> "In a world where everyone walks a path, I must forge the road they fear to look at."
— Max
---
Max trudged forward.
Every step he took echoed into a void that wasn't quite empty. The Nexus shimmered around him — no longer as alien as before, but still every bit as hostile. Floating ruins drifted lazily overhead like disassembled dreams, their edges flickering like video frames skipping scenes.
He passed what looked like a collapsed cathedral, its pews suspended mid-air, broken shards of stained glass forming a fragmented mural of a woman with seven wings and a crowned flame in her chest.
> [Zone Alert: Temporal Residue Detected]
[You are entering a "Cracked System Realm" — stability at 42%]
He tilted his head.
> "Cracked System Realm. Sounds like a bug report waiting to happen."
A chill ran down his back.
Even with his cybernetic upgrades and Level 2 stats, Max felt the overwhelming weight of something ancient pressing from all sides — not malevolence exactly, but pressure. Like being inside a dying machine that hadn't realized it was already dead.
> "I feel like I'm walking on the bones of forgotten gods," he muttered.
His status window pinged.
> [Passive Ability Activated: Intuition +1]
[New Entry Unlocked: SYSTEM HISTORY LOG (Fragmented)]
---
A decayed terminal flickered to life as Max approached. Not by touch — by recognition. Something about him aligned with it.
> [Welcome, Root Interface Detected]
[Access Granted: Null Codex Entry 001 — SYSTEM ORIGINS]
Words appeared in glowing script:
> "The System was not created. It evolved."
"Once, there were only Seven Scribes — each the embodiment of a concept: Authority, Evolution, Desire, Balance, Law, Paradox… and Void."
"They codified Reality. Gave it rules. Bound chaos. But they disagreed."
"And so the Codex fractured. Realms formed around each shard. A war began — not for power, but for certainty."
---
Max leaned back.
> "So the world is running on a divine OS that crashed and rebooted itself with different users still logged in?"
> "...Makes sense."
A subtle laugh left him, dark and dry.
Suddenly—
> [New Skill Gained: Void Codex Insight (Lv. 0)]
[Trait Mutated: Paradox Gauge Interaction — You may now trigger anomalies]
> "Trigger anomalies? That'll end well."
But before Max could investigate more, the cracked floor beneath him rumbled.
---
> [Initiating Visual Assistant Interface…]
A projection burst into existence beside him. A flickering woman made entirely of hex-code and geometric light, her body wrapped in robes made of data strings.
> "Greetings. I am the ARCHON assistant. Sub-designation: Holo-Oracle."
Max blinked. "Did I just unlock a waifu?"
> "Negative. I am incapable of emotional reciprocation."
> "So, a tsundere interface. Noted."
She glitched. "...Inaccurate classification. Shall I initiate tutorial, User Maximus?"
> "Yeah. Let's figure out how to not die like a side character."
---
🧠 System Brief Summary:
"Cracked System Realms" are broken remnants of old world-lines.
Max's ARCHON SYSTEM isn't just a tool — it's a reconstruction protocol from before the fracture.
Paradox Gauge allows small-scale violations of system laws — at great risk.
Max's system is seeded with dormant protocols from all 7 Scribes.
Harem Sync, Taming Core, and Domain Creation are subfunctions he must earn.
---
> [New Goal Assigned: Survive for 3 Cycles in Cracked Realm - Rewards Conditional]
And that's when the shriek echoed.
---
The beast emerged from behind a ruined circuit tree. Part mechanical tiger, part shadow serpent — coiled in volatile energy. Its eyes were screens. Its breath: static.
> [Eidolon Detected: FERAL CLASS — "SABERLOOP"]
[LV. 5 | Status: Corrupted | HP: 980/980]
Max immediately knew this was suicide.
> [Warning: Combat Disparity — Success Chance: 18%]
[Taming Core (Lv. 0) Accessible — Bonding not advised unless Beast is Weak]
The beast pounced.
Max dodged — barely — flipping sideways into cover. His cybernetic leg hissed and groaned. System alerts flooded his vision.
He grabbed a sharp shard of energy-steel nearby.
> "I don't need to win. Just survive long enough."
The Oracle AI chimed in.
> "Your Paradox Gauge is at 3%. One anomaly action available."
> "Give me precision targeting."
> [Anomaly Trigger: Weak Point Marker - Tail Segment #7]
Max took a deep breath, flipped the shard, and jumped.
The world slowed.
One shot. One stab.
The shard embedded deep into the tail.
The beast screeched.
Its body spasmed — not dead, but stunned.
Max tackled it, slamming his cybernetic arm into its spine and shouting:
> "Taming Core: ACTIVATE!"
> [Attempting Bond… Bonding… WARNING: Host at Risk]
Pain surged. Heat. Electricity. Static. Emotion. Vision blurred.
> [BOND ESTABLISHED: SABERLOOP — Status: Semi-Domesticated]
[Taming Core Upgraded to Lv. 1]
[Eidolon Slot Activated: 1/1]
Max collapsed.
The beast now sat beside him, breathing softly, light glowing beneath its chest.
He patted it.
> "You're mine now. Let's not eat each other, yeah?"
The beast blinked — and growled in something like amusement.
---
Far away, across realms…
A woman stirred. Long red hair. Golden eyes. A floating sigil above her head.
She turned, startled, staring into her own status window — now glitching.
> [ROOT SIGNAL DETECTED. DESIGNATION: MAXIMUS ILIAD]
Her breath hitched.
> "...He's alive?"
She clenched her fists.
Behind her, nobles and soldiers waited.
> "Prepare the gate," she said coldly. "I'm going after him."
---
Back in the Cracked Realm…
Max rested with Saberloop beside a dying datafire.
The beast slept. The Nexus above was eerily calm.
Max stared at the nightless sky and muttered:
> "They left me to die. And now the world thinks I'm a bug."
> "Let's become the biggest damn bug in the system."
His Paradox Gauge blinked.
> 4%
And a tiny message appeared at the corner of his screen:
> [LOCKED FUNCTIONALITY DETECTED: Bond Evolution — 1st Tier Available Soon]
He smiled.
> "Good. Let them come."
--