2026-02-02 10:03:39Filial piety? Adrian thought. Love for the parents who let me die alone in this dark hole?
Take it... Adrian whispered.
Mia stopped moving. What? Adrian, talk to me!
Take it all... Adrian was no longer speaking to Mia. His eyes were locked on the system screen.
Erase every drop of love I ever had for them. Don’t leave a single warm memory of this family behind.
WARNING: THIS PROCESS IS PERMANENT. YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO FEEL AFFECTION FOR YOUR PARENTS AGAIN.
I don’t need their love, Adrian thought. I need their blood.
Do it, Adrian hissed.
Instantly, the room felt as if it were being sucked into a vacuum. The sound of Mia’s sobbing vanished. The piercing cold was replaced by a searing heat burning from within his chest. Adrian saw fragments of his memories flickering past like burning film.
Elena’s smiling face when he was a child... burned to ash.
Dimitri’s voice reading him a storybook... faded into silence.
The hope of being held after this surgery... crumbled into black dust.
Adrian felt something inside him being forcibly torn away. A soul-bond that had tethered him to humanity for so long had been severed. An immense void began to fill his chest, a bottomless black hole.
Adrian? Adrian! Wake up! Mia shook his shoulder, but Adrian only stared straight ahead with eyes that had now turned darker, sharper.
The heartbeat on the monitor, which had been slowing down, suddenly stopped. A long, flat line appeared, accompanied by a deafening, continuous beep.
No... no, not now! Mia began performing chest compressions frantically. Don’t die, Adrian! Please!
Adrian didn’t feel like he was dying. On the contrary, he felt as if he had just been born into a different world. The pain in his abdomen no longer felt like suffering; it felt like fuel.
SACRIFICE ACCEPTED.
BLOOD TIES: SPIRITUALLY SEVERED.
INITIALIZING THE ARCHITECT PROTOCOL.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room plummeted until Mia could see her own breath turning into mist. The light bulbs on the ceiling vibrated violently before finally shattering, plunging the room into total darkness.
In the midst of the darkness, Adrian’s heartbeat was heard again. It wasn’t the weak, faltering beat from before, but a powerful, stable, and heavy thrum. Like the sound of a massive engine being brought to life.
Nurse Mia, Adrian’s voice sounded entirely different. There was no longer a tremor of fear. There was only a flat, cold tone, as cold as newly forged steel.
Mia took a step back, bumping into the tray table and knocking it over. A-Adrian? How is it possible...
Tell them, Mia, Adrian said as he stepped down from the bed. His feet touched the cold floor, but he no longer shivered. Tell them that Subject B-02 is indeed dead.
Adrian stared at his own hands, which were now coursing with a faintly glowing black energy.
And tell Dimitri... Adrian paused, a faint, terrifying smile creeping onto his lips. ...that The Architect will be coming soon to collect every inch of flesh they stole from me.
Adrian turned around, but he found nothing but an endless black void. Who are you? Where am I?
You are at the Altar of Loss, the voice answered again. A space in between, a place where everything discarded is gathered. And you, Adrian Durnevra, are the purest remnant.
A remnant? Adrian laughed bitterly. Even in the afterlife, I’m still called a remnant?
The world considers you a backup. Your parents consider you a spare part. But to the Altar, you are the unawakened architect.
Suddenly, a point of blue light appeared in front of him. The light formed intricate geometric patterns, swirling until it shaped a throne made of shadows and black crystal. Above it, a giant transparent screen froze in the air.
What do you mean by architect? Adrian asked, his eyes narrowing as he tried to withstand the glare of the blue light.
The Architect of Vengeance, the voice vibrated, making the vacuum hiss. You have enough rage to burn the world, but your body is too weak to hold the match. Your heart is dying, Adrian. Your remaining kidney is failing. In three minutes of human time, you will stop breathing.
Adrian fell silent. He could feel the truth in those words. Even though he felt no pain here, he knew his physical body on that rusted bed was giving up. Then why did you bring me here? To mock me before I truly vanish?
