Eryx didn't move for a long time.
The city of Ardentis sprawled before him—tiered streets of white stone, skybridges laced with glowing runes, guild towers piercing the clouds like spears aimed at the heavens. People hurried along their paths, blue System screens flickering above their wrists or eyes as they checked stats, quests, or messages.
Life, uninterrupted.
As if the universe hadn't just whispered that it was afraid of him.
You will be hunted.
The words echoed louder now that the System's voice was gone.
Eryx exhaled and forced his hands to unclench. His palms were slick with sweat. Whatever that thing was—the Last System—it hadn't been a dream. He could still feel it, a presence at the edge of his awareness, dormant but vast. Like standing on the shore of an endless ocean.
"Get a grip," he muttered.
Standing on the steps of the Awakening Hall wasn't smart. If anyone was watching Nulls—and someone always was—this was the first place they'd look.
Eryx pulled his hood up and melted into the flow of the crowd.
The lower districts were louder.
Vendors shouted over one another, selling mana-infused trinkets, monster cores sealed in glass, cheap potions diluted to the point of uselessness. Adventurers passed by in groups, armor scuffed and bloodstained, their Systems proudly displaying ranks and levels like badges of honor.
Eryx kept his eyes down.
Habit.
Without a System screen of his own, he felt exposed—naked in a world obsessed with numbers. Every glance from a passerby made his spine tense.
They don't know, he reminded himself. They think I'm just a Null.
That thought was supposed to be comforting.
It wasn't.
He ducked into a narrow alley between a rune-smith's shop and a closed tavern. The noise dulled, replaced by dripping water and the hum of distant enchantments.
"All right," Eryx whispered. "If you're real… show me."
Silence.
He frowned. "Last System?"
Nothing happened.
A flicker of irritation cut through his fear. "You drop life-altering revelations on me and then go quiet?"
For a moment, he thought he'd imagined the whole thing.
Then—
A thin line of blue text unfolded in the air before him. Smaller than the public System screens. Sharper.
Private.
[Awaiting Directive.]
Eryx's breath hitched.
"So you are there."
[Always.]
The word carried weight. Certainty.
Eryx swallowed. "You said you grant authority. Over rules. Over Systems. What does that actually mean?"
There was a pause.
[Clarification requires user intent.]
"…Fine," he said. "Start simple. Why was I a Null?"
New text streamed down.
[All Standard Systems operate under Deterministic Fate Allocation.][Parameters include lineage, probability curves, and predefined potential ceilings.][Host Eryx Vale exceeded allowable variance.]
Eryx stared. "Exceeded… by working too hard?"
[Effort was a factor.][Primary cause: refusal to internalize assigned limitations.]
A bitter laugh escaped him. "So the world couldn't categorize me."
[Correct.][System response: rejection.][Null classification is a containment failure.]
Containment.
The word sent a chill down his spine.
"So what are you?" he asked quietly.
[An exception handler.]
The alley seemed to narrow.
"You're saying… you exist because the world's System is flawed."
[The world's System is incomplete.]
Eryx leaned back against the stone wall, heart pounding. "And this authority—can I see it? Use it?"
Another pause.
[Warning: unauthorized manipulation may trigger detection.]
"By who?"
[By them.]
Eryx clenched his jaw. "I can't rewrite fate if I'm too scared to touch it."
The text shifted.
[Limited demonstration permitted.]
The air rippled again, subtle this time. A new interface appeared—unlike anything he'd seen before.
No levels.No stats.
Just a single line.
[Rule Index: LOCAL]
Below it, faint threads of text branched outward, each one representing something fundamental.
Skill acquisitionLevel scalingDamage calculationAuthority hierarchy
Eryx's head throbbed just looking at it.
"Those are… rules?" he whispered.
[Yes.]
He hesitated, then pointed at one almost at random.
"Skill acquisition."
The thread expanded.
[Default Condition: System-bound entities only.]
Eryx's pulse quickened. "And if I… change it?"
[Specify modification.]
His mouth was dry. This felt dangerous in a way swords and monsters never had.
"…Add an exception," he said slowly. "For me."
The System did not respond immediately.
Then—
[Modification proposed.][Risk assessment: Minimal.][Apply?]
Eryx's heart hammered. "Yes."
The world tugged.
It wasn't dramatic—no explosions, no thunder. Just a quiet sensation, like a key turning in a lock somewhere deep beneath reality.
[Rule Updated.]
The interface vanished.
Eryx stood there, breathing hard.
"…That's it?"
[Demonstration complete.]
A laugh bubbled up, half hysterical. "I just rewrote a rule of the world."
[You adjusted a parameter.]
"That's not helping," he said, grinning despite himself.
The grin faded as another message appeared.
[Alert: minor anomaly logged.]
Eryx stiffened. "Logged by who?"
[Observation Layer.]
"Is that bad?"
[Eventually.]
Great.
He pulled his hood tighter and slipped back into the street.
Night fell quickly in the lower districts.
Eryx rented the cheapest room he could find above a candle shop—a narrow space with a creaking bed and a single shuttered window. He locked the door, then sat on the edge of the mattress, staring at the wall.
"Okay," he whispered. "If that rule worked…"
He focused inward, the way instructors had taught them during theory classes. Normally, this was pointless without a System.
This time—
A faint warmth stirred in his chest.
A notification bloomed into view.
[Skill Available: Basic Meditation][Acquire?]
Eryx's eyes widened.
"I can learn skills," he breathed. "Even as a Null."
[Correction: you are not Null.][You are unindexed.]
He didn't bother correcting the System's tone. "Acquire."
The warmth spread, settling into his muscles and breath. His racing thoughts slowed, clarity washing over him like cool water.
[Skill Acquired.]
Eryx laughed softly, then clamped a hand over his mouth.
This was real.
He lay back on the bed, staring at the cracked ceiling.
"They hunt things they can't control," he murmured.
[Correct.]
"And if they find me?"
[Erasure protocols will activate.]
A chill crept in again. "Then I need to be stronger before that happens."
[Strength is relative.]
"Then I'll redefine it," Eryx said.
For the first time in his life, the future wasn't a wall.
It was a battlefield.
Outside, far above the lower districts, a crystal spire pulsed faintly—its observation arrays recalibrating, its algorithms adjusting.
Somewhere deep within the world's System, a line of data flickered.
ANOMALY: UNRESOLVED
And for the first time in centuries—
The world began to watch back.