Chapter 06: Reloaded
Kai gasped awake to the now-familiar crystal blue sky. This time, he didn't wait for Azrael's introduction.
"Third death," he announced, sitting up. "First by night wolves, second by Admin strangulation."
Azrael blinked, her screens forgotten. "An Admin terminated you? Already?" She whistled. "You're setting records, benchwarmer."
"The Admin glitched," Kai said, getting straight to the point. "Its mask cracked. I saw code underneath."
Azrael's professional demeanor vanished. She knelt beside him, voice hushed. "Listen carefully. The Admins were never meant to interact directly with players. They're becoming unstable—symptoms of the corruption."
"What exactly is corrupting the system?"
"We don't know. But it started in the death code—the rules governing player termination and transfer." Her eyes darted nervously. "The system assigned you that reverse checkpoint ability for a reason."
"How am I supposed to fix this? I'm just a benchwarmer."
"But you see patterns others miss." Azrael tapped his forehead. "You analyze from the sidelines. And now you can repeat scenarios with perfect knowledge."
The sky began fracturing above them.
"One more thing," Azrael said hurriedly. "Find the Hidden Library. It contains system documentation—the closest thing to a user manual for Arkanis."
"Where is it?"
"Can't say directly—system restrictions. But..." she smiled cryptically, "alchemists are notorious bookworms."
The sky shattered. Kai fell again, but this time with purpose.
When he landed outside Respawn Village, he was ready. Before Ellis could speak, Kai called out:
"Ellis! I need the back path to avoid night wolves, then straight to the Alchemist's Challenge!"
The silver-haired guide's jaw dropped. "How do you—"
"Third respawn. Tell you on the way."
They reached the village safely, avoiding the tavern entirely.
"The Alchemist's shop is there," Ellis pointed to a crooked building wrapped in ivy. "But watch out—that Admin will still be hunting anomalies."
"I'm counting on it," Kai replied. "I need to find the Hidden Library."
Ellis stopped dead. "How do you know about that?"
"Azrael told me. Said it's connected to the alchemist somehow."
They approached the alchemist's shop cautiously. Through the window, Kai spotted an elderly man with wild white hair arranging bottles on shelves.
"Master Thorne," Ellis whispered. "Quest-giver for the daily challenge. Also the keeper of—"
A shadow fell over them. Kai didn't need to turn around.
"Anomaly detected," came the Admin's static voice.
"Run!" Ellis shoved Kai toward the shop door.
Kai burst through it, slamming it behind him. The alchemist looked up, unfazed.
"You're early," Master Thorne said, eyes twinkling with impossible knowledge. "The broken Admin won't enter here. This is a safe zone."
Chapter 07: Hidden in Plain Sight
"Everyone seeks the Hidden Library eventually," Master Thorne said, calmly arranging potion bottles while the Admin pounded on the door. "Few are worthy of finding it."
The shop was larger inside than it appeared—shelves stretched impossibly upward, defying the building's exterior dimensions. Bottles glowed with luminescent liquids in every color imaginable.
"I don't have time for worthiness tests," Kai said. "The system is corrupting, Admins are glitching, and I keep dying."
Thorne's bushy eyebrows rose. "Ah, you're the reverse checkpoint player Azrael mentioned." He studied Kai with new interest. "Three deaths already?"
Ellis peered through the window. "The Admin's still out there, but it's not attacking. Just... waiting."
"It can't enter safe zones," Thorne explained. "Shop boundaries are hardcoded." He set down a crystal vial. "Now, about the library—it exists between loading zones."
"Like world geometry glitches?" Kai asked, remembering Ellis's expertise.
"Precisely." Thorne smiled. "Your friend here could have found it years ago, if he'd looked properly."
Ellis scowled. "I've searched everywhere."
"Not everywhere." Thorne lifted a threadbare rug, revealing a trapdoor with strange symbols etched into its surface. "Some doors only appear to those who've died enough times to see the patterns."
"That wasn't there before," Ellis whispered.
"It always was," Thorne corrected. "You just couldn't render it."
Kai knelt and traced the symbols with his finger. They shifted under his touch, rearranging into new patterns.
"It's a puzzle," he realized. "A lock."
"The library protects itself," Thorne agreed. "Solve it, and you may enter."
