Satya stood in front of his wardrobe mirror, its hinges slightly loose. Before him, a faded pink hologram window—a color Satya absolutely loathed because it reminded him of cheap bubblegum—flickered enthusiastically.
[Side Mission: Sparks of Romance at Cafe Serenity]
[Objective: Gain at least +10 'Affinity Points' from Rina]
[Dress Code: Wear the sky-blue slim-fit shirt and spray the 'Charisma Perfume (Rank D)' provided in the Inventory.]
[Reward: Skill: 'Enchanted Death Stare', Charm Attribute Points +5]
[Penalty: If the mission fails or is canceled, the User will suffer from 'Male Goat Body Odor' for 3 consecutive days.]
"Male goat body odor? Your creativity is really hitting a new low, Alpha," Satya muttered.
[System: It’s not a matter of creativity, User. It’s a matter of social consequences. If you smell like a goat, no 'Heroine' will want to get close, and our romance rating will plummet to zero. Please, wear the shirt. It’s in your Inventory.]
Satya reached into the void of the air, pulling out a blue shirt that looked far too slick and far too tight for his size. He stared at the shirt with disgust.
"This shirt screams 'I’m a desperate guy trying too hard to look cool.' No. I’m not wearing it," Satya threw the shirt back onto the bed.
Instead, he grabbed a plain black t-shirt with slightly faded colors and an old denim jacket with a fraying collar. He brushed his hair carelessly, even intentionally letting a few strands stick out in the back.
[System: User! What are you doing? That’s 'Hobo Style'! You’re going to ruin the date's atmosphere before it even begins!]
"This is called 'Authentic Style,' Alpha. If Rina only likes me because of a blue shirt given by an AI, then this relationship is based on an algorithmic lie. I’d rather she hate me for who I really am than like me because of your script," Satya put on his sneakers, their soles already worn thin.
He stepped out of the apartment, carrying the untitled black book in his jacket pocket. The book felt warm, as if it were providing moral support for his rebellion.
Cafe Serenity was located in a hidden corner of the Senopati area. The place was extremely "Instagrammable"—lots of hanging plants, dim yellow lights designed to hide acne, and instrumental jazz music set at a volume that forced people to lean in to hear each other. A classic business strategy to create forced intimacy.
Satya arrived ten minutes early. He intentionally chose the table closest to the noisy AC unit and far from the garden view.
[System: A terrible choice of table. You just lowered the 'Romantic Ambience' chances by 30%.]
"Good. That means I still have 70% left to destroy," Satya replied while ordering the bitterest black coffee on the menu—no sugar, no milk, no hope.
At exactly seven o'clock, the bell at the cafe door rang. Rina walked in.
Satya had to admit, the System hadn't chosen the 'Heroine' poorly. Rina looked very different from her usual self at the office. She wore a simple floral dress with a white cardigan. Her hair was tied half-up, revealing small earrings that sparkled under the cafe lights. She looked beautiful, fresh, and... very real, which made Satya feel a twinge of guilt for intending to ruin the night.
"Satya! Have you been waiting long?" Rina smiled, sitting across from Satya.
[Dialogue Options Appear:]
A. "Just got here, but waiting for you for even a second feels like forever." (+15 Affinity)
B. "You look beautiful tonight, Rin. I almost didn't recognize you." (+10 Affinity)
C. "Yeah, I've been here for a while. Order whatever you want, it's on me." (+5 Affinity)
Satya stared at the choices with a hollow gaze. They all sounded like dialogue from a trashy novel written by a pubescent teenager.
"I choose Option D," Satya muttered.
[System: There is no Option D!]
"There is now," Satya looked into Rina's eyes. "I got here ten minutes ago because I hate being late, but I chose this table on purpose so we wouldn't get trapped in a romantic atmosphere forced by this cafe's lighting. What do you want to order? I suggest you don't get that 'Love Berry Smoothie'; it’s fifty thousand rupiahs and it’s just fructose syrup."
Rina blinked. Her smile froze for a moment, then she let out a small laugh—not a polite laugh, but one that sounded genuinely confused.
"You're really honest, Sat. And here I was about to order that because the photo on the menu looked cute."
[System: Warning! Affinity Points: +2. (Wait, why is she happy?!)]
"Because humans are complex, Alpha. They're bored of fake compliments," Satya thought.
Rina ended up ordering chamomile tea. The atmosphere became a bit awkward for a few minutes. The background jazz music began playing a very melancholy tune.
