The world around Aether warped.
The swirling golden nodes of the System Hub fractured like broken glass, each shard reflecting different realities—cities in ruins, empires rising from flames, titans battling beneath blood-red skies. His feet stood on nothing and everything, suspended in a space between dimensions. His breathing was steady, heart calm, though he felt the tension building like an avalanche on the brink.
Then came the voice.
"Ascension Protocol: Phase One—System Evolution Initiated."
The words echoed across infinite planes. They were not just heard—they were felt. Aether's body vibrated with the resonance, bones humming, soul trembling.
He blinked, and suddenly, he stood on solid ground again.
Or... something like ground.
It was a floating island in the void. Crystalline trees shimmered in prismatic hues, water flowed upwards instead of down, and two moons rotated around each other overhead. This wasn't the real world, nor was it the original System Hub. This... was somewhere new.
And waiting for him was a figure—tall, adorned in celestial armor made of fractal light and forged code, a crown hovering above its head, pulsing with divine authority.
"Greetings, Candidate Aether."
The figure spoke in a layered voice—both male and female, child and elder. Its very being transcended mortal understanding.
"You have reached the threshold. You have resisted entropy. You have bent probability. You have activated Phase One of your Protocol. You are now eligible for—System Evolution."
Aether instinctively stepped forward. "System Evolution?"
"The base-level System you carry is incomplete. It is but a shard of what once was—what it can become again."
A golden screen unfolded before him, lines of data pouring like waterfalls.
System Evolution: Choose Your Path
World Architect Variant – Gain influence over spatial dimensions. Allows you to shape terrain, construct domains, and rewrite minor physical laws within your personal Realm.
Soul Devourer Variant – Harvest soul essence from defeated foes. Evolve rapidly by assimilating soul traits, gaining unique abilities beyond class boundaries.
Chrono-Seeker Variant – Access alternate timelines. Replay critical events, absorb outcomes, and carry forward refined skills and decision-based upgrades.
Warning: Only ONE evolution path can be chosen. This choice is irreversible.
Aether's breath hitched.
Each choice could redefine him—not just as a player in this cosmic game, but as a force in the multiverse.
He narrowed his eyes. Architect granted control. Devourer offered raw power. But Chrono-Seeker... that gave knowledge. Time manipulation. A chance to redo, to perfect... to predict.
He remembered the vision from earlier—the world destroyed by Protocol Reapers, his friends' names vanishing in crimson light. If he could replay moments... alter events... then maybe—
"I choose Chrono-Seeker Variant."
The celestial being did not smile, yet Aether felt a pulse of approval ripple across the void.
"So it is chosen. So it shall be."
The crown above the figure split into spiraling data streams and shot into Aether's chest. He gasped, clutching his ribcage as his veins glowed silver. His mind screamed—but not in pain. In awakening.
The interface returned, now enhanced:
System Update Complete. Welcome, Chrono-Seeker.
New Core Skill Unlocked: Temporal Anchor
You may now place a single Temporal Anchor per day.
Upon critical failure or death, revert to the anchor point with all current memories intact.
New Passive: Paradox Memory
Skills gain exponential efficiency with each timeline iteration.
New Protocol Function: Chrono Rift Access
Gain access to fractured temporal events across timelines. Allows the user to experience alternate outcomes and absorb optimized results.
And then, without warning, reality snapped.
Aether was no longer in the System dimension.
He stood in the exact position he had been before all this began—atop the cliffside facing the Abyss Wurm, moments before unleashing his Arc-Light Nova.
Except this time... he wasn't shocked. He knew exactly what would happen.
The wyrm would feint left, then tunnel—then strike from below.
"Temporal Anchor: Set."
Aether whispered, and the space around him shimmered briefly.
Then the battle resumed.
The beast roared, lunging—yet Aether sidestepped, flawlessly. He unleashed his burst, but this time infused with perfect timing, maximizing damage efficiency and mana cost.
A battle that had nearly killed him before ended in mere seconds.
And he didn't just level up. He ascended.
Congratulations!
Your victory through System Evolution has triggered: Ascension Tier: Omega-Class Initiation.
New Title Gained: Time-Breaker
Unique Trait Gained: Timeline Resonance
You are now partially aware of overlapping outcomes. Occasionally receive glimpses of alternate paths during high-stakes decisions.
Breathing heavy but exhilarated, Aether looked at his hands.
They shimmered faintly, almost... unreal.
He had broken through the shell.
He was no longer just a System user.
He was now rewriting System Law itself.
But no evolution came without consequences.
Across distant dimensions, unseen watchers stirred. Protocol Reapers paused mid-hunt. Somewhere far beyond the stars, a throne room of obsidian gears and pulsing void-eyes rang with alarm.
A voice whispered in a tongue older than time.
"He has begun walking the Threadless Path."
"Send the Reweavers."
"The Broken One awakens."
Back in his own timeline, Aether received a final ping from his System:
"Warning: Your evolution has marked you. You are now visible to Omega-Constructs and Timeline Enforcers. Proceed with caution."
Aether smirked, brushing windblown hair out of his face.
"Let them come."
He turned toward the rising sun. His next destination was clear—a hidden Nexus buried deep within the time-folded ruins of Edenia Prime.
It was time to learn who had created the Ascension Protocol… and why he had been chosen.
The game had changed.
He wasn't just rising through the ranks.
He was about to break them all.