The System didn't wait long.
It never did.
By the time emergency sirens reached full volume and people began pulling themselves out from overturned cars and shattered storefronts, the narrative had already been written.
Piter Hall felt it settle over the city like smog.
Judgment.
His Interface flickered again, slower this time, heavier.
[Public Threat Index: Updating…]
Lena stared at the ruined street, hands shaking. "They're going to blame you," she said. "Aren't they?"
Piter didn't answer immediately.
He was watching the crowd.
Phones were out. Interfaces glowed brighter as people rewatched fragments of the confrontation. Not the full context. Not the lead-up.
Only the moments that mattered to fear.
Evan's attack.
The street breaking.
Piter standing at the center of it.
"They already are," Piter said.
A woman nearby pointed at him.
"That's him," she said loudly. "The name they showed earlier."
Murmurs spread.
"Piter Hall."
"He's the reason the difficulty went up."
"I knew someone would mess it up for everyone."
The System didn't need to lie.
It just needed to highlight.
A translucent overlay bloomed in the air above the street, visible to everyone.
[System Feed: Live Incident Review]
Clips began looping.
Piter striking Evan.
The shockwave.
The collapse.
No context. No timestamps. No mention of unauthorized escalation.
Only impact.
Lena's breathing quickened. "That's not fair," she whispered. "They don't see what he did first."
"They never will," Piter replied.
That was the rule.
Whoever survives the narrative controls it.
Sirens grew louder.
Not police.
Something else.
Piter felt it before he saw it. A pressure like static crawling over his skin.
Hunters.
Not monsters.
Not yet.
People.
A group pushed through the crowd, Interfaces glowing an aggressive red-orange. Their expressions were tight, purposeful.
One of them raised his voice.
"Piter Hall," he shouted. "By authority of the System Compliance Directive, you are requested to submit for evaluation."
Requested.
Piter exhaled slowly.
"How many?" he asked Lena quietly.
She swallowed. "Six. No… seven."
Seven hunters.
Early.
Too early for organized response.
Which meant the System was experimenting again.
"Stay behind me," Piter said.
The lead hunter stepped forward. He was tall, armored in translucent System plating that hummed faintly with energy.
"You're endangering civilians," the man said. "Stand down."
"You're endangering truth," Piter replied.
The hunter's jaw tightened.
"Do you deny causing the Scenario escalation?"
Piter looked around at the ruined street.
At the fear.
At the people who would never forgive him.
"No," he said. "I deny that it was wrong."
The crowd erupted.
"What?"
"Did you hear that?"
"He admitted it!"
Lena grabbed his arm. "Piter—"
He gently shook her off.
"This is the moment," he murmured. "If I back down now, I lose everything."
The hunter raised his hand.
"Engage," he ordered.
The world lurched.
The hunters moved in unison, Interfaces flaring as they activated suppression fields. The air grew heavy, every step harder than the last.
Piter felt pressure slam into his chest.
This wasn't combat.
It was containment.
He staggered, teeth clenched, fighting against a force designed to pin anomalies in place.
Lena screamed.
Her Interface flared violently.
[Status Instability Detected.]
"No," Piter muttered. "Not now."
The pressure spiked.
Lena cried out, clutching her head.
The world around her warped.
Glass shattered outward.
A shockwave rippled from her position, throwing two hunters off their feet.
Everyone froze.
Including the System.
Lena collapsed to her knees, sobbing.
"I can't stop it," she cried. "Everything feels too loud. Too close."
Piter moved instantly, dropping beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"Focus on my voice," he said firmly. "Just me."
The hunters hesitated.
Their leader frowned.
"She's unstable," he said. "Terminate before it spreads."
Piter looked up slowly.
"Say that again," he said.
"She's a liability," the hunter replied. "The System—"
Piter stood.
The suppression field cracked.
Not shattered.
Cracked.
Enough.
"You want compliance?" Piter said, voice carrying unnaturally far. "Here it is."
He turned, making sure everyone could see him.
"This is what your system does," he continued. "It takes people who hesitate, who question, who refuse to be efficient—and it labels them errors."
The System Feed flickered.
Trying to cut him off.
He spoke faster.
"You think the difficulty increased because I interfered?" Piter said. "It increased because the System is afraid of anyone who survives without permission."
The crowd wavered.
Confusion crept in.
The hunters moved again.
Piter didn't resist.
Instead—
He stepped forward into the suppression field willingly.
The pressure crushed down on him.
Bones screamed.
His vision blurred.
But he didn't kneel.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
The hunter leader stared.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
"Giving them a better clip," Piter said.
He raised his hands.
"Record this," he said clearly.
The System Feed flickered harder.
He felt something tear.
Not flesh.
Narrative.
"You want a villain?" Piter continued. "Fine."
He looked directly into the Feed.
"I am Piter Hall," he said. "And I reject your authority."
The suppression field shattered.
Not exploded.
Collapsed.
The hunters were thrown backward.
The Feed went dark.
For three full seconds—
Nothing happened.
Then the sky dimmed.
Text burned across every surface.
[Public Threat Index: Updated]
[Piter Hall — Classification: Hostile Variable]
Silence fell.
Lena stared up at him in horror.
"They… they made you the enemy," she whispered.
Piter closed his eyes briefly.
"Good," he said.
Because now there was no ambiguity left.
No fence to sit on.
The System had chosen its side.
And so had he.
His Interface pulsed one final time.
A new message appeared.
One he hadn't seen before.
[Narrative Lock Initiated.]
[Hero Probability: 0%]
[Antagonist Probability: 87%]
Piter smiled faintly.
"That's higher than last time," he murmured.
He looked down at Lena.
"You still want to stay?" he asked quietly.
She wiped her tears, stood on shaking legs, and nodded.
"Yes," she said. "Because now I know what they're doing."
Piter turned away from the crowd.
From the hunters struggling to rise.
From the world that had already decided his role.
"Then we move," he said.
Behind them, unseen by any human—
Something ancient adjusted its parameters.
Because heroes were predictable.
But antagonists?
They broke systems.