The Corrupted One
The world twisted.
A pulse of dark energy rippled outward from the informant's body. The room, already dim, plunged into unnatural darkness as the air thickened with something unseen—something wrong.
Liam instinctively took a step back. His entire body tensed, muscles coiling as a cold sweat ran down his spine.
[SYSTEM WARNING: UNSTABLE ENTITY DETECTED]
[ERROR… ERROR… CORRUPTION LEVEL—UNKNOWN]
The words fshed before his eyes in violent red.
The informant’s once-human form contorted, twisting like a broken marionette. His face remained frozen in a grotesque grin, though his eyes burned with something ancient.
"You see, Liam…" His voice echoed unnaturally, yered with distorted whispers. "There is no escape from the system’s judgment."
With a sudden lurch, the shadowed mass surged forward.
Liam reacted on instinct.
He dove to the side just as the informant’s cwed hand sliced through the air where he had stood. The wooden floor beneath him cracked, bck veins spreading from the impact.
"Tch!" Liam barely had time to recover before the entity lunged again.
---
Seraphis vs. Nyx: A Csh of Orders
"Liam, listen to me!" Seraphis’s voice rang in his mind, urgent yet composed. "You must eliminate him before the corruption spreads further!"
Nyx, however, was amused.
"No, no… this is a rare opportunity." A dark chuckle. "Let’s test how far this ‘corruption’ goes."
Liam gritted his teeth.
"Now is not the time for your games!"
[SYSTEM ALERT: COMBAT ENGAGED]
[SYSTEM ERROR: ENTITY CLASS—UNKNOWN]
Liam’s mind raced. He still didn’t fully understand how to wield the system’s power, but he couldn’t afford to hold back.
The corrupted informant screeched, his body splintering into jagged fragments of bck mist before reforming inches from Liam.
"Enough!" Liam threw his hand forward, instinctively channeling energy into his palm.
A brilliant burst of golden light erupted from his fingertips—raw, unstable, but enough to bst the informant backward.
The creature collided with the far wall, cracks splintering across the wooden surface as dust rained down.
But the moment Liam exhaled, relieved, the corrupted being stood up again.
Unharmed.
Liam’s heart pounded.
"You’ve got to be kidding me."
---
Unleashing the System’s Power
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE: USER ACCESSING INTERMEDIATE FUNCTIONS]
A new prompt fshed across his vision.
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: SYSTEM REJECTION]
[PURGE FOREIGN ENTITY?]
Yes.
The moment Liam mentally confirmed the action, his body burned with power.
A translucent sigil formed around his hands, pulsating between Seraphis’s golden glow and Nyx’s dark haze.
The system’s power wasn’t just light or dark. It was both.
The informant twisted unnaturally, his once-smiling face contorting in agony.
"You… dare… defy the cycle?"
Liam stepped forward.
"You lost your chance to choose. I won’t make the same mistake."
He smmed his palm forward, and the sigil imploded, swallowing the corrupted entity whole.
A shockwave of energy surged through the room, walls groaning under the force as a gust of wind howled.
Then—silence.
The informant was gone.
The air felt lighter. The corruption… erased.
Liam, breathing heavily, clenched his fists. What had he just done?
---
A Hidden Witness
Liam stumbled backward, exhaustion creeping into his limbs.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: PURGING COMPLETE.]
[ENERGY DEPLETION: 15%]
Before he could fully process everything, a faint noise caught his attention.
The sound of someone gasping.
Liam’s head snapped toward the door.
A figure stood there, half-hidden in the shadows.
Evelyn.
Her emerald-green eyes were wide with shock, her delicate fingers trembling as she covered her mouth.
Liam’s stomach dropped.
How much had she seen?
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, she turned and ran.
---
The Weight of Secrets
"Damn it!"
Liam bolted after her, his boots thudding against the creaking wooden floors.
Seraphis’s voice was sharp.
"Liam, you cannot let her reveal what she saw!"
Nyx’s tone was filled with dark amusement.
"Or… do we let her? Let the kingdom tremble at what you are?"
Liam ignored them both, pushing his body harder as he chased Evelyn through the narrow alleyways.
She was fast. Faster than he expected.
But he was faster.
In one fluid motion, he lunged forward, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around.
"Evelyn—wait!"
She struggled, panic in her gaze.
"What… what was that?! What did you do to him?!"
Liam clenched his jaw.
She had seen too much.
---
A Moment of Truth
"Evelyn." His voice was low, controlled. "Listen to me."
Her breathing was ragged, fear evident in her eyes.
"That power… that wasn’t normal, Liam. You—" She stopped herself, shaking her head. "You’re not normal, are you?"
Liam took a slow breath.
"No. I’m not."
She shuddered, stepping back.
"Then what… what are you?"
Liam met her gaze head-on.
"I don’t know yet."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Evelyn swallowed hard.
"I… I won’t tell anyone."
Liam’s eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
Her voice was soft, barely a whisper.
"Because… I don’t think you’re evil."
Liam blinked.
For a moment, the system’s choice echoed in his mind again.
[1] Save the world and become its greatest hero?
[2] Destroy the world and rule over its ashes?
Somewhere deep inside him, he realized…
The world wasn’t ready for his answer yet.
---
End of Chapter 6
