[SYSTEM OFFLINE.]
The protagonist stared at the black screen.
Nothing.
No blue panel.
No notifications.
No sarcastic responses.
No survival recommendations.
For the first time since he had awakened in this insane world...
There was silence inside his head.
And somehow, that was worse.
"System?"
Nothing.
"System."
Still nothing.
He waved his hand through the empty space where the interface normally appeared.
Nothing.
Tony noticed.
"Your glowing thing isn't working?"
The protagonist slowly nodded.
"Yeah."
"Good."
He looked at Tony.
"Good?"
Tony's helmet retracted.
"I've been around enough weird technology to know that anything capable of talking directly into someone's brain is probably bad news."
Thor looked toward the stranger.
"Then perhaps we should concern ourselves with the greater threat."
Superman stepped forward.
The stranger hadn't moved.
Black clothing.
A white emblem across the chest.
Red eyes.
No visible weapon.
No armor.
No obvious power.
Yet Superman hadn't attacked.
That alone told the protagonist something.
This guy was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
The stranger looked at Superman.
"Still protecting everyone."
Superman's eyes narrowed.
"Do I know you?"
"No."
A pause.
"Not yet."
Tony raised his palm.
"Okay, creepy guy. I'm going to need you to explain yourself."
The stranger turned.
"Anthony Stark."
Tony froze.
The stranger continued.
"Born into wealth. Brilliant inventor. Weapons manufacturer. Hero."
Tony's expression hardened.
"You've been doing your homework."
The stranger's red eyes shifted.
"Thor Odinson."
Thor tightened his grip on Mjolnir.
"Kal-El."
Superman became completely still.
Then—
The stranger looked at the protagonist.
The protagonist's stomach dropped.
And the stranger said his name.
His real name.
The name he'd forgotten.
The protagonist stopped breathing.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Tony looked at him.
"You know him?"
The protagonist didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because the name had hit something inside his mind.
Not a memory.
A feeling.
Something buried.
Something painful.
Something familiar.
He whispered:
"...Say it again."
The stranger smiled.
"Why?"
The protagonist's fists clenched.
"Say."
The stranger's smile disappeared.
His eyes became serious.
"You already know it."
The protagonist shook his head.
"No."
A flash.
A white room.
A table.
Blood?
No.
He couldn't see.
Another flash.
A hand.
His hand.
Holding a pen.
Writing something.
Then—
Darkness.
He staggered.
Superman caught his shoulder.
"Easy."
The protagonist shoved himself away.
"Don't."
Superman stopped.
The stranger watched.
"You're remembering."
"Shut up."
"Your memories were never destroyed."
The protagonist's breathing became faster.
"They were hidden."
"Shut up!"
"By you."
The protagonist lunged.
Tony immediately grabbed him.
"Whoa!"
"LET ME GO!"
The stranger didn't move.
The protagonist struggled against Tony's armor.
"You know something!"
Tony tightened his grip.
"Yeah, and charging the mysterious superpowered guy probably isn't the best interrogation technique."
"Let me go!"
Tony released him.
The protagonist stood there, breathing heavily.
The stranger looked almost disappointed.
"Still impulsive."
The protagonist froze.
"...What?"
The stranger turned away.
"That hasn't changed."
Thor stepped forward.
"Enough riddles."
Lightning flashed around him.
"Explain yourself."
The stranger looked at Thor.
"I could."
He looked at Superman.
"But you would not believe me."
Then Tony.
"And you would attempt to scan me."
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"Already did."
The stranger smiled.
"Of course."
Tony's expression changed.
"What?"
"My armor can't identify him?"
Tony didn't answer.
The stranger looked back toward the protagonist.
"Because I'm not supposed to exist here."
The protagonist swallowed.
"Then why are you here?"
The stranger pointed at him.
"Because you are."
Tony immediately raised his palm.
"Okay. That's enough."
Repulsors charged.
The stranger didn't even look at him.
"Don't."
Tony fired.
The blast stopped inches from the stranger's face.
Tony's eyes widened.
The energy simply hung there.
Frozen.
The stranger turned his head.
The blast disappeared.
Tony's helmet immediately closed.
"Right."
He stepped backward.
"That's new."
Thor attacked.
Mjolnir flew.
The stranger caught it.
The protagonist's eyes widened.
Thor's expression became one of genuine shock.
"Impossible."
The stranger looked at the hammer.
Then Thor.
"You're not the only one who can lift it."
He threw Mjolnir back.
Thor caught it.
