📖 Chapter 5:
I don't remember how long I was out.
But when I open my eyes again, I'm no longer in the ruins. No glitchfog. No collapsing buildings. No static-twisted monsters breathing down my neck.
I'm in a safehouse.
Dim light filters through mana-crystal bulbs. The walls are made of repurposed tech panels and rune stone. A half-cracked mirror hangs above a table with what looks like old spellchips stacked like poker cards.
Pix's voice flickers on."Vitals stabilized. Minor neural distortion. One cracked rib. Five system alerts. Welcome back, sleeping chaos."
I groan. "Where am I?"
"Safehouse. Hidden deep in the Void District.Owned by your new best frenemy — Nyx Talovar."
Speak of the devil.
She walks in, jacket half-unzipped, a can of energy juice in one hand and a glowing orb in the other.
"You passed out like a rookie," she says, tossing me the drink. "But at least you didn't explode. That's new."
"Thanks. I'll add that to my resume."
She grins.
Then sits opposite me, drops the orb on the table. It activates with a hum and projects a map of Aerthos — not the kind you find in system archives. This one is glitch-scarred, with seven dark zones glowing red.
🔴 The Seven Glitch Zones
"These are the Fracture Realms," she says."Each one is controlled by a Glitchborn Lord. Seven of them. Each tied to a piece of the forbidden core you're linked to."
I blink. "You're saying they're… connected to me?"
Nyx nods. "Not just connected. They're watching you. They reacted to you. That doesn't happen. Ever."
Pix adds:
"Your awakening triggered dormant data pulses across all seven zones. Someone built your system using their code… or someone higher than them did."
I'm still processing that when a spike of pain hits my skull.
My vision warps.
The room fades.
I fall into darkness.
🧠 SYSTEM EVENT TRIGGERED: Memory Flash [Locked Form Detected]
[Analyzing Emotion Trigger: Fragmented Guilt][Loading Memory Echo: 7%... 13%... 41%...]
I see a tower of glass and steel, suspended in a sky of purple clouds.A laboratory. Symbols on the walls not native to Aerthos.Men and women in clean coats — not mages. Scientists? Engineers?
A girl stands inside a capsule. Her hair glows white-blue. She's crying.I feel a hand — my own? — pressed against the glass.
A voice whispers in the memory:
"Project: AWAKENED. Candidate Zero. Write Protocol: Unbound. Memory Lock Enforced."
Then: explosion. Sirens. Screams.
"He wasn't supposed to survive!"
I jolt awake, nearly throwing the drink can at Nyx.
Pix: "Congratulations. You unlocked your first Memory Form Anchor. That wasn't your memory…But your system accepted it as yours."
"What does that mean?"
"It means... you're more than what you think you are."
🧩 NEW SYSTEM FUNCTION UNLOCKED: Memory Form
Name:Echo Form: Cryo Rebirth
Form Type: Passive/Active Hybrid
Trigger Emotion: Guilt
Base Bonus: Ice Resistance +30%, Skill Coldcraft Tree temporarily available
Side Effect: Form drains system stability if not controlled
Nyx's eyes widen as the air around me drops ten degrees. My breath fogs the air.
"You… you accessed a Form this early? You're evolving way too fast."
Pix chimes in, a little too cheerfully:
"Yep. He's either going to rewrite history, or detonate like a cursed sunfruit."
"Thanks, Pix."
Nyx leans back and folds her arms.
"Riven Kael... whatever your system is, it's a threat. To the Crown. To the Fractureborn. Maybe even to the world itself."
She stands.
"But maybe… just maybe… it's the one thing that can reset everything."
🔚 End of Chapter 5