2025-06-20 18:42:09Rooftop – 2:03 AM
Isaac didn’t move.
The shadow was gone. The presence, too.
But the HUD’s final words lingered like a ghost:
System Alert: DO NOT ENGAGE.
Class: System-Eater.
He stared at the place where the figure had stood. A glitching flicker remained, as though the air itself had been corrupted.
His heart thudded like a war drum. Not from fear—but from something far worse:
Recognition.
That voice… the glitch… it didn’t belong to the system. It belonged to someone.
Someone who had once tried to escape.
SYSTEM NOTICE
▶ Your system will enter safe mode for 2 hours.
Some functions will be temporarily disabled.
☑ Instinct Surge: LOCKED
☑ Mission Queue: ON HOLD
☑ Emergency Protocol: ACTIVE
Isaac clenched his fists.
You finally get a moment of calm… and the system pulls the rug again.
But even now, he couldn’t deny it—some part of him was… awake.
Like it was once like him.
He whispered, “System… what is a System-Eater?”
No response.
Figures.
8:47 AM – Riverfront Food Shelter
Isaac shoved half a sandwich into his mouth before the volunteers could recognize him. He looked like a corpse in a hoodie, eyes bloodshot and muscles sore.
The mission with Reaper had left him with a low-grade fever and something that felt like static buzzing beneath his skin.
Infection Penalty: Delayed.
A small screen blinked in the corner of his vision, like a post-it note stuck to his mind.
Infection Status: Dormant
Effect Upon Expiry: ???
Suggestion: Use Cleanse Kit (Cost: 2 Credits)
Available Credits: 2
He hesitated.
Use it now and lose your only credits.
Save them, and risk whatever “???” means.
He chose survival.
Cleanse Kit – Activated.
A low electric warmth spread through his veins. The static in his muscles faded. His thoughts cleared.
Infection Neutralized.
Trait Progression: Survivor (3/5)
He took a deep breath.
Then he heard a voice behind him.
“Isaac?”
His blood went cold.
He turned.
A girl stood across the room—messy braid, dark eyes, a backpack slung over one shoulder. She looked about nineteen, with that hardened city look.
Her name slammed into his memory like a flood:
Mayra Lane.
They’d met once, months ago, at the hospital. Her younger brother had shared a room with Lara. She had been kind. Strong. Unflinching in the face of death.
Now, she was staring at him like she’d seen a ghost.
“Isaac Rhoades?” she said again. “You’re… alive?”
He blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She walked closer, lowering her voice. “They said you vanished. That the loan sharks were after you.”
“They were,” he muttered. “Still are.”
She looked over her shoulder. “Come with me. We need to talk. Somewhere private.”
Isaac didn’t move. “Why?”
She looked him dead in the eyes.
“Because I think I’ve seen your system.”
Abandoned Bus Stop – 9:14 AM
They sat on the broken benches, the morning traffic a distant hum. Mayra kept glancing at the shadows.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” she said. “But two days ago, I was walking home from work. I saw this… screen floating in the air. And a man screaming. Then it just… ate him.”
Isaac sat forward, heart pounding. “Wait—ate him how?”
“He was glitching. Like a video buffer. The screen cracked… then he vanished. Just like that. I think he had a system like you.”
“You saw the system?”
“Only pieces. It said ‘Debt Protocol Failed.’ That’s all I could read.”
Isaac’s stomach twisted.
“Mayra… that wasn’t a failure. That was a termination.”
SYSTEM ALERT – MISSION UNLOCKED
Mission #004: Witness to Shadows
Escort her to the East Sector Safehouse.
ETA: 90 minutes
Reward: -$1,500 Debt, 1 Credit
Failure: Mayra will be terminated.
Bonus Objective: Learn about “The Archive”
☐ Accept ☑ Accepted
He grabbed her arm. “We need to move. Now.”
“To where?”
“A place where they can’t track us.”
Downtown – 9:42 AM
The world shifted.
The system HUD was alive with data.
Mayra’s presence triggered a new feature:
Companion Detected: Non-User
Condition: Protected
Trust Level: 35%
Sync Potential: Medium
Note: Protecting Mayra unlocks access to The Archive – classified information stored in hidden memory banks. The Archive contains:
▶ Failed users
▶ System-Eater data
▶ Reaper rankings
As they darted through alleys, Isaac suddenly stopped.
The hairs on his arms stood up.
Mayra froze. “What?”
He raised a hand. “Something’s—”
A blast of wind hit them like a truck. The brick wall next to them exploded.
A figure dropped from the sky—not Reaper.
No mask. Pale skin. Yellow eyes. Arms covered in tattoos that shifted like smoke.
A line of code floated above him:
System-Eater Fragment – Host Type: Parasite
Mission Failed Users Consumed: 7
Power Absorption: Active
Status: Unstable
It looked at Isaac—and grinned.
SYSTEM WARNING
Survive. Escape.
Failure: Immediate Termination of Both Parties.
“Run,” Isaac whispered.
The creature opened its mouth.
And spoke in a fractured, mechanical echo:
“YOU… ARE… NEXT.”
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
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