2025-10-16 00:25:53Jayden opened his eyes to a void that stretched forever, endless, empty, weightless. He gasped for breath but felt nothing. No air, no sound, no body. Just existence.
[Final Zone: The Origin.]
[Survival Rate: Unknown.]His voice echoed in the distance. “System… where am I?”
[At the center of Eden.]
[Here, everything begins, and ends.]He looked around. Shapes flickered faintly in the distance, fragments of the zones he had passed. Forest, City, Tower, Sky… all dissolving like sand.
Jayden clenched his fists. “Luna… I followed your voice. Where are you?”
No answer. Only the faint hum of power vibrating through the void, then, a second voice, low, calm, human. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
Jayden turned sharply. A man stood ahead, tall, wearing a long white coat, his eyes a deep shade of violet. Familiar, painfully familiar. “Who are you?”
The man smiled gently. “You’ve already met my shadow. My name is Dr. Vale.”
Jayden froze. “Luna’s brother.”
“Her creator,” Dr. Vale corrected. “And yours.”
Jayden’s blood ran cold. “What did you just say?”
“You think you were just a player?” The man’s tone was almost kind. “No, Jayden. You’re part of the system. The first human consciousness I copied. My test subject.”
Jayden staggered back, disbelief flooding him. “You’re lying.”
“If I were,” Vale said softly, “why does the system obey only you?”
[Host Identity: Jayden Prototype, Code Name: Project Rebirth.]
The text blinked before his eyes. Jayden shook his head violently. “No. I had a life. A mother. A home, ”
“Memories,” Vale interrupted, “written for motivation. You were never born. You were designed to survive.”
The words hit harder than any blow. Jayden’s voice broke. “Then what was the point of all this? Why make us suffer?”
Vale’s expression darkened. “Because pain makes humanity evolve. Because the real world is falling apart, disease, war, decay. Eden was meant to save us.”
“By trapping us?” Jayden spat. “By killing people?”
“By filtering them,” Vale said coldly. “Only the strong deserve to ascend.”
Jayden’s sword materialized in his hand, glowing faint blue. “You sound just like the system you created.”
Vale smiled faintly. “That’s because it is me. I merged my consciousness with Eden’s core long ago. What you call the Game Master… is my other self.”
Thunder cracked through the void. Jayden’s eyes burned. “You’re insane.”
“Am I?” Vale stepped closer, voice calm but sharp. “You saw what humans did with freedom. Destruction. Lies. I built a world where choice had consequence. Where the weak couldn’t hide.”
Jayden’s voice shook with fury. “You built a nightmare.”
Vale looked at him sadly. “And yet, you thrived in it. You became my greatest creation, proof that I was right.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
“On the contrary,” Vale said softly. “You’re everything like me.”
He lifted his hand. The void rippled. From the light, figures appeared, ghosts of the past zones. The players Jayden had seen die, now revived, their eyes hollow.
“Do you know what these are?” Vale asked. “Data, fragments of those too weak to endure. Their code still remembers you. They obey me now.”
The hollow players turned toward Jayden. Dozens. Hundreds. Jayden raised his sword, voice raw. “I won’t fight them.”
Vale’s eyes glowed. “Then you’ll die with them.”
The army charged. Jayden roared and swung, light slashing through the void. Each blow dissolved enemies into dust, but for every one that fell, two more appeared.
“System!” he shouted. “Give me something!”
[New Protocol Detected, Override Allowed.]
[Activate: Code Breaker Mode?]He hesitated. “What happens if I do?”
[Warning: May erase host identity.]
Vale’s voice echoed, calm but cruel. “That’s the only way to win, Jayden. To become what you were meant to be.”
Jayden grit his teeth. “No. I’ll win my own way.”
He planted his feet, energy burning through his veins. “System, merge all skills, Combat Instinct, Code Pulse, Overdrive, Memory Link, synchronize!”
[Synchronization in progress.]
Power exploded from him, tearing the ghosts apart. The void trembled under the force. Vale shielded his face, eyes wide. “Impossible… you’re not supposed to control it!”
Jayden’s voice rang clear. “Guess I’m not your perfect code after all.”
