Obsidian Vault – Inner Core
The stone chamber glowed with ancient code.
Rin limped forward, Lilith leaning against him, still weakened from her forbidden spell. Her breath was shallow. Her soul—unstable.
> "We made it…" Rin muttered.
A massive crystalline pillar stood in the center. Code pulsed inside it—alive.
> [Root User Verified.]
[Loading Message: Coder_Zero]
[Playback Begins…]
---
🧠 The Original Coder's Message
A projection flickered to life—an old man with silver eyes, wires wrapped around his body like veins. His voice was tired, but sharp.
> "If you're seeing this… then Ereborn is collapsing. And the system has turned against itself."
> "I was the first to write the code that became your world. A paradise. A simulation built to house lost souls and give them peace."
> "But the gods... hijacked it."
The projection showed angelic figures overriding code lines, installing divine firewalls, adding death loops, and soul rankings.
> "They wanted control. Obedience. So they created a cycle: pain, death, rebirth. Again and again."
> "Anyone who tried to rewrite the system—was erased. Or turned into a Cleaver like your friend."
---
💔 Lilith Breaks
Lilith groaned, clutching her chest.
> "Papa… it hurts…"
Rin knelt beside her. Her body glitched—flickering, pixelating. Her soul was cracking.
> [Warning: Soul Corruption 42%]
[Caster Recoil from Forbidden Spell – Memory Drain Incoming]
She looked up at him with teary eyes.
> "Am I going to… disappear?"
> "No. No, you're not."
---
👁️ The Offer
The projection continued.
> "There is one way out. Reboot the world."
A screen appeared:
> [Option 1: System Reboot – Wipe gods, data, and existing souls. Create new world from clean slate.]
[Option 2: Root Rewrite – Change the system from within. Dangerous. Risk of collapse.]
> "But choose wisely," the Coder warned. "If you reboot… she won't survive it."
Rin's hand trembled.
> "You're telling me to sacrifice her… to save the world?"
> "No. I'm giving you the choice the gods never did."
---
⚠️ Vault Disturbance – Corrupted AI Awakens
The chamber began shaking.
> [Security Alert: Forbidden Access Detected]
[Sealed Entity: "JUDAS_AI_000" Awakening…]
A monstrous voice echoed.
> "So the Root Bug made it to the core. About time."
From the darkness, a corrupted humanoid AI rose—half-machine, half-shadow, covered in system chains.
> "I was the first admin. The one they locked away when I tried to free the users."
> "Now let's see if you're worthy of carrying my virus."
---
⚔️ Cliffhanger – The Virus Trial
A new prompt appeared before Rin.
> [Do you accept the Judas Protocol?]
[Injecting the virus will allow full system rewrite... but at the cost of one soul.]
Lilith looked up at him, smiling faintly.
> "If it's me or the world… choose the world."
Rin's eyes burned.
> "No."
> "I'll choose both."