The first thing that changed was the noise.
Not screams. Not sirens.
Conversation.
People stopped running and started talking.
That was worse.
Piter Hall felt it the moment he stepped away from the square with Lena half-supported at his side. The city hadn't stabilized, but it had shifted. Panic was being replaced by something more volatile.
Opinion.
"Did you see that message?""They said someone caused it.""It's his fault the difficulty went up.""No, they're lying. It's the System's fault.""You don't know that."
Every Interface pulsed faintly as people argued, feeds updating in real time. The System didn't need social media. It used perception itself.
Lena's grip tightened.
"They're looking at us," she whispered.
Piter nodded.
Some people stared openly. Others pretended not to. A few backed away as if distance alone could protect them.
The System hadn't just announced an anomaly.
It had planted a seed.
Blame spreads faster than fear.
Piter guided Lena into a side street and pushed open the door to a small convenience store. The clerk was frozen mid-motion, hand hovering over the register.
Time lag.
Local delay effects.
"Sit," Piter said, pulling a chair free.
Lena obeyed, breathing shallow, eyes unfocused.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"Now?" Piter replied. "The System waits."
"For what?"
"For someone to try killing me."
Her head snapped up. "What?"
"It always escalates through people first," he said calmly. "They're cheaper than monsters."
As if summoned by his words, his Interface flared violently.
[Attention Spike Detected.][Observer Density Increasing.]
Piter closed his eyes briefly.
That was fast.
Too fast.
"Stay here," he said. "Don't move. Don't interact with anything that talks."
She nodded, though fear trembled through her.
Piter stepped back outside.
The street had changed.
Not physically.
Psychologically.
A man stood across the road, staring at him. Early thirties. Average build. No weapon visible.
His Interface glowed brighter than normal.
Yellow.
Piter felt it immediately.
Another Variable.
The man smiled.
"Piter Hall," he said. "Didn't think they'd make you public this early."
Piter stopped walking.
"So you remember," he said.
The man laughed softly. "Not everything. Just enough."
A second Interface flickered beside him.
Then a third.
Two more people stepped into view from the alley.
All yellow.
Unstable.
"Looks like you triggered a recruitment wave," the man continued. "You should be proud."
"Depends," Piter said. "Who sent you?"
The man tilted his head. "No one. That's the point."
He tapped his temple.
"The moment they announced you, I felt something unlock. Like permission."
Piter's jaw tightened.
That wasn't supposed to happen yet.
"What's your name?" Piter asked.
"Evan," the man replied. "Evan Cross."
Piter felt the name settle.
Not familiar.
Which meant Evan hadn't survived long last time.
That made him dangerous.
"What do you want, Evan?" Piter asked.
Evan shrugged. "To see if you're worth the attention."
The street lights flickered.
The other Variables spread out subtly, forming a loose arc.
Clever.
"Back away," Piter said. "This isn't a duel."
Evan smiled wider. "Everything is now."
His Interface pulsed.
[Variable Action Detected.]
The world lurched.
For a split second, gravity twisted sideways.
Piter reacted instantly, rolling as the pavement where he had been standing collapsed inward like wet paper. A compressed sphere of force slammed into the storefront behind him, obliterating glass and frozen shelving.
Lena screamed inside.
Piter was already moving.
He sprinted forward, closing distance before Evan could build momentum. Variables didn't start strong. They ramped.
Evan's eyes widened briefly.
"Fast," he muttered.
Piter slammed into him shoulder-first, driving him back into a parked car. Metal crumpled. Evan grunted but didn't break.
Instead, he laughed.
"That confirms it," Evan said. "You're not just remembering. You're resisting."
Piter brought his elbow up, striking Evan's jaw.
It connected.
Evan's head snapped back.
But instead of blood—
Light spilled from the impact.
Evan staggered, grinning even as his Interface glitched.
"Oh, that hurt," he said. "Good."
The other Variables moved.
Piter felt pressure slam into his back, throwing him forward. He twisted mid-fall, rolling to his feet just as a second attack carved a trench through the asphalt where he'd landed.
This wasn't random.
They were testing.
"Stop!" Lena shouted from the store entrance. "You're going to kill people!"
Evan glanced at her.
Then smiled.
"That's the point," he said.
The street screamed.
A localized Scenario bloom erupted outward, invisible walls snapping into place.
[Spontaneous Scenario Triggered.][Type: Conflict Amplification]
Civilians froze again.
The System was watching closely now.
Evan raised his hands.
"You see?" he said. "This is what you started."
Piter wiped blood from his mouth.
"No," he replied. "This is what you chose."
He stepped forward deliberately.
"You don't want to stop the System," Piter continued. "You want to replace it."
Evan's smile faltered.
"Careful," he said. "You don't know that."
"I do," Piter replied. "Because last time, people like you always showed up when things got harder."
The air thickened.
Evan's expression hardened.
"You think you're the only one who deserves agency?" he asked. "You think saving one person makes you righteous?"
Piter didn't answer.
He lunged.
This time, he didn't aim to strike.
He aimed to disrupt.
He grabbed Evan's wrist mid-cast and twisted sharply.
The force Evan was building detonated sideways.
The shockwave ripped through the alley, slamming Evan into a wall and sending the other Variables scrambling.
Evan slid down the bricks, coughing.
His Interface flickered red for the first time.
Piter loomed over him.
"This isn't a game," Piter said quietly. "And you're not ready."
Evan looked up, eyes burning.
"You don't get to decide that."
He slammed his palm into the ground.
The street split.
Something ancient stirred beneath the concrete.
Piter's blood ran cold.
That wasn't Variable behavior.
That was—
A deep tone rolled through the air.
Not sound.
Authority.
[Warning: Unauthorized Escalation Detected.]
The spontaneous Scenario began to collapse.
The walls shattered.
Time resumed violently.
People screamed as the street tore itself apart.
Evan laughed, blood dripping from his mouth.
"See you later, Piter Hall," he said. "Let's see who the world believes."
He vanished.
Not teleported.
Excised.
The street fell silent.
Piter stood alone amid the wreckage.
Lena ran to him, shaking.
"Are you hurt?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Piter said, though his heart hammered.
His Interface pulsed.
New messages stacked rapidly.
[Variable Conflict Recorded.][Public Perception Updated.][Threat Level Recalculated.]
Then—
A final line appeared.
One he hadn't seen before.
[Primary Antagonist Designation Pending…]
Piter stared at it.
Slowly, he smiled.
"Good," he whispered.
Because now—
The System had stopped pretending he was just a problem.