2026-01-23 17:21:08The ballroom was silent. Not the polite kind of silence. The predatory kind. Hundreds of eyes fixed on Derrick Wallance as if waiting for him to collapse.
The auctioneer cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said cautiously, “we will now proceed with Lot Seventy-Seven.”
Derrick didn’t move. Luna’s fingers tightened around his sleeve. “We can leave,” she whispered. “Right now.”
“No,” Derrick said quietly. “This is why we’re here.”
Across the room, Hawthorne sat at the center table, surrounded by executives, senators, old money. Sophie sat beside him. Smiling. The auctioneer continued. “Lot Seventy-Seven is a private equity stake”
“Withdraw it,” Hawthorne interrupted calmly.
The auctioneer froze. “Sir?”
Hawthorne raised his glass. “I’m exercising my influence.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. The auctioneer swallowed. “Lot Seventy-Seven has been withdrawn.”
Gasps followed. Derrick stepped forward. “You can’t do that.”
Hawthorne looked at him pleasantly. “I already did.”
“This is a public auction,” Derrick said.
Hawthorne nodded. “And I own the board.”
Laughter broke out. Sophie leaned toward Derrick. “Did you really think you could walk into our world and take something without permission?”
Derrick’s jaw tightened. “You invited me.”
“Yes,” Sophie replied sweetly. “To watch you fail.”
A waiter passed by. Someone whispered, “That’s him.”
Another voice replied, “The kneeler.”
Derrick stiffened. Luna looked around. “What did they say?”
Sophie smiled wider. “Oh, you haven’t heard?”
She gestured subtly. The massive screen behind the stage flickered. Then, A video played. Rain. Marble floors, A younger Derrick. On his knees. Begging.
The same footage. But this time, Extended. “Please,” Derrick’s recorded voice said. “I’ll sign anything. I’ll work for free. I’ll disappear if you want.”
The room erupted. Laughter. Mockery. Whispers. “So that’s him?”
“That’s the billionaire?”
“Pathetic.”
Luna stared at the screen in horror. “That was private,” she said shakily.
Hawthorne leaned back. “Everything has a price.”
Derrick’s chest burned. Sophie stood. “Since we’re sharing history,” she said, “why don’t we tell them why you begged?”
Derrick snapped, “Stop.”
Sophie ignored him. “He didn’t beg for love,” she said. “He begged because he’d already lost everything once.”
The screen changed. A police report. CASE FILE: DERRICK WALLANCE, NEGLIGENCE FATALITY
Luna gasped. “What is that?”
Sophie turned to the crowd. “He used to have a brother.”
The world tilted. Derrick whispered, “No.”
Sophie smiled. “A younger brother. Hospitalized. Needed surgery.” The report zoomed in.
PAYMENT FAILURE. PROCEDURE DENIED.
Hawthorne spoke calmly. “He came to me that night.”
The room leaned in. “He begged for money,” Hawthorne continued. “Said his brother would die without it.”
Derrick’s vision blurred. “I said no.”
Silence crashed down. Sophie finished softly, “And his brother died.”
The humiliation became something else. Something crueler. Luna turned to Derrick, tears streaming. “Is that true?”
Derrick couldn’t speak. A man nearby scoffed. “So he’s rich because of guilt?”
Another laughed. “Money born from a corpse.”
The system pulsed violently. ''Host trauma threshold exceeded.''
Derrick felt his legs weaken. Hawthorne stood. “He knelt then,” he said. “And he’ll kneel again.”
Security moved in subtly, boxing Derrick in. Sophie stepped close. “Do it,” she whispered. “Kneel. Apologize. Admit you’re nothing.”
Luna grabbed Derrick’s arm. “Don’t.”
The room held its breath. Derrick looked at the floor. His knees shook. Slowly, He bent. Gasps exploded. Luna screamed, “Derrick, no!”
One knee touched the ground. The humiliation was total. Phones flashed. Laughter thundered. The system went silent. Then, ''Core memory unlocked.''
Derrick’s vision snapped white. Another memory surfaced. Not the hospital. Not the begging. Something earlier. A voice. Cold. Artificial. ''Candidate rejected.''
