The Windspire Rift was silent.
Not the usual eerie quiet of a dungeon, but a stunned, breathless stillness — the kind that follows a disaster narrowly avoided. Dust drifted through the air in lazy spirals. The crater Carter had carved into the cliffside still glowed faintly with violet residue.
Carter stood at the center of it all, chest heaving, dagger cracked in his hand, blood drying on his sleeve.
He'd survived.
He'd saved Eli.
He'd changed fate.
REI hovered beside him, her glow dim but steady. "Your vitals are stabilizing. You're safe."
Safe.
The word felt unreal.
Eli stumbled toward him, eyes red, voice trembling. "Carter—thank you. I… I thought I was dead."
Carter forced a tired smile. "Not on my watch."
Eli nodded, wiping his face with shaking hands.
Around them, whispers spread like wildfire.
"Did you see that?"
"He fought that thing alone."
"That wasn't a normal monster…"
"How did he do that?"
Lucas pushed through the crowd, face pale, jaw clenched. He stared at Carter like he was seeing a ghost.
"You…" Lucas swallowed. "You shouldn't have been able to do that."
Carter met his gaze. "I know."
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "What are you hiding?"
Before Carter could answer, a deep voice cut through the air.
"Everyone — fall in!"
Mr. Hargrove marched toward them, mechanical arm whirring, expression carved from stone. His gaze swept the battlefield, then locked onto Carter.
"You. With me."
Carter stiffened.
REI whispered, "Be cautious. His emotional readings are elevated."
"Yeah," Carter muttered. "I noticed."
---
Hargrove led him to a jagged outcropping overlooking the shattered battlefield. The wind howled around them, carrying the metallic scent of mana.
"Explain," Hargrove said.
Carter swallowed. "There was… an anomaly. A second rift. A creature came through. It wasn't like the others."
Hargrove's jaw tightened. "I saw the energy signature. That thing wasn't part of the dungeon."
"I know."
"You fought it alone."
Carter didn't respond.
"You should be dead," Hargrove said quietly. "That thing was above B‑Rank. Maybe higher."
Carter's pulse quickened.
Hargrove stepped closer. "So I'll ask again. What are you hiding?"
REI whispered urgently, "Do not reveal the System."
Carter steadied his breath. "I'm not hiding anything. I just… reacted."
Hargrove stared at him for a long moment.
Then — unexpectedly — he sighed.
"You did good, Kane. Damn good."
Carter blinked.
He'd never heard those words from Hargrove before.
"But this isn't over," Hargrove continued. "I'm filing a report. The Guild will want answers."
Carter's stomach dropped.
The Guild.
REI's voice sharpened. "Carter — this is dangerous. If they investigate you, they may detect the System."
Carter swallowed. "What do I do?"
"Grow stronger," REI whispered. "Fast."
---
Back at school, chaos erupted.
Students swarmed Carter with questions.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"Are you secretly ranked?"
"Did you awaken a class?!"
Carter forced a smile, slipping through the crowd. "Just got lucky."
But inside, his mind raced.
He'd changed the timeline.
He'd saved lives.
He'd survived the anomaly.
But now?
Now the world was paying attention.
And attention was dangerous.
---
That night, Carter sat on his bed, staring at the interface.
> [QUEST COMPLETE: The Butterfly Effect]
> Survive the Windspire Raid
> Prevent more than 3 deaths
> Reward: Unique Title | Access to Memory Log
A new window opened.
> [Title Unlocked: Fatebreaker]
> Effects: Increased resistance to timeline interference.
> Enhanced anomaly detection.
> Unknown passive effect.
Carter exhaled slowly. "Fatebreaker…"
REI floated beside him, eyes glowing softly. "You've done something extraordinary. You've broken a fixed point."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," REI said quietly, "that whatever force reset your life… is now aware you're fighting back."
A chill ran down his spine.
Before he could respond, the interface flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then violently.
REI froze mid‑air, her form glitching. "Carter… something is—"
The screen distorted, symbols twisting into corrupted shapes.
A message forced itself onto the interface, letters jagged and wrong:
> [ERROR: UNAUTHORIZED PATH DETECTED]
> [REBOOT USER — TERMINATE]
Carter's blood ran cold.
"REI—what is that?!"
Her voice trembled. "An intrusion. Something is trying to override the System."
The message flickered again, more aggressive:
> [YOU WERE NOT MEANT TO RETURN]
Carter's breath caught.
The room darkened.
The interface pulsed like a heartbeat.
REI's glow flared, pushing back the distortion. "Carter — stay with me!"
The corrupted message twisted one last time:
> [WE WILL CORRECT THIS.]
Then the screen snapped back to normal.
Silence.
Carter sat frozen, heart pounding.
REI hovered close, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Carter… the force behind your reset just made contact."
He swallowed hard.
"And it knows you're alive."