Kyle stared at the being hovering above the ground with wide eyes, the beings's eyes locked on to him. The immense pressure he felt just by looking at the being made his knees weak, cold sweat rolled down his back.
"You come dance with me."
It appeared directly in front of him, he could not even catch a glimpse of how it moved. His instincts screamed.
[System, scan hostile entity.]
An interface visible only to him appeared , golden-red glyphs rotating in rapid, panicked circles.
[Initiating Combat Analysis...]
Scanning hostile entity...
Processing… processing…
[Error Detected]
Classification: UNKNOWN.
Energy Source: Beyond Divine Spectrum.
Recommendation: Immediate retreat.
Kyle blinked. It was the first time experiencing a situation where the system would fail to gather any information on a hostile entity, his instincts were also screaming at him.
The other nine rulers immediately retreated leaving him face to face with the otherworldly being in front of him.
"Run!"
His instincts roared, but he did not run. There was a lot at stake, his wife, his parents and his brother. He could not run away from the being, and he also doubted that he would be able to escape from it.
A minute had already passed, and the garden was very quiet. No one dared move or speak, the being waited for him.
[System, engage.]
⟡ SYSTEM ONLINE — DIVINE PATH: WAR ⟡
Resonance Detected: Bellatoris, God of War
Core Synchronization... Stable (87%)
Attribute Surge Active:
→ Strength +340%
→ Speed +270%
→ Endurance +220%
Skill Deployed: [Battle Hymn of Carnage]
— Your pulse becomes the drumbeat of war —
"System, unlock status level 5."
[Initializing Weapon Manifestation: Dawn breaker ]
Accessing Divine Blueprint…
Core Materialization in Progress...
3%... 12%... 47%... 100%
[Weapon Summoned]
Dawn breaker — Spear of Endless Strife
Forged in the heart of Bellatoris' crimson star.
Linked to Soul Mark (Kyle Thorne).
The air broke.
No - it screamed.
The ground quaked beneath their feet, and Kyle gazed back at the being with his now deep crimson eyes. A suffocating bloodlust descended upon the mountain rage, enveloping the whole mountain. Maids and other weak people fell unconscious immediately, even his brother Neil seemed to be having a difficult time staying awake.
The spear assembled from streams of golden-red light, fragments of glowing runes circling his arm and solidifying into divine steel.
When he gripped it, the interface faded, and the weapon became real, humming with his pulse.
Everyone in the garden watched with their eyes mouths agape, the level of power Kyle had released was nothing like the one he had unleashed when he was challenged by the barroness.
"Kyle... do not.. Engage!"
His brother who was already struggling to stay conscious underneath the weight of his aura yelled out.
"It will be alright Neil."
He responded taking a step forward, the garden floor cracked.
Then he vanished.
The sound barrier exploded as he launched himself straight at the being. The spear descended in an arc of crimson light.
[Impact Analysis...]
Contact Made.
Surface Resistance: Absolute.
Penetration — 0%.
⚠ Warning: Power Differential Exceeds Threshold.
The spear didn't pierce flesh — it simply stopped.
Kyle's muscles strained. The being's eyes flickered — twin galaxies observing his desperate courage.
"Put more groove into your steps. "
The words were calm, curious, even gentle. And yet — they unraveled him.
The system panicked.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Unquantifiable energy detected.
Divine Core destabilizing… 67%... 42%... 19%...
Connection with Bellatoris weakening.
[Emergency Mode Initiated]
Overclock Soul Mark? (Y/N)
[Yes!] Kyle screamed internally .
[Overclock Engaged]
Heart rate 201 bpm.
Body integrity collapsing.
Activating Omen of Iron
Kyle knew that he was gambling his life away, yet still he was smiling. That was the curse of being a direct descendant of the first champion of Bellatoris, they enjoyed battle far more than other system bearers.
[one hit, and then I can get it's weakness.]
