The glow from the heavens hadn't faded. It pulsed behind her like a stage spotlight, and standing at its center was the goddess—the very same goddess Arin had insulted, annoyed, and somehow survived. Her golden robes shimmered with ethereal threads, and in her right hand, she held an ornate divine artifact shaped like a—yes, a giant glowing flyswatter.
Yura whispered, "She's terrifying."
Yue Lan blinked. "She's also wearing heels… during a system-level purge."
Arin stared at the goddess with wide eyes. "Oh no. I know that expression. That's her 'I'm pretending to be calm, but I'm five seconds away from deleting a galaxy' face."
Admin Zero remained still, though the violet flames around his hands dimmed slightly. "Deity-class interference was not permitted in this containment zone."
The goddess narrowed her eyes. "Containment? I call it incompetence. You were supposed to quietly recycle him. And instead, you made him interesting."
"I was quietly dying, thank you," Arin interjected. "You just dropped the dumbest system on me and left."
She didn't look at him. She didn't have to. Her glare said we'll talk later.
Admin Zero's voice sharpened. "He's been exposed to core truths. That disqualifies him from mortal progression. Protocol dictates—"
"Protocol?" the goddess snapped. "Since when do corrupted admin fragments quote protocol? You're a walking malware pile. He may be trash, but he's my trash. You touch him, and I'll personally crash your kernel."
Arin whispered, "Okay, now I'm kind of flattered."
Yura elbowed him hard.
The Queen, still bound in chains, watched the divine drama with amused eyes. "The heavens fight over garbage… what a delicious time to be awake."
Admin Zero took a step back. "I will escalate this to the System Council."
The goddess smirked. "Do that. Oh, and tell them I'll be sending a divine audit. They've been redirecting reward loot across multiverse nodes without authorization. Arin's file alone reads like a ransom note."
Everyone turned to Arin.
He threw up his hands. "I swear, I didn't steal anything! Except maybe a demon's toothbrush. Long story."
Yue Lan looked at the goddess. "You knew his system was corrupted?"
The goddess sighed, finally turning her gaze to Arin. "Of course. The moment I saw his soul, I knew he was the worst person to give a system to."
"Gee, thanks."
"But I was also… curious," she added. "You annoyed me in ways I hadn't felt since the dawn of the cosmos. So I patched together the Trash System as a joke."
"That explains… so much," Arin muttered.
Admin Zero's body crackled with glitching static. "If you refuse to allow erasure, then the corruption will spread."
The goddess raised her flyswatter. "Then maybe it should. Maybe the multiverse needs a little chaos."
She struck the air.
Time itself fractured for a moment.
Admin Zero screamed—not in pain, but in resistance—as he collapsed into his code form and dissolved into dust, which scattered upward into a thousand swirling system lines.
[Admin Zero has been Terminated by Divine Authority.]
[Corrupted Core Encounter Concluded.]
[System Reinstated… with Modifications.]
Arin blinked as a notification flickered.
[You are now under Modified Trash System v2.1]
[New Feature Unlocked: Manual Corruption Detection]
[Divine Oversight Mode: Enabled (Until Further Notice)]
"...wait," he said, reading slowly. "What the hell is 'Manual Corruption Detection'?"
The goddess smiled. "You'll see. Basically, you can now detect other broken systems… if they don't kill you first."
Yura looked horrified. "So now he's bait for rogue systems?"
"Glorious bait," the goddess said proudly. "I've basically made him a universal whistleblower."
"Do I get a raise for this?" Arin asked.
"No," the goddess replied.
Yue Lan stepped forward. "Then what now? Do we just… pretend none of this happened?"
The goddess turned, and for the first time, her voice softened. "The corruption in the system runs deep. But Arin… is the glitch that survived. That makes him the perfect mistake."
She began to ascend again, her heels clicking against nothing.
"Don't screw this up too badly," she added. "I'm not saving you again. Probably."
With that, the divine light vanished.
The chamber fell quiet again, still wrecked and heavy with broken power. Arin exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples.
"Well," he said. "Anyone else feel like taking a nap for a week?"
Jun Bai, still sitting cross-legged, muttered, "I think I'm going to become a monk."
Yue Lan looked thoughtful. "We have to prepare. If other corrupted systems find you… they'll come hunting."
Yura nodded. "You're a beacon now. That means danger."
"Danger," Arin said. "Adventure. Chaos. Betrayal. Love. Probably betrayal again."
He sighed.
"Guess we better get stronger."