The closer Kazen got to the Architect's tower, the more unstable the city became. Streets looped endlessly. Gravity shifted at random. Time desynced. He passed a building where rain fell upward, freezing midair before vanishing.
> Warning: Sector Distortion Increasing
> Probability of Memory Leak: 38%
He ignored the system alert.
The Patchling hovered beside him, its glow dimming. "The tower resists intruders. Only those recognized by the system can enter."
"Then I'll force it to recognize me."
He stood before the tower's black gate. Lines of corrupted script ran across it like veins. Kazen reached out, palm glowing with system energy.
> Action: Override Lock
> Success Chance: 12%
> Use Code Rewrite to Assist?
He activated it.
> Rewrite: [Access Protocol - Compatibility Forced]
> Cost: 40 MP
> Success Chance: 79%
> Executing...
The door screeched open, shaking the city. From within, voices echoed—whispers of unfinished lines of code, forgotten commands, and trapped memories.
The lobby was massive and empty. A hologram flickered at the center: a man in robes made of layered data, his face pixelated beyond recognition.
"Welcome, Overcode... or rather, what's left of him," the voice said.
Kazen narrowed his eyes. "You know me?"
"I knew the prototype. You are a clone... a fallback. But you're growing too fast."
> Memory Echo Detected
> Extract Fragment?
"Yes," Kazen said.
> Fragment Decoded:
> "If the prototype fails, initialize the backup host. Bind him to the Overcode manually. Let him rewrite the laws the gods corrupted."
Kazen's breath caught.
So he wasn't reborn randomly.
He was someone's weapon.
His hand trembled. "Who... created me?"
Before the system answered, alarms flared.
> Alert: Tower Integrity Failing
> Hostile Entity Approaching
A dark wave surged from above. A humanoid mass of broken commands and red light dropped through the ceiling, roaring with glitching audio.
> Entity: Null King Alpha – Level 12
> Status: Rogue System Avatar
Too fast. Too strong. Kazen knew he couldn't win head-on.
He used Code Rewrite mid-air.
> Edit: [Enemy Reaction Time -40%]
> Duration: 10 seconds
> MP Cost: 50
It slowed just enough. He dove through, activated Soul Drive, and slammed his blade—generated mid-fight from raw code—into the monster's core.
> Direct Hit
> Core Unstable
> Retreat Advised
The Null King screeched and vanished in a burst of static.
Kazen dropped to one knee, exhausted. But the tower's core had been activated.
> Sync Progress: 31%
> World Sector Unlocked: Sea of Code
The Patchling hovered beside him, blinking.
"You're no longer just a user," it said. "You're becoming the system itself."
Kazen stood, breath heavy.
"Then I'll fix it all. No matter what I have to become."