A Room of Secrets
The moment Liam stepped inside, the air grew thick, carrying the scent of old parchment, burning incense, and something else… something faintly metallic. Blood?
The room was dimly lit by flickering candlelight, revealing shelves overflowing with scrolls, bones, and trinkets that pulsed with faint magical energy. Strange symbols were carved into the wooden walls, twisting and shifting under Liam’s gaze.
Across the room, the hooded man sat hunched over a worn table. His piercing green eyes shone unnaturally in the low light.
"You came," the man rasped, his voice like dry leaves rustling in the wind.
Liam studied him carefully. Something about this man felt… off.
"You know who I am?" Liam asked cautiously.
The man chuckled.
"Not who you are… but what you are."
Liam’s body tensed. Did this man know about the system?
Seraphis’s voice was calm but alert.
"Be careful. He is testing you."
Nyx let out a low ugh.
"Or he already knows the truth."
Liam remained composed.
"Then tell me… what am I?"
The informant leaned forward, his breath shaky and uneven.
"You are… a walking paradox."
Silence stretched between them.
---
The Forgotten Myth
Liam frowned.
"Paradox? What does that mean?"
The informant tapped a bony finger against the table.
"Long ago, before this kingdom was built, there was a tale—one most have forgotten."
He pointed to the ceiling, where a faded mural was painted.
It depicted a figure standing at the center of two opposing forces—one side bathed in radiant light, the other swallowed by shadow.
A choice.
Liam’s blood ran cold.
"What does this have to do with me?"
The man let out a shuddering breath.
"Legends say that when the world reaches a breaking point, a foreign soul will arrive… one who stands between destruction and salvation."
His glowing green eyes bore into Liam’s.
"One who will be given a choice."
Liam stiffened.
The system’s words echoed in his mind.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[1] Save the world and become its greatest hero?
[2] Destroy the world and rule over its ashes?
Had this world always known about the system? Or… was the system built around this prophecy?
Seraphis’s voice was soft, almost hesitant.
"This cannot be a coincidence."
Nyx chuckled darkly.
"Fate? Destiny? How amusing."
Liam forced his expression to remain neutral.
"And what happens if this foreign soul makes the wrong choice?"
The informant smiled—a twisted, eerie smile.
"Then the world burns."
---
A Hidden Warning
Liam exhaled slowly.
"If this legend is real, why don’t people remember it?"
The informant’s expression darkened.
"Because knowledge is dangerous."
He gestured toward the shelves around them.
"Books have been burned. Schors silenced. The royal family has erased what they could."
Liam’s mind raced.
"Why? If they knew about this prophecy, wouldn’t they want to prepare?"
The man chuckled, the sound low and bitter.
"They did. And they failed."
Liam narrowed his eyes.
"Expin."
The man leaned back, his skeletal fingers twitching.
"The st time a foreign soul arrived, they did not choose at all. They hesitated."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"And hesitation… led to annihition."
Liam’s stomach twisted.
"You’re saying someone like me appeared before?"
The informant’s eerie smile widened.
"Yes. And they were erased from history."
---
The Mark of Fate
Liam clenched his fists.
If this was true, then he wasn’t the first.
But why? Had the system chosen someone before him? And what had gone so wrong that their existence had been wiped from history?
"How do you know all of this?" he demanded.
The informant let out a soft chuckle and pulled up his sleeve.
Liam’s breath caught in his throat.
A mark.
Etched into the man’s arm was a strange glowing sigil, flickering between gold and bck. It looked eerily simir to the system’s interface.
"Because I, too, was once given a choice."
Liam felt his pulse quicken.
"Then… what did you choose?"
The informant’s expression turned hollow.
"I refused to choose."
A chilling wind swept through the room, extinguishing the candles.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
---
System Alert: Corruption Detected
A loud chime echoed through Liam’s mind.
[SYSTEM WARNING: UNSTABLE ENTITY DETECTED]
[ERROR… ERROR… CORRUPTION LEVEL—UNKNOWN]
Liam gritted his teeth as a cold sensation crept up his spine.
Seraphis gasped.
"Liam, step back!"
Nyx growled.
"No… this is interesting."
The informant let out a strangled ugh. His eyes glowed brighter, his skin turning pale, almost translucent.
"You see… the system does not forgive. If you fail to choose, it takes everything from you."
His body began to flicker, as though he were being erased.
"You cannot run from fate."
Liam’s instincts screamed at him to move.
But before he could react, the informant lunged forward—his body twisting into a shadowed mass of glitching energy.
A system anomaly.
A remnant of what happens when someone defies the system’s choice.
Liam had only seconds to decide.
Fight… or flee?
---
End of Chapter 5
