The rain never stopped in the part of the city where debts go to die.Isaac Rhoades stood at the edge of the overpass, toes curling just over the crumbling concrete ledge. Below, cars rushed like veins of light in a world too fast to care. His soaked hoodie clung to his skin, heavy with the same weight he'd been carrying for months—failure, grief, and ten thousand dollars of blood-soaked IOUs.A gust of wind slapped his face. He didn’t flinch.Behind him, the world had nothing left to offer. The loan sharks had emptied his pockets, his landlord had changed the locks, and his boss at the warehouse had fired him with one line:“You’re a liability, Rhoades.”He had nothing left. Not even the will to scream.He looked up. “Sorry, Lara.”His little sister’s name felt like broken glass in his mouth.The hospital bed. The tubes. The bill they couldn’t pay.Isaac clenched his fists. Every second she spent in that cold white room had cost him more—until the loans swallowed him whole. And when

The man in the mask didn’t blink.He stood at the mouth of the abandoned subway tunnel like a phantom—tall, lean, clad in jet-black armor lined with glowing red glyphs. The air around him shimmered with a faint, pulsing heat.Isaac’s instincts screamed.His Instinct Surge flared on its own.Time slowed.The HUD snapped into view.WARNING: SYSTEM USER DETECTEDAlias: ReaperTier: BronzeSystem Class: Combat DominanceThreat Level: EXTREMECombat Likelihood: 88%Suggested Action: Retreat or DelayInstinct Surge Activated: 3 seconds foresight▶ Reaper will lunge. Right arm strike. Blade concealed. Step left. Run.Instinct took over.Isaac dove sideways just as a gleaming blade slashed through the air where his head had been.The tunnel wall sparked as the weapon struck concrete.Reaper didn’t hesitate. “Not bad, rookie.”Isaac scrambled up. “I don’t want a fight!”“That’s nice,” Reaper said, flicking his wrist. The blade retracted into his gauntlet. “But the system wants one.”SYSTEM NOT

The city glimmered beneath Ethan's penthouse window, but his eyes were fixed on the glowing text floating in front of him.Main Quest Unlocked: Inheritance Protocol – Stage 1Objective: Locate Vault File AlphaHint: “Begin where the name was erased.”Reward: Vault Access Key | Enhanced Processing Speed | Bloodline Seal FragmentHis fingers twitched. Vault File Alpha… What did that mean?The words shifted again:Time Limit: 72 HoursFailure Consequence: Mission LockoutScene 1: Forgotten CluesEthan sat back in his chair, mind racing.“Where the name was erased…” he whispered.He opened his old personal files, searching records he hadn’t touched in years. Hospital bills. Storage unit invoices. A torn letter from his mother—sent just months before her Alzheimer’s worsened.One name jumped out: Greenhill Orphanage.That was where his father spent part of his childhood—after being disowned. But the building had been shut down. Bulldozed, even.He remembered reading it in an article years

East Sector Safehouse – 4:02 PMThe interface pulsed red.Mission #005: Memory Requiem – LIVETarget Identified: “Elijah Strain” – Failed User (Bronze Tier)Memory Status: Corrupted LoopCurrent Risk Level: CriticalObjective: Enter memory fragment, extract host consciousness, locate legacy dataReward: -$2,000 Debt, +2 Credits, +7% Archive AccessWarning: Mental Collapse Threshold: 30 MinutesIsaac stared at the screen floating midair. Mayra stood beside him, tension in her jaw.“Isn’t this suicide?” she asked.Isaac shrugged. “Maybe. But every time someone fails, this system eats them or uses them. If I can save even one…”He touched the glowing panel.The world fell away.[Initiating Memory Dive: Elijah Strain]Neural lock engaged.Consciousness tethered.Stable anchor point: 43%Memory landscape initializing...Everything turned black.Then the sound of rain. Gunshots. Screams.Isaac opened his eyes inside the middle of a collapsing street. Buildings bent at wrong angles. A black

East District Rooftops – 11:23 PMThe wind howled as Isaac stood on the rooftop, silver eyes scanning the darkness. Across the city, red static danced above one building — a decaying broadcast tower long since abandoned.Mayra crouched beside him, rifle slung over her back. “This is where the signal’s coming from?”Isaac nodded.System Scan: Active▶ System-Eater Hive Detected▶ Estimated Occupants: 9▶ Hive Class: Class Beta▶ Structural Integrity: 17%▶ Access Points: 3Warning: Hostile swarm behavior confirmedIsaac’s HUD shimmered with a new feature since his ascension: Fragment Radar.The nine red dots inside the hive pulsed erratically—like something barely contained.They’re not just hiding. They’re building something.Mayra checked her weapon. “Plan?”“We get in. We find out what they're guarding. We get out—alive.”She smirked. “Simple enough.”11:44 PM – InfiltrationThey entered through the service hatch on the rooftop.The air inside was thick with digital static—heavy, oi