Chapter 36 - The System Tried to Leave Me
The black jade fragment tore free from Eli’s hand.
Pain shot through his arm.
His phone screen shattered.
Elias’s voice broke into static.
“Eli—don’t—let—”
Lucas laughed, but the voice coming from him was not Lucas’s.
Too deep.
Too old.
[VOID ENTITY DETECTED]
[IDENTITY: UNKNOWN]
The two fragments moved closer.
Eli’s system began shutting down.
[SKILLS OFFLINE]
[STATUS OFFLINE]
[QUEST SYSTEM OFFLINE]
For the first time in weeks, Eli was alone in his own body.
No warnings.
No analysis.
No sarcastic text.
Lucas attacked.
Eli dodged anyway.
Barely.
Flow Step was gone from the interface.
But his feet remembered.
Borrowed Force had no notification.
His hands remembered.
The system had taught him.
It had not become him.
Eli smiled.
Lucas hesitated.
“What?”
“I thought I needed the app.”
He ducked the next strike.
“I don’t.”
Eli grabbed the ring boundary cable, swung around Lucas, and kicked the Void Seed embedded near his spine.
Lucas screamed.
The second fragment flickered.
Elias returned for half a second.
“Host autonomy confirmed.”
The screen flashed one final message.
[HIDDEN REQUIREMENT MET.]
[THE SYSTEM SERVES THE CULTIVATOR.]
[THE CULTIVATOR DOES NOT SERVE THE SYSTEM.]
The jade fragment reversed direction.
It slammed back into Eli’s palm.
Power exploded through him.
[QI GATHERING VI]
May you like
Then the arena floor split open.
