The sky over Elsbeth Village had not yet turned to night, but the sun had begun its slow retreat beyond the jagged mountain rim. Long shadows stretched like fingers across the dirt paths and cobbled lanes, broken only by the glow of torches being re-lit around the perimeter. The air held a heavy stillness, as if the land itself was holding its breath.
Ashen Vale sat on the edge of a stone well in the village square, his shirt torn and stained, arms bruised from the battle. His ribs ached. The greatsword he had wielded—Seren's—lay across his lap, far too large for him to carry with any grace, but warm with residual mana.
He stared at it blankly.
He wasn't thinking about the fight anymore. Not exactly. He was trying to make sense of the messages that had flashed across his vision—holographic threads that no one else could see. The system notifications. The abilities. The resonance.
Lock-State Interference.
Glitch Pulse.
They weren't normal skills. They weren't any magic spells or talents he had earned through training.
They were... errors. Corruptions.
Things he could feel, twist, and will into being.
And none of it should exist.
Seris knelt beside her brother a few feet away, tending to the deep gash across his back. She was quiet, focused, her hands glowing with a faint green as she applied basic healing.
Seren grunted and winced but didn't complain.
Ashen could feel their eyes drift toward him occasionally. Not in suspicion. Not yet. But in wonder.
And wonder was dangerous.
He stood.
Seris looked up. "You okay to move?"
"Yeah," Ashen lied.
Seren pushed himself upright with a grimace. "You saved me. I don't forget debts like that. You ever need something... I'm there."
Ashen gave a short nod. "Let's just say we both walked away breathing. Call it even."
Seren gave a soft chuckle, then eyed him. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
Ashen didn't flinch. "I didn't. I just moved."
It was the truth. And also not.
Seren studied him for a moment longer before nodding. "You've got instincts. And something else. I'll leave it alone... for now."
That "for now" lingered in the air.
---
The village elders summoned them not long after. The glitched spawn had breached the village barrier, something that hadn't happened in years. Everyone wanted answers.
The meeting took place in the stone hall at the heart of the village, a cold room carved from the bones of the mountain, lit by a circle of oil lamps embedded in the floor. The village council—five old men and women, each wearing a different woven sash denoting their role—stood before a gathering of scouts, warriors, and civilians.
Ashen kept to the back. He preferred shadows now.
"This attack wasn't random," one of the elders said, his voice echoing. "The corruption is spreading again. Slowly. But it's moving."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"It reacted strangely," Seris offered, stepping forward. "It adapted faster than anything we've seen. It glitched more violently too. Like it was trying to stabilize... or evolve."
"Did anyone see what caused it to destabilize?" another elder asked.
Ashen said nothing. His fingers tightened.
Seren stepped forward, hesitating just a moment. "It reacted to the boy. Ashen."
Dozens of eyes turned.
Ashen didn't move.
"He put himself between me and that thing. Not only survived... he interfered with it somehow. It couldn't phase. It froze. Then shattered."
The silence was deafening.
Ashen finally looked up, meeting the eyes of the elder. "I think it was just unstable. I got lucky."
More silence.
The elder finally nodded. "Perhaps."
But doubt had taken root.
---
That night, as the village quieted and the moon hovered low over the forest, Ashen returned to the hut they'd lent him. A small, simple space tucked near the eastern ridge. Stone walls. Thatched roof. Cold floor.
He sat on the bed, exhaling slow.
[System Notification: Ability Evolution Available]
> Glitch Pulse Level 2 >>> Eligible for evolution
[Choose Evolution Path]
1. Pulse Disruption — Active: Overloads unstable entities, causing delayed burst damage.
2. Phase Feedback — Passive: Each successful interference briefly boosts reaction speed.
3. Recursive Shard — Active: Splinters a portion of target's code, weakening defenses.
Ashen hovered his hand over the options.
He wanted something... more.
Something control-based.
He chose Phase Feedback.
[Confirmed: Ability Evolved]
> New Passive Added: Reflex Enhancement during combat instability
He let out a breath.
He wasn't a warrior. Not yet. But he could be something else.
A disruptor.
A ghost in a system no one else could see.
---
Footsteps echoed.
Outside.
Ashen was up instantly, back against the wall, hand gripping a rusted tool from the corner.
A knock.
"It's me," Seris said.
He exhaled.
Ashen opened the door.
She stepped in, her expression unreadable. She was still in her battle tunic, gloves off, hair loose from its tie.
"You really don't know what you are, do you?" she asked softly.
Ashen said nothing.
"That thing... it hated you. Not like prey. Like it knew you didn't belong. Like you were poison."
Ashen stared past her, to the forest.
"Maybe I am."
Seris looked at him hard. "You're not."
She tossed something to him.
A silver ring. Simple. Engraved with a tree motif.
"What's this?"
"It dampens presence. The elders used to use them for scouting when the momsters are more active. Won't make you invisible, but it might buy you a few seconds."
Ashen turned it over. "Thanks."
She lingered by the door. "We need to go to Hollowdeep. That's where the corruption used to pool before the barrier was erected. If it's rising again... we'll need to know why."
"When?"
"Three days. I'll get supplies. Seren's coming. You should too."
Ashen nodded.
After she left, he turned back to the dark.
The system pulsed once more.
[New Quest: Investigate the Hollowdeep]
> Primary Objective: Reach the ruins beneath the Forest
Reward: Unknown
Ashen didn't smile.
But something inside him stirred.
Whatever this world was hiding... he would find it.
And if he was the error it feared most?
Then maybe that was exactly what it needed.
---
To Be Continued...