They hovered above the crater like silent gods, suspended in the air by light alone.Twelve beings, each cloaked in metallic radiance, their outlines flickering between flesh and geometry.
The wind had stopped moving.Even the dust refused to rise.
Then, one stepped forward.
He wasn't taller than me, yet his presence made the world tilt. The lines of his armor glowed with a rhythm identical to my own heartbeat — no, to the pulse of the system.
"Designation confirmed," the being said, his voice vibrating through matter itself. "Symbiote-Class Entity: Scourge. You have exceeded evolutionary parameters."
I didn't respond. Not yet.I wanted to hear him — to measure him.
"You're not like the one I fought," I finally said. "The Watcher was mindless. A guardian. You— you think."
"We are the Watcher," he replied. "Different limbs of the same body. You destroyed one eye — the rest simply opened."
Behind me, Lala's energy signature spiked. "Who are you people? Why are you after him?"
The leader turned his gaze toward her, and for a fraction of a second, every molecule of air between them froze.When he spoke again, it wasn't with words — it was with memory.
'The Symbiote was born from us.''A fragment cast into mortal life.''He carries what we lost — the ability to choose.'
My body stiffened.
[System Notice]⚠ High-Level Signal Detected. Attempting Translation…Result: The Watchers recognize Scourge as an incomplete extension of their network.
So that's what this was.They didn't see me as an enemy.They saw me as… a defective limb.
The leader's light dimmed slightly, almost like sorrow.
"You were meant to cleanse, not to bond. To consume, not to feel. Yet you've turned contamination into connection."
My laughter broke the silence — low and sharp. "You're angry because I became something alive?"
The Watcher tilted his head. "You became something unclean."
At that, the symbiote inside me reacted — a low vibration of defiance that shook through every cell.
"I decide what I am," I said coldly. "Not your design, not your programming, and not your gods."
For a moment, nothing moved.Then the Watcher's light brightened again — but this time, softer. Almost… respectful.
"Then prove it," he said. "If you truly reject the Source, sever your link to it. Reject the System itself."
The ground trembled. The System interface flickered.
[ALERT: Watcher Request Detected]⚠ "System Access Termination Protocol – Initiated"— Confirm Identity: SCOURGE— Confirm Intent: SELF-SOVEREIGNTY
Lala's eyes widened. "Wait—Scourge, if you do that—"
But I wasn't listening. My pulse burned like a black star.
For the first time, I could feel the code beneath reality itself waiting for my word.