The chains holding the Parasite Queen groaned, ancient metal and divine intent clashing with an eerie resonance. Cracks spread like spiderwebs along their length, glowing softly with the last remnants of the sealing formation.
Yura stepped in front of Arin again, daggers drawn from thin air. "One wrong word and I'll rip out your mouth, parasite."
The Queen tilted her head, expression calm, almost motherly. "Such fire. You'll make a lovely offering."
Before Arin could say anything snarky—and he had plenty loaded—a pulse of power washed over the chamber. The white-haired girl, the "failed vessel," stepped closer. Her feet didn't touch the ground. Her body shimmered like a mirage.
Arin squinted. "So… she's not a ghost, not a system… what the hell is she?"
"An echo," Yue Lan said grimly. "Part of the Queen. A splintered soul trying to remember what it means to be whole."
"And of course, she's got a crush on me," Arin muttered.
[System Warning: You are being scanned.]
[Scan Failed.]
[Entity too unstable.]
The white-haired girl smiled again. "Do you want to die with me?"
Arin blinked. "Uhh… romantic. Terrifying. Mostly terrifying."
Suddenly, the Queen extended a single hand. The chains holding her shuddered again. But this time, one of them snapped.
The sound wasn't just physical. It was spiritual. A weight fell from the chamber's air like gravity had doubled.
Yue Lan raised a defensive ward instantly. "That seal wasn't just holding her. It was feeding her."
"She's not trying to escape," Yura realized. "She's evolving."
The Queen turned to Arin, her voice smooth. "I don't want to leave. I want you to open the last seal. Willingly."
"Why would I ever—?"
"Because I can show you the truth about your system," she whispered. "The one that lies. The one that sells your rewards. The one that marked you for failure."
The system buzzed furiously.
[DO NOT LISTEN.]
[The entity is corrupt.]
[She speaks deception.]
Arin narrowed his eyes. "Then prove her wrong."
Silence.
Jun Bai, groaning on the floor, finally sat up. "She's right, isn't she? Your system is broken. It sells rewards?"
Arin clenched his fists. "I didn't ask for this system. It latched onto me like a mosquito."
[We saved your life.]
[We gave you power.]
[You annoyed a goddess. We had to improvise.]
"Improvising isn't scamming me out of proper loot," Arin snapped out loud. "It's giving me a stick instead of a sword and calling it tactical thinking."
The Queen let out a low, echoing laugh. "Your rage is delicious."
Another chain cracked.
Yura shouted, "Arin! Don't talk to her!"
"I'm not siding with her!" Arin yelled back. "I just— I want to know!"
A new interface appeared.
[Truth Protocol: LOCKED]
[Requires: Master-level Inquiry Skill or Parasite Queen's Permission]
"Of course," Arin muttered. "Everything has a paywall."
He looked at the Queen. "What's the cost?"
She smiled slowly. "One memory. Yours. One you treasure. I'll take it. A fair trade for the truth."
Arin paused.
The room fell silent.
Yura and Yue Lan both looked alarmed.
"Arin, no," Yue Lan said. "You don't know what she'll take."
"I do," he whispered. "But I'm tired of being lied to."
He stepped forward and placed his palm against the final glowing chain. The Queen closed her eyes.
A moment passed.
[Memory Offered: Arin's first night of peace after coming to this world.]
[Truth Unlocked.]
His vision blurred. Time twisted.
Suddenly, he saw it—inside a flickering interface, countless transaction logs. Gold, gear, spell scrolls—all marked "redirected." Sold. Transferred. Even the divine reward from saving Princess Yue Lan's life had been intercepted.
Redirected to other systems.
Arin staggered back.
"She's not lying," he said, voice hoarse.
Yura's hands trembled.
"Your system is part of a black market," the Queen said softly. "You are a broken cog in a corrupted wheel."
Another chain shattered.
Yue Lan stepped forward. "Then we fight it. Together."
Arin looked between them—Yura, Yue Lan, even Jun Bai… and the Queen, still chained but now smiling like a spider watching her web tremble.
"I'm not freeing you," he told her. "But I'm done obeying my system."
The system buzzed.
[New Status: Rebel Host]
[Penalties Applied.]
[Future rewards will be corrupted.]
[All quest tracking disabled.]
[Emergency Extraction Locked.]
Yura stared in horror. "Arin…"
"I'll be fine," he said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "I've fought with trash so long, I've become the king of garbage."
The Queen's chains quieted—for now.
But something had changed.
Arin had pulled a thread from the veil.
And now, something unseen was unraveling.