Superman moved.
A blur.
The stranger moved faster.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
The shockwave shattered nearby windows.
The protagonist ducked.
"WHY IS EVERYONE SO STRONG?!"
Tony grabbed him and flew upward.
"Because you're apparently the normal one!"
"I'M BEGINNING TO NOTICE!"
Below them, Superman and the stranger collided again.
Thor joined.
Tony raised his palm.
"Stay here."
The protagonist looked at him.
"Where?"
Tony pointed at the roof.
"Anywhere that isn't directly beneath the apocalypse."
Tony flew away.
The protagonist stared after him.
"Great advice."
He looked around.
No system.
No powers.
No weapon.
Just him.
Again.
He sighed.
"Okay."
He looked toward the fight.
"Think."
The stranger had said something important.
I'm not supposed to exist here.
That sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
The protagonist looked at his hands.
Then the city.
Then the sky.
He remembered the entity.
The anchors.
The system.
The unknown trait.
The message.
You are not the person you think you are.
He slowly frowned.
"Wait."
The protagonist's eyes widened.
The stranger wasn't the fourth anchor.
The system had said:
The Fourth Anchor may not be you.
Then why had the stranger said—
You found yourself.
He looked toward the stranger.
"You're not talking about me."
The stranger stopped.
Superman and Thor both hesitated.
Tony hovered nearby.
The protagonist pointed.
"You're talking about someone else."
The stranger stared at him.
Then smiled.
"There."
The protagonist froze.
"That look."
The stranger nodded.
"That's why I came."
He raised one hand.
A small object appeared in his palm.
A silver coin.
The protagonist's heart stopped.
He knew that coin.
He didn't know how.
But he knew.
The stranger threw it.
The protagonist caught it.
The moment his fingers touched the metal—
FLASH.
He was somewhere else.
Not the city.
Not Earth.
Not anywhere he recognized.
A massive chamber stretched before him.
Hundreds of screens floated in the air.
Each showed a different universe.
One had a giant green monster.
One had a wizarding castle.
One had strange alien warriors.
One showed a city beneath the ocean.
Another displayed a dark planet surrounded by rings.
Thousands.
Millions.
Infinite possibilities.
And in the center of the chamber—
A chair.
Someone sat there.
The protagonist walked closer.
The figure turned.
He couldn't see the face.
But he heard the voice.
His own.
"You have to forget."
The protagonist stopped.
"What?"
The figure stood.
"If you remember, they'll find you."
"Who?"
The figure looked behind him.
The screens began turning black.
One by one.
"Everyone."
The protagonist stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The figure raised a hand.
And removed the mask.
The protagonist froze.
It was him.
Not older.
Not younger.
Him.
But there was something different.
The eyes.
Cold.
Focused.
Certain.
The other version of him spoke.
"I'm the reason you survived."
The vision shattered.
The protagonist gasped.
He was back on the rooftop.
The silver coin fell from his hand.
He dropped to one knee.
Tony landed beside him.
"Hey!"
The protagonist didn't answer.
Tony crouched.
"Look at me."
He did.
Tony's helmet opened.
"What happened?"
The protagonist swallowed.
"I saw myself."
Tony paused.
"...Okay."
"Not a memory."
"That's worse."
"Yeah."
The stranger landed several meters away.
Superman stood behind him.
Thor beside Superman.
None of them attacked.
The stranger looked at the protagonist.
"Now you understand."
The protagonist stood.
"You're a version of me."
The stranger nodded.
"One of many."
Tony looked between them.
"Fantastic."
The protagonist's eyes narrowed.
"How many?"
The stranger's expression darkened.
"Too many."
"How many versions of me exist?"
The stranger didn't answer.
The protagonist stepped forward.
"How many?"
"Enough."
"That's not an answer."
"Because there isn't one."
The stranger looked at the sky.
"The multiverse doesn't simply contain different versions of people."
He looked at the protagonist.
"Sometimes..."
He paused.
"...it contains different versions of possibilities."
The protagonist frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means there are worlds where you became a hero."
A second pause.
"Worlds where you became a villain."
Another.
"Worlds where you became a king."
The stranger's expression became darker.
"Worlds where you became something gods feared."
The protagonist stared.
"And you?"
The stranger looked down.
"I'm the one who failed."
The protagonist's expression changed.
"Failed at what?"
The stranger's red eyes met his.
"Saving our world."
Silence.
The protagonist's stomach tightened.
"What world?"
The stranger pointed toward the sky.