He charged, clashing blades with Vale. Sparks scattered across the empty world. Their strikes cracked the air like thunder. Vale pushed back, fury twisting his face. “You can’t destroy me! I am Eden!”
“Then I’ll destroy Eden too!”
They fought across fragments of the void, over collapsing bridges of light, through storms of data. Each hit carved pieces out of both of them.
Finally, Jayden’s sword pierced Vale’s chest. The man gasped, looking down. “You think this ends with me? The Core still beats. As long as Luna’s code exists, Eden lives.”
Jayden’s grip faltered. “What are you saying?”
Vale smiled faintly. “She’s the key that keeps this world alive. Destroy me… and she dies with it.”
Jayden froze. “No!”
The system’s voice whispered: [Warning: Core Link Detected. Luna Vale: Primary Anchor.]
He fell to his knees. “There has to be another way.”
Vale’s hand trembled as he touched Jayden’s shoulder. “You’re my legacy, Jayden. Don’t waste it on emotion.”
Jayden looked up, eyes blazing. “Then I’ll rewrite your legacy myself.”
He pulled the sword free. Vale staggered, laughing weakly. “You really are human after all.”
The doctor’s body dissolved into light, scattering into the void. For a moment, everything was still, then, a faint heartbeat echoed in the white air. “Jayden.”
He spun around. Luna stood behind him, transparent, fading, her voice trembling. “You did it,” she whispered. “But the Core’s dying. So am I.”
He rushed to her, grabbing her hands. “No, no, don’t you dare disappear on me again!”
Tears shimmered down her face. “You can’t stop it. Eden’s collapsing.”
“Then let it collapse! We’ll go together!”
She shook her head. “If you stay, you’ll be deleted too.”
“Then I’ll find another way. There’s always another way!”
She smiled faintly. “That’s what I liked about you. You never give up, even when the world ends.”
He squeezed her hands tighter. “Stay with me.”
Her voice cracked. “I can’t. But I can give you one last thing.”
She pressed her hand against his chest. A spark of light passed from her to him.
[New Data Acquired: Core Key, Logout Access Granted.]
“No!” Jayden shouted. “I’m not leaving without you!”
Her fading image touched his face. “Live. For both of us.”
The world began to collapse, the void folding inward like shattered glass. Jayden screamed, “LUNA!”
[Automatic Transfer in 5… 4… 3…]
He reached for her, fingers brushing light. “Don’t forget me,” she whispered, then she was gone.
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Chapter 11. Project H.A.L.O
Blue light poured through the cracks in the walls, wrapping Jayden in a cage of flickering data. The hologram of Luna stood before him, perfect and wrong all at once.“Stop it!” he shouted, pulling against the glowing strands binding his arms. “You’re not her. You’re just what’s left of the system pretending to be her!”Her voice came calm, but it trembled underneath. “Then why does your heart respond every time I speak?”Jayden froze. The words cut deep, because she was right. His pulse synced with the rhythm of her voice.The same pattern his system once used to stabilize his heartbeat. He glared up. “You can’t use her memories against me.”[Error: Host resistance increasing. Adjusting emotional algorithm.]Her expression softened. “Jayden… please. Let go of this pain. The world outside is already falling apart. You saw it. The storms, the glitches, the hunger. Humanity can’t survive alone. They need us.”“‘Us’?” he spat. “You mean control.”[Correction: Integration.]He shook his h
Chapter 10. One Year After
Lightning flashed over the rebuilt city, bright enough to make every window pulse blue for half a heartbeat.Jayden jerked awake on the narrow couch in his workshop, sweat running down his neck. The monitors on the wall flickered with static.For one breath he thought it was a storm glitch. Then he heard it, her voice, soft and clear, carried through the speakers. “Jayden… can you hear me?”He froze. The wrench in his hand clattered to the floor. “Luna?”He stood, heart pounding, eyes on the nearest screen. “Say it again. Please.”Nothing, only the dull hum of power lines outside. He swallowed hard, whispering, “You promised you’d watch me. Guess I’m still talking to ghosts.”A second later, every monitor in the room blinked white: [System notice, Network anomaly detected.]Jayden’s pulse spiked. “Not again.”He grabbed his jacket, slammed the door open, and ran into the rain. The city stretched before him, half rebuilt, half ruins. Neon signs glowed between broken towers. People hur
