The light was blinding. After what felt like an eternity of darkness and floating silence, this new sensation—color, noise, life—slammed into me like a train.
"Ugh… my head."
My voice sounded different. Not deeper or higher—just... not me. My hands shot to my face. Smaller, leaner. My skin was paler than I remembered, and my fingers moved with a grace I didn't recognize.
"Okay... this is weird."
I sat up—or tried to. My body felt like jelly. Disoriented, I looked around. A pale blue sky stretched above