The storm had finally passed.
Ash drifted down like snow, soft but endless. The world felt empty — as if everything living had already given up.
Rex walked through the ruins of an old forest, where the trees weren't made of wood anymore but strands of black code. They glowed faintly in the dark, humming like dying wires.
Each time the wind blew, the air whispered:
"Kill the Fallen King…"
"One million EXP…"
He was tired of hearing it.
A sound behind him — quiet, sharp, deliberate.
Someone was following.
Rex turned slowly, gripping the broken spear he'd taken earlier.
From the fog stepped a man dressed in dark armor, a mask covering half his face. The armor was jagged, pulsing with red data veins.
"You're a hard man to track, Rex Valen."
Rex frowned. "You know my name?"
The man chuckled softly. "Of course. I used to follow you. Before you fell."
He lifted his weapon — a curved blade glowing faintly blue.
"Back when you were still the King of Systems."
Rex's chest tightened. "You were one of my guild?"
The man tilted his head. "Not anymore. They call me the Data Reaper now."
The name hit like static.
Rex remembered him — a loyal player, someone who had fought beside him when the world was still just a game.
But the man before him wasn't that player anymore.
His eyes glowed with system code. His movements were too precise.
"You're not just a player," Rex said quietly. "You're part of it now, aren't you?"
The Reaper smiled. "The system rewards those who obey. You broke the rules. I became the weapon it needed."
Without warning, he lunged.
Their blades collided, sparks flying through the air. Every movement was sharp, brutal, real.
Rex twisted, ducked, and countered, but the Reaper was faster — unnaturally fast.
[Warning — Damage Detected. Integrity 87%.]
Blood ran down Rex's arm. For a moment, he almost forgot this wasn't a normal world anymore — pain was real here.
He staggered back, pressing his hand to the ground.
"Reality Rewrite!"
Blue fire erupted beneath them, bending the world into a distorted blur. The Reaper's body glitched for a split second — long enough for Rex to strike.
The spear pierced the armor. Red light exploded outward.
But instead of blood, only fragments of data poured out.
The Reaper smiled even as his form broke apart.
"You still fight like a god… but you bleed like a man."
Rex's hands shook. "Why me? Why is the system doing this?"
The Reaper's voice faded with the wind.
"Because it remembers who built it."
When the last fragment disappeared, Rex fell to his knees.
The ground was quiet again.
Only his reflection flickered in a puddle of red light — half human, half glitch.
He whispered to himself,
"If I really built this world… then I'll be the one to destroy it."
A soft chime echoed in his ears.
[Skill Upgrade — Reality Rewrite Lv. 1]
[New Function Unlocked: Memory Trace]
And beneath it, another message:
[System Notice: First Guardian Eliminated. 6 Remain.]
Rex's eyes widened. "Guardians?"
The wind picked up again, carrying a single sentence from the far distance:
"You've started the chain, Fallen King. Now the real game begins."