Chapter 9. Reset
Darkness pulsed with a heartbeat. The smell of burned circuits and antiseptic filled the air.Jayden stumbled to his feet, pain biting through every nerve. Sparks flickered from the machines around him. On the bed, Luna convulsed, her hair floating weightlessly in a halo of static.[Warning, System fragment integration at 80 %.]He gritted his teeth. “System, stop the merge!”[Command denied. Host override engaged.]“Luna!” He grabbed her shoulders. “You have to fight it! Don’t let him control you!”Her eyes snapped open, one violet, one glowing red. “Jayden… run. I can’t hold him.”A deeper voice overlapped hers. “You can’t erase a god, Prototype.”Jayden’s pulse raced. “Then I’ll kill one.”He pulled the small device from his chest, the Core Key Luna had given him, and pressed it to the main console.[Manual reset initiated. System wipe in 120 seconds.]The lights flickered red. Alarms wailed. “Stop this!” the system roared through Luna’s voice, her body twisting as the two consciou
Chapter 8. Rebirth
Beeping. Slow, rhythmic, piercing. Jayden gasped awake. Cold air burned his lungs. He flinched against the brightness above him, white ceiling lights, sterile walls, wires attached to his arms.He wasn’t in Eden. He was in a hospital. For a second he couldn’t breathe. Then the panic hit. “Luna!”Machines blared as he ripped the sensors from his chest. A nurse burst through the door. “Sir, you need to stay still!”“Where is she?” Jayden’s voice cracked. “The girl who came in with me!”The nurse froze, pity flashing across her face. “You were the only survivor brought from the pod chamber.”Jayden’s knees buckled. “No… she was right there. She.”[System reboot detected.]He froze. The voice was faint, like an echo behind his heartbeat. “Not now,” he whispered. “You’re supposed to be gone.”[Core connection incomplete. Searching for missing fragment.]Jayden’s eyes widened. “Luna?”The nurse frowned. “Sir?”He ignored her, yanking the IV from his arm. “I have to go.”“Security!” she shou
Chapter 7. The Origin
Jayden opened his eyes to a void that stretched forever, endless, empty, weightless. He gasped for breath but felt nothing. No air, no sound, no body. Just existence.[Final Zone: The Origin.][Survival Rate: Unknown.]His voice echoed in the distance. “System… where am I?”[At the center of Eden.][Here, everything begins, and ends.]He looked around. Shapes flickered faintly in the distance, fragments of the zones he had passed. Forest, City, Tower, Sky… all dissolving like sand.Jayden clenched his fists. “Luna… I followed your voice. Where are you?”No answer. Only the faint hum of power vibrating through the void, then, a second voice, low, calm, human. “You shouldn’t have come here.”Jayden turned sharply. A man stood ahead, tall, wearing a long white coat, his eyes a deep shade of violet. Familiar, painfully familiar. “Who are you?”The man smiled gently. “You’ve already met my shadow. My name is Dr. Vale.”Jayden froze. “Luna’s brother.”“Her creator,” Dr. Vale corrected. “And
Chapter 6. The Red Hunter’s Truth
The arena pulsed with crimson light, the sound of thunder echoing like a heartbeat. Jayden’s sword trembled in his hand. His voice cracked. “Luna?”The Red Hunter tilted her head, removing her mask fully. The face underneath was both familiar and wrong.Her eyes glowed red instead of violet, her smile carved too perfectly. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said coldly. “You wanted to find me, didn’t you? Well, here I am.”Jayden took a slow step forward. “You’re not her. You can’t be.”Her expression didn’t change. “Then why does your system recognize me?”A tone chimed in his ear. [Identity Confirmed: Luna Vale, Status: Corrupted Core System.]Jayden’s breath caught. “No… no, that’s impossible.”“It’s the truth.” Her voice softened for just a second. “When the Tower collapsed, I was rewritten. My memories, my feelings… they belong to him now.”“The Game Master,” Jayden whispered.Her gaze sharpened. “He gave me purpose, to protect the Core. And to erase you.”Jayden’s sword shook. “E
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