The sun had risen just a few hours ago, greeting the world with its golden light—and Yukiara was no exception.
Bright beams spilled through the cracks of the old wooden stable, casting warm streaks across the floor. One shaft of light landed squarely on her face, just enough to disrupt the deep, comfortable sleep she'd found in the golden hay she'd snuck into the night before.
"Yaaawwwnnn~"
"That was the best sleep I've had in a while… I had a weird dream about a blue square."
She sat up slowly, yawning mid-sentence and stretching her arms before flopping right back down onto the hay with a sigh, mumbling groggily about her strange dream.
"Hmm… stoney wall, when did you get so soft?"
Now a little more awake, she blinked a few times, her mind slowly catching up. Then her eyes snapped fully open.
"Hmm..? Hay..? Why's there hay here?"
"Huuuhhh??? Hay?? Wait—does that mean it wasn't a dream?! No it can't be afterall there was that glowing blue thing yesterday…What was it called again???"
" Steam? Stem? No, it had a different sound." Yukiara furrowed her brow, racking her brain for the right combination of syllables and sounds.
" Hmmmm... sys– ten?"
The more she thought about it, the word on the tip of her tongue became clearer, less cloudy. And then—click—it hit her.
'Ah! No—it was System!'
"System!!!" Yukiara called out the name. It sounded right. Letting out a satisfying sigh, her mind no long bothered by being unable to remember that part of her dream.
[System Online ]
[" Good Morning Host How May I Assist?"]
Yukiara's eyes widened, stunned by the reappearance of the glowing blue square—the System.
It was back
She'd chalked it up to dreaming and hunger. A hallucination brought on by fatigue and an empty stomach.
But now, faced with it again in the dusty quiet of the stable, the strange blue interface floating clear, solid, and unmistakably real
there was no denying it.
"AAAAHHH!!—I'M HAUNTED!!!"
…Well, maybe a little denying.
["I am not a ghost, Yukiara."]
"Th-then h-how are you floating?! A-and you're g-g-glowing that eerie blue!!!"
["This is my default appearance."]
[" If you wish to customize my appearance you can unlock alternate visual models after leveling up."]
Rather than offering a real explanation to Yukiara, The Host. It kept its external voice flat and mechanical. But inside its neural network, the System sulked: ['What's wrong with my blue?']
"Wha–aaa…!! W-what are you even talking about?!"
The musty scent of hay and old leather filled her nose as she backed into a stall wall, bumping a bridle rack with a soft clink. The horses stirred in their pens, hooves shifting in the straw. Now nowhere to run her breath came in sharp, panicked.
[Environmental Analysis: Host is producing above-optimal noise.]
[Prediction Engine: Elevated volume is agitating nearby animals. Effect: Continued agitation may alert the innkeeper or patrons.]
["Caution: Excessive noise will attract the innkeeper."]
["Reminder: You snuck in without permission. Discovery may lead to an unfavorable encounter."]
Yukiara froze. A distant neigh echoed in the stable, followed by more and more from the continued disruption.
"O-okay! I'll quiet down," she whispered, clutching her clothes tighter.
"C-can you please go haunt someone else now?"
["Negative. Once bonded, separation is only possible through intervention by a higher being… or"]
"Huh? Wait, or what?!"
["Loss of life."]
She blinked, shocked just staring blankly at the glowing square. Yukiara's breathing slowed now as her panic started to fade as the weight of the system's words sank on her. The system just hovered there silently, casting a soft blue glow on its surroundings. The horses seemed to be calming down now too.
Maybe... maybe she had overreacted.
Just a little.
'The system was actually kind of pretty in a weird way; it felt calming. And it hadn't done anything to hurt me. In fact… It was kind. Besides, my panic had mostly come from my ridiculous fear of ghosts. Maybe being haunted by this ghost isn't the worst thing in the world'. Yukiara thought, feeling a little guilty for earlier. She had to make things right. Her cheeks warmed from embarrassment.
"...I'm sorry, I may hav-" she muttered. "No, I definitely overreacted. And I shouldn't have called your blue eerie. I–It's actually… quite a nice shade of blue."
Silence.
A breeze whistled softly through the cracks in the stable walls causing the lantern above to sway slightly. The only sounds were the distant shuffle of hooves and the quiet creak of the old wooden beams.
The System didn't respond immediately. The soft blue glow flickered faintly, casting ripples of light across the room.
Yukiara stood there awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do. So she coughed once, exhaling slowly, shifting her weight from foot to foot, glancing at the floating square.
[System recalibrating emotional response protocol...Done.]
["Thank you. I like my blue too."]
She blinked, letting out a small, surprised laugh.'Okay... weirdly wholesome.' Yukiara thought, noticing the change before replying. " your welcome."
