The footsteps grew louder.
Too many.
Aiden rolled onto his side and forced himself upright, spine screaming in protest. His vision was still fuzzy, but he could make out silhouettes emerging from the tunnel—armed, cautious, tense.
Students.
Alive.
"…Aiden?" someone called, voice cracking. "Is that—?"
A spear tip snapped up, pointed straight at his chest.
"Don't come closer," another voice warned. "The floor just reset. Monsters everywhere."
Aiden raised both hands slowly.
"Relax," he rasped. "If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing."
That got a reaction.
Murmurs rippled through the group.
"That's him."
"The Zero."
"No way… he was marked for execution."
"I saw the Executioner enter this floor—"
A tall boy stepped forward. Clean armor. Academy insignia intact. Rank tag glowing faintly on his wrist.
Rank: E-12
"You shouldn't be alive," the boy said bluntly. "The System announced your death flag."
Aiden blinked.
"…It did what?"
The System helpfully chimed in—late, as usual.
[NOTICE: PRIOR USER STATUS — DECEASED (TEMPORARY)]
[STATUS CORRECTED]
Aiden stared at the message.
Then laughed.
A raw, hoarse sound that echoed off the cavern walls.
"So," he said, wiping blood from his mouth, "guess I scared it."
No one laughed with him.
Because they were staring at his chest.
The mark.
The fractured sun symbol still glowed faintly beneath torn fabric.
Someone whispered, terrified:
"That's… a Floor Boss Mark."
Another voice, shaking:
"Only Rankers survive those."
The E-12 stepped back half a step without realizing it.
Aiden noticed.
Good.
"Listen," Aiden said, cutting through the tension. "This floor just respawned. One hundred-plus hostiles inbound. If you're smart, you'll move."
As if on cue—
A distant screech echoed through the tunnels.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The System flared.
[WARNING: HOSTILE CONVERGENCE DETECTED]
[ESTIMATED CONTACT: 90 SECONDS]
Panic hit instantly.
"We can't fight that many!"
"We need an exit—now!"
"The Warden destroyed half the paths!"
Aiden pushed himself fully to his feet.
His body still hurt.
But something inside him was steady.
Clear.
"Follow me," he said.
The E-12 hesitated. "Why should we trust—"
Aiden looked him dead in the eye.
"Because I already died here," he said flatly. "And I'm still standing."
That did it.
The horde's roars grew louder—closer.
"Move!" someone shouted.
They ran.
Aiden led them down a side passage barely wide enough for two people. His instincts pulled him left, then right—knowing where not to go.
The System stayed quiet.
Too quiet.
They burst into a narrow chamber just as the first monsters flooded the tunnel behind them—red eyes, serrated limbs, too many teeth.
"Block it!" Aiden shouted.
Two students slammed abilities into the entrance—ice and stone sealing it shut just as claws tore at the other side.
The chamber shook.
Breathing hard, the group turned to Aiden.
The E-12 swallowed.
"…What are you?"
Aiden leaned against the wall, chest rising and falling.
"Same as you," he said. "Just harder to kill."
The wall behind them cracked.
A thin red line appeared.
The System finally spoke again.
[WARNING: BARRIER FAILURE IMMINENT]
Aiden straightened, eyes sharp.
"Okay," he said. "New rule."
He clenched his fist.
"If the System can't save us—"
The wall exploded inward.
"—then we save ourselves."
Cliffhanger silence.