"So... why did you suddenly ask me out, Sat? Yesterday at the office, you seemed really busy with that... 'supernatural' business," Rina started the conversation, her eyes fixed on Satya with great curiosity.
[New Dialogue Options:]
A. "I just wanted to spend more time with you outside the office."
B. "After what happened yesterday, I realized how precious you are to me."
Satya sighed. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Honestly? There's a voice in my head threatening to make me smell like a goat if I didn't ask you on a date tonight."
Rina burst out laughing, so hard that a few people at the next table turned to look. "Goat smell? Are you serious? That’s the weirdest reason I’ve ever heard."
"I'm serious. This world is turning into a very bad game, Rin. And according to that game system, you're the 'Heroine' whose heart I have to win so the audience out there doesn't get bored."
Rina stopped laughing. She stared at Satya intensely. "Audience? You mean we're on a reality show?"
"Worse. We're inside a narrative that's being read or watched. Every move we make, every word we say, it's all being judged. Including how I'm supposed to praise your dress right now so the story's rating goes up."
[System: USER! STOP! You are illegally 'Breaking the Fourth Wall'! You will ruin the readers' suspension of disbelief!]
"Your dress is nice, Rin," Satya continued, ignoring Alpha's screams in his head. "But I know you're not wearing it because you want to impress me, but because you felt you had to look your best for a 'date.' Even though I know you're more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt on a Saturday, right?"
Rina was silent for a long time. She sipped her tea slowly. "How... how did you know? I spent an hour picking this out because I was nervous about meeting you."
[Affinity Points: +5. (Total: +7). Alpha began showing signs of digital confusion.]
"I know because I pay attention to you, not because I'm following a script," Satya said. This was the most honest thing he had said all night, and strangely, he felt it himself. "Rina, I don't want this date to be 'perfect' by any story's standards. I want you to know that I'm cynical, I'm pragmatic, and I'm at war with a forced destiny."
Suddenly, an "Event" was triggered by the panicking System.
A waiter walked past their table, carrying a tray with two full glasses of orange juice. Suddenly, the waiter's foot tripped over a slightly protruding table leg (a very crude narrative 'coincidence').
The glasses flew through the air, heading straight for Rina's dress.
[System: EVENT: HEROIC SHIELD! Immediately jump and catch the glasses, or let the liquid soak your clothes to create a 'Lending the Jacket' moment!]
Satya saw the slow-motion movement. He could have jumped. He could have been a hero. But he looked at the waiter's feet and realized there was "Source Code" pulling the waiter's leg to make him trip.
"I won't let you," Satya hissed.
Instead of catching the glasses or protecting Rina with his body, Satya used the 'Glitch Integration' he had just acquired (1.2%). He didn't attack, but he "shifted" the tray's gravitational position in his vision.
SWOOSH!
The glasses didn't fall toward Rina. As if blown by a sudden strong wind, the glasses turned and spilled right onto the head of a man at the next table who was busy photographing his food with a professional camera.
"WHOA! HEY, WHAT IS THIS?!" the camera guy shouted.
The waiter turned pale. "I'm sorry, sir! I'm sorry! It was an accident!"
The quiet cafe atmosphere suddenly became rowdy. Rina was shocked, but she wasn't hit by the spill at all.
"Wow, lucky it didn't hit us, Sat," Rina whispered, her eyes wide. "But that was weird, how did the spill turn like that?"
"Maybe the laws of physics are protesting because they're being forced to do something stupid," Satya replied casually, sipping his coffee again.
[System: ... You just ruined the legendary 'Lending the Jacket' moment. Audience satisfaction rating is plummeting! You have to fix this!]
"Fix it yourself," Satya thought.
However, the real surprise came from Rina. She didn't look disappointed that there was no heroic moment. Instead, she leaned toward Satya, her eyes sparkling in a way Satya had never seen at the office.
"You know what, Sat? I hate dates that are too smooth. Like in those Korean movies my mom watches. It feels fake. But tonight... even though you're talking weirdly about systems and narratives, I feel like you're actually here. Not just acting."
Rina reached out her hand across the table, hesitated for a moment, then touched the back of Satya's hand.
[Affinity Points: +10!]
[Mission Accomplished: Target Reached.]
Satya froze. Rina's touch felt warm, real, and had no lines of code around it. For a moment, the system window in his eyes faded, and he only saw a woman who was truly interested in him, not in the "Protagonist" he was playing.
"Satya, if you're really at war with that 'System'... can I join you?" Rina whispered. "It sounds more exciting than just being a 'Heroine' waiting to be saved."