I am offering a contract, the voice lowered, becoming a tempting whisper. Life. Power. The chance to tear the Durnevra empire down to ashes. I will give you a system capable of manipulating reality, economics, and human lives.
Nothing in this world is free, Adrian hissed. Especially from an entity like you. What’s the price?
The price is something you no longer need, the system replied. On the transparent screen, a large text appeared: FIRST REQUIREMENT: FILIAL PIETY.
Adrian stared at the words with a furrowed brow. Filial... piety? You mean, my ability to love my parents?
Correct. Hand over every drop of love, longing, and desire to be acknowledged by Dimitri and Elena Durnevra. Surrender your nature as a son. If you agree, the memories of them will remain, but you will never be able to feel any emotion toward them other than absolute coldness.
Adrian was stunned. He pictured himself at five years old, running toward Elena with a drawing of a flower, only to be pushed away because his mother was afraid he would get her clothes dirty. He remembered Dimitri, who never looked him in the eye when speaking, as if Adrian were a stain on the wall he wanted to erase.
You’re asking me to throw away my humanity? Adrian asked softly.
I am asking you to throw away the chains that keep you a victim, the voice corrected. As long as you still love them, you will always hesitate. You will always hope they will change. Hope is poison for an avenger.
If I throw it away... will I still be human?
You will become something more efficient. A monster capable of designing destruction without trembling. The choice is yours, Adrian. Live as a machine of vengeance, or die as a failed product that will be forgotten within a week.
Adrian clenched his fists. The image of Julian laughing at his suffering flashed by. The image of Elena looking at him as if inspecting livestock. The pain that had vanished earlier now seemed to return in the form of suffocating mental pressure.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Who is B-01
My hands are shaking violently. The red marker I was gripping tightly falls to the floor, rolling under the dark desk. I try to reach for it, but my arm feels as heavy as lead. My breath is ragged, short and sharp, as if the air in this room has suddenly turned to poison.Damn it, why now?My vision blurs. The monitor in front of me, still displaying Julian’s face covered in red scribbles, seems to melt and merge with the darkness. A familiar pain begins to crawl from the base of my spine, cold and piercing all the way to the crown of my head. This isn't ordinary physical pain. This is a thirst demanding to be quenched."[ WARNING: SUBJECT BODY STABILITY BELOW 15% ]"The system's voice echoes in my head, louder than usual. Cold. Uncompromising."[ ALTAR ENERGY REACHING CRITICAL POINT. MOTOR FUNCTIONS WILL BE DEACTIVATED IN 60 SECONDS. ]""Shut up," I hiss, gripping the edge of the desk. My knuckles turn white, digging into the wooden surface until they leave marks. "Give me... recover
First target
The television screen in front of me glowed brightly, bathing the dark corners of the room in a piercing blue light that strained the eyes. There, in the center of a stage decorated with white lilies symbols of purity stood Julian Durnevra. He looked more vibrant than the last time I saw him, when he was lying at death's door. That suit, crafted by the finest tailors, hugged his body perfectly, hiding the surgical scars that, ironically, were made using a part of my own body."Julian, how does it feel to return to the public eye after your battle with that rare illness?" a female host asked, her voice dripping with adoration.Julian smiled the specific kind of smile he always used to get exactly what he wanted. "Incredible. I feel like I've been given a second chance to serve the world through Durnevra Corp.""You are a true hero, Julian. A survivor who inspires so many," the host continued.I snorted softly, my voice sounding dry in the silence of the room. "A hero? He couldn't even
Subject B-01?
