The wind howled through the jagged cliffs surrounding Zane like a dying beast. Cold. Barren. Alien.He stood still, staring at the flickering blue screen hovering in front of him like a ghost that refused to leave.
SYSTEM STATUS: BROKENPrimary Functions: ERRORSynchronization: 12%Energy Calibration: UnstableSkills: [???]Warning: Host is experiencing System Rejection. Collapse imminent.
System Rejection? Collapse?!Zane instinctively staggered back, clutching his chest. A jolt of searing pain ripped through his nerves like fire, and he dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. It felt like something inside him was trying to tear itself apart.
The girl—the one who had found him—rushed forward. "Hey! Don't fight it so hard, you'll burn your meridians!"
"Meridians?!" Zane coughed, eyes wide with confusion. "I don't know what that even means!"
She gritted her teeth. "Your spiritual channels. If they rupture, you're done."
Zane clenched his fists, the pain like molten glass running through his veins. But even as his body screamed for him to give in, his mind resisted. Something inside him—some will—refused to break. Not again. Not this time.
The system screen flashed violently once more, as if responding to that defiance.
ERROR: Host resistance detected. Reconfiguring...Core Protocols: Rebuilding.WARNING: Mutation Detected. System logic corrupted.
And then, just as quickly as it came, the pain stopped.Zane collapsed to the ground, sweating, gasping, but alive.
A new window blinked to life.
New Trait Acquired: [Defiant Core] — Your system cannot follow standard cultivation logic. It will mutate based on willpower and survival instinct. Unpredictable growth unlocked.Note: No support available. No system guidance. You are on your own.
Zane looked up, blinking through the sweat. "…What kind of system is this?"
The girl didn't answer right away. She simply stared at him, something between awe and fear crossing her face. "…It's alive," she muttered. "Your system… it's evolving."
Zane narrowed his eyes. "That's… good?"
She hesitated. "It's not supposed to happen. Systems are designed to follow a fixed code. They offer guidance. Techniques. Paths. Yours... is rewriting itself. I've never seen anything like it."
Zane rose to his feet slowly, still shaky. "So I'm screwed, then."
"…Or you're a monster waiting to happen," she whispered, then shook her head. "Whatever you are, this world isn't going to make it easy for you. If they sense your system is broken, or worse—mutated—you'll be hunted."
"Hunted?" Zane frowned. "Why? I didn't choose this."
"No one cares." She glanced toward the horizon. "There are entire sects that kill system anomalies on sight. You're a threat to their doctrine. A living contradiction."
Zane took a slow breath, staring down at his trembling hands. This world… it's nothing like Earth.No law. No fairness. Just power, and those who hold it. If what she said was true, he had no allies.No clear path. No safety.
Just a broken system with a mind of its own.
And yet, he felt something awaken inside him. Not fear. Not confusion.
Excitement.
"So be it.""If this world's going to try to break me, I'll shatter it first."**
The girl looked at him differently now. Not with pity. Not even with caution.With curiosity.
"…Name's Seris," she said after a pause. "Outer disciple of the Nightwind Sect. You're lucky I found you before a beast did."
Zane raised an eyebrow. "A sect?"
"It's where cultivators train and rise in rank. If you want a roof, food, and not to be hunted like an animal, you'll need to join one. Even if it's temporary."
Zane exhaled, glancing toward the towering mountains in the distance. His mind was still a whirlwind of unknown terms—cultivation, sects, systems, meridians—but one thing was clear: this wasn't a dream. It wasn't a second chance.
It was a challenge. One he refused to lose.
"Fine," he said. "I'll come with you."
But as he took his first step forward, the system blinked once again.
[Quest Initialized] — Prove your right to ascend.Objective: Enter the Nightwind Sect.Secondary: Conceal system anomaly. Failure will result in extermination.Reward: Unknown.Penalty: Death.
Zane smirked to himself.
"Typical," he muttered. "No easy mode this time."
And with that, the broken one began his journey into a world where power ruled, and chaos walked beside him.