We didn't sleep.
Not because of fear.
Because there was no point.
Whatever warmth the fire had left was buried under rubble. Whatever safety the temple once offered had burned to ash. Kael sat sharpening her blade in silence. I sat still, watching shadows on the wall.
Thinking.
Adapting.
That last screen wasn't just an alert.
It was a message.
You are being observed.
That meant surveillance. Monitoring. A system intelligence.
And if it could watch me...
It could be manipulated.
"I need access," I muttered.
Kael looked up.
"Access to what?"
"The source. The system's observation hub. There has to be one. Some central structure — a server, a beacon, a node — whatever it is, it's watching from somewhere. It's not just magic. It's architecture."
She raised an eyebrow. "You're talking about the Black Tower."
That name hung in the air like a noose.
"…Go on."
Kael slid her knife back into its makeshift sheath and leaned forward, eyes gleaming with something between fear and awe.
"Northwest of the burning valley. Three days from here, if you don't die on the way. A tower that pulses with light at midnight, even though no one's ever seen what's inside. All the veterans whisper about it — say that's where the Trials are administered from."
"Anyone ever reach it?"
"Sure. Once."
"…And?"
"She came back without her tongue. Without her shadow. Without her soul."
Kael paused.
"And she laughed every time someone screamed."
Mental integrity breach.System-triggered corruption?
That was my destination, then.
Of course it was.
We left the temple before sunrise.
What was left of it, anyway.
Kael and I moved quietly through the mountain trail, avoiding the main road. Every so often, the ash winds picked up, painting the sky with black streaks. Far in the distance, a burning horizon flickered. Virellia never stopped culling.
The system was relentless.
Efficient.
And starting to get nervous.
Trial Adjustments Detected.
Drudge Class Movement Limit Lifted (TEMPORARY)
Surveillance Priority Increased.
[Subject: Itsuki Amagi – FLAGGED – "Aberrant Strategist"]
Good.
Let it flag me.
Let it watch.
I'd carve my name into its code.
We made it half a day before the silence cracked.
A sound rolled through the valley — low, rhythmic, mechanical.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Kael froze.
"No…"
"What is it?"
She turned slowly, her face pale.
"That's a Breaker."
Breaker.
Classification: Aberrant Subjugator.
Purpose: Area Re-stabilization.
Behavior: Erase deviants.
Size: Estimated 4.7m.
Armor Class: Unmeasurable.
Weakness: None registered.
None?
That was a lie.
Everything had a weakness.
Even goddamn system janitors.
I climbed a ridge.
And saw it.
Lumbering through a broken grove, leaving burning footprints in the earth.
A bipedal construct of black iron and bone, limbs jointed in reverse, a halo of white flame floating above its head. No eyes. Just a cage where a heart might be, full of spinning glyphs.
The Breaker stopped.
Then looked at me.
Kael hissed. "Down! Get down—!"
Too late.
[Trial System – Direct Query Initiated.]
"Aberrant Strategist, your pattern disrupts Trial integrity. Please cease and return to intended path."
A message.
From the system itself.
I stared at the floating text.
Then replied.
Aloud.
"Make me."
Silence.
Then:
Request Denied.
Termination Protocol: Authorized.
Deploying Correction Entity.
The Breaker roared.
And behind it, the ground cracked open.
From the fissure rose something new.
Sleeker. Faster.
Cloaked in smoke. Gleaming with blade-limbs.
A humanoid shadow of living data.
Entity Class: [Echo Seraph – Class B: Reaper Protocol]
Status: Adaptive Executioner
Directive: DELETE.
Target: Itsuki Amagi
Kael's voice cracked.
"That's not a Trial monster."
"No," I said.
"That's a debugger."
And it was coming for me.
🧾 [Emergency Update — Trait Chain Triggered]
🎖 New Trait Gained[Pattern Divergence] – Your actions have broken the boundaries of narrative design. Standard system limitations no longer apply.
Consequences will escalate.
🧾 [Class Restriction Lifted – TEMPORARY]
New Classification: "Unbound Variable"
EXP Flow Re-enabled.
Skill Unlock Conditions: Customizing...
I smiled.
I was done running.
It was time to see what happened when a strategist played offense.