The coffee shop smelled like burnt beans and broken dreams.
Kael arrived first, choosing a corner table with clear sightlines to both entrances. Old habits died hard, even in a 23 year-old body. The Nexus interface continued to flicker at the edge of his vision, lines of corrupted code scrolling past too quickly to read. He'd tried dismissing it, but the glitched system refused to respond to standard commands.
Dorian walked in exactly twelve minutes late, just like he had in the original timeline. Same confident stride, same easy smile, same way of scanning the room that looked casual but hit every angle. Kael had admired that awareness once. Now, it only confirmed his suspicions.
"Sorry, man. Traffic was insane." Dorian slid into the opposite chair, setting down two coffee cups. "Got you your usual."
"Thanks." Kael sipped the coffee and watched his friend's face over the rim. "You seem different today."
"Different how?"
"I don't know, you seem focused. Like you're waiting for something."
Dorian's smile never wavered, but something shifted behind his eyes. "Maybe I am. Maybe we all are." He leaned forward, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't you feel it? Like the whole world is holding its breath?"
The same words from the original timeline, but now Kael heard the undercurrent. Dorian wasn't nervous about the coming changes, he was excited. He was hungry. Like a predator scenting blood on the wind.
The Nexus interface suddenly stabilized, text snapping into sharp focus:
[Temporal Regression Event Confirmed]
[System Initialization: Corrupted Protocols Active]
[Tutorial Mode: Engaged]
[Warning: Anomalous User Detected]
"You okay?" Dorian studied his face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Something like that." Kael blinked hard, but the interface remained. "Dorian, if you could change anything about your life, what would it be?"
"That's random." Dorian laughed, but his eyes had gone calculating. "Why?"
"Just curious."
"I guess… I'd want more control. Over my circumstances, my choices." Dorian's fingers drummed against his coffee cup. "Sometimes it feels like we're all just playing out someone else's script, you know? Like none of our decisions really matter."
The honesty surprised Kael. In the original timeline, Dorian had talked about wanting adventure, about making a difference in the world. However, this felt more like a confession.
[Tutorial Sequence Activating]
[Scanning Local Environment…]
[Suitable Instructor Entity Located]
The words scrolled across Kael's vision just as the coffee shop door chimed. A woman entered, tall and graceful with silver hair that caught the afternoon light. She moved with inhuman precision, each step perfectly measured. Her eyes swept the room once before locking onto Kael's table.
Other customers seemed to lose interest in her immediately, their gazes sliding away as if she weren't there. But Kael could see the subtle distortion around her edges, the way reality bent slightly in her presence. She was Nexus-born, a tutorial construct designed to ease new users into the system.
"Gentlemen." Her voice carried impossible harmony, like multiple singers in perfect unison. She approached their table with fluid steps. "May I join you?"
m
Dorian frowned, clearly confused by the stranger's confidence. "I'm sorry, do we know you?"
"Not yet." She sat down without waiting for permission, her attention focused entirely on Kael. "But we will. My name is Lyra. I'm here for your tutorial."
[Tutorial Instructor: Lyra]
[Classification: Nexus Construct]
[Abilities: Teaching Protocols, Reality Manipulation (Limited)]
[Threat Level: High]
"Tutorial for what?" Dorian's voice carried a sharp edge now.
"The game that begins tomorrow." Lyra smiled, revealing teeth too white and too sharp. "The integration is already starting. Some people adapt quickly. Others…" She shrugged elegantly. "Others don't."
Kael felt the corrupted system stirring, lines of code shifting and reorganizing themselves. In the original timeline, he'd met Lyra after the merge, when the tutorial zones were already active. She'd been helpful then, patient with his questions and generous with advice.
Now, something predatory moved behind her perfect features.
[Assimilation Protocol: Active]
[Target Identified: Tutorial Instructor]
[Warning: Unauthorized Skill Acquisition May Trigger Divine Attention]
The text pulsed red at the edges, but Kael barely noticed. His attention had locked onto Lyra's hands, which rested delicately on the table. In the original timeline, those hands had demonstrated combat techniques, shown him how to channel energy through his weapons, and taught him the fundamentals that kept him alive through the early integration periods.
Right here, right now, he could get these skills before the merge even began.
"What kind of game?" Dorian leaned forward, suddenly interested.
"Survival," Lyra said simply. "The Nexus has chosen your world for integration. Reality will… expand and new rules will apply."
Kael's hand moved without conscious thought, reaching across the table as if to shake hers. "Nice to meet you, Lyra."
She extended her hand with a knowing smile, fingers cool and impossibly smooth. The moment their skin touched, the corrupted system exploded into activity:
[Contact Established]
[Scanning Target…]
[Skill Detection: Combat Mastery (Intermediate)]
[Skill Detection: Energy Manipulation (Basic)]
[Skill Detection: Tutorial Protocol Override (Advanced)]
[Beginning Assimilation…]
Pain lanced through Kael's skull like white lightning. Lyra's eyes widened in shock, then something that looked almost like fear. Her perfect composure cracked as her hand tried to pull away, but Kael's grip had become iron.
"What are you doing?" Her voice lost its harmony, becoming harsh and discordant.
[Assimilation: 47% Complete]
[Warning: Instructor Entity Experiencing Critical Damage]
[Warning: Tutorial Protocols Compromised]
Dorian shot to his feet, coffee spilling across the table. "Kael, what the hell-"
The stealing finished with a sensation like swallowing fire. Lyra jerked her hand back, stumbling away from the table. Her perfect features flickered like a broken hologram, revealing something ancient and alien underneath.
[Assimilation Complete]
[Skills Acquired: Combat Mastery (Intermediate), Energy Manipulation (Basic)]
[Corruption Level: 3%]
[Tutorial Protocol Override: Absorbed]
"Impossible." Lyra's voice cracked like breaking glass. "You're not supposed to- the tutorial hasn't even begun"
She vanished mid-sentence, blinking out of existence like a deleted file.
Silence stretched between Kael and Dorian. Other customers continued their conversations, oblivious to what had just happened. But Dorian stared at Kael with naked shock, his friendly mask finally slipping.
"What the fuck was that?" he whispered.
Kael flexed his fingers, feeling new knowledge settle into his mind like puzzle pieces finding their places. Combat techniques he'd spent months learning in the original timeline now felt natural, instinctive. Energy flowed through his body in patterns he understood without thinking.
The corrupted system pulsed with satisfaction:
[Tutorial Override Successful]
[Use of Corrupted Abilities Will Draw Divine Attention]
[Recommendation: Maintain Low Profile Until Full Integration]
"I have no idea," Kael lied smoothly. He met Dorian's stare with calm confidence.
Outside the coffee shop windows, the first storm clouds began to gather.