden Presence Estimated – 3.2 km and closing.]
Zane's fingers tightened. Ghost Protocol was live, but it wouldn't hold up against a Paradox Core scan. He needed more time. More upgrades.
More power.
"I'm not running," he said.
"You'll die if you fight him now," Kiera said, stepping closer. "But there's a workaround. A test build I've been working on."
She reached into her pocket and revealed a flickering code-cube. It hummed with unstable data, its surface glitching like broken glass.
"This is a proto-module built from System Echo—forgotten fragments stitched together from corrupted events. It can mask your ID completely, for about two minutes. But you'll need to reboot your protocols after."
He took it, staring into its chaotic patterns. "And the catch?"
"If it fails, it won't just crash you," Kiera said. "It'll erase you."
Silence stretched between them.
Zane smirked. "Wouldn't be the first time I played with death."
Suddenly, the shadows twisted.
Something emerged from the far end of the alley. Tall. Fluid. Like a figure painted with smoke and fire. His footsteps left static on the ground, warping reality with every movement.
Kael.
His face was a blur, constantly shifting—one second a teenager, the next a soldier, the next a blank mask. His eyes flickered through dimensions, like he was seeing things Zane couldn't.
"Root Access confirmed," Kael said. His voice echoed strangely, like multiple versions of him speaking in sync.
Kiera backed up. "You need to move—now."
But Zane didn't run. He stepped forward, activating the proto-module. Data swirled around him in a storm of code, folding light and sound.
[Phantom Layer Initiated.]
Kael tilted his head. "Interesting. You've begun unlocking the Deep Commands."
Zane's voice was calm. "And you've begun crossing into my territory."
For a second, time seemed to freeze. Kael raised one hand. The buildings warped. Cameras shattered. AI traders collapsed.
Zane moved first.
He leapt, activated Ghost Protocol and Phase Shift. His form shimmered—slipping between layers of code. He phased through Kael's first attack, a reality slice that shredded a billboard into quantum confetti.
The proto-module flickered.
[Stability: 83%]
Zane whipped out his circuit-blade and slashed, forcing Kael to parry. Sparks of unstable reality lit up the alley. Each clash sent ripples through the world—every move rewriting the rules.
Kael laughed. "You're fun."
But Zane wasn't smiling. His eyes were glowing blue now, Root Access in full sync.
"I'm just getting started."
End of Chapter 8