Chapter 1: Initialization Day
The air in the Initiation Chamber hummed with sterile energy, the kind that clung to the back of Kael Drayven's throat like the taste of metal. Around him, seventeen-year-olds stood in nervous clusters, their whispers bouncing off the smooth, white walls. Some gripped their wrists, where the System's interface would soon awaken. Others prayed to gods they didn't believe in.
Kael didn't pray. He clenched his fists and watched the Overseer—a tall, pale figure draped in the System's silver robes—call the next name.
"Kael Drayven."
A hush fell over the chamber. Kael exhaled and stepped forward.
The Overseer's hollow eyes scanned him. "You are late."
Kael kept his voice steady. "Initialization was delayed."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Delayed awakenings were rare. Most came at sixteen, right on schedule. But Kael? Seventeen. A defect before he even began.
The Overseer gestured to the pedestal at the center of the room. "Place your hand on the terminal."
Kael obeyed. The moment his palm touched the cold surface, the world dissolved into light.
The System Awakens
Lines of glowing text scrolled across his vision:
[INITIALIZING USER PROFILE…]
[SCANNING POTENTIAL…]
[CLASS ASSIGNMENT IN PROGRESS…]
Then
A glitch
The screen fractured. The light stuttered like a dying pulse. For a single, terrifying second, Kael thought he'd broken something.
Then the words appeared.
[CLASS: FRAGMENTED ONE]
[RARITY: ERROR]
[SKILLS: NONE]
Silence.
Then laughter.
"A *Fragmented One*?" someone sneered. "That's not even a real class!"
Kael's stomach dropped. He'd heard whispers of Fragmented Ones—failures, anomalies. People the System couldn't categorize. People who disappeared.
The Overseer's voice cut through the noise. "Initialization complete. You may leave."
No congratulations. No guidance. Just dismissal.
Kael stepped down, his face burning under the weight of their stares.
The Walk Home
Nexus-7's slums were a maze of rust and flickering neon, where the System's light didn't quite reach. Kael moved through the streets like a ghost, his new status already weighing him down.
"Hey, Kael!"
Jax, his only friend since the orphanage, jogged up beside him. His grin faltered when he saw Kael's face.
"That bad, huh?"
Kael didn't answer. He pulled up his System screen and let Jax see the truth.
[FRAGMENTED ONE]
[STR: 3 | AGI: 4 | INT: 5 | VIT: 2]
Jax whistled. "Damn. Even my [Scavenger] class came with a lockpick skill."
Kael shut the screen off. "I'm screwed."
"Nah." Jax punched his shoulder. "Maybe it's a hidden OP class. Like, you're so broken the System can't even quantify it."
Kael wanted to believe him.
He didn't.
That night, in the cramped attic he called home, Kael stared at his stats until his vision blurred.
[FRAGMENTED ONE]
[SKILLS: NONE]
Pathetic.
He was about to shut it off when—
The screen flickered.
A line of red text flashed at the bottom:
[ERROR DETECTED. DEBUG MODE UNLOCKED? (Yes/No)]
Kael's breath caught.
He selected **YES**.
The screen shattered into lines of code.
His stats weren't just numbers anymore—they were editable text.
`STR: 3 → [EDIT]`
Heart pounding, Kael changed it to **8**.
Pain lanced through his muscles. His bones creaked. He gasped—and then it was over.
He flexed his hand. Stronger.
A drop of blood fell from his nose.
[WARNING: SYSTEM CORRUPTION DETECTED.]
Kael wiped his nose and grinned.
He didn't have to wait long to test it.
Rork and his gang found him near the scrap yards.
"Look," Rork sneered, cracking his knuckles. His [Berserker] class glowed above his head. "The Fragmented One."
Kael didn't run.
When Rork lunged, Kael edited his AGI mid-swing, jerking sideways just in time.
Rork stumbled. "What the—?"
Kael's fist connected with his jaw.
The gang scattered.
Kael stood over Rork, his breath ragged, his nose bleeding black.
He'd won.
As Kael stumbled away, a figure peeled from the shadows.
A girl, hooded, her eyes sharp with something like recognition.
"You're playing with fire, kid," she said.
Kael tensed. "Who are you?"
She smiled.
"Lyra. And you?" She nodded to his bleeding nose. "You're something the System *really* doesn't like."
Then she was gone.
Kael looked down at his hands.
**He wasn't broken.**
**He was dangerous.**