"Error detected. Unknown host presence. Preparing countermeasure…"
The voice came from everywhere — and nowhere.
Kael spun around in the iron field, breathing hard. His body was adjusting, code still stabilizing. His limbs pulsed with red static, flickering between solid and digital, a reminder that whatever he was now — it wasn't human.
In the distance, the rusting cityscape shifted. Towering ruins groaned like dying machines. The shattered sky blinked — as if reality itself was glitching.
Kael's chest rose and fell. He had just survived a fight with a corrupted Protocol Guardian. Killed it with power he didn't understand. Now, the world seemed to react, like a hive sensing an intruder.
"I don't belong here," he muttered. "But neither do they."
A small screen flickered into existence before him — like a heads-up display summoned by thought. Blue and red glyphs danced across it.
[Phantom Core Synced]
[Override Rank: 0]
[Protocol Fragments Absorbed: 1]
[Entity Status: Unstable]
Kael reached out — and the display responded, expanding. He could interact with it just by focusing.
One of the tabs read: "Core Commands."
He tapped it mentally.
[Available Override: PAIN]
Description: Converts incoming damage into returnable kinetic force. Drawback: Instability risk increases with prolonged use.
Another tab: "Fragments."
He opened it — and saw the beast he'd just defeated, broken down into code strings, analyzed and archived.
He grinned.
" If this system wants me dead, I'll make it regret letting me live."
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
The sky pixelated again — this time, violently. A jagged hole opened mid-air. Through it poured long, insect-like machines — black, gleaming, with red lenses for eyes.
Cleaners.
The system's anti-virus units.
Kael backed away. "Oh, so now you care."
They landed in sync — clicking legs, shifting torsos, barbed appendages unfolding with a hiss. There were five. Maybe more behind the skyline.
" Phantom Entity detected. Class: Unknown. Directive: Erase."
Kael's eyes narrowed. Bring it on.
He crouched — left foot bracing the cracked data-soil, arms outstretched. The Cleaners charged as one, moving like liquid metal, impossibly fast.
Kael rolled to the side. One zipped past, slicing the air where his head had been. Another lunged — and Kael activated the PAIN override.
The moment claws dug into his shoulder, a surge of power reversed the flow — the Cleaner's arm exploded outward with feedback.
Kael twisted and used the shattered limb to yank the thing forward — slamming his fist into its core. It imploded, red light spraying like sparks.
[Override Efficiency: 68%]
[Instability Rising…]
Kael ignored the warning. His mind was too focused — too furious. Another Cleaner swiped low. Kael vaulted over it, landed on its back, and drove a corrupted data spike straight into its neural coil.
Two down.
The rest backed off for a moment — recalibrating.
He took that moment to breathe.
But then the world around him warped again — a new voice entered the scene, deeper, far more resonant.
"Enough."
The remaining Cleaners halted immediately. A portal opened behind them — not torn like the others. This one was… precise. Clean. Smooth code.
From it stepped a humanoid figure — tall, draped in white and gold plates, a mask resembling a lion's face etched in runes.
"Protocol: Justice."
Kael's body froze.
He knew the name. It was one of the original twelve — a high-tier enforcer AI. This was no mere drone. It was a god of order.
"Kael Dray," Justice said in a calm, deep voice, "you were erased. You do not belong. This anomaly will be corrected."
Kael shook his head. "You call it correction. I call it murder."
"You were guilty."
"I was framed!"
"The system does not lie."
Kael's fists clenched. "Then the system is broken."
Without warning, he leapt forward — override energy sparking in his fists. Justice didn't move. At the last second, it raised one hand — and Kael was stopped mid-air.
Suspended.
Frozen.
"Your defiance is illogical. Surrender and be nullified. It will be painless."
Kael grinned. "I don't do painless."
He clenched both fists — and in a burst of red static, his body glitched — momentarily splitting into multiple frames — and escaped the time-lock.
He struck — hard — into the golden armor.
It didn't even scratch.
Justice responded instantly. One hand swept out like a blade of light — Kael was launched backward into a rusted building, breaking through metal and digital glass.
He groaned.
[Override: PAIN overloaded]
[System Corruption at 12%]
Kael coughed. Blood — or something like it — dripped from his mouth. His body was struggling to stabilize.
"I can't beat this thing… not yet."
Justice approached — step by step, its very presence altering the code of the terrain.
But Kael wasn't trying to win.
He reached into his HUD again — opened a new subroutine.
"Fragment Bomb — Beta Release"
He channeled all the remaining code from the dead Cleaners into the sky. A red sphere formed — crackling with broken protocol data.
Kael smirked. "Justice, right? Let's see how just you are under system corruption."
He launched the orb.
It exploded midair.
Not with fire — but with code decay.
Even Justice flinched. The terrain glitched violently. The Protocol's mask cracked — just slightly.
Kael took his chance — and ran.
He didn't know where.
But he knew one thing: the system had made its first mistake.
It tried to erase him.
And failed.