A/N: Hi everyone!
First, I want to apologize for the delayed update. School has been a little overwhelming recently and it affected my writing schedule more than I expected.
To make up for the delay, I made this chapter longer than usual so you all have more to read. Thank you for being patient and for supporting this story.
Your comments, theories, and reactions honestly motivate me to keep writing, so I really appreciate every single one of you.
Now… things are about to get interesting.
Enjoy Chapter 21!
~~~~~
After the call with Alexander, the family remained tense, worry lingering in the room.
The living room of the Hale mansion had never felt this quiet before.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet.
The suffocating kind.
Everyone stood scattered around the room, breathing unevenly, clothes disheveled, the smell of gunpowder still faint in the air from the bodyguard's shot outside.
A few minutes ago, a zombie had been chasing Caleb across the courtyard.
Now there was nothing left of it.
No body.
No blood.
Only drifting gray ash that had scattered across the wind like burned paper.
Caleb sat on the sofa, pale and shaking.
Iris stood nearby, arms folded around herself, her mind still replaying the moment.
The gunshot.
The zombie collapsing.
And then…
Disintegrating.
Gone.
Benjamin suddenly spoke.
"…Am I the only one seeing this?"
Everyone looked at him.
He was staring straight ahead, his brow furrowed.
"Seeing what?" Victoria asked.
Benjamin hesitated.
"Floating text."
The room froze.
Henry's gaze sharpened immediately.
"What kind of text?"
Benjamin exhaled slowly.
"Panels. Words. Like some kind of… interface."
One of the bodyguards standing near the doorway frowned.
"I don't see anything, sir."
The room fell silent again.
Henry's expression darkened.
"Who else can see it?"
Victoria slowly raised her hand. "Me."
Caleb blinked. "…Wait. You guys see it too?"
His voice cracked slightly.
Iris remained silent.
Of course she could see it.
The faint translucent panel hovered near the edge of her vision even now.
SYSTEM INTERFACE INITIALIZED.
But something was different.
Something deeper hummed beneath it.
She pushed the feeling aside.
Henry stepped forward.
"Everyone who can see the interface… tell me one thing." His voice was calm. Controlled.
"Did you kill one of those things today?"
The answer came almost immediately.
"Yes," Benjamin nodded.
Victoria hesitated, then quietly replied, "I think I did."
Caleb slowly raised his hand. "…I pushed one out the window."
The bodyguard by the door shook his head again.
"I didn't kill any."
Henry exhaled.
That was the pattern.
His gaze swept across the room.
"Then it seems obvious."
He paused.
"Only those who killed one of those monsters can see this floating panel thing."
The words hung heavy in the air.
⸻
Earlier
[Victoria]
The cold from the kitchen tiles seeped into Victoria Hale's skin before she was fully awake. She stirred slowly, her cheek still pressed against the floor, trying to understand why she was lying there in the first place.
Then the smell reached her.
It filled the kitchen in a heavy wave, metallic and sour, like fresh blood left too long in the heat. Her stomach tightened as she pushed herself upright and steadied a hand on the counter.
"Maria?" she called, her voice still thick with sleep.
The maid was standing a few steps away.
At first Victoria felt a brief flicker of relief. Maria must have found her on the floor. But the relief faded as soon as Maria turned.
Her uniform hung loosely from one shoulder, dark stains soaking the fabric around the collar. Blood had dried in tangled strands of hair near her temple where the skin had split open badly enough that a pale sliver of bone showed beneath it.
Victoria froze.
"Maria… what happened to you?"
The maid lifted her head.
The woman looking back at her did not seem to recognize her at all. Maria's eyes wandered slowly across Victoria's face as if trying to focus through fog.
Then she rushed forward with a broken choking sound.
Victoria screamed and stumbled backward, crashing into the table. Maria slammed against the counter but kept dragging herself forward, fingers clawing across the marble as if something inside her demanded she keep moving.
Panic swallowed every thought.
Victoria grabbed the heavy marble mortar beside the spice rack and swung with both hands.
The first blow struck Maria's temple with a crack that jolted through Victoria's arms.
Maria barely slowed.
Victoria cried out and swung again, then once more with everything she had left.
The final strike crushed the skull.
