The security gate shimmered with pale blue light.
A flat, mechanical voice echoed through the checkpoint.
"Identity scanned."
"Permission Level: 0."
"Access denied."
Eren stood still, his work badge hanging uselessly on his chest. The gate didn't even bother slowing its pulsing barrier for him. To the system, he wasn't a threat—just irrelevant.
Behind him, the line grew restless.
"Move it, Level Zero."
Someone shoved his shoulder. Eren staggered forward a step before regaining his balance.
He didn't turn around.
Above the gate, the city of Upper Tier glowed like a promise that had never been meant for people like him. Clean air systems. Stabilized gravity lanes. Real sunlight filtered through artificial skies.
This district produced more energy in a day than the Lower Zones consumed in a year.
And he wasn't allowed inside.
"Hey," a guard said, tapping his baton against the scanner. His uniform bore a silver insignia—Permission Level 3. "You're blocking traffic."
"I have an assignment," Eren replied calmly. "Workshop delivery. Sector C."
The guard glanced at his badge, then laughed.
"Wrong district. Level Threes and above only."
"It's a state order."
The guard's smile widened. "And you think a Level Zero can question the gate?"
A few onlookers snickered. Others didn't even bother watching. Scenes like this happened every day.
Eren took a slow breath.
He had expected rejection. He had prepared for humiliation. But something inside him still tightened when the word Zero was spoken aloud—like his entire existence had been condensed into a single number.
"Step aside," the guard said. "Before you lose your transit privilege too."
Transit privilege. Even the right to move was something that could be taken.
Eren didn't move.
The guard frowned. "Did you not hear me?"
"I heard you," Eren said. "I'm just wondering…"
He lifted his eyes to the barrier.
"…how strict the rule actually is."
The guard blinked. "What?"
Eren stepped forward.
The barrier flared violently.
Pain exploded through his nervous system as invisible force slammed into his chest. His vision went white, then fractured into shards of light. He felt himself lifted off the ground, weightless.
Then—darkness.
---
Something stirred.
Not a voice.
Not a thought.
A signal.
[Unauthorized access attempt detected.]
[User status: Outside permitted parameters.]
[Searching for override interfaces…]
Eren couldn't feel his body. He couldn't feel anything.
Yet somehow, he understood.
[Hidden interface found.]
[Permission Management Module initializing…]
The darkness twisted.
Lines of pale text burned themselves into his awareness.
[Temporary access granted.]
[Duration: 3 seconds.]
Air rushed into his lungs.
Eren gasped—and found himself standing upright.
He was inside the gate.
The barrier stood behind him, intact.
The city unfolded before his eyes.
Three seconds.
That was all he had.
[Permission Point acquired.]
Eren looked down at his trembling hands.
A smile—slow, sharp, and very uncharacteristic—formed on his lips.
"So," he whispered, as the world began to pull him back into unconsciousness.
"Rules can be bent."
---