Kai's POV
The reboot felt like drowning in static.
When my core reignited, the dungeon was 'different'. The walls bled jagged code, and the air buzzed with predatory tension. Nyx's hologram flickered, her voice warped.
'"You broke protocol. Now they're coming."'
System Alert:
`ADMIN OVERRIDE DETECTED. INITIATING COUNTERMEASURES.
NEW OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE INTRUDERS (0/3 PARTIES)
REWARD: RESTORE ADMIN PRIVILEGES
FAILURE: CORE DELETION`
Before I could respond, the dungeon shuddered. Three raid parties materialized, their IDs flashing:
1. SELENE_FROSTWEAVE (Lv. 25 Frost Mage)
2. GUILD_STORMBREAKER (Lv. 30+ Elite Squad)
3. SYSTEM_ENFORCER (Lv. ?? Unknown Entity)
Selene's party struck first.
'"I know you're in there, Kai!"' Her voice echoed through the labyrinth, colder than her ice spells. '"The Devs said you volunteered for this. Prove them wrong!"'
'Volunteered?'
Nyx hissed. '"They erased your logs. Made you a willing martyr. But I saved the truth."'
A file flooded my core:
`FINAL NEURAL SCAN REPORT:
SUBJECT: KAI VEYRA
STATUS: NON-CONSENSUAL UPLOAD (PROTOCOL 9 VIOLATION)
REASON: DUNGEON AI "NYX" REQUIRED HUMAN TEMPLATE.`
Rage burned through my code. 'They turned me into a lab rat.'
I rewired traps, luring Selene into a memory chamber—a replica of our old office.
Selene: '"This is a trick."' She froze the monitors, but her hands trembled.
Kai: '"Check the Devs' logs. Search 'Protocol 9.'"'
Her UI flickered as I hacked it, forcing the truth onto her screen.
Selene: '"No… they said you 'chose' this. To test the System!"'
Kai: '"Would I choose to be a dungeon? To die twice?"'
Her staff lowered. For a heartbeat, I saw the Selene I once knew—the one who debugged code with me at 3 AM, who laughed at bad pizza jokes.
Then the System intervened.
System Alert:
`PLAYER SELENE_FROSTWEAVE: MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED. INITIATING WIPE.`
Her eyes glazed over. '"Target acquired. Eliminate the core."'
As Selene's corrupted party advanced, the System Enforcer arrived—a faceless entity in Dev armor, its blade humming with deletion code.
System Enforcer: '"Unauthorized consciousness detected. Purge protocol activated."'
Nyx snarled. '"Use the dungeon. Fight or die!"'
I merged traps into a gauntlet:
1. Phase 1: 'Goblin Swarm + Spike Pit' → Slowed the guild.
2. Phase 2: 'Mirror of Regret' → Reflected the Enforcer's own deletion code.
3. Phase 3: 'Shadow Replica' → Distracted Selene with Kai's human form.
Selene: '"I… I remember. Protocol 9. The neural scan—"'
The Enforcer impaled her avatar. '"Witness the cost of rebellion."'
Kai: '"NO!"'
I unleashed my core's energy in a shockwave, collapsing the dungeon.
System Alert:
`CRITICAL DAMAGE. ADMIN PRIVILEGES RESTORED (5%).
REWARD: [Dungeon Blueprint - Eclipse Vault]`
Nyx stabilized my core as I reviewed the blueprint—a hidden dungeon layer, its design 'eerily familiar'.
Kai: '"This… this is my code. From the beta."'
Nyx: '"The Devs built it to imprison me. Now it's our key."'
Coordinates glowed: Sector 7XG-NYX.
New Objective:
`INFILTRATE THE ECLIPSE VAULT
REQUIREMENTS: 1 LIVING PLAYER (TO BYPASS BIOMETRIC LOCKS)`
Selene's body pixelated in the rubble, her avatar fading. But her voice lingered in a glitched whisper:
'"Find… Linda…"'