Maria's body shuddered violently before collapsing. Flesh and bone crumbled apart moments later, disintegrating into drifting gray ash that scattered across the kitchen floor.
Victoria stood there shaking, staring at the empty space where the maid had been.
Something faint flickered in front of her eyes.
She never read it.
She ran.
⸻
[Henry]
Henry Hale woke with his head resting on the desk, papers crumpled beneath his cheek and a dull ache pulsing behind his eyes.
For a moment he thought he had simply fallen asleep while working.
Then a hand closed around his shoulder.
Henry jerked upright.
The butler stood beside him, or at least something that looked like him. The man's jaw hung crookedly from his face, barely attached, and the skin along one cheek had begun to peel away as if it had rotted overnight.
Henry recoiled in shock.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
The creature lunged without warning.
Henry barely twisted aside as teeth snapped inches from his throat. His hand fumbled blindly until his fingers closed around the fireplace poker leaning beside the hearth.
He shoved it forward.
The metal rod punched straight through the creature's chest.
It kept coming.
Henry swore under his breath and kicked hard, forcing it backward step by step until the final shove sent the corpse tumbling through the open window behind it.
Glass shattered.
A few seconds later gray ash drifted upward past the frame like smoke.
Henry stared in stunned silence.
Something flickered across his vision.
He ignored it completely and rushed for the drawer where he kept his heart medication before running from the room.
⸻
[Benjamin]
Benjamin Hale had no intention of fighting anything.
When the creature staggered toward him in the foyer, he backed away immediately, searching for anything that might slow it down.
His gaze landed on the marble statue beside the staircase.
An idea formed in the same instant the corpse lunged.
Benjamin shoved the pedestal with all his strength.
The statue tipped.
For a brief second it hung in the air before crashing down with a deafening impact that echoed through the foyer.
The creature beneath it stopped moving.
Benjamin stood there breathing hard as the body slowly collapsed into gray dust beneath the shattered marble.
Something blinked faintly in front of his eyes.
Benjamin didn't bother reading it.
He turned and ran.
⸻
[Caleb]
Caleb was halfway through a boss fight in Elden Ring when everything went black.
When the screen returned, the only thing visible on the monitor was a glaring red message.
{DEFEATED.}
"Are you kidding me?" he groaned, leaning back in his chair with the controller still in his hands.
Headphones on.
Completely distracted.
So when fingers suddenly clamped onto his shoulder from behind, he screamed loud enough to nearly throw the headset across the room.
He spun around.
The maid lunged at him, her face gray and slack, something dark smeared across her mouth.
Caleb reacted without thinking.
He shoved her away as hard as he could.
She stumbled backward through the open window behind him. There was a heavy thud from outside, followed by complete silence.
Caleb didn't check.
Adrenaline sent him running straight out of the room.
Halfway down the hallway he nearly collided with another one dragging itself toward him. He swerved around it and knocked a decorative vase off the table in the process.
The crash echoed through the house.
The creature turned toward the sound and began shuffling after him.
Caleb's chest tightened with panic, but he forced his legs to keep moving as he sprinted down the hallway and down the stairs.
He turned the corner at full speed.
And then he stumbled, almost getting bitten by the zombie chasing him. Then Iris caught him by the collar just in time.
⸻
Present
The living room slowly returned to focus.
Henry nodded slowly.
"So the system activates after killing one of them." He said grimly
Benjamin frowned. "And the bodies turning to ash?"
No one answered immediately.
"I think… the system triggers when the zombie dies." Iris spoke quietly.
Everyone looked at her.
"Kill the zombie. The system activates. Then the body disintegrates." She continued.
Benjamin rubbed his temple.
"This is insane." He said his voice trembling
Henry straightened.
"Regardless, we don't have time to debate it."
His voice turned firm.
"We test what this system can actually do."
He looked toward the hallway.
"Basement."
⸻
The Basement
The underground vault smelled faintly of metal and dust.
Victoria moved directly to her safety deposit box.
Her hands were steady as she unlocked it.
Inside lay velvet trays filled with jewelry.
Gold, Silver, Gemstones.
Henry nodded toward Iris.
"Try placing something inside your inventory."
Iris picked up a small silver bracelet.
She focused.
The bracelet vanished from her palm.
