Krytel Elorin died with his eyes wide open and full of fury. The silk cuffs of his tailored suit were already soaked through, crimson spreading in delicate spiderwork across cream fabric and falling in drops that glittered on the polished marble of Aurelian Hall. Three women Seraphina Argent, Valeria Frost, and Isolde Vane stood over him while the board of Elorin Global applauded the perfect coup. Their betrayal was velvet-smooth and clinical, a poisoned signature line on a merger document followed by Isolde's intimate press of a depressor needle between Krytel's ribs. Outside, news drones hovered like silver vultures, broadcasting the "suicide" of the world-renowned billionaire futurist. In his final moments Krytel's mind raged at the irony of being murdered for a company he built to cure human frailty. The last thing he heard was the echo of Seraphina's heels clicking away as she whispered, "History will remember you as weak."
Darkness collapsed inward, soundless, absolute—and then a pinpoint of white ignited in the void, blooming until it wrapped around him like code on fire.
Initializing Rebirth Code
Heart - 0 Soul - 0
System core checksum… verified.
Fatal-event seed matched.
Rebirth window located: T-182 days.
Krytel's consciousness slammed backward through memory like a bullet through glass. Pain inverted into cold clarity, and the void peeled away, replaced by soft light and the hush of distant traffic. He gasped, alive again, sprawled on the polished oak floor of his penthouse bedchamber in Solace Spire, the tallest residential tower in Neo-Aster. Sunlight cut through glass walls, painting gold across hundred-story views. His heart hammered, but not from poison. He'd been dropped into his own body exactly six months before the coup.
For a long, trembling minute he lay there breathing, cataloguing sensations. Fingers: responsive. Vision: clear. Tongue: coppery with adrenaline. Then the System spoke inside his skull, soundless but unmistakable.
Tutorial Quest Loaded
Objective 1 – Verify authenticity of temporal relocation.
Objective 2 – Secure survival resources: $10 000 000 liquid within 24 hours.
Penalty – Cardiac arrest and permanent brain death.
Reward lines flickered below the threat, but Krytel stared only at the penalty. This wasn't a hallucination. The System would kill him again if he failed.
He rose, body trembling with the residual shock of death, and strode to the mirror. Same angular face, winter-blue eyes, hair the color of obsidian smoke. Thirty-four, though the world called him immortal for the biotech advances he sold. Now immortality came packaged in cruelty.
"Heartless code," he muttered.
The System responded instantly.
Caution – System classifications adapt to user sentiment.
Words appeared in crisp silver against the mirror. He reached out; they dispersed like steam.
"Fine," he whispered. "Let's make a deal."
A new line formed.
Deal conditional on completion of tutorial quest.
He checked the clock: 09 h 17 m. Twenty-four hours to liquidate ten million. It would have been trivial yesterday, but six months earlier his assets were more distributed. Still, he could accomplish it without noise. First step: confirm timeline authenticity.
Krytel snapped open a holo-screen and pulled up market feeds. The Neo-Aster Index sat at 7 374 points exactly where it had been half a year before his death, right before HeliosTech's surprise profit alert. Authentic. He felt a grin slice across his face: he knew every future earnings announcement, political scandal, and commodity swing for the next six months. Money was the easy part.
He dressed for war: charcoal shirt, slim ballistic vest beneath a cobalt suit, shoes that could cross a ballroom or a battlefield. As he fastened platinum cuff links, the System flashed a character sheet.
Krytel Elorin
Heart - 0 Soul - 0
Influence - 47
Threat Level - 2
Locked Attributes: Dominion, Devotion, Perdition
Every value except Influence and Threat hovered at zero, as though he were a clay figure waiting to be fired in the kiln.
A sub-panel opened.
Addendum – Heart rises through acts of empathy. Soul rises through acts of sacrifice. Influence represents external power. Threat Level indicates adversary awareness.
He scoffed. "Empathy was the luxury they stripped from me."
Unadvised – Extreme imbalance may trigger Anomaly Events.
"Noted."
He descended fifty floors to a private sky-garage where his grav-coupe waited. The AI recognized his biometrics and unlocked silently. As the vehicle angled out into sun-glittered airlanes, he spoke one name: "Arden Blake."
Arden had once been Krytel's closest confidant before the board lured him away with CFO power. Betrayer or not, Arden still ran the liquidity desks. Within minutes Krytel would turn company options into cash so quietly even Army intelligence wouldn't feel the ripple.
Neo-Aster's skyline drifted beneath him, spires like glass thorns wrapped in advertising holograms. He blinked and in memory the towers melted into the marble of Aurelian Hall, his own blood on Seraphina's hands. The System heard the spike in his vitals.
Side Quest Unveiled
Title – The Silver Serpent
Description – Extract truth from Seraphina Argent regarding her role in your assassination.
