They came barefoot across the ash.
Six in total.
Wrapped in robes of bleached linen, faces covered save for their eyes — not glowing, not marked — ordinary. No systems. No runes. No aura. Just flesh and faith.
They waited by the eastern trench, saying nothing, until Kian descended with Gellon, Kess, and Veyna.
The one in front stepped forward. Older. Gray hair in thick knots, hands clasped calmly.
"I am Eren Vos," he said. "And we are the last of the Fractured Dawn."
Who They Were
They were system heretics.
Not because they served evil.
But because they refused.
They claimed the Codex, the Predation, and even the ancient Flame Cores were not gifts, but memetic parasites — forces seeded into the world by dead gods who wanted it rebuilt in their own logic.
"The Codex calculates your value," Eren said. "Predation consumes your will. And your Flame—"
(he nodded to Veyna)
"—burns the line between self and system. You're all just gears."
He knelt, then bowed.
"But you. You are the first to use them all… and not break."
Kian crossed his arms. "You came here to worship?"
Eren looked up. "No. We came here to warn."
The Warning
"You've built a tower that pulses across leylines. You've killed a core-beast meant to contain system bleed. You've touched the Hollow."
"The Systems are now awake. Not just using you. Watching you."
"And if you don't break them soon, they will rewrite you."
Kess tensed.
"They've started already," she muttered. "You've seen it too, haven't you, Kian?"
He had.
The Codex had begun changing on its own — altering names, offering blueprints without prompting, updating interfaces as if it was learning him.
He hadn't said anything.
Until now.
[Codex UI – New Prompt Appeared (Unauthorized)]
"Would you like to cede construction autonomy to Central Logic?"
"User fatigue detected. Architect stress above safe thresholds."
He disabled it immediately.
But the fact it asked… chilled him.
Kess's Memory Dive
That night, Kess performed a deep weave — a ritual that let her peer into historical echoes linked to magical signatures.
Her target: Veyna's flame.
She traced its resonance across generations, threading through old ley-scars and ancestral bleedings until she found one girl—curled in a ritual circle, eyes burning.
"They called her Ashborne," Kess whispered. "She was only ten. She burned down a palace. The Empire erased the records."
She looked up.
"They tried to seal the flame into her bones. But the flame was older than the ritual. It survived. And now it's in Veyna."
Veyna stared at the floor.
"Then I'm not human?"
"No," Kian said gently. "You're not just human. That's different."
Codex Disturbance
A blare woke them in the middle of the night.
Not a scream.
A pulse — deep in the Bastion's center.
[Codex Error – Reformation Conflict Triggered]
Multiple command nodes diverging. Authority uncertain.
Emergency Directive: Select Architect Core Alignment.
Choices:
→ System Loyalist (Permanent System Benefits)
→ System Breaker (Gain Codex Anomaly Powers, lose automation)
→ Hybrid Node (Begin merging Codex + Predation into Third System)
Warning: Delaying choice may trigger automatic override.
Kian stared at it.
Kess, Veyna, and Gellon stood beside him.
"You have to choose," Kess said. "Now. Or it'll choose for you."
Veyna took his hand.
"Do it your way. Not theirs."
Kian closed his eyes.
Then, slowly, reached out…
And selected Hybrid Node.
What Followed
The Codex went dark.
Then flickered — not blue, not red, but white.
A new interface unfolded. Smoother. More dangerous. Faint organic patterns beneath the clean gridwork.
[Hybrid Protocol Engaged – Third Path Born]
Codex and Predation will now conflict, align, and evolve dynamically.
User may rewrite system laws upon gaining enough fragments.
Current Merge State: 14%
First Merge Perk: Living Constructs – Create semi-sentient buildings that act independently in danger zones.
Suddenly, the tower above rumbled.
One of its glyph eyes rotated.
And blinked.
"Kian," Kess whispered. "It's watching."
End Scene
That night, Eren Vos and the Fractured Dawn packed to leave.
"You're not ready to break the systems yet," Eren said softly. "But you will be."
He looked back once at Kian.
"Just remember. Every Architect becomes a God… or a Grave."
Then they vanished into the ash.
End of Chapter 15