Chapter 2: Protocol Breach
The blue fire danced around Kairo's hands, crackling with heat and static like living data. He stared at it, eyes wide. It didn't burn him—but everything else nearby was melting.
A metal dumpster warped. Rain evaporated midair. The wall beside him turned molten and hissed like a beast in pain.
"What… did I just do?" he muttered.
> Talent Activated: Phasefire Control.
[Status: Unstable]
[Limiter Protocol: Offline]
Warning: Energy surge may attract hostile entities.
Kairo barely had time to process the message before he heard the distortion again. That crackling warp sound. The enemy had found him.
Three of the cloaked intruders stepped out of the rift. Their bodies shimmered like corrupted pixels, faces hidden beneath sleek black masks. The symbol from Kairo's hand pulsed on their foreheads—only theirs were red.
"Target has accessed Protocol without clearance," one of them said. "Immediate termination required."
"Wait—what?!" Kairo shouted.
They raised their hands.
Light bent. The air itself screamed.
Without thinking, Kairo threw his arm forward—and the Phasefire exploded from his palm like a digital tsunami. It hit the first figure dead-on, launching them across the alley and smashing them into a billboard that instantly disintegrated.
The other two paused.
"He's unstable," one of them hissed. "This timeline wasn't prepared for activation."
"Protocol Breach confirmed," the other said. "Notify Central. The God Key has awakened."
They vanished.
Not fled. Vanished.
Like corrupted files purged from existence.
Kairo collapsed to one knee, shaking. The fire fizzled. His breath was ragged, and his head swam with static.
"SSS-tier, huh…" he whispered. "Why does it feel like I'm about to die?"
A shadow moved above. Someone had been watching.
Kairo looked up—and saw her.
A girl about his age, standing calmly on the rooftop, long black coat billowing in the wind. Her eyes glowed violet, scanning him like a machine.
"You activated the Protocol without clearance," she said. "You shouldn't even be alive."
"Nice to meet you too," Kairo coughed. "Who are you?"
She leapt down in a blur and landed without sound. Her voice was cool, clipped.
"Call me Veyra. I'm here to make sure you don't destroy the world."
"…Wait, what?"
But before she could answer, the sky screamed again.
And this time, dozens of rifts opened.