Jonny lay sprawled across his couch, still trying to make sense of it all. His stats, his rising fa, Adam's looming challenge-it was all too much. And yet, the strangest thing wasn't the absurdity of his new life. It was his system, Lustina.
Sothing about her felt. off.
"Hey, Lustina," Jonny said, staring at the ceiling. "I've been aning to ask you sothing."
Lustina had appeared before him, the red dress as blindingly bright as ever. "Oh? You finally have questions?"
"More like concerns," Jonny said, sitting up. "Why do I feel like you're keeping things from ?"
Lustina didn't break her smile. "Now why would I do that?"
Jonny narrowed his eyes. "That's exactly what soone hiding sothing would say."
Lustina chuckled low in her throat, twirling a strand of black hair. "Jonny, you're new to this world. I tell you what you need to know when you need to know it. Anything more would overwhelm you."
Jonny wasn't convinced, but before he could press the matter, his system interface flickered.
[WARNING: SYSTEM ERROR]
The words blinked bright red across his vision.
"What the hell?" Jonny muttered, rubbing his eyes. The ssage fluttered once and then disappeared.
Lustina's face was composed, but there was sothing in her eyes-sothing he hadn't seen before. A flicker of concern.
"That was nothing," she said smoothly. "Just a minor system recalibration."
"That didn't look minor," Jonny said. "That looked like a damn warning."
Lustina sighed, crossing her arms. "Jonny, trust , if there were anything truly wrong, I would tell you."
Jonny wasn't sure he believed her.
Then, it happened again.
[INTRUSION DETECTED]
[ERROR. ERROR.]
[USER COMPROMISED]
Jonny sprang to his feet. "Okay, that's definitely not normal!"
Lustina's avatar flickered for the briefest second before firming up again.
Jonny saw it.
For one heartbeat, her flawless red dress ruffled, blurring into sothing darker—sothing more malevolent.
"You saw that, didn't you?" he whispered.
Lustina's smile was back, but this ti, it was strained. "Jonny, sweetheart, you are imagining things."
Jonny pulled away. "No. No, I'm not."
[PHANTOM DETECTED]
[WARNING: SYSTEM OVERRIDE ATTEMPT]
His interface buzzed wildly, the painful buzzing piercing his head. He clutched at his temples, grinding his teeth.
"What in the na of all that's holy is happening?!"
Lustina's form flickered once more, her voice now chill. "You have to calm down, Jonny."
"Calm down? My system's going ape! What are you not telling ?"
There was no response.
Then, another ssage flashed before his eyes.
[SYSTEM LOCKED]
And just like that, Lustina was gone.
Jonny's breathing turned shallow as the room fell silent.
His heart went thudding loudly.
Since he had gotten the system, he had never felt alone because Lustina would always be in his head, talking to him, guiding him.
But now?
Nothing.
"Lustina?" he hailed, very tentative.
No response.
A chill went down his spine.
And for the first ti in his life, he realized just how much he had depended upon her, just how much she had controlled all his decisions.
Had he ever been in control, really?
Monts dragged. His mind grappled with the concept: if his system was compromised. what did that say about him?
As suddenly as she had disappeared, Lustina materialized.
Jonny stumbled back.
The mischievous grin was gone. In its place, she almost looked. tired.
"I had to shut down for a second," she admitted. "Sothing tried breaking into your system."
Jonny's fists clenched. "Sothing? Or soone?"
Lustina hesitated.
Jonny's stomach twisted. "I knew it. You're hiding sothing."
"It's complicated," she said carefully. "There are things about this world you're not ready to understand yet."
Jonny shook his head. "No. No more of that. Either you tell everything, or I find my own answers."
Lustina sighed. "Fine. But you won't like it."
Jonny crossed his arms. "Try ."
She flicked her wrist, and a new screen flickered into view.
[SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION: EXPERINTAL]
[UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS DETECTED]
[STATUS: UNSTABLE]
Jonny stared at the words, his mind whirling.
"Experintal?" he repeated. "What's that supposed to an?"
"It ans," Lustina said delicately, "you're different. Your system isn't like the others. It wasn't supposed to exist."
Jonny's heart was racing. "So what, I'm so kind of accident?"
"No," Lustina said. "You're an anomaly. And that makes you valuable. and dangerous."
Jonny's hands shook.
He had thought he was just another player in this world, another rising star of the industry.
But now?
Now he had no idea what he was at all.
"You have a choice, Jonny," Lustina said. "You can go on as you are, just pretend you never saw these warnings, or you can start investigating. But let warn you, once you go that route, then there is no turning back."
Jonny swallowed hard.
A part of him wanted to be an ostrich-play dumb, ignore the warnings, keep playing the ga.
But deep inside, he knew that wasn't an option anymore.
Sothing was not right.
And he would find out what.
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