The golden symbol returned.
But this time, the protagonist saw something inside it.
A planet.
Burning.
He couldn't look away.
The stranger spoke quietly.
"Your original world."
The protagonist froze.
"What?"
"That world didn't simply disappear."
The burning planet grew larger.
"Someone destroyed it."
The protagonist's face went blank.
His old memories returned in fragments.
The road.
The car.
The scream.
The darkness.
He had always thought he had died.
But now—
He looked at the stranger.
"That wasn't an accident."
The stranger shook his head.
"No."
The protagonist's hands began trembling.
"Someone killed me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The stranger didn't answer.
The protagonist stepped closer.
"WHY?"
The stranger's expression softened.
"Because they were looking for me."
The protagonist froze.
"What?"
"They found you instead."
The world seemed to tilt.
Tony's voice became distant.
Thor said something.
Superman moved closer.
But the protagonist heard none of it.
Only one sentence.
They found you instead.
The stranger continued.
"I escaped."
He pointed at the protagonist.
"You didn't."
The protagonist stared.
"So I died because of you?"
The stranger's expression changed.
Guilt.
Real guilt.
"Yes."
Silence.
The protagonist laughed.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
"You..."
His fists clenched.
"You got me killed."
"I know."
"You knew who I was."
"Yes."
"You knew what happened."
"Yes."
"And you still let me walk around thinking I was some random civilian?"
The stranger looked away.
"I didn't have a choice."
The protagonist stepped forward.
"Everyone has a choice."
The stranger looked back.
"Not when the alternative is letting them find you."
The protagonist froze.
The stranger continued.
"If they discover who you are before you're ready..."
He looked toward the sky.
"...this entire merged reality becomes a battlefield."
Tony's voice came from behind them.
"Who are they?"
The stranger looked at him.
"The people who created the system."
Tony's expression changed.
The protagonist's heart skipped.
"What?"
The stranger continued.
"The system wasn't designed to help you."
The protagonist stared.
"Then what was it designed for?"
The stranger looked directly into his eyes.
"To monitor you."
The protagonist's blood went cold.
"Monitor me?"
"Every point."
Every quest.
"Every choice."
Every cameo.
"Every character you meet."
Every notification.
"Every change you make."
The protagonist's face hardened.
"Why?"
The stranger answered:
"Because they want to know what happens when an ordinary human is given access to the narrative structure of the multiverse."
The protagonist slowly looked at his empty system screen.
"They're experimenting on me."
"No."
The stranger's eyes narrowed.
"They're studying you."
A pause.
"Because they already know what you become."
The protagonist's heart stopped.
"What?"
The stranger stepped closer.
"And they are terrified you'll become it again."
The sky suddenly turned black.
Every hero looked upward.
A massive symbol appeared across the clouds.
Not golden.
Not blue.
Black.
The system suddenly returned.
«[SYSTEM ONLINE.]»
The protagonist stared.
"You're back."
«[Correction.]»
«[Connection restored.]»
He frowned.
"What's the difference?"
The screen flickered.
«[The previous system was compromised.]»
He went still.
"What?"
«[External entity accessed user interface.]»
The stranger looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
"No."
The protagonist noticed.
"What?"
The stranger stepped backward.
"That's not them."
"Who?"
The stranger looked at the black symbol.
His face became pale.
"Something else got inside."
The system began filling with red text.
«[UNKNOWN ACCESS DETECTED.]»
«[UNKNOWN ACCESS DETECTED.]»
«[UNKNOWN ACCESS DETECTED.]»
Then—
Every screen disappeared.
A single sentence appeared.
«[HELLO AGAIN, KAI.]»
The protagonist stopped breathing.
Kai.
His name.
His real name.
The stranger's face went pale.
Tony looked at him.
"Who's Kai?"
The protagonist couldn't answer.
Because another message appeared.
«[I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.]»
The protagonist stared at the words.
Then the final message appeared.
«[DO YOU REMEMBER ME?]»
His vision blurred.
A memory surfaced.
A voice.
A room.
A hand on his shoulder.
And someone whispering:
"Don't worry, Kai. I'll bring you back."
The protagonist's eyes widened.
"That's..."
He looked at the stranger.
"You."
The stranger shook his head.
"No."
The protagonist turned toward the black sky.
The voice came again.
Not through the system.
Through reality itself.
"Hello, little brother."
Kai froze.
The stranger whispered:
"...We're too late."
The black symbol opened.
And something on the other side...
looked back.