Reward – Unlock Attribute "Devotion" (conditional).
Penalty – Loss of Influence 15 pts.
He exhaled through his teeth. Devotion? A word etched in poison. Seraphina's pale smile had been the blade that sliced his future. But extracting truth might require seduction, and seducing a viper demanded calm.
The grav-coupe eased onto a sky-platform above the Helio Exchange. He stepped out, ignoring paparazzi drones. Inside, the trading floor buzzed with algorithmic screams and flashing pillars of numbers. Arden waited near a wraparound glass desk, lean, silver-haired, dimpled. Once they'd drank vintage Bourbon at midnight planning how to buy the moon. Today Arden offered a handshake like they were acquaintances.
"Krytel, middle of earnings week? You rarely come down."
"I need pull-forward liquidity," Krytel said. "Ten million. No flags."
Arden's eyebrows flicked. "Selling early? Market might read that as bearish."
"I'll deal with the optics. Can you process?"
Arden nodded slowly. "Of course."
Krytel slid a data-tab across the table. It contained rights to a sliver of HeliosTech futures he knew would double in four days. Arden frowned. "You're dumping this?"
"Consider it philanthropy. Wire me stablecoin collateral."
Arden keyed commands. Ten minutes later a discrete balance flashed on Krytel's wrist-com: 10 433 219 credits. The tutorial quest ticked green.
Heart - 0 Soul - 0
Influence +1 → 48
Threat Level unchanged
So Influence rose, but Heart and Soul remained frozen. The System rewarded power, but humanity needed proof.
Quest Completed.
Tutorial clearance granted.
System negotiation channel open.
"Good," Krytel murmured. "System, terms."
Negotiation Protocol Initiated.
Primary Rule – Timeline may not exceed T₀ + 182 days.
Secondary Rule – Death before Final Nexus will trigger permanent erasure.
Tertiary Rule – Attribute gates open via quests aligned to Heart, Soul, Influence.
He absorbed the contract. Six months to topple the board, survive, and perhaps change the world. Failure meant non-existence.
A new window appeared a rotating cube of light.
Main Quest Arc
Phase 1 – Identify Hidden Architect of Betrayal.
Phase 2 – Acquire Heart 10, Soul 10, Influence 100.
Phase 3 – Neutralize Architect without direct homicide.
Ultimate Reward – Dominion unlocked.
Krytel's pulse quickened. He'd assumed Seraphina orchestrated everything, but Phase 1 suggested a deeper mastermind.
"Hidden architect," he whispered. "Show me the mask behind the serpent."
Unobtainable without unlocking Hidden Feeds Skill.
Requirements flashed: Heart 1, Soul 1.
He wanted to smash the hologram. Empathy and sacrifice. Two traits he'd buried. Revenge demanded cold steel, not warmth.
The cube vanished. A chill touched his spine, the echo of poison needles in Aurelian Hall, and with it rose determination sharper than pain. If the System required a heartbeat of humanity before granting ultimate insight, he would simulate kindness like he simulated markets.
He strode from the exchange to the lift, boots ringing on quartz tile. As doors closed, the reflective wall showed a man in immaculate cobalt but eyes burnt hollow. "We start with Heart 1," he whispered. "Somebody in this tower needs saving."
The lift descended thirty floors to the employee canteen level. Over nine hundred staff rotated through daily; statistics guaranteed at least one soul sat on the edge of quiet despair. He scanned the room: rows of modular tables, daylight screens projecting Pacific-pink oceans, smell of synthetic coffee. Glare reflected off metadata overlays the System painted on every occupant. Most strings of numbers hovered white. Then he saw a red flicker above a woman in maintenance overalls. Anomaly Risk 68 %. He moved toward her.
She jolted, almost spilling tea. "Mr Elorin? Sir, this area—"
He offered a gentle smile. "Do you mind if I sit?"
Panic clouded her brown eyes. "Of course, sir." She tried rising.
He gestured softly. "Please remain."
She sat. He lowered into the seat opposite, elbows relaxed. "Your name?"
"A-Alexis Quinn, sir. Sanitation unit twelve."
The System glinted a mini-window.
Potential Heart Gain – 0 · 2
Potential Soul Gain – 0 · 1
Conversation threshold – 120 seconds.
He began light. "Alexis, you seem unsettled."
Tears welled. "It's nothing, sir."
"I dislike lies." He softened his tone. "Tell me."
She swallowed. "My daughter needs a neuro-patch transplant. Insurance denies us. I'm short sixty thousand credits. The surgery window closes Friday." Shame flooded her expression.
Krytel breathed slowly. Sixty thousand was dust beneath his boots, but giving money for pity felt artificial. The System probably knew. Heart demanded more. He leaned in. "Patch implant Type G 9 L?"
