Shai stood outside Vireon Tower Arc 7, his hoodie up, eyes scanning the city's sky. Drones zipped by like corporate mosquitoes. Billboards shifted every two seconds, cycling through influencers, products, and deepfake politicians endorsing energy drinks.
But Shai's eyes weren't on the ads.
They were on the numbers.
---
> Current Aura: 11,160
Passive Rate: +340/hr
Followers: 18,039 (Unverified)
System Skills: Viral Bloom (Lv. 1), Sensory Jam (Lv. 1)
Subjugated Systems: 2<
---
Two systems down, and already his life was morphing beyond anything normal.
His phone buzzed — a message from his only IRL friend: Reyan.
REYAN:Bro. TriggaTom posted a confession video. He's saying God hacked his memes...Was that you?
SHAI: It wasn't God. It was me.
No reply came. Shai could almost hear Reyan typing furiously and then deleting whatever sarcastic thing he was about to say.
He tucked the phone away and pulled his hood lower.
The Feed was shifting.
The air had started to hum wherever he walked. Not real sound, but engagement. Hashtags formed like dust trails in his wake. People who bumped into him started gaining followers by osmosis.
And for the first time in his life…
He was scared of being noticed.
---
System Notification: New System Detected
> ID: Clickbait.exe (v2.0)
Host: KadeeKraze – Sensationalist News Anchor
Threat Level: High
Location: Vireon Daily Broadcast Tower
Aura Potential: 15,000–30,000
Passive Influence Spread: Extremely Viral<
---
Shai flinched.
Clickbait.exe. He'd heard of it in forums — a system that didn't just exaggerate headlines, it rewrote memories to fit narratives. People believed what they read, even if it had never happened. Aura farming on that scale was dangerous. But tempting.
AFI prompted him:
> Engage or Observe?<
He hesitated.
Before he could answer, a message popped in from a new channel in his system feed — a private transmission.
> [Private Feed: Root_Z]
"Don't rush into him, Interface. He's not like the others.
He's aware.
Let me show you something instead."<
---
Shai blinked.
"Root_Z…?"
The name rang like a bell. The original dissident. The one who created the AFI. The anti-Algorithma ghost in the machine. Until now, Shai thought he was just a hacker myth told in Discord servers and meme crypts.
The interface pulsed again.
> SYSTEM ACCESSING HIDDEN ARCHIVE…
FILE: [TRENDSOUL.TXT]
Display?<
---
He accepted.
The world fell away.
---
Digital Flashback: The First Meme War
He was no longer in the city. He stood on a broken battlefield of corrupted data — memes clashing like warriors, hashtags flying like missiles, and influencers screaming prayers to their system gods.
In the center stood a boy… not older than Shai… in a rusted hoodie, facing a colossal, ancient construct built of shifting code and logos: Algorithma.
He held out a system no one had seen before.
AFI.
He unleashed it like a virus.
And for a moment, truth was trending.
Then he vanished.
---
Back in reality, Shai opened his eyes.
Root_Z's voice echoed faintly:
> "You are the sequel. Be better than me. Or be worse.
Just don't be normal." <
---
Shai clenched his fists.
Clickbait.exe could wait.
He needed to understand the AFI deeper. Not just how to use it — how to shape it. If these systems were gods of influence… he didn't want to just slay them.
He wanted to build a new pantheon.
One that didn't sell lies.
---
Later that night, a new interface tab unlocked.
> AFI Subsystem: Crafting – Meme Constructs Unlocked
You may now create original digital entities using aura.
Skill Gained: Meme Golem (Lv. 0) – Summonable digital avatar capable of disrupting low-level systems.<
---
Shai grinned.
"I can build my own memes now?"
He tapped the summon key.
In a flash of static and sparkles, a pixelated creature emerged in front of him. It had a frog's body, a top hat, and a caption stuck to its chest that read:
> "This is fine – but only ironically."<
Its eyes blinked slowly.
"Shitpost.exe," Shai said with pride. "You're beautiful."
The golem nodded solemnly… and farted flames...