Outside, the Admin had stopped pounding. Through the window, Kai saw it standing perfectly still, head tilted as if listening to distant instructions.
"We don't have much time," Ellis warned. "It's calling for reinforcements."
Kai focused on the symbols. They reminded him of something... Of course! The pattern matched ability cooldowns from Eternal Conquest, the very game he'd been benched from.
He pressed the symbols in sequence—the optimal combo chain any professional player would recognize.
The trapdoor clicked, edges glowing blue.
"Come with us," Kai said to Ellis.
Ellis shook his head. "I'll distract the Admin. Give you time." He drew his sword. "Find what's corrupting the system, Kai."
Before Kai could argue, Ellis darted out the back door, shouting to draw the Admin away.
Beneath the trapdoor, swirling code pulsed—a direct gateway into the system architecture.
"Jump," Thorne urged. "And remember—in the library, thought becomes navigation."
Kai took a deep breath and leapt into the code.
Chapter 08: The Architecture of Death
Kai fell through streams of luminous code—emerald digits and sapphire symbols flowing like rivers around him. Instead of landing, he simply... stopped falling, suspended in a vast digital expanse.
Think to navigate, he remembered Thorne's advice.
Library, he thought firmly.
Reality shifted. Code streams parted like curtains, revealing an impossible structure—a library that defied physics. Bookshelves curved in non-Euclidean angles, spiral staircases led to upside-down reading nooks, and transparent floors revealed more shelves below.
Kai floated toward the nearest shelf. The books weren't physical objects, but compressed data clusters shaped like tomes.
He reached for one labeled "PLAYER METRICS" and it opened at his touch, projecting information directly into his mind.
I need death code documentation, he thought.
The library responded. Shelves rotated, books rearranged themselves, and a glowing section materialized before him. DEATH PROTOCOLS was etched in light above it.
"Impressive first-time navigation," came a voice behind him.
Kai turned to find a woman in ancient scholarly robes. Her form flickered occasionally, revealing code beneath.
"I am Alexandria, the library's interface," she said. "You seek information on the death code corruption?"
"How did you—"
"Your query patterns are transparent here," Alexandria gestured at the floating code around them. "Your purpose is written in your access permissions."
"What's happening to Arkanis? Why are Admins glitching?"
Alexandria pulled a book from the shelf, opening it to reveal animated diagrams. "The corruption began seventeen system cycles ago. A foreign code fragment infected the death protocols, creating a recursive error."
"In simple terms?"
"Death isn't functioning properly. Souls should progress through Arkanis, then transfer to higher realms or recycle. But the corruption is creating a loop—souls are being trapped or misdirected."
The diagram showed spirit pathways twisting in on themselves, creating knots in the architecture.
"Is that why Ellis has been stuck here for decades?"
"Precisely. Many souls have completed their requirements for ascension, but cannot transfer." Alexandria's form flickered more pronouncedly. "The error grows. Soon, the entire system may collapse."
"How do I fix it?"
"Find the source code fragment. It manifests physically in Arkanis as a crystalline artifact—a structure absorbing death energy." She pointed to another book. "Its location shifts, but patterns indicate the Hollow Mountains as its current nexus."
A distant alarm sounded. Alexandria looked up, alarmed.
"Admin override protocols initiated. They've detected unauthorized access."
The library trembled. Books fell from shelves, dissolving into code fragments.
"You must go," Alexandria urged, pressing a small, glowing data shard into his palm. It sank into his skin. "Navigation coordinates to the Hollow Mountains, and a partial system key."
The library collapsed around them, code unraveling.
"How do I get out?" Kai shouted.
Alexandria smiled sadly as she fragmented. "Death is always the fastest exit."
Chapter 09: Reset and Restart
Kai awakened to Azrael's crystal blue sky once more, but this time he felt different—the data shard from Alexandria pulsed beneath his skin, warm with information.
"Fourth death," he announced before Azrael could speak. "But this one was productive."
Azrael smirked. "Found the library, did you? Impressive speedrun."
"Alexandria gave me coordinates to the Hollow Mountains," Kai said, standing. "Something about a crystalline artifact causing the corruption."
"Alexandria revealed herself?" Azrael's professional facade cracked with surprise. "The library interface only manifests for critical system emergencies."
