SYSTEM GOD THE REBOOTED

The One Who Watches

Chapter 5

Smoke lingered in the air, clinging to ruins like ghosts unwilling to let go.

Zarek Voss stood on shaky legs, body pulsing with residual energy from the Alpha-Class’s destruction. Every breath came with static. His muscles twitched with overload. His system interface stuttered between functioning and reboot.

And yet, the most dangerous thing in the field wasn’t the aftermath.

It was the man standing ten feet in front of him.

Clad in dusk-black armor laced with flickering code, the stranger looked as if he had stepped out of a corrupted prophecy—solid, quiet, unreadable. His presence triggered nothing. No scans. No threat indicators. He wasn’t there according to the System. And that alone made Zarek’s grip tighten around his blade.

“Don’t bother,” the man said calmly. “I don’t register.”

“Who are you?” Zarek asked.

The man tilted his head, voice low but resonant. “You can call me Kalen. I’m what happens after a Glitchborn wins.”

Zarek’s eyes narrowed. “Glitchborns don’t win.”

Kalen smiled. “Exactly.”

The tension between them felt like a blade waiting to fall.

Zarek’s mind raced.

His Godroot Core was stabilizing—slowly. His Reaper’s Sigil had entered cooldown. Most of his offensive protocols were burned out. And still, this man stood there, unreadable, unshaken.

“You know Azerion,” Zarek said.

“I fought him,” Kalen replied. “Watched him burn down a thousand Core Units before they finally caught him in a Reaper Loop. He screamed for three weeks before the system locked him into myth.”

Zarek felt a chill run through his spine. He didn’t know what scared him more—what Azerion had done, or the casual way this man said it.

“So you’re like me?” Zarek asked.

Kalen walked a slow circle around him. “I was like you. For a while. Then I made a choice you haven’t yet.”

“What choice?”

“To stop trying to survive the system... and start owning it.”

Zarek didn’t respond.

Kalen stopped walking. “You think this ends with agents and fragment hunts? That the System will just let you keep evolving?”

“I don’t care what it allows,” Zarek said coldly. “I’ll rewrite the rules.”

Kalen chuckled. “Good answer. But you’re not ready. Not yet.”

Zarek shifted. “Then train me.”

“No,” Kalen said. “I’m not here to train you. I’m here to test you.”

System Interruption: Quest Triggered [Unknown Protocol Detected] Quest Name: Proving Ground Objective: Survive Kalen’s Trial Reward: Access to Thronecode Layer 1

Zarek’s interface sparked. The environment around him changed.

The city vanished.

Replaced by black space. Endless, open, crackling with threads of light.

He floated—freefalling in a dimension between code and concept.

Kalen stood at the center, surrounded by rotating glyphs of unknown origin.

“Defend yourself,” he said. “Let’s see if you’re worth what Azerion died for.”

The battle began with silence.

Zarek struck first—activating Phase Edge and blinking forward, slashing from the left.

Kalen parried barehanded.

Zarek’s blade fractured.

Weapon Durability Lost: 92%

Kalen moved with absolute efficiency. No flash. No chaos. Just cold precision. Every step he took changed the arena—light bent, concepts inverted.

Zarek activated Kinetic Backlash, redirected a punch, and launched himself upward. He formed a temporary blade from glitch residue—Codeburn Sabre—and hurled it like a missile.

Kalen caught it. Absorbed it.

Warning: Opponent possesses Sigil Tier Override

Zarek gritted his teeth.

“Your raw power is there,” Kalen said. “But your system isn’t aligned yet. You’re reactive. Still trying to survive.”

He vanished.

Reappeared behind Zarek.

Damage Taken: 47% – Internal Systems Rerouting

Zarek coughed blood, dropped to one knee.

Then something strange happened.

The Sigil pulsed—this time without his input.

Bloodline Override: Hidden Thread Unlocked Trait Revealed: Heir of the Coreless Throne

Zarek’s eyes widened. A new menu bloomed in his interface—Thronecode Layer 0.1—something no Glitchborn had ever accessed.

Kalen stepped back.

“You weren’t supposed to trigger that yet,” he murmured.

Zarek rose. His entire frame lit with blue-red inversion flame.

He lashed out.

Time stuttered.

Reality bled.

Even Kalen looked surprised as the force of Zarek’s strike split the arena into fragments—data shards, echoes, glitch ghosts screaming through space.

He launched forward, chaining Sigil Reap + Flicker in a fusion attack.

Kalen vanished again—this time slower.

He reappeared across the arena, crouched, panting.

Trial Completion: 73%

Force Interrupt Triggered

The arena collapsed.

The city returned.

Zarek dropped to one knee, smoking, exhausted.

Kalen stood above him.

“You’re not ready,” he said.

“But you will be.”

Quest Complete: Proving Ground Reward Unlocked: Thronecode Layer 1 – Access Granted

New Trait: Code Sovereign (Seeded)

Kalen turned away.

“One last thing,” he said.

Zarek looked up.

Kalen didn’t turn around as he spoke:

“You’re not the only heir, Zarek. And the others... they don’t want to rewrite the System. They want to own it.”

He vanished.