Chapter 3
[Core Level: 4]
[Active Systems: Core Override v3.2 | Thermal Blade v2.7 | Code Manipulator v0.9]
[New Directive: Initiate Disruption at Power Vault 17-Beta]
[Location: 8.2 km | Security Rating: Tier 3+ | Trinity Node Detected]
Zarek stood atop a crumbling comms tower, his cloak fluttering as cold synthetic wind sliced through the shell of Zone 9. From this height, the Power Vault glowed like a heart beneath the skin of the city—deep blue veins of energy pulsing through concrete and cybersteel.
Beneath him, neon flooded the skyline, and the air buzzed with static. Drones flew like insects in formation. Enforcers marched the streets. The Vault was alive with heat signatures—engineers, soldiers, turret nests, and at least three registered System Users inside.
But Zarek wasn't here to sneak.
He was here to burn everything down.
THIRTY MINUTES EARLIER – NYX'S BASE
"You're insane," Nyx said, her voice sharp with disbelief. "You want to break into a Trinity-controlled Power Vault?"
Zarek flexed his fingers. Sparks of glitchfire crawled across his knuckles.
"They power the Blacklight Network from there. Shut it down, and Trinity's surveillance over Zone 9 collapses."
She paced, biting her lip. "You'll be walking into a death trap. It's crawling with Tier 3 defenders."
"I won't be walking," he said, a grin twitching at his mouth. "I'll be overriding."
NOW – OUTER VAULT WALLS
[Target Confirmed: Power Vault 17-Beta]
[Hardened Steel Plating | Biometric Gates | AI Defense Grid]
[Security Users Detected: 3]
MORGAN: System – Flame Amplifier (Tier 3)
VEGA: System – Magnetic Pulse Control (Tier 3)
WRAITH: Unknown System – Threat Level Unregistered
Zarek leapt from the tower, landing in a crouch, rolling behind a blown-out pipe junction. The sensors buzzed. Spotlights swept the edge of the zone. He pulled his hood tighter.
[Override Stealth: Active]
[Glitch Veil: 84% effectiveness]
His fingers danced midair, weaving a new override string from the Code Manipulator. It was unstable—he could feel the stuttering in the pulse—but it would hold long enough.
[Injecting: LOOPED BLINDSPOT PROTOCOL]
[SUCCESS – Sensor Recalibration Loop Active]
The front defenses blinked. The cameras jerked and reset. The biometric scanners buzzed once and locked in place.
He moved.
Sliding between two security rails, Zarek approached the first checkpoint. A guard, bored and half-asleep, leaned against the wall holding a pulse rifle.
Zarek raised his hand.
[System Tap: Tier 0 Detected – Combat Stim]
[Glitch Injection – Fragment Exploit]
[Implant Overload: SUCCESS]
The guard seized up, foam spilling from his mouth as sparks danced across his helmet. Zarek caught the rifle before it fell and laid the body gently on the ground.
"Nothing personal."
INNER VAULT SECTOR – CONTROL PLATFORM
The deeper he went, the louder the hum of energy became. A blue crystalline core spun beneath a glass floor, cables the size of trees spiraling upward toward towers filled with data and flame.
He heard them before he saw them.
"Whoever's messing with our feed just fried unit 14," said a voice, masculine and amused. "Should I light the place up?"
"No," a woman snapped. "We wait. WRAITH will handle it."
Zarek narrowed his eyes.
Morgan and Vega stood near the core access shaft, both glowing with system energy. Morgan's hands crackled with volcanic plasma. Vega's gloves pulsed with magnetic arcs.
Then the third figure stepped from the shadows.
WRAITH.
Cloaked in black nanoweave, his face hidden behind a fractured mask. No system signature appeared. No status. No threat level.
But Zarek felt it—the pressure. Something beneath the surface hummed like a nuclear core.
This wasn't a normal System User.
Zarek flicked his hand.
[Skill: Fragmented Skill Copy – Magnetic Pulse]
[Simulated Strength: 62%]
He reached out and ripped the pulse cannon off the wall behind Vega. The girl spun just in time to see it fire.
BOOM!
She flew backward into a server tower, sparks erupting everywhere. Morgan roared and threw fire across the room.
Zarek moved like liquid. He dove under the flames, came up with his blade lit, and slashed forward.
[Skill Fusion: Flame Vein + Inferno Rip]
[Result: Searing Cross Slash – 2.1x Damage Multiplier]
Morgan blocked—but barely. The plasma flared as it met glitch-enhanced heat.
"You're the one causing all this trouble?" Morgan shouted. "You're just another bug in the code!"
Zarek smiled coldly. "I'm the error you can't debug."
He feinted left, then spun right—and drove his glitch-hand into Morgan's chest.
[Core Injection: TEMPORARY SYSTEM LEASH]
[Hacking in Progress… Error! System Overload: Counter-Surge Detected!]
[FAILURE – SYSTEM CLASH]
Zarek flew backward, slamming into a column as his body spasmed. Flames licked his ribs.
He rolled just in time to see WRAITH standing over him.
"Interesting," the masked figure said softly. "Override Class. Haven't seen one of your kind in… decades."
Zarek narrowed his eyes. "Who… are you?"
"Let's say I'm the patch sent to erase your kind."
WRAITH raised a hand.
The world around Zarek collapsed into silence.
[ALERT! UNRECOGNIZED SYSTEM – REALITY OVERRIDE FIELD]
[Visuals Disrupted. Sound Nullified. Movement Lock Detected.]
[INITIATE MANUAL CORE BREAK? Y/N]
Zarek's mind screamed.
His body couldn't move.
His systems were being erased one by one.
[YES]
[MANUAL CORE BREAK ENGAGED – CORE LEVEL DROP: 4 → 3 TEMPORARILY]
[EMERGENCY GLITCH PROTOCOL UNLEASHED: WILD CODE SPIKE]
Suddenly the world exploded with jagged red light.
WRAITH staggered, his field fracturing as raw data surged through the vault. Zarek rolled to his feet, eyes burning with glitchflame.
[UNLOCKED: Chaos Protocol – Random System Feedback Surge]
[One-Time Use – 73% Power Spike | 27% Self-Damage Risk]
Zarek charged WRAITH and injected the chaos spike directly into his mask.
The figure shrieked. The helmet shattered.
Behind it… was nothing. No skin. No face. Just layers of shifting black code over bone.
WRAITH vanished in a cloud of corrupted bits.
[Unknown Entity Disengaged. SYSTEM UNTRACKABLE.]
Zarek fell to his knees, panting. Smoke poured from his mouth. Every nerve screamed. His left arm was burned to the bone.
[WARNING: System Integrity Below 22%]
But the Vault was silent. Morgan and Vega were unconscious or dead.
He limped toward the control panel.
[Override Link Initiated...]
[BLACKLIGHT GRID CONNECTION: DISRUPTED]
[TRINITY CITY UPLINK: TERMINATED]
[ZONE 9: UNREGISTERED]
He smiled.
[ZAREK VOSS – CORE LEVEL 4 REINSTATED]
[CORE OVERRIDE REBOOT COMPLETE]
The Vault exploded in light as Trinity's eye over Zone 9 went dark.
MEANWHILE – TRINITY CITADEL
Alarms rang. Screens went red. Streams of code crashed.
[ZONE 9 OFFLINE]
[CREATOR CORE DETECTED: GROWING UNSTABLE]
[INITIATING NEXT PHASE: REAPER OMEGA LAUNCH]
A steel chamber opened.
Inside stood a figure twice the size of a man, forged of black chrome and ancient override fire.
"Zarek Voss… your reboot ends now."