Location: District 5 – Abandoned Network Tower
A rusted tower stood like a skeletal giant over the outskirts of the school district. Once used for system relay tests, it was now sealed off—declared a red-zone. No missions issued inside. No coordinates locked.
But strange things happened there.
People who entered the tower?
Didn't always come back the same.
Inside a hacked van parked two blocks away, Hana monitored a pulsing 3D map.
"That's her signal. Node interference detected. She's broadcasting mission errors directly into the Dominance Code database."
Jihan leaned over her shoulder.
"So she's…?"
"A ghost in the system. She can alter conditions of missions, cancel penalties, loop outcomes, even stall death triggers."
"So why isn't she killing everyone?"
"She only helps people on the brink. She watches. Picks who lives and dies. Some say she's playing her own game."
Deadlock sat in the back of the van, wrapped in chains like a sleeping bear.
"So… we break her out of her own world?"
"If you can reach her."
[MISSION UNLOCKED – Recruit Glitchwitch]
Warning: Mission Environment has been altered by anomaly
Standard HUD functions are disabled
Reality layers: unstable
Mental fortitude required: High
They enter the tower.
Everything is wrong from the moment they step inside.
The walls shift behind them. Their footprints vanish. Every step sounds muffled. Jihan checks his HUD:
[SYSTEM ERROR – VISION MODULE REBOOTING…]
"She's already watching us," Hana whispers.
A light flickers.
And suddenly…
They're standing in a simulation of their worst memories.
Jihan sees himself—weak, bruised, crawling through blood in a school hallway. Surrounded by his old tormentors.
They mock him. Beat him.
Again. And again.
He tries to fight back—but his system doesn't respond.
He's back to being nothing.
"You think you're free," a distorted voice hisses.
"But your fear is still the system's favorite weapon."
Suddenly, the scene glitches—Hana appears, bound and gagged, screaming silently while a mission countdown ticks behind her:
"Failure: 0:03"
"Consequence: Execution of nearest bond."
Jihan's eyes snap open.
"ENOUGH!"
He slams his fist into the illusion. Reality fractures.
The simulation collapses like broken glass.
They're standing in a shattered glass floor suspended in black space.
And on the other side…
She appears.
A girl with silver hair, oversized hoodie, and glowing circuit-like tattoos across her arms.
Her eyes are mismatched—one human, one a spinning data ring.
"You're louder than I expected," she says flatly.
"I usually kick out guests."
Jihan stepped forward.
"You're Glitchwitch."
"And you're the one who keeps causing… headaches."
"Let me guess. You want to 'recruit' me."
"No," Jihan says. "I want to give you a chance to rewrite everything. Not just missions. The entire game."
Her eye flickers.
"Big words for someone who almost died to his own trauma file."
"You watched me."
"I edited the rules so you'd survive the Widow."
Jihan stops.
"That was you…?"
She shrugs.
"I don't like the System choosing who dies. I prefer chaos."
"Then choose my side."
[SYSTEM PROMPT – Anomaly Sync Available]
Target: Glitchwitch – Codename: Syra
Trait: Rulebender
Faction Bonus: Mission Alteration / Corruption Resistance +40%
But just before she can answer—
Everything goes red.
[ALERT – SYSTEM ENFORCER BREACH]
A system enforcer crashes through the roof—sleek black armor, glowing blades on each arm, and a face shield with only a single red eye.
"Unauthorized anomaly detected."
"Glitchwitch. Elimination authorized."
"Chainbreaker. Priority threat."
Syra curses.
"They found me…"
"Then we fight," Jihan growls, stepping forward.
The enforcer launches.
Jihan counters—but the enforcer's speed is inhuman.
He's thrown across the space. A blade carves through his ribs.
Deadlock intercepts—but the enforcer slashes through his chains like paper and slams him down.
The enforcer grabs Syra by the throat—mission deletion code forming on his blade.
"You don't control the rules anymore."
Syra stares up, choking, grinning.
"Wanna bet?"
She opens a terminal from her palm—
And glitches reality itself.
Jihan's stats triple.
Deadlock heals instantly.
The enforcer's blade vanishes.
Syra smirks.
"My rules now."
The trio attacks.
Jihan feints left—Syra sends a gravity pulse—Deadlock grabs and rips the enforcer's arm off.
They overwhelm him. Together.
[System Error – Target Eliminated. Data Desync Detected.]
Glitchwitch successfully recruited.
Faction Level Up: Chainbreakers Lv. 2
New Trait: Rulebender (Mission Rewrites x1 per day)
As the tower stabilizes, Syra crosses her arms.
"I'll help. But don't expect me to follow orders."
Jihan smirks, bruised and bloody.
"I don't need soldiers."
"I need revolutionaries."
End of Chapter 33