******Harper
The hospital room around me dissolved into a swirl of flickering light, and for a moment, I thought I was finally dead. My body felt weightless, my chest hollow, my tears still warm on my cheeks. Then the silence shattered.
Golden letters materialized in the air before me—lines of burning script, twisting and reshaping themselves until they formed words that seared themselves into my vision.
[NEW MISSION LOADED]
Role Assigned: Daughter of Magnus Veylor, CEO of Veylor Industries.
Objective: Save your father's company from collapse.
Conditions: Failure will result in complete termination.
My heart stopped. Save a company? What kind of sick game was this? I stared at the words, my throat tightening as the system continued, its voice echoing directly inside my skull:
[Notice: Personal assistant revoked. You are on your own, Harper Hayes.]
My fingers trembled. No Chris. No one to whisper in my head, no steady voice guiding me through the nightmare. The silence inside my mind was unbearable, like someone had stolen the last piece of me that still mattered.
I clenched my jaw and tried to breathe, but the air felt sharp, as though I were inhaling glass. The hospital bed under me melted away, replaced by polished marble floors, towering glass windows, and the grand interior of a mansion. A chandelier glittered above, throwing shards of light across the gilded walls.
The system had transported me again.
A man's portrait hung above the fireplace—stern, broad-shouldered, with steel-gray eyes that carried the weight of an empire. My "father."
I staggered forward, my knees weak but my steps heavy with something far darker than fear. If they thought I would just play along, they were wrong. My lips curled into a bitter line as I whispered to myself, "I'll do what I wish. No one controls me anymore."
And for the first time since all of this began, I didn't mean it as defiance. I meant it as surrender.
---
Author's POV
Far away, in the broken rift of realms, Kael wandered endlessly. The earth beneath him cracked and shifted like glass, landscapes bending and twisting in unnatural ways. His face was drawn, his eyes wild with desperation.
He had called her name a thousand times in his head, but the emptiness only answered with echoes. Finally, his patience shattered. He closed his eyes, pressing his palms together. His veins glowed faintly, the markings of his power spreading across his skin.
"Harper," he whispered, his voice trembling, "show me where you are."
The ground pulsed beneath his feet. Then—an image burned into his mind. Harper, standing inside a mansion, her gaze locked on the portrait of a stranger she was supposed to call father. Her eyes were empty, lifeless, and Kael's heart seized in terror.
"No," he breathed. "Not again. She's going to throw herself away again."
With a surge of strength, Kael tore open a rift before him and hurled himself through, his only thought to reach her before she could make another irreversible choice.
---
In another corner of the realms, darkness coiled like smoke around a dimly lit chamber. Natalie lay sprawled on the floor, her lashes fluttering as she dragged in sharp, shallow breaths. Slowly, she forced her eyes open, her vision blurry until Vaelthor's silhouette sharpened before her.
He was already on his knees, ancient runes glowing in a circle around him, his hands weaving threads of shadow and light.
"What… what are you doing?" Natalie rasped, her voice brittle, still dazed from the shift.
Vaelthor's golden eyes didn't leave the spell forming before him. His jaw was tight, every word clipped with urgency.
"I don't have time to explain everything. The system has scattered us. Harper is spiraling. If we don't bind her soul—if we don't act fast—she'll be gone before we ever reach her again."
Natalie's stomach dropped. "Bind your soul with hers?"
"Yes." His voice was iron, no hesitation. "It's the only way to tether her existence. If she falls again… I'll fall too. But at least she won't be lost to the void."
Natalie froze, her lips parting, but no words came. For once, she couldn't tell if Vaelthor's plan was brilliance—or madness.
---
*****""*Harper
I dragged my fingers across the velvet armrest of the chair, the silence of the mansion pressing down on me like a coffin. The system had told me to save my father's company, but how could I save anyone when I couldn't even save myself?
Everywhere I looked, there were signs of wealth: golden clocks, crystal vases, polished marble, but none of it felt alive. None of it felt real.
I sank into the chair and whispered to the empty room, "I wish you'd just let me die."
But the house gave no answer. Only the faint echo of my own voice came back to me, hollow and broken.
And yet, deep inside, something stirred—a faint, unwelcome reminder of the words that had appeared before me.
A special player.
Must continue playing the game.
I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. If this was the cruel fate CODE had chained me to, then I would decide how I walked it. Even if it killed me again.
I lifted my chin and whispered to myself, the only vow I could still hold on to:
"I'll do it my way."