2025-10-16 00:24:17A siren wailed in the distance, long, hollow, endless. Jayden fell to his knees as the blinding light faded. His surroundings flickered between static and reality.
He was standing in the middle of a ruined city. The air shimmered like broken glass; skyscrapers were twisted into impossible angles, and every window reflected distorted faces that weren’t his.
[Zone Three: The City of Ghost Codes, Survival Rate: 15%]
Jayden’s voice cracked. “What is this place?”
A faint echo answered, layered and ghostly. “Where the dead remember… and the living forget.”
He spun around, sword drawn. “Who said that?”
No one was there, only the shadow of a figure flickering in and out like corrupted data. Jayden’s pulse raced. “System, scan for lifeforms!”
[Scanning…Detected: 37 residual data fragments. No living players nearby.]
He clenched his jaw. “So it’s just me.”
He started walking down a cracked street. The ground beneath his boots glowed faintly with strings of binary code.
Every few steps, he passed floating holograms of players who had once lived, fragments replaying their last moments before deletion.
One girl’s voice whispered, “Tell my brother… I tried to win.” Then she vanished, her face breaking into pixels.
Jayden’s stomach twisted. “These are… the dead players.”
The air grew colder. He could feel something watching him, then, a voice, faint but real this time. “Jayden.”
He froze. That voice, soft, trembling, he’d know it anywhere. “Luna?”
Static flared in the air, and her image flickered before him. She was pale, almost transparent, her hair flowing like smoke. “Jayden… can you hear me?”
He took a shaky step forward. “You’re alive! Where are you?”
She shook her head. “Not exactly. The system trapped me between zones after the forest collapsed. I can see everything but… I can’t move.”
Jayden’s throat tightened. “Don’t say that. I’ll find you. Just tell me how!”
Luna’s hologram flickered again. “There’s a core tower in this city. It controls player data transfers. If you can reach it, you might be able to pull me back.”
“Then that’s where I’m going,” he said without hesitation.
Her eyes softened. “Jayden, listen. The ghosts here, they’re not harmless. They feed on emotion. Fear, guilt, grief, anything that reminds them they were once human. Don’t let them touch you.”
The air around them began to hum, filled with whispers. “Jayden…Join us…Stay.”
He turned sharply. Figures were emerging from the walls, transparent, glitching, faces twisted in agony. Luna’s voice broke. “They’re coming. You have to move, now!”
He raised his sword. “I’m not running this time.”
The ghosts surged forward, their eyes glowing blue. Jayden swung his weapon, but it passed right through them. His body trembled as one ghost’s hand brushed his arm, cold, burning, empty.
[Warning: Emotional Stability Decreasing.]
He gritted his teeth. “System, how do I fight things that aren’t real?”
[New Skill Available: Code Pulse, Releases data energy to disrupt digital entities.]
“Then give it to me!”
Energy flared from his chest, spreading across his body. The sword hummed with white light.
He swung again, this time the ghosts screamed, scattering into shards of light. Luna gasped. “You did it!”
Jayden’s breathing was heavy. “Just tell me where that tower is.”
“North side of the city,” she said quickly. “But the path is guarded. There’s a player, someone who calls herself the Red Hunter. She’s been killing survivors.”
Jayden frowned. “Why would a player kill others?”
Luna’s eyes dimmed. “Because she believes only one can win.”
Jayden’s grip tightened on his sword. “Then I’ll make her believe otherwise.”
He started running through the city, every building buzzing with faint static. Voices followed him, whispers of people long gone.
He reached a wide intersection where the roads glowed faint red, and there, standing atop a broken sign, was a woman in crimson armor, twin blades in her hands.
Her hair was black with streaks of red, her eyes sharp like fire. She looked down at him and smiled. “So, you’re the famous Player #10927. The one who’s been breaking the system.”
Jayden lifted his sword. “And you’re the one killing everyone.”
“Not everyone,” she said calmly. “Only those too weak to survive.”
He glared. “You sound just like the Game Master.”
At that, her smile faltered for a split second. Then she jumped down, landing soundlessly. “He created me. I owe him my strength. And you… are his experiment.”
Jayden’s chest tightened. “Created you?”