A notification appeared.
[ CONVERSION AVAILABLE.]
She blinked.
"I… think the system can convert materials into currency."
Benjamin leaned forward.
"What kind of currency?"
Iris read the panel.
"Gold. Silver. Copper."
Victoria exchanged a look with Henry.
"Convert it," Henry said.
Iris confirmed the command.
New text appeared.
[+1 GOLD COIN]
[+2 SILVER COINS]
[+30 COPPER COINS]
Iris repeated everything she saw to her family
Everyone stared.
Benjamin whispered,
"…It turned jewelry into money."
Victoria slowly opened the next tray.
Gemstones sparkled under the dim vault lighting.
Iris repeated the process.
More system text appeared.
[+51 SILVER COINS]
Then diamonds.
[+5 GOLD COINS]
Silence filled the room.
Benjamin finally spoke.
"Our entire financial system just became useless."
Henry nodded grimly.
"And our inventory space is only one cubic meter."
The realization sank in.
Benjamin cursed under his breath.
"We hoarded billions worth of supplies."
Caleb groaned.
"And now we can't even carry most of it."
Henry exhaled slowly.
"We focus on high value items."
Victoria began opening the rest of the vault boxes.
Gold bars.
Precious metals.
Rare stones.
The process turned into a silent montage of testing and converting.
Until Caleb suddenly froze.
"…My tablet."
Everyone looked at him.
"My games!" he blurted.
Benjamin stared at him.
"You are worried about games?"
Caleb shook his head frantically.
"No, listen. My files. Mods. Downloads. Everything." He said frantically
Henry's eyes widened slightly.
Knowledge.
Information.
That mattered.
"Go get it," Henry ordered.
Caleb sprinted upstairs instantly.
Benjamin followed.
He grabbed Alexander's tablet from the table upstairs before heading to get his
Even Victoria left to retrieve hers as well.
Within seconds the basement was empty.
Except for Iris.
⸻
She climbed the staircase slowly.
Halfway up, she paused.
Two nights ago flashed briefly through her mind.
Her bedroom floor.
Laptop open.
External drives scattered around her.
Iris had spent hours downloading archives.
Engineering manuals.
Agricultural data.
Medical textbooks.
Language databases.
Everything she could find.
Just in case.
Since she can't rely on her knowledge on the apocalypse anymore.
She exhaled quietly.
Maybe that decision would save them.
The basement lights flickered.
Iris paused halfway down the stairs.
'That's… odd.'
A sharp pressure suddenly built behind her eyes, like something pushing against the inside of her skull.
The familiar white auxiliary system panel appeared automatically in her vision.
Then it began to glitch.
The clean white interface rippled violently as static crawled across its surface.
A message forced itself onto the screen.
[UNKNOWN SYSTEM SIGNAL DETECTED]
Iris grabbed the stair railing.
"What…?"
More text appeared, faster now.
[TIMELINE IRREGULARITY CONFIRMED]
Her pulse spiked.
Another line forced itself onto the panel.
[ANOMALY CORE INITIALIZING]
The white interface flickered violently.
For a moment the entire panel blurred, like a screen losing signal.
Then the color shifted.
White dissolved into a deep, luminous blue.
[CORE003 ONLINE]
The familiar auxiliary interface faded into the background, pushed aside by a second panel forming in front of it.
This one felt different.
Not flat.
Not mechanical.
The symbols pulsed faintly, shifting like something alive beneath the surface.
A line appeared.
[Connection established.]
At the same time, a calm voice echoed inside Iris's mind.
[Hello, Iris Hale.]
She froze.
The words appeared on the blue panel exactly as the voice spoke them.
Her throat tightened.
"…What?"
The system responded instantly.
[Analysis complete.]
[You are not supposed to exist in this timeline.]
Cold dread crept down her spine.
"What does that mean?"
The text pulsed once.
[Correction.]
[You are not part of Aurelion's recorded history.]
Iris stared at the glowing interface.
Her voice came out unsteady.
"…Who are you?"
The system paused.
Then the answer appeared.
[Designation: CORE003]
[You may call me 003.]
The basement lights flickered violently, plunging the stairwell into brief darkness.
And somewhere deep within the system architecture…
something had just awakened.