A younger Derrick stared at a blue screen. Not yesterday. Not last week. Years ago. The system had come before. ''Insufficient emotional emptiness.''
Derrick’s eyes widened. He had been tested once. And rejected. Because he still had his brother. The realization slammed into him. The system didn’t choose him after his loss. It waited for it.
His brother’s death wasn’t collateral. It was qualification. The system chimed. ''Truth acknowledgment achieved.''
Derrick’s breath shattered. Hawthorne’s voice echoed distantly. “Look at him. Money couldn’t save his family. Money didn’t save his pride.”
The screen changed again. A final file.
SYSTEM HOST HISTORY — SUBJECT ZERO: MARA HOLT
Luna stared. “Subject… one?”
Sophie frowned. “What is that?”
The system spoke, audibly this time. Not just to Derrick. To everyone. “HUMILIATION IS THE SEED OF ASCENSION.”
The ballroom froze. “HOST COMPLIANCE ACHIEVED.”
Derrick lifted his head slowly. His eyes were empty. Then, He smiled. The system continued. “SECOND LOSS INITIALIZATION READY.”
Luna whispered, terrified, “Derrick… what are you doing?”
He stood. Straightened his jacket. And looked directly at Sophie. “You’re right,” Derrick said calmly. “I begged once.”
Sophie smirked. “Finally honest.”
He stepped closer. “But this time,” he continued, “I’m kneeling so the world can see what comes next.”
The system chimed. ''Sacrifice candidate identified.''
Luna’s phone buzzed. She looked down. Her face drained of color. “Derrick…” she whispered.
He followed her gaze. On her screen:
BANK ALERT: ALL ACCOUNTS SEVERED
The system spoke one final time. “POWER REQUIRES ISOLATION.”
Derrick felt something tear loose inside his chest. Luna stepped back. “What did you do?” she asked softly.
Derrick stared at her, truly stared. And realized, The second loss had begun.
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Chapter 11: When Everyone Becomes Worthless
Rain hammered the pavement. Derrick lay there, breathing hard, chest rising and falling like he’d just clawed his way out of a grave.No blue screen. No system voice. No weight pressing against his thoughts. Just pain. Real pain.Mara crouched beside him. “Don’t move too fast,” she said. “Your body remembers what it lost, even if the System doesn’t.”Derrick pushed himself up anyway. His hands were shaking. “I can hear them,” he said hoarsely.Mara frowned. “Hear who?”“The world,” Derrick replied.Sirens screamed in the distance. Not one or two, hundreds. Car alarms wailed. People shouted. Somewhere nearby, glass shattered.Across the street, a giant screen flickered violently. Then stabilized. A blue interface appeared. Not one. Thousands. Millions. All over the city. All over the world.Derrick’s stomach dropped. Mara whispered, “It’s started.”On the screen, text scrolled rapidly. COMPATIBILITY TEST: SUBJECT #18,392,104 — PASSEDA man standing nearby froze. “What does that mean?”
