Location: Athens, Greece — Ruins Beneath the Parthenon
Time: 11:47 p.m.
The shadows here weren't natural.
They moved when you weren't looking. Whispered things that didn't belong to this time, or this Earth.
[System Notice: High-Energy Trace Detected — Eternal Signature: Thena]
[Warning: Subject Unstable. Engage with caution.]
I gripped the hilt of my silver-forged blade tighter and activated Shadowstep.
The last time I faced someone from the Eternals, I unlocked god-tech in my bones.
This time, I needed answers.
---
The underground chamber shimmered with Celestial light—red and gold veins running through cracked marble.
At the center stood Thena, spinning her golden blade in slow, beautiful arcs. Her eyes glowed, not with rage—but with memory.
"I know you," she said without turning.
"I doubt it," I replied, approaching slowly.
She laughed softly. "Victor Wick. System host. Killer of Nacht. Heir to fragments not of this world. You carry too many names."
That stopped me cold.
"How do you know that?"
She turned, eyes sharp now. "Because I remember you… from another timeline."
---
[System Ping: Temporal Displacement Detected — Cross-Timeline Residue Active]
[Subject "Thena" retains memory from an erased continuity — syncing…]
"What timeline?" I asked.
"The one where Earth didn't survive the Emergence," she said. "Where you didn't stop Tiamut. Where you died fighting the thing growing inside you."
My blood ran cold.
"You're saying I'm a vessel?"
She nodded. "In that world, the System wasn't your weapon. It was your curse. A lock the Celestials placed on a being too dangerous to exist."
"And who was that?"
She looked at me carefully.
"You."
---
I staggered back, breath caught in my throat.
"Why tell me this now?"
Thena stepped closer.
"Because the Emergence is starting again. And your presence is accelerating it. You need to choose what you are: a weapon… or a warning."
Before I could respond, the wall exploded.
A figure stepped through—cloaked in dark smoke and wrapped in glowing white tendrils.
The deathless system user.
---
[System Alert: New Host Detected – Codename: Morrigan]
> Template Set: Lady Death / Raven / Orochimaru
Unique Ability: "Echo Core" – Resurrects after fatal wounds with increased memory and skill
Status: Hostile
Objective: Eliminate Victor Wick & Absorb System Core Fragment
"You never called, Vic," she purred, stepping into the flickering Celestial light. "After all we shared."
I stiffened. "Do I know you?"
She laughed. "In one life, you did. You saved me. In another… I killed you."
Thena raised her blade. "She's not from this universe."
"No," I muttered. "She's from the System Wars timeline."
Morrigan smirked. "Good boy. Let's test your upgrade."
---
She moved like a ghost—teleporting, phasing, striking with whips of chakra-encoded darkness.
I activated Eternal Warrior Protocol, reinforcing my muscles with a surge of arcane and divine energy.
Thena charged beside me—her golden blade meeting Morrigan's spectral claws in a burst of light and shadow.
"You've grown," Morrigan taunted mid-combat. "But still too grounded. Let me show you how death feels."
She pierced my side—dark energy spreading like rot.
But I didn't fall.
I gritted my teeth and activated a fusion sign: Raiton Pulse + Blade Amplification + Chakra Surge.
I grabbed her by the arm and electrocuted her with every volt I could channel.
She screamed and vanished into shadow mist.
---
[System Update: Host Wounded — Initiating Bloodline Stabilizer]
> Regeneration Boost Active – Vampiric Layer Engaged
Infection Blocked — Curse Resisted
I stood, panting, blood dripping from my side.
"She's too fast," Thena said.
"She's not fighting to win," I replied. "She's testing us."
---
Elsewhere — Shadow Server Core
Alex stood before a warped digital map of Earth. Red zones pulsed over key cities.
A distorted AI voice echoed:
> "Morrigan failed to eliminate Wick."
"She succeeded in one thing," Alex replied. "She proved his system can adapt to cross-timeline threats."
A second screen opened—revealing a cloaked figure standing in front of the ruins of Kamar-Taj.
Alex smiled.
"Time to activate the next phase."
---
Back in Athens
Thena drew a symbol on the wall with her blade.
A Celestial glyph—twisting and pulsing with ancient energy.
"This is the Ghost Protocol," she said. "The backup failsafe built into the Eternals' command line."
"What does it do?"
She looked at me gravely.
"It lets us rewrite a part of the Earth's code. Once. Only once. One person, one place, one event."
My mind raced.
"You're saying I can change fate?"
She nodded. "But only at a cost. Something important will be erased in return."
---
Before I could speak, the system chimed again.
[Quest Unlocked: The Ghost Protocol]
> Objective: Choose one of the following: – Prevent Tiamut's Emergence
– Rewrite your origin
– Bring back someone you lost
Warning: Consequences Unpredictable
My fingers hovered over the selection screen.
Rewriting my origin could fix everything. Or bring it all crashing down.
But one thing was certain: I couldn't do it yet.
I needed more information. More leverage.
And more power.
---
Later — On the Roof of a Hotel in Athens
I stared at the city lights.
The system had given me strength, skills, and power I couldn't have dreamed of.
But now it was giving me choices.
Dangerous ones.
I felt Thena step up beside me.
"Do you want to know what you were in the old timeline?" she asked.
I hesitated.
"Yes."
She looked me in the eye.
"You weren't a hero. You were the trigger. The reason everything collapsed."
---
[System Notice: Sync Memory Fragment — "Timeline Alpha-Null" Available]
> Would you like to view?
My finger trembled over the option.
Then I selected: Yes.
The world shifted.
And I fell into memory.
---