Midnight.
Jun Bai jolted upright, drenched in sweat. His breath came in short, ragged bursts. The moonlight filtering into his room painted ghostly shadows across the floor.
He looked down at his trembling hands.
> That dream again.
A golden eye staring at him.
A voice whispering nonsense — "System override. Error. Subject: Arin. Unauthorized anchor."
And then… her.
A girl with white hair and broken wings, trapped behind a veil of shattered glass.
> "Why him?" she always asked.
> "Why not me?"
---
Jun Bai's Hidden Doubts
Jun Bai had always told himself he was destined to stand at the peak.
Perfect talent. The best sword techniques. Admired by all. Feared by most.
Then came Arin — the lazy, shameless, unpredictable mess who somehow kept stealing the spotlight with luck, beast companions, and now, apparently, divine attention.
> "Why?" Jun Bai muttered, gripping the edge of his bed.
He stood and went to the mirror.
His eyes were glowing faintly.
Golden.
> "I'm connected to this too, aren't I?"
> "But I refuse to be the side character."
---
Back to Arin – The Aftermath
Elsewhere, Arin was still recovering in his room. Yue Lan sat beside him, a cooling talisman pressed against his forehead. Yura snoozed at his feet, half-buried in blankets. Fluffy Doom hovered nearby, upside down, snoring like a wheezing tea kettle.
Arin stirred.
> "My head hurts. Did I get run over by fate?"
> "You screamed for ten minutes straight and drooled on my lap," Yue Lan replied.
> "That's… accurate."
> "You also said the system was stealing your rewards and selling them."
> "I did?"
> "Then you called it a 'cosmic scam app' and threatened to sue heaven."
> "I definitely said that."
> [Ding! System Notification: Emotional instability detected. Please take deep breaths and consume calming tea.]
> "Shut up, you glitch-ridden lootbox."
> [System: ☹️]
---
Scroll of Secrets
The scroll spirit, who had been unusually quiet, finally spoke.
> "I decoded part of the fragment's message. You're not the only one affected. There are others. Linked by corrupted code. One of them… is nearby."
> "You mean in this sect?" Arin asked.
> "Possibly."
Yue Lan narrowed her eyes. "Who?"
The scroll crackled. "I can't access that yet. But I have one more clue. The girl with broken wings — she's not a memory. She's real. Sealed somewhere. And your system is afraid of her."
> [Ding! Data Access Denied.]
[Attempt to retrieve forbidden memory will result in system freeze.]
> "She might be the key to undoing the corruption," the scroll added.
> "Great," Arin muttered. "Now we have to find a mystery girl from my nightmare who might kill us or save us."
> "You attract strange women," Yura said, now awake. "It's a gift."
> "I hate that it's true."
---
Meanwhile…
On a high cliff outside the sect, Jun Bai stood alone, holding his sword like a prayer.
Behind him, a shadow stirred.
Not human.
Not beast.
Its voice came in echoes:
> "Do you want to know the truth?"
> "Yes."
> "Then follow the lies. The one with wings waits for you too."
> "Who are you?"
> "A former system. A broken one. Like yours will be soon."
Jun Bai turned.
There was no one there.
But the golden light in his pupils didn't fade.