The Weaver's threads still floated in the deep, unraveling like lost memories.
Hari drifted upward, limbs burned, mind fractured.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE]
You have breached the Code-Limit.
System compatibility: 61%
Reality Anchoring: Critical
His vision flickered between now and never. Every blink showed him a different timeline:
– A world where he died at the waterfall.
– A future where he ruled as a god of blood and void.
– A timeline where he was hunted… by himself.
---
> "Too many threads. Not enough anchors," Hari muttered, blood dripping from his ears.
> "I need… stability."
---
System Navigation: Forbidden Core Detected
> New Location Unlocked: The Severed Nexus
Coordinates: Outside Known Map Grid
Danger Level: ∞
Suggested Objective:
☑ Integrate Forbidden Core
☑ Choose Tier III Evolution Path
☑ Reforge your thread
Hari didn't hesitate.
He activated the path.
A portal tore open in front of him — not a gate, but a scar in reality.
He stepped through.
---
The Severed Nexus
There was no sky.
No ground.
Only floating shards of time and space — fractured lands of frozen battles, upside-down cities, skeletons of gods drifting through void winds.
And at the center—
A giant mirror, cracked and glowing with red runes.
It pulsed as Hari approached, recognizing him.
> [INITIATING FORBIDDEN CORE SYNCHRONIZATION…]
Matching user alignment…
Generating Tier III Evolution Paths…
> ☑ Path 1: Eclipse Devourer
— Feed on enemies and systems. Gain permanent stats per consumed entity.
— Risk: May trigger corruption of user memory.
☑ Path 2: Crimson Sovereign
— Control blood, command vampiric dominion, summon blood-forged warriors.
— Risk: Attract attention of dormant vampire lords.
☑ Path 3: Shadow Architect
— Rebuild and rewrite broken system code. Forge your own skills.
— Risk: May be hunted by the Architect himself.
Hari stared.
Each path offered something monstrous.
Something evolutionary.
And then…
He chose.
> "I don't want to follow their rules anymore."
> "I'll make my own system."
> Selection: Shadow Architect
---
The mirror shattered.
His body arched in pain.
Black code seared into his skin. A second system core grew within him — unstable, chaotic, alive.
> [Shadow Architect Path Engaged]
Tier III Ability Unlocked: Code Rewrite
— Allows you to alter or erase system-generated mechanics within 10 meters.
— Example: Delete cooldowns, change skill effects, disrupt enemy passives.
Warning: Prolonged use causes system clash.
> [Class Title Obtained: Rogue System]
> [Unique Status: Self-Written Player]
Hari collapsed, gasping, in the center of the Severed Nexus.
He was no longer bound to the game.
He was outside it.
---
Meanwhile…
In a divine chamber high in the system's palace, three cloaked figures argued.
> "He's chosen the Architect's path."
"He's rewriting the system from within."
"If we don't stop him, the game ends."
The throne of light pulsed.
A whisper slithered across realms.
> "Then… let the next Weaver ascend."
> "Let it be one of his own."
---
In the mortal world, far from the Nexus…
A lone village boy collapsed.
He screamed, veins turning black.
A Weaver mark burned into his chest.
He had no idea what he'd become.
Only that his first target… was named Hari.
---
To be continued in Chapter 22: The Rogue System
---