The Safe Zone was secure. The corpses of the goblins were piled high, and the survivors were busy barricading the stairs with the remains of the Warlord's armor.
Kael sat in the abandoned subway conductor's booth, enjoying a rare moment of silence. He pulled up his System screen. His level had jumped to 10. His stats were absurdly high for a tutorial player, rivaling people who had been surviving for months in his past life.
Suddenly, his gold-tinted System screen glitched, turning a static-filled purple.
[Incoming Transmission: Constellation Network]
Kael narrowed his eyes. The gods were trying to contact him directly. Normally, this only happened if a player performed a legendary feat, prompting the gods to offer "Sponsorships." If a player accepted, they gained immense power but became bound to that god's whims.
In his past life, Arthur was sponsored by the 'Sword Saint of the West', which made him arrogant and ultimately led to Kael's betrayal.
Kael had no intention of becoming a puppet.
[Constellation 'The Judge of Fire' offers you a Sponsorship.][Constellation 'Architect of the Abyss' is intrigued by your shadows. They offer 50,000 Coins and a Unique Skill for your soul pledge.][Constellation 'The Heavenly Scribe' demands you reveal your hidden stats.]
Because of Kael's A-Rank System Interference, the Constellations couldn't see his exact Mythic class or his stats. They only saw a phantom who was tearing through the tutorial at an impossible speed. It drove them crazy.
"Decline all," Kael said aloud.
[Warning: Refusing Constellations may result in 'Cursed' status.]
"I said, decline all."
The purple screen violently flickered. A barrage of angry system prompts flooded his vision as the rejected gods threw tantrums. But Kael just laughed. He was the Sovereign of Glitches. Their curses couldn't stick to his anomalous soul code.
Then, one final prompt appeared. It didn't flash purple or gold. It was pitch black, dripping with crimson text.
[Constellation 'The Architect of the Tower' wishes to speak with the Anomaly.]
Kael's breath caught in his throat. The Architect. The god who built the System. The entity responsible for the deaths of seven billion humans.
A voice, sounding like grinding tectonic plates, echoed directly into Kael's mind.
"You are out of bounds, little glitch. You carry the stench of a failed timeline."
Kael gripped his dagger tightly, his knuckles turning white. He didn't speak. He knew the Architect could hear his thoughts. So what if I do? You failed to kill me on the 100th floor. Now I'm back, and I'm going to tear your Tower down from the inside.
The voice chuckled, a terrifying sound that made Kael's vision vibrate.
"Amusing. But glitches must be patched. I will not allow you to ruin the entertainment of my VIP guests. Prepare yourself, Regressor. I am initiating the Blood Moon protocol."
The black screen shattered.
Kael rushed out of the conductor's booth and looked up at the shattered skylight of the subway station.
The brilliant blue sky of the afternoon had vanished. The sun was eclipsed, replaced by a massive, pulsing moon the color of fresh blood.
The Safe Zone barrier—the indestructible blue dome that protected them—shattered like cheap glass.