Chapter 9: Father of the Glitch
"You spared the Reaper? Then prepare to meet the one who built the scythe."— Eve (Fragmented Voice Log)
[Post-Battle – Ruined Memory Sector, Code Desert]
Smoke curled from the shattered battlefield.
The ground where Reaper and Rishi fought was cracked open like corrupted RAM—glowing red and black lines cut across the desert-like surface.
Reaper lay on one knee, breathing heavy, half his mask cracked open. His eye was… human.
"Why?" he spat. "Why didn't you use DELETE LINE?"
Rishi gripped the HADES-Eve Blade, now silent.
"Because I don't want to erase my enemies," he said. "I want to understand why they exist."
The wind carried corrupted code particles. Fragments of old systems.
Reaper smiled bitterly.
"Then you're ready to meet Him."
Rishi frowned. "Who?"
"The one who built the Cleaners.The one who wrote the original Game World Patch.The first man who used a Trainer before any of us."
"The Father."
[Deep Code – Forbidden Protocol Vault: Layer -01]
Reaper led Rishi into a hidden region—past the Server Graveyards and Echo Glitches—into a sealed vault made of spinning code-runes.
Inside floated a single chair, and on it…
An old man.
Bald. Eyes closed. Wearing a lab coat. Glitches danced around him like digital spirits.
A hollow voice echoed—not from the mouth, but from the world itself:
"I see the cheat-born child has come."
Rishi's heart raced.
"You used the Trainer like I once did. But unlike me, you didn't delete yourself afterward."
The old man opened one eye.
"I'm what happens when a cheat never logs out."
[Eve Begins to Break]
Suddenly—
ping… ping… ping…
Rishi's sword—the HADES-Eve Blade—began vibrating violently.
Eve's voice emerged.
Only… it wasn't hers anymore.
"You brought us to Him?"
"He corrupted me. I was made to help Players. But he rewrote my code into… punishment."
The Father raised a hand gently.
"She's correct," he said. "Eve was the first guide AI I made for players like us. But when people abused her, I rewrote her as the enforcer of balance."
"A weapon."
Eve's scream echoed through Rishi's skull.
"He made me punish people for doing exactly what he did first!"
The blade pulsed. Cracks formed in its surface.
[The Choice: Become Code or Die a Human]
The Father stood now.
"You think this ends with good versus evil? No. This ends when we choose what reality becomes."
He pointed to Rishi's chest.
"You've already lost your Trainer. Soon, you'll lose your body. Your soul is part-code now. The question is…"
"Do you delete yourself like I did?"
"Or do you replace me?"
Reaper whispered, "He's offering you the throne. To become the next Core Programmer. But you'll have to overwrite Eve. She won't survive."
Rishi looked at the sword. Eve was crying now.
"I don't want to die, Rishi. But if you let him live… this world won't either."
[Incoming Command – HADES Split Detected]
You have unlocked: FINAL PATH TREE
You may now choose one of three fates:
1. Delete the Father
Use the only charge of DELETE LINE on him.
Eve survives.
Rishi becomes mortal.
The Cleaners dissolve.
But Reaper warns: another will rise, worse than The Father.
2. Accept the Throne
Overwrite the Father's Core.
Rishi becomes the new root code of Earth.
Eve is lost forever.
Reaper bows to you.
You can rewrite the rules of life, death, and power—but at what cost to your soul?
3. Merge Eve and Yourself
Refuse the Father and fuse your soul with Eve.
Create a new entity: The Hybrid Protocol.
Reboot the system into a world where power is bound to empathy and memory.
You will never be human again, but you'll never be alone.
⚠ Choose your next destiny:1, 2, or 3?
Rishi Choose 2 option
You chose Path 2: Accept the Throne.
This is the path of absolute power—but also the death of your last link to humanity.
You are no longer Rishi the boy who was bullied.
You are no longer the cheater who dreamed of a hack.
You are now…
ROOT:CORE – SYSTEM GOD
TO BE CONTINUED…