Adrian stared at the monitor displaying Durnevra Corp’s organizational structure. Every day, he felt his humanity eroding further. Hunger remained, but he only ate because of system alerts. He slept only because Altar demanded the restoration of cognitive functions. Happiness, sadness, even exhaustion seemed to have been erased from his vocabulary."Two weeks," Adrian murmured. "Two weeks to get into their system."He opened a file recently sent by one of his new informants. It was internal data regarding the construction tender for a secret laboratory on the outskirts of the city. There, listed as the project lead, was the name Julian Durnevra."So you’re the one holding the reins, Brother?" Adrian gave a thin smile. A smile that didn't reach his dark eyes.He typed a series of commands, infiltrating Julian’s financial server. There, he found something far more interesting than mere numbers. Julian had been embezzling company funds to cover his exorbitant medical expenses, treatments
Revenant is my name
The small bell above the door of the Black Crow Bar chimed weakly, swallowed by the low thrum of bass vibrating through the smoky room. Adrian stepped inside, pulling his hoodie lower. The pungent smell of tobacco and cheap alcohol filled the air, but to his numb tongue, it all felt like hollow vapor."Aris?" a stout man with a jagged scar across his cheek waved from a dim corner. That was Silas, the information broker who controlled the communication lines of the Gray District.Adrian sat in front of Silas without a word. His cold eyes scanned the bar, noting every exit and the number of potential threats."You look like a lost college kid, boy," Silas chuckled, pouring a yellow liquid into a glass. "Are you sure you want to play here? One and a half million dollars can vanish overnight if you make the wrong move.""I didn't come here to drink, Silas," Adrian replied flatly. His voice sounded like the scraping of metal. "I came to buy a network. I need access to Durnevra Corp’s black
Adrian's plan
[ OFFER AVAILABLE 'ABSOLUTE MARKET ANALYSIS' ABILITY. ][ PRICE: SENSE OF TASTE. ]Adrian fell silent. His hand, holding a piece of bread, stopped in mid-air. His sense of taste?"You mean I’ll never taste food again?" he asked flatly.[ CORRECT. HUMANS USE TASTE FOR PLEASURE. AN ARCHITECT ONLY REQUIRES NUTRITION. DO YOU ACCEPT? ]Adrian remembered Elena. He remembered how his mother always ordered five-star chefs to prepare Julian's favorite dishes, while Adrian often received only leftovers or was put on a strict diet to maintain the quality of his organs. His tongue had never truly tasted the luxury of affection."Take it," Adrian said without hesitation. "The taste of food won't help me drag Dimitri to hell."Instantly, a sensation like melting ice spread from the base of his tongue to his throat. Adrian felt as if every nerve in his mouth had gone numb. He tried to take another bite of the bread.Tasteless.The bread no longer had the flavor of wheat or yeast. Its texture felt li
New Identity
Adrian leapt out through the shattered glass window, landing smoothly on the asphalt of the underground parking lot. He moved quickly toward the back gate, dodging the sweep of patrol lights that were beginning to flood the hospital’s front lawn.That night, the world felt different to Adrian. He no longer felt the cold, no longer felt fear. The void in his chest provided a terrifying tranquility. He slipped through narrow alleys, moving away from the city center toward a neglected industrial district.A few hours later, as dawn began to peek over the eastern horizon, Adrian stood atop a crumbling, half-collapsed old building. The sharp morning wind played with his messy strands of hair.[ STATUS: ESCAPE SUCCESSFUL. ][ ALTAR ENERGY: 45%. REST RECOMMENDED. ]Adrian stared at the blue folder in his hand, the one he had stolen from beside his bed the folder that labeled him as Subject B-02. With a slow movement, he tore the papers into small pieces, letting them scatter in the wind."Th
You may also like
Skythunder System
Scoco21.2K viewsMASON WILLIAMS AND THE CELESTIAL SYSTEM
Bigsnowy 31.5K viewsGod of System Analysis
NFA79.6K viewsChanging Life With Instant Wealth System
Dee Hwang 20.3K viewsFavored By The System
Babyblue1.3K viewsSSS: THE LAST ANTIDOTE
Neenna 526 viewsA World on Endless System
Richivest3.3K viewsOmnixir Awakens
Jovial chirpy2.1K views