[System: ERROR! Supporting Character (Rina) is showing signs of 'Self-Awareness'! This is a severe protocol violation!]
Satya smiled, a genuine smile this time. He turned his hand over and gripped Rina's. "Be careful, Rin. If you join, the story won't end with the usual 'Happily Ever After.' We might end up being chased by the entire universe."
"That's fine," Rina winked. "I'm bored of being an ordinary office worker."
Right then, the lights of Cafe Serenity flashed bright red. The jazz music stopped, replaced by an ear-piercing static sound.
[System: Warning! Admin Interference Detected! 'Romance' scenario forcibly canceled by the Author for being 'Too Deviant'.]
"What?!" Satya stood up, pulling Rina behind him.
In the middle of the cafe, space and time seemed to tear. The people around them froze like wax statues. The man who had been spilled on remained still, his angry face frozen mid-shout.
From the dimensional tear, a figure emerged wearing a pristine white robe with a face covered by a monitor-shaped mask displaying the text: [MODERATOR].
"User 001," the Moderator's voice sounded like thousands of people speaking at once, yet colder and more authoritative than Alpha's. "You have damaged the integrity of a key character. Rina was not supposed to have awareness of the System until Chapter 50. You have illegally accelerated the plot."
"Your plot is boring, Moderator," Satya challenged, his right hand beginning to glow with a faint purple light—his Glitch power resonating. "And I don't like how you treat humans like stage props."
"If the plot cannot be fixed, then this chapter must be deleted," the Moderator raised its hand. "Initiating protocol: 'Delete Scene'."
[System: Satya! Run! The Moderator is much stronger than I am! They are the Author's direct executors!]
"Rin, hold my hand tight!" Satya shouted.
"I won't let go, Sat!" Rina cried out, her voice full of determination.
Satya didn't run. Instead, he opened the untitled black book in his pocket. The book's pages flipped on their own, emitting a black light that absorbed the red light in the cafe.
"You say this is your story?" Satya yelled at the Moderator. "From now on, I'm the one holding the pen!"
Satya slammed the book onto the cafe floor.
BOOM!
A wave of black and purple energy exploded, shattering the Cafe Serenity simulation. Satya felt an incredible sensation of falling, as if he were being pulled through a data drain.
Satya woke up gasping for air. He was on the sidewalk in front of an empty shophouse. Rain was pouring down. Beside him, Rina was also coughing, her clothes soaked, but she was still holding Satya's hand tightly.
"Where... where are we?" Rina asked, shivering from the cold.
Satya looked around. They were no longer in Senopati. They were in an area he didn't recognize, where buildings looked half-finished and the sky was filled with rows of constantly moving code.
"We're in the 'Draft Space,'" Satya whispered. "The place where discarded ideas are thrown away. We've stepped outside the main script."
[System: (Alpha's voice sounded very weak and distorted) Satya... what... have you done... We... we're in big trouble...]
Satya stood up, helping Rina up. He looked at his hand. The [Glitch Integration] bar had surged drastically to [5.7%].
"Don't be afraid, Alpha," Satya said, staring into the darkness ahead. "That romance story might have failed, but we've just started a much more interesting genre."
He looked at Rina, then at the black book which now had new text on its cover: [CHAPTER 8: THE SCRIPT REBELS].
"Rina, welcome to the real world," Satya said.
Rina wiped the rain from her face and gave a brave smile. "Better to be soaked here than dry inside a lie, Sat."
In the sky of the Draft Space, a giant notification appeared, red and pulsing: [WARNING: PROTAGONIST HAS KIDNAPPED THE HEROINE OUT OF THE PLOT. READER RATING: ERROR. INITIATING GLOBAL SEARCH.]
Satya only smirked. The war against the Author had just moved to the next level.
[USER_001_PAST_DATA.log - Updated]
STATUS: PLOT-HOLE DETECTED.
SUBJECT HAS TRIGGERED AWARENESS IN A KEY NPC.
GLITCH INTEGRATION: 5.7%
EVALUATION: NARRATIVE CAN NO LONGER BE CONTROLLED AUTOMATICALLY. SUMMONING 'MAIN ANTAGONIST' AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.
In the distance, within the darkness of the Draft Space, a red eye snapped open. Bagas—the Regressor—stood there, but this time he didn't look like a chunibyo kid. His eyes were cold, and he held a sword that emitted a data-destroying aura.
"Satya... you've really done something stupid," Bagas muttered. "Now, I have to kill you to save this timeline."
The war between Users was about to begin.
2026-01-25 18:37:12
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