"Every soul in this world is born with a fate thread.Except me.I am not part of the weave.I am the glitch in its pattern."
Nox sat hunched beside the alley wall, soaked and shivering, watching Selene struggle to breathe.
Her coughs came in sharp, wet bursts, and each one sent a spike of fear through his chest. The rain had begun to slow, but cold clung to them like a second skin.
He tore the status window back open.
Name: Nox VoidfallAge: 13System Type: Anomaly [Ω-Class]Class: NoneLevel: 1Fate Thread: [ERROR: Not Detected]Unique Trait: [Void Script – ???]Titles: The Unwritten, Rejected by Fate, ???System Status: Autonomous/Bound | Hidden | Observer Shield Active
System Note:"Warning: Host existence violates multiple realm-bound laws.Observation has been disabled."
So many unknowns. So many errors.
This wasn't the kind of system that came with a quest log or a cheat inventory. It felt… alive. Raw. Unfinished.
And yet, it throbbed with more potential than any system he'd ever read about.
Still, that meant nothing if Selene died here.
He needed food. Shelter. Medicine. Answers.
Something caught his eye in the corner of the screen. A blinking line of code, buried under layers of gibberish.
[Void Script Command: /ping surroundings]
He blinked.
A test?
He focused on it. Thought the words.
/ping surroundings
The air shimmered.
And then—
A wave exploded outward, invisible to the naked eye but sensed like a pulse of awareness.
Reality around him unfurled for a second, like threads pulling apart in a tapestry. For just a breath, he saw through the weave:
2 hostile presences → 12 meters northeast, armed
1 decayed mana node → under sewer grate nearby
1 hidden path → layered behind illusion, right wall
1 unidentified object → buried under trash pile behind them
1 divine fragment → dormant, inside Selene
His eyes widened.
"A divine fragment… inside her?"
What the hell was she carrying?
He didn't have time to process it. Voices echoed from the street outside the alley.
"Told you I saw something drop in here.""Trash scavengers? This close to the market wall?""Could be marked. Stay sharp."
The hostile presences.
Two of them. Armed.
He grabbed Selene and dragged her gently behind the trash pile. Her body trembled, weak and feverish.
[Void Script Command: /hide presence]Access denied: skill not unlocked
Damn.
He wasn't ready for this. He didn't even have a weapon.
One of the figures stepped into view — leather armor, a crude mana-forged blade at his side, half his face marked with a glowing brand.
Not human.
Race: Marked Scavenger (Demi-Fell)Class: TrackerAffiliation: NoneLevel: 7Threat Level: Moderate (if unarmed)Note: Brand Marked – immune to fate detection, but not anomaly scripts.
Nox's mind raced.
His system wasn't meant to interact with this world. It wasn't from this world. It bent the rules. That meant he had an edge.
Even if he didn't know how to use it yet.
He scanned the trash pile behind them. A glint of metal. Something buried.
[Void Script Command: /extract object]
The trash shifted. Slowly, then violently — as a dagger slid free from the pile and into his waiting hand.
It was old. Rusted. But faintly pulsing with dormant energy.
Item Acquired: Broken Dagger of the Forgotten DepthsEffect: Unstable. Can pierce illusion and weak reality layers. May awaken if bloodied.
The scavenger turned sharply.
"Something moved—!"
Nox moved faster.
One step, two, and he was already lunging. No skill. No form. Just desperation.
The dagger bit into the man's shoulder—not deep, but enough. The scavenger howled.
Item effect activated: Reality Fracture x1
For a moment, the world around the blade split. Like a crack in a mirror.
The man screamed again as the blade seemed to bypass flesh and hit something else—like a spiritual thread beneath skin.
Nox twisted. The man collapsed.
The second figure hesitated. Then turned and ran.
Coward.
Nox was breathing hard, the dagger trembling in his grip. Selene stared at him with wide, fevered eyes.
"You… you're different," she whispered.
He crouched beside her, trying to smile.
"So are you," he said quietly, brushing damp hair from her face. "There's something inside you. A fragment. I don't know what it is yet… but it's powerful."
She didn't respond. Her eyes fluttered shut again.
But the system did.
New Objective Added: Protect the FragmentOptional: Investigate its origin.
System Path Unlocked: Branch of Reclamation [Sealed]
Warning: Multiple observers have been temporarily blinded. Interference risk rising.
Next Action Suggested: Seek shelter. Identify name of realm. Locate hidden tier-0 node.
Nox stood, lifting Selene into his arms. The rain had stopped. The alley had grown silent again.
He stepped toward the wall the scan had revealed.
There was no door.
But there was a seam.
And with a flick of the dagger, he sliced through illusion.
Behind it was a stairwell of cracked stone leading downward—into darkness.
He didn't hesitate.
This time, he wasn't running from the world.
He was stepping out of its script entirely.
Chapter 2 — End