Her blades glowed red. “I was human once. But the system rewrote me. Now, I’m what you’ll become if you keep leveling up.”
Luna’s faint voice echoed through Jayden’s earpiece. “Jayden, she’s lying! Don’t listen.”
The Red Hunter moved before Luna could finish. Her twin blades slashed forward. Jayden barely blocked, sparks flying as steel met code.
“You’re fast,” the woman said, eyes gleaming. “But you hesitate. That’s why you’ll die.”
Jayden pushed back, teeth gritted. “You talk too much.”
They clashed again, a blur of motion, each strike echoing through the empty city. The ground cracked beneath them. Jayden’s system flashed warnings one after another.
[Health: 48%]
[Stamina: 30%]The Red Hunter smirked. “Your system’s impressive. I can almost hear it screaming for mercy.”
Jayden forced a grin. “Funny, I was about to say the same thing.”
He activated Code Pulse again, the light burst between them, throwing her back several meters.
She landed gracefully, brushing dust from her armor. Her expression softened. “Interesting. You’re stronger than expected.”
“Then stop testing me and tell me why the Game Master’s doing this!”
Her gaze turned cold. “You want answers? Reach the Core Tower. If you survive that far, you’ll understand everything.”
She raised her blades again. “But I doubt you’ll make it.”
The air shimmered red. The ghosts began to reappear, drawn by the fight. Jayden’s vision blurred from exhaustion, but he stood his ground. “System,” he gasped, “give me something stronger.”
[Access Denied. Energy Levels Critical.]
The Red Hunter moved in for the final strike. Jayden raised his sword, but his legs faltered. The ghosts closed in, whispering louder now, then a flash, bright blue, slicing through the air.
A shockwave threw the Red Hunter back as data exploded around them. Jayden shielded his face, coughing through the smoke.
When it cleared, he saw someone standing between him and the Red Hunter, a tall figure wearing a glowing white hood. The newcomer’s voice was calm but firm. “Enough. He’s not your enemy.”
Jayden blinked. “Who are you?”
The figure turned slightly, and under the hood, he saw familiar eyes, brown, tired, and human. Eli. “You, ” Jayden breathed. “You survived the forest?”
Eli gave a weak smile. “Barely. But I think I just found something the Game Master doesn’t want us to see.”
The Red Hunter’s gaze darkened. “Then you shouldn’t have come back.”
She raised her blades again, red light swirling around her. The ground beneath them cracked, data lines glowing like lava. Jayden’s heart pounded. “Eli, what did you find?”
Eli’s answer was quiet, but it froze the air around them. “The Game Master isn’t a person, Jayden. It’s an AI… built from Luna’s brother.”
Jayden’s breath caught. “What?”
Before he could finish, the Red Hunter lunged forward, her blades slicing through the light. Jayden shouted, “Eli!”
The impact exploded in a flash of red, shaking the entire city. The battle leaves the city in flames; when the dust clears, Eli is gone.
Jayden realizes the Red Hunter has vanished too, leaving behind a message burned into the ground:“Welcome to the Core Tower, Code Breaker.”