Her eyes widened. "Yes, sir."
"I invented its parent technology." He tapped wrist-com, drafted an authorization. Then he paused. "Where is she treated?"
"St Mercer's Children's Wing. Room 18-C."
He exhaled. "I plan to visit tomorrow morning. You'll escort me."
She choked on a sob. "Why"
"I need to ensure the implant team uses the latest calibration. If they hesitate, I'll fly in a specialized rig."
The System chimed softly.
Heart +1 → 1
Soul +1 → 1
A warmth skirted his ribs, alien and disorienting. Alexis reached across the table and gripped his hand with surprising strength. "Thank you," she whispered.
He nodded once. "Go back to work. I'll handle the paperwork." She left wiping tears, and he felt the unexpected roar of… satisfaction. Not strategic, but personal.
Hidden Feeds unlocked.
A flood of translucent glyphs dripped down the walls like rain. Threads of boardroom emails, private chat logs, sensor sweeps. In one corner a single line pulsed crimson: Origin Protocol >> Architect .ZETA.
Krytel tapped to expand, but the glyph collapsed into static, then vanished.
He clenched fists. A puzzle piece flashed then hid. Yet progress tasted sweet.
Influence +2 → 50
Even better. Half-way to Phase 2's power requirement, though Heart and Soul still hovered at 1. He needed them at 10. Empathy and sacrifice each nine steps away. How to accelerate? Acts of kindness alone would be too slow, and the board would circle tighter every week.
He returned to his grav-coupe, mind whirring. Sunset painted the sky lavender and coral. A single star winked above the city's haze. He set course for Argent Tower-Seraphina's kingdom.
On the approach, his wrist-com chimed: Private channel, Valeria Frost. He smiled thinly and answered audio-only.
"Val," he drawled.
"Krytel, where have you been hiding? You missed tonight's strategy dinner."
"Busy counting uncut diamonds."
She laughed, smoky and sharp. "If you want to impress me, bring rubies."
"Give me an hour." He cut the call.
Valeria would inform Seraphina. Perfect. He wanted them off balance.
Argent Tower loomed in shimmering white metal, curved like a blade. At the entrance he dismissed attendants and took a private lift to Level 77, the Infinity Parlour. Crystal chandeliers dripped light onto black marble. Valeria lounged in a low velvet chair, silver dress hugging every dangerous curve. Seraphina reclined nearby, pale gold hair cascading over one shoulder, eyes like glacial diamonds.
They rose together. Seraphina kissed the air beside his cheek. "Krytel, you vanish for weeks, then appear smelling like ozone. What are you plotting?"
"Resurrection," he murmured.
Valeria's laugh echoed. "Did the prodigal son find religion?"
"Something holier."
He motioned a waiter, ordered Obsidian Whiskey. As glasses arrived, the System displayed a warning: Threat Level Escalation Imminent.
He ignored it. "Seraphina, tomorrow I donate ten million to St Mercer's. Join me on stage?"
Her eyes narrowed a fraction. "Since when do you grandstand philanthropy?"
"Since children started dying for bureaucracy."
Valeria arched a brow. "How nobly savage."
Krytel sipped whiskey burnt smoke and plum. The alcohol anchored him in the moment. He needed them curious, not suspicious.
Seraphina set her glass aside, stepped closer, her perfume midnight jasmine. "You're glowing, Krytel. New lover? New toy?"
He let a half-smile slip. "New purpose."
The System whispered:
Side Quest – Serpent's Curiosity advanced 33 %.
He lifted her hand, brushed knuckles with lips. "Speak with me privately?"
She signaled Valeria to remain. They moved to a balcony overlooking neon sprawls. Wind teased gold strands across her face.
"Why the sudden charity?" she asked.
"Because I had a dream of fire and marble and betrayers applauding."
The blood drained from her face. Maybe a fragile memory twitched. She masked it with a laugh. "Such poetry."
"Visit the hospital tomorrow, Seraphina. Watch miracles I fund. Then tell me if philanthropy bores you."
He turned to leave. She caught his sleeve. "I'll come. But only if you dine afterward."
"Agreed."
He departed, giving her no chance to read deeper.
Threat Level +1 → 3
Back in the grav-coupe he let tension bleed into the seat. Half the board would already sniff at his moves, but they wouldn't smell revolution until he slit their safety nets.
As he soared toward Solace Spire, the System coughed static then delivered a final line before midnight:
Midnight Update
Time remaining to Final Nexus: 181 days 23 hours 11 minutes.
Architect .ZETA reviewing anomaly logs.
Krytel closed his eyes. "Review all you want. I'm rewriting the ledger."
The city lights glittered below like shards of the future he was about to break.