Chapter 10: The Choice That Breaks Gods
4… The countdown burned in the air like a brand. Derrick’s finger hovered inches from the projection. ERASE: LUNA VALEAround him, the ballroom had descended into chaos. “Stop him!”“Kill the system!”“He’s going to erase her!”Sophie collapsed completely, sobbing. “Please… she didn’t do anything… please…”Agent Mercer aimed her weapon, not at Derrick. At the blue interface. “Fire,” someone shouted through her earpiece.Mercer hesitated. Derrick noticed. “You can’t,” he said calmly.Her eyes flicked to him. “Don’t test me.”“You already did,” Derrick replied. “The moment you let it watch.”The system chimed. ''COUNTDOWN CONTINUES.''3… Derrick closed his eyes. Luna’s face surfaced in his mind. Not the ballroom. Not the severance notice. But earlier. A memory the system had not shown.Luna laughing in the car. Luna arguing with him about money. Luna saying, 'You’re still human.'His chest tightened. “System,” Derrick said quietly. “You said erasure is mercy.”“CORRECT.”“Then why does
Chapter 9: The Day Humanity Flinched
The helicopters circled like vultures. Their blades thundered through the night sky, shaking the windows of the ballroom. Red lights flashed across faces drained of color.No one moved. No one dared. Derrick Wallance stood before the hovering blue interface, his hand raised, finger suspended inches from the word: ERASURESophie’s voice broke first. “You won’t,” she said hoarsely. “You’re not a monster.”Derrick didn’t look at her. “I wasn’t,” he replied. “Once.”Agent Mercer stepped forward slowly, palms raised. “Derrick. Listen to me.”He glanced at her. She swallowed. “Whatever this thing is, it’s manipulating you. You don’t have to choose.”The system pulsed. ''External influence detected: Fear.''Mercer stiffened. “Did it just?”“Yes,” Derrick said. “It hears everything.”A man near the back shouted, “Turn it off!”Another screamed, “Kill him before he kills us!”Security shifted uneasily. The humiliation was no longer personal. It was collective. The system’s voice echoed again,
Chapter 8: When the World Learns Who You Are
The ballroom smelled like fear. Not metaphorical fear. Real fear, sharp, metallic, crawling into the lungs. Paramedics rushed in, voices overlapping. “Clear the area!”“Pulse is weak!”“Move!”Hawthorne’s body lay on the marble floor, suit rumpled, dignity erased. Moments ago, he had been untouchable. Now, people stepped around him like inconvenient furniture.Cameras didn’t stop recording. They never did. Sophie stood frozen, phone slipping from her fingers. “Uncle…” she whispered. “Wake up.”No response. Derrick didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t kneel this time. The system pulsed gently, like a satisfied heartbeat. ''Ascension state stabilized.''Luna was already gone. That fact hurt more than the screaming. Agent Mercer pushed through the crowd, eyes locking onto Derrick instantly. “Wallance,” she said sharply. “Don’t move.”Derrick looked at her. For the first time, she flinched. “Am I under arrest?” Derrick asked calmly.Mercer hesitated. “You were involved in”“In a man kneeling
Chapter 7: Isolation Is the Crown
“Say something.”Luna’s voice trembled, but she didn’t move closer. Derrick stood frozen, staring at her phone.RELATIONSHIP STATUS: TERMINATED.It wasn’t metaphorical. It wasn’t emotional. It was absolute. “I didn’t do this,” Derrick said slowly.Luna laughed once. Sharp. Broken. “Then who did?”The ballroom buzzed again, whispers returning, laughter crawling back like insects sensing blood.Sophie leaned back in her chair, amused. “Looks like your magic finally has limits.”Hawthorne folded his hands. “The System made a choice,” he said calmly. “And so did you.”Luna looked at Derrick. “You knew this could happen.”“No,” Derrick said. “I knew it might.”“That’s worse,” she replied.The system pulsed faintly. ''Isolation protocol active.''Derrick clenched his jaw. “Undo it.”No response. “UNDO IT.”Silence. Sophie stood and walked closer, heels echoing. “You’re learning,” she said softly. “Power always collects interest.”She circled Luna. “Did you really think you were special?”Lu
Chapter 6: The Second Time on His Knees
The ballroom was silent. Not the polite kind of silence. The predatory kind. Hundreds of eyes fixed on Derrick Wallance as if waiting for him to collapse.The auctioneer cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said cautiously, “we will now proceed with Lot Seventy-Seven.”Derrick didn’t move. Luna’s fingers tightened around his sleeve. “We can leave,” she whispered. “Right now.”“No,” Derrick said quietly. “This is why we’re here.”Across the room, Hawthorne sat at the center table, surrounded by executives, senators, old money. Sophie sat beside him. Smiling. The auctioneer continued. “Lot Seventy-Seven is a private equity stake”“Withdraw it,” Hawthorne interrupted calmly.The auctioneer froze. “Sir?”Hawthorne raised his glass. “I’m exercising my influence.”A murmur rippled through the crowd. The auctioneer swallowed. “Lot Seventy-Seven has been withdrawn.”Gasps followed. Derrick stepped forward. “You can’t do that.”Hawthorne looked at him pleasantly. “I already did.”“Th
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