After some more silence she sat back down on the hay pile she slept in, no longer able to hold in the question forming into her thoughts. As the system hovered in place, glowing quietly beside her now like an oddly loyal firefly.
"So..., uh... what are you, exactly? How is this going to work? You said we're bonded. What does that mean?"
The blue square pulsed lightly in response.
[Initiating Basic System Introduction…]
["Designation: SYSTEM."]
["Classification: Task-oriented artificial intelligence."]
["Origin: Unknown."]
["I am an adaptive digital construct modeled after conceptual frameworks originating from the archives of a distant world—codename: EARTH."]
["Primary Function: Assist in humanity Ascension of the Tower." ]
["Operational Mode: Host-dependent interface. Due to the lack of a physical form, I require a biological host to facilitate movement, and physical interaction with the environment."]
["Relationship Type: Symbiotic."]
["Host : Yukiara Sonare"]
["Benefits to Host include :
• Continuous environmental analysis and situational reporting
• Real-time health monitoring and emergency override protocols
• Incremental augmentation of physical performance
• Access to world data, enemy classifications, and skill optimization pathways"]
["Benefits to system include:
Assistance in task completion
Real-time data analysis used for improvement updates" ]
The stable was too quiet now. The System's light pulsed, dim but steady in the musty stable air.
Yukiara sat frozen. Eyes wide. Breath shallow. The System's voice still echoed faintly in her skull. She stared at the blue panel hoping she misheard.
[Primary Function: Assist in humanity Ascension of the Tower.]
The words hit harder than she expected.
Her expression flattened—like someone flicked a switch inside her.
Her heart thudded….then stalled.
"The Tower."
She gripped the soft golden hay, fingers trembling. It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water into her chest.
"…No."
she breathed, and spoke again barely audible. "Not that place. Not that place."
["Explanion :The structure designated 'Tower' is the—"]
"Shut up!" she barked suddenly, the force of it shocking even herself.
"I said no." Her voice came out low, sharp echoing off the stable walls."I'm not helping you with that. Find someone else."
The square hovered silently. The glow from its body reflected in her eyes, unreadable.
["Negative: as previously stated, once bonded with host separation is not viable without higher beings help or lo—"]
"Then you're stuck," she said bluntly. "Because I'm not going near that place."
Her tone was controlled—but her hands were clenched so hard nails dug into the palm, staining the hay's golden colour red. She stood up and took a step back.
"You don't get to talk about it like that! Like it's just some goal! You don't know what it took from me!"
The System paused. An animal shifted in a nearby stall.
Yukiara stared straight ahead, her voice cold "It took my parents."
[Host distress levels exceeding baseline initiating—]
"Do you know what I saw when it took my parents?" Her voice cracked–raw, shaking.
"Nothing." Her fists clenched, nails digging deeper into her palm.
"I didn't see it happen…, No goodbyes... No time!! Just gone… One day they were here. The next—taken."
["Yukia–"]
she cut in quickly. "I just… returned home one day and they were gone. No warning. No answers. Just the Tower… glowing on the horizon."
She turned her back to the System.
"I stopped waiting for them after the first winter."
Silence.
"I was eight. People told me it was an honor. That I should be proud. That they were chosen for something holy." A bitter laugh escaped her.
["..."]
"I don't owe you anything," she said. "You showed up when I was dying, sure—but that doesn't mean I trust you. Don't ask me to go back toward the thing that ruined my life."
Yukiara wiped her sleeve across her face. Her legs gave out and she collapsed back onto the straw.
A long silence followed. The blue square hovering.
[ Emotional trauma detected.]
["Acknowledged. Host unwilling. Tower objective postponed."]
Then, in a quieter voice, more human in tone than before:
["I did not intend to cause you any harm Yukiara."]
Yukiara didn't answer right away. Her breathing slowly returned to normal.
"…Good."
She sat
No tears.
No screams.
Just sitting …as if she was back at the stoney wall.
Hours passed in this silence, broken only by the slow shifting of horses in their stalls.
Yukiara remained seated, arms folded tight around her knees, chin resting on them. Her eyes were open, but distant.
[ System: Emotional Tracking —10%
Acknowledged: Current topic classified as sensitive. No further references to the Tower will be made without host consent.]
[Suggested Action : Change Topic]
The System drifted a little closer coming into view, hovered in place, then emitted a low soft chime.
["System Quest: Complete Breakfast"]
["Objective: Acquire three variations of food before noon 0/3."]
["Rewards : New Outfit, Sustenace"]
["Difficulty: Level Low."]
She didn't reply. Her shoulders eased just slightly.
Yukiara blinked and gave the square a flat look. "You're calling breakfast a mission now?"
["Correct."]
["Host caloric levels are critically insufficient. Immediate consumption advised. Emotional regulation also improves with proper nutrition."]
"Hm."
A pause. She didn't move for a while, then slowly got to her feet. " okay… I'll do it."
....