He thought as he got ready to attack, his eyes quickly scanned the garden for his wife grace. She stood next to his mother with tears in her eyes, he shook his head at her. Telling her to not cry, his mother held her back from running to his aid.
"Thank you mom." he whispered.
The world shook again as his aura flared, crimson light tearing open the now dark sky.
He struck again — faster, harder — and this time, the spearhead grazed the being's shoulder.
Just a line.
Just a spark.
For one impossible second, the system registered impact.
[Hit Confirmed]
Target Integrity Reduced — 0.000001%
Analyzing Weakness...
Analysis Failed.
The being exhaled — a sigh of disappointment — and raised its hand. The next instant, reality folded.
The grass beneath Kyle exploded as he was crushed under an invisible force. Every glyph shattered, light scattering into chaos. His spear broke apart atom by atom.
[SYSTEM FAILURE]
Core Connection: Terminated.
Soul Mark Integrity: Critical (12%).
Divine Path: Offline.
He fell to one knee, coughing blood, barely holding consciousness.
The being descended, weightless, serene, its voice echoing in the collapsing world.
"Is this all you amount to? Unable to leave a scratch on a body crudely made."
But then something unexpected happened, Neil who was barely struggling to keep conscious landed a kick to the back of the beings's head.
Crack!
That was the sound of his bone breaking, that little act of desperation seemed to instill hope in the other as every single system user in the garden flared to life.
The ground trembled heavily and the stage fell, the manor began breaking apart as every single capable person unlocked their status.
"O ye pitiful things, i told you no interruptions."
Everything went silent, and everyone conscious in the garden had the same reaction.
"What the hell!"
It had shutdown every single one of their systems just like it had done with Ryan earlier on, the fear they had already experienced multiplied a hundred fold. This thing had to be on the same level as the Gods, they all thought.
"Do not despair, nothing can save him even the beings that granted you those imitations. For I predates them all."
It bent down and reached out a hand, touching Kyle's forehead. Neil who was down grabbed the being's ankle with a murderous glare in his eyes
"Get your hands off my little brother."
The being did not even take back, Kyle gave his brother one last smile and mouthed the words:
"It's okay."
His system screamed one last time.
[Critical Override Detected]
User consciousness forcibly suspended.
Final Record: Entity Signature stored.
Designation — *******.
Then all went black.
....
Neil watched as Kyle slowly fell to the ground, his hands trembling as he let go of the beings's ankle. The being slowly stood up and gazed at the distant sky, it's eyes that hosted stars trembled slightly and then it spoke in a soft voice:
"it is done."
Neil watched in tears as The being slowly rose to the air, a sharp pain pierced his heart and Kyle's last words rang in his ear.
"it's okay."
It was not okay, it had to be a dream no - a nightmare. This is not how the ceremony was supposed to go, this is not how things are supposed to play out. He roared to the World, to The being.
He crawled to his way to Kyle, his fingers shaking as he pressed them on kyles neck. He felt the faint uneven thrum of his heartbeat, each pulse weaker than the last, slipping through his fingers like sand.
"Stay with me kid."
He whispered, his voice cracking.
"please... Don't leave us."
He was slipping. Neil felt it, his warmth was fading and the one responsible hovered above them without a care in the world.
"No! Stay! Please!"
he screamed, gripping him tighter, his nails digging into his arms as though he could anchor him with sheer will. Then he raises his head to look at the being responsible
"Bring him back... Please."
The being retracted it's gaze from the sky and cast it onto him.
"Why?"
The answer shook him, what kind of question was that? What kind of nonsense was this? This surely had to be a nightmare. Neil began laughing hysterically, at the moment it was only him, Kyle and The being in the world.
"Bring him back or I will kill you."
His words were soft yet piercing, the being tilted his head a little.
"You are useless, your younger brother had to fight for you and yet you say you will kill me? That is very unrealistic, did your brother's death make you lose your reasoning?"
