Ethan stared at the faint, floating messages overlaying his vision, blinking as the golden light faded out like HUD text.
He wasn't touching any tech. His helmet was fried, and his tablet shattered during the fall. Yet this... "interface" continued to follow him. It projected information as if it were coded directly into his optic nerves.
Ethan thought all of it was just his imagination except for the monsters that he attacked and died in his hands.
"SP? Void Sync? Inventory?" he muttered. "This isn't a standard issue... This isn't real, is it?"
But the HUD didn't vanish. If anything, it grew sharper as he focused. Along the bottom corner, a translucent icon pulsed softly—labeled [Status Panel]—hovering like a game menu. He didn't open it yet.
He hesitated, then willed the blinking icon open with a simple thought.
The interface reacted instantly.
[Ascension Protocol – Sovereign Candidate Status]
Name: Ethan Kael Vire
Title: [None]
Level: [Initializing…]
Race: Human
---
HP: 100%
Void Sync: 2.3%
Reality Integrity: 91% (Stable)
---
Skills:
Sovereign Authority: Absolute Override
Void Scan
Combat HUD
---
System Points (SP): 65
Reality Stabilization Units (RSUs): 0
Inventory: Unrefined Void Crystal ×1
---
Next Ascension Threshold: 5%
Quests Available:
[✔ Sublevel Sweep – COMPLETE]
[SYSTEM NOTICE]: Micro-Breach sealed. Threat reduced.
---
Ethan stared at it, trying to make sense of the words. "Skills? Combat HUD? Override?"
He focused on one line in particular—Sovereign Authority: Absolute Override. As soon as his gaze lingered, the description expanded:
---
["Command reality, deny existence, and enforce will."]
Effect: Instantly cancel one enemy ability, entity, or spatial anomaly within line of sight.
Cooldown: 5 Minutes (scales with Sync %)
---
"Huh? This must be some kind of a joke?" he laughed, "Am I dreaming or something?"
But what happened before was too real to be a dream. His throat went dry, wondering why he got all of this in the first place and what monsters attacked him?
Was this some kind of fucked up government experiment went wrong?
"If it is... then I'm screwed either way. They don't let people walk away from black ops tech."
He stared into the static haze still hanging faintly over the hallway.
"Are you still there?" he asked. "What were those things that attacked me? Is this part of some black project? Are you some kind of military experiment?"
---
[Query received.]
[The entities encountered are classified as Echoborn – invasive lifeforms originating from the Fractured Void.]
[Designations: Class E – Nullspawn. ]
[They do not belong to Earth's biological or dimensional framework.]
[They are not part of any government-sanctioned operation.]
[The Ascension Protocol is not human in origin.]
[This system was activated in response to breach-level contact with a dormant Rift Core. A dimensional scar left by an ancient void incursion. It anchors a bridge between Earth's reality layer and the Fractured Void.]
[You are the first viable Sovereign Candidate to survive exposure.]
---
"First, huh? Does this mean everyone is dead?" his voice turned low.
[Yes]
The answer was short but enough to make a chill run down his spine. He was just a normal soldier, sometimes doing shady operations like this one. But like other soldiers, he just followed orders blindly.
That's how he surveyed, without asking unnecessary questions and keeping ignorant.
"Alright, you AI-thingy or whatever the hell you are—I don't want any of this, so get the hell out of my head!"
---
[…]
[Request declined.]
[You are humanity's last viable firewall. The Rift Core has breached stable containment.]
[This world is in the early stages of total collapse. You no longer have a choice.]
---
His voice cracked a little as he kept going.
"And don't pretend this is mutual. You can leave my brain, right? So go ahead. Scrub yourself out. I'll just pretend none of this happened."
He sighed hard, running a hand down his face, voice going quieter again.
"I'll just ignore you…"
---
[That is not advised.]
[Ignoring system directives will accelerate breach expansion.]
[Emotional avoidance logged. Psychological strain: rising.]
---
He clenched his fist and turned away. There was no time to wrestle with hallucinations or system ghosts.
Whatever had chosen him hadn't asked permission, and his squad was still missing. That mattered more than his sanity. For now.
The tunnel stretched ahead. Bent rebar, exposed piping, and flickering lights lined the route upward.
He couldn't afford to rest here.
As he limped through the corridor, his thoughts drifted to the rest of the team.
What if the creatures had gotten them before the collapse? What if they were still alive, trapped deeper in the breach?
Or worse—what if he was the only one who survived because of this system?
The guilt crept in slowly, riding on the back of exhaustion. He shut it down fast.
"Let's focus on getting out of here first," he muttered.
As he turned, a faint light appeared at the edge of the tunnel. He stopped, eyes widening in disbelief.
A small gasp escaped, muffled by the black mask he was still wearing. He reached up and removed his helmet, letting his bare eyes meet the light directly for the first time.
"This… isn't some kind of trap, is it?" he murmured. "Or another monster with a pretty disguise?"
He glanced down at the rifle in his hands—half a mag left, no spare ammo. Still, he walked forward cautiously, following the light until it opened up to the surface.
He stepped out into the ruins of the town—right where he'd fallen. Ethan turned around again, trying to find the tunnel entrance.
But it was gone.
He stood in the center of a dead town, the same place his team had entered an hour ago, but now the breach had sealed behind him—like it had never existed.
Then, just as he started to breathe normally again, the system reappeared.
[New Quest Available – Echoes That Remain]
[Objective: Investigate anomaly linked to the missing squad.]
[Status: Entity identified with partial Ascension exposure.]
[Location: Traceable – sync distortion detected near south town.]
[Note: Organic lifeform presents unstable Void resonance.]
[Reward: Combat Memory Fragment | Partial Void Immunity Data]
"Missing squad?" his voice trailed as his hands started to tremble. "I need to save them."