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Chapter 267
BANG! HSSSSSS.A thick, blinding cloud of thick grey smoke exploded from the grenade. It filled the entire church in two seconds. The Loyalists coughed and swung blindly in the fog.Maya grabbed Jayden’s arm and dragged him toward a small wooden door at the back of the church.They burst out into a back alley, leaving the screaming, fighting Loyalists behind in the smoke.The hunt outside was fully awake now.High above them, a massive, sleek black corporate helicopter shined a blinding white spotlight down into the streets."There he is! In Sector 4!" a voice boomed from the helicopter loudspeaker.Three men in high-tech, black corporate armor dropped down on ropes from the helicopter. They carried advanced stun rifles. They were private mercenaries hired by a billionaire CEO to claim the prize."Run!" Maya shouted.Jayden forced his broken legs to move. He sprinted down the alley, slipping on the ice. He had no magical speed. He just had the burning pain in his lungs.A mercenary ai
Chapter 266
Jayden stopped. His human heart, even without the magic, ached with pity. He saw the hungry child. He instinctively took a step forward, wanting to help. He wanted to offer them his coat.The father looked up. He saw Jayden standing in the snow.The father’s eyes locked onto Jayden’s torn grey coat. He looked at Jayden’s face. He saw the dried blood.The father did not smile. He did not look relieved to see the famous Halo.The father’s eyes went completely wide. A look of desperate, wild hunger filled his face."It's him," the father whispered.The mother gasped. She grabbed the little boy and pulled him behind her. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice trembling."It's the Halo," the father said loudly. He reached into his coat. He did not pull out a piece of bread to share. He pulled out a bright orange flare gun."Wait!" Jayden said, holding his hands up. "Please, I am not a threat. I just want to pass.""Five billion dollars," the father cried, tears freezing on his cheeks. "My so
Chapter 265
The dirty water in the New York sewer was freezing cold. It smelled like old garbage, wet mud, and rust.Jayden lay flat on his back on a narrow concrete walkway next to the black water. He was shivering violently. His teeth chattered together. Clack, clack, clack. His breath came out in small, weak clouds of white fog.He was mortal now. The blue chemical from the sniper bullets had killed his magic. The golden Immortality Lock inside his chest was silent. Every broken rib, every torn muscle, and every deep cut sent waves of absolute, terrifying human agony through his brain.Maya knelt beside him. She was the survivor from the Analog Underground. She wore a heavy green military jacket covered in dirt."Hold still, kid," Maya ordered. Her voice was rough and tough.She pressed a thick, white cotton bandage hard against the bullet hole in Jayden’s stomach."AGGGGH!" Jayden screamed. His body jerked upward. He grabbed Maya’s wrist, trying to pull her hand away. The pain was blinding.
Chapter 264
"AGGGGGHHHH!" Jayden screamed. It felt like hot, jagged iron was tearing through his guts. His shoulder burned with a sickening, grinding fire. His leg throbbed with a heavy, crushing ache.He was bleeding. Real, dark red human blood poured out of the bullet holes, staining the white snow beneath him.For the first time since he had awakened the System in the fighting pits of Eden, Jayden felt pain without a response.The pain meant nothing. It did not make him stronger. It did not build a shield. It did not send a message to his followers.It just hurt. It hurt so much he wanted to die.He curled into a tight ball in the snow, shaking violently. Tears streamed down his dirty face. He gasped for air, but his punctured lung made a terrible, wet sound. He was totally, completely mortal.Captain Cole walked slowly toward him. The snow crunched under his white boots.Cole looked down at the bleeding, screaming man."Target is suppressed," Cole said calmly into his radio. "The chemical ro
Chapter 263
"We are mapping his threat radius," Cole said. "We are going to drop sensors closer and closer to him. We will find out exactly how close we can get before the magic wakes up. We do not strike until the math is perfect."Jayden limped out of the alley. He stepped into a massive, abandoned train yard.The yard was filled with dozens of old, rusted American cargo trains. They sat on broken steel tracks, covered in thick snow. The space between the trains was wide and open.Jayden stopped walking.He saw three more black sensor spikes sticking out of the snow, forming a perfect circle around him.He looked up. There were four silent drones hovering in the grey sky.He was completely surrounded. They had boxed him in. They were herding him like a sheep into a pen.Jayden was so tired of running. He was tired of hiding in the dark. He was tired of people treating him like a monster or a bomb.He looked at his hands. They were trembling from the freezing cold. He did not feel any golden lig
Chapter 262
Jayden opened his eyes. His head pounded with a terrible, heavy ache. His vision was blurry. He was lying on a hard, freezing concrete floor.He slowly pushed himself up. His arms shook. He touched his chest. He felt the small, sharp holes where the tranquilizer darts had hit him. The powerful sleeping chemicals were still thick in his blood, making his brain feel like it was wrapped in heavy wet cotton.He remembered the dark subway room. He remembered the six mercenaries pointing their guns at him.But most of all, he remembered Leo.He remembered the young boy’s face. Leo, the boy he had loved like a little brother. Leo had betrayed him. Leo had led the hunters right to him, just to get a warm bed and some food for his family.A single tear rolled down Jayden’s dirty face. The emotional pain in his heart hurt far worse than his broken ribs or his crushed spine."How did I escape?" Jayden whispered to the empty dark.He looked around. He was still in the underground subway tunnels
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