The System had never screamed before.
Luo Feng clutched his skull as the digital voice that had guided him for years fractured, its usual chirps dissolving into static and something worse—sobbing. The Fox Spirit's claw-mark burned in sympathy, its golden veins pulsing like a distress beacon.
[EMERGENCY OVERRIDE: ADMINISTRATOR VOICEPRINT DETECTED]
A hologram of the Wife of Ashes flickered to life, her form translucent and flickering with corruption. Not a ghost. A prisoner. Her silver hair floated as if submerged in invisible water, her wrists bound by chains of glitching code.
"Hello, patchwork man," she whispered. "Did you really think the Void Emperor built your System?"
[The Revelation: A Creator in Chains]
Her words unraveled the truth:
The System's Origin
The Wife of Ashes had crafted it as a fail-safe during the original timeline.
Its purpose: "Guide the next Storm Lord to undo what we did."
The First Horror's Corruption
The "God-Sealing Nails" were never just seals. They were feeding tubes.
The Horror had been draining the Wife's divinity to grow stronger.
The Void Emperor's Role
He hadn't stolen the System—he'd salvaged it after her "death".
Even he didn't know she was still alive inside it.
The Fox Spirit's tails lashed violently. "Lies! The nails were supposed to—"
The Wife's hologram twisted, her image distorting as the Horror's influence surged.
"You poor, broken scalpel," she murmured. "They made you forget you helped drive the nails into me."
[The Pact: A Deal With a Dead Woman]
The System's interface reformed into a contract:
[ARTIFICIAL GOD PACT]
[TERMS: Host agrees to merge with System's core to unleash full power]
[REWARD: Temporary Omnipotence (5 min)]
[COST: Accelerated Claw-Mark Integration (+20%)]
Luo Feng didn't hesitate. "Do it."
The Wife's chains shattered as the pact activated—
—just as the First Horror noticed.
A tentacle of glitching reality speared through the hologram, yanking her back into the abyss. Her final warning:
"Find the last nail inside yourself!"
Then she was gone.
The System rebooted with a chilling new alert:
[ADMINISTRATOR OVERRIDE: WIFE OF ASHES OFFLINE]
[NEW PRIORITY: DESTROY FIRST HORROR]
[Check-In Complete (At What Cost?)]
[Reward: Artificial God Mode Unlocked]
[Penalty: Claw-Mark Now 98% Integrated]
The Fox Spirit's voice in Luo Feng's mind was uncharacteristically small:
"…Did we help her? Or make it worse?"
Li Qing's frost-veined hand gripped his shoulder. "We'll get her back."
The claw-mark pulsed hungrily.
"No," whispered the Nine-Tails. "You won't."
THE END OF THE CHAPTER41