"How bad is this corruption?"
"Worse than I'm authorized to say." Azrael glanced nervously at her screens. "The reset protocols are failing. Some souls have been trapped in loops for centuries."
The data shard pulsed, integrating with Kai's consciousness. Suddenly, he understood.
"The system is bleeding," he realized. "Death energy is being siphoned off, collected by this artifact."
"Which makes your ability more important than ever." Azrael's eyes glowed with unusual intensity. "You need to reach the Hollow Mountains, find the artifact, and destroy it."
"How? Ellis mentioned the mountains are a high-level zone."
"You're thinking like a player, not an exploiter." Azrael grinned. "Use your ability. Die strategically. Learn the patterns. Skip the grind."
The sky began fracturing above them.
"One more thing," Azrael called as reality peeled away. "Trust Ellis, but remember—everyone in Arkanis is affected by the corruption. Even your allies may not be what they seem."
This time when Kai landed outside Respawn Village, he bypassed Ellis completely. The silver-haired guide called after him in confusion, but Kai was already sprinting down a different path than before.
New strategy, he thought. Speed over safety.
Kai spotted a merchant unloading supplies from a cart—an NPC he'd seen during his previous lives.
"I need transportation to the Hollow Mountains," Kai approached confidently. "Urgent business from Azrael, Reaper Class 4."
The merchant's eyes widened. "Reaper business?" He lowered his voice. "There's a teleportation node behind my shop. Password is 'Thanatos.'"
As Kai reached for the hidden crystal teleporter, a familiar voice called out.
"Going somewhere without me?"
Ellis stood at the alley entrance, arms crossed, looking hurt.
Chapter 10: Trust Protocol
"Put the sword down, Ellis," Kai said calmly, noticing his friend's hand on the hilt. "I'm trying to help you—to help everyone trapped here."
"By ditching me?" Ellis didn't move his hand. "After I risked deletion distracting that Admin?"
"Azrael warned me to be careful who I trust," Kai explained. "The corruption affects everyone differently."
Ellis's expression flickered—hurt, anger, then understanding. He relaxed his posture.
"Fair enough. But if you're heading to the Hollow Mountains, you need me." He straightened his shoulders. "I've mapped every geometry glitch in that region. Without me, you'll die repeatedly."
The data shard beneath Kai's skin pulsed, as if responding to Ellis's words. A warning or confirmation?
"How do I know I can trust you?" Kai asked.
"You don't," Ellis admitted. "Just like I don't know if I can trust you. But I've been stuck here for eighty-three years, and you're the first player who might actually change something."
Kai studied his potential ally. Ellis showed no signs of corruption—no glitching, no unnatural movements like the Admin.
"Fine," he decided. "But we do this my way."
Ellis nodded toward the teleportation crystal. "That node will get us to the mountains' base."
Kai placed his hand on the crystal. "Thanatos," he whispered.
The teleportation node glowed, enveloping them both in blue light. The world dissolved and reassembled around them.
They materialized on a rocky ledge overlooking a vast mountain range. Jagged peaks stretched into storm clouds, lightning occasionally illuminating crystalline formations.
"Welcome to the Hollow Mountains," Ellis said, immediately ducking behind a boulder. "Stay low. This area is patrolled by corrupted wildlife and system sentinels."
Kai crouched beside him, the data shard pulsing more intensely now. He felt it guiding him toward a distant peak shrouded in unnatural darkness.
"There," he pointed. "The Shadow Spire."
Ellis squinted. "That's the most heavily guarded location in Arkanis. Even Admins avoid it."
A screech echoed across the valley. Winged creatures with mechanical eyes circled above.
"Sentinel scouts," Ellis whispered. "If they spot us, they'll summon Admins."
Kai checked his inventory—still just a wooden dagger with low durability.
"I might need to die a few times," he admitted. "Scout the path, learn the patrol patterns."
"Or..." Ellis grinned, pulling a vial from his pouch. "We could use this."
The liquid inside shifted colors like oil on water.
"Perception filter potion. Makes us invisible to system sentinels for ten minutes."
They each drank. Kai felt the potion take effect immediately—his vision sharpened, but his body became translucent.
"Now run," Ellis said. "We've got ten minutes to cover impossible ground."