Hee could feel the life leaving him. His chest constricted, his vision blurred with tears, every beat of his own heart was like a countdown to his brothers.
And then—silence.
Kyle took a ragged breath, and Neil felt it. The life leaving Kyle's body, cold realization swept in. His younger brother has died, for what?
The world had gone wrong. He could feel it. At first it was silent, and then came the voices. Berating him, screaming at him.
He felt it, life leaving his brother's body. For what? What sick play was this? If the being wanted him why not kill him?
"This is wrong." he laughed.
The being stared at him with understanding eyes, which only made Neil angrier.
"This is not my reality! This cannot be my reality!"
He carefully laid Kyle down and tried to stand on his broken leg, stumbling backward in the process and clutching his head. He shut his eyes, trying to shut everything out. Hoping to wake up, but he couldn't.
"Well it is."
Something inside him snapped, His sclera cracked like glass, blood streaming down his face. Neil screamed like a possessed,
"stay." he whispered to no one.
Neil looked up at The being hovering above him and released a blood curling scream.
Neil's scream tore through the collapsing garden — a sound that was neither human nor beast. The air around him rippled, the ground cracking as unseen pressure radiated from his body.
Then, he heard a soft distorted whispher accompanied by a thousand screams.
(You wished to change the pattern.)
(You screamed at the world.)
(So the world screamed back.)
Neil clutched his head, gasping. The sound vibrated inside his skull like grinding metal.
The air itself seemed to split, forming a black fissure that pulsed with red light.
The fissure bled light.
Glass-like fragments formed before him, floating mid-air — black, reflective, edged in silver veins that pulsed like veins beneath translucent skin.
Each panel flickered between reflection and code, glitching like reality itself was rendering.
Then, a voice cold, slightly mechanical, yet soft as breath — filled the silence.
[FRAMEWORK INITIALIZATION...]
Signal Source: Undefined
Stichpoint: Anomaly Detected
User: Neil Thorne
Neil's bleeding pupils dilated. He couldn't move. His instincts screamed at him to run — but his body no longer obeyed him.
A crack of red light split the ground beside him, a fracture in the air itself.
He could see through it — not into another place, but into a concept; into the space between.
[Integrity: 72%]
Essence Flow unstable — calibrating...
Red/Blue ratio: 68:32
He fell forward onto his hands, panting, sweat mixing with rain and blood.
His reflection appeared in one of the panels — distorted, fractured, his eyes reflected a dozen times.
Then the reflection spoke.
"You."
His own voice.
But not his own.
He staggered back. The panels rotated, forming a ring around him. In the center — a shifting, glowing sigil — the Eye.
It blinked.
[Module Online: STITCH / ANCHOR / THREAD TRACE]
The world twisted. Threads — actual threads — of silvery-red light bled from the cracks in reality, connecting to his fingers, his heart, his shadow.
They pulsed, alive, responding to his heartbeat.
He gasped — and the wound on Kyle's chest twitched. The blood reversed for a moment, the air vibrating like a plucked string.
Neil's heart stopped.
His mind screamed.
The panels flickered violently.
[Warning: Unauthorized Manipulation Detected.]
User attempting to overwrite causality.
Penalty: Integrity Drain — 15%
He ignored it. He pulled.
The threads groaned, like the world itself resisted.
"Kyle, please…!"
The reflection in the fractured mirror smiled.
It wasn't his smile.
[Framework Response: You cannot mend what was not cut.]
And the threads snapped.
The air imploded. The system screamed —
then silenced.
Neil fell beside his brother, chest heaving.
The rain returned to normal. The fissure closed.
The Eye dimmed — but didn't vanish.
It floated beside him, watching.
[Revelation Log Updated.]
Entry #001: Birth of the amendment .
Neil stared at the reflection still shimmering faintly in the puddle beside him.
In it — his eyes were no longer human.
They mirrored the Eye.
"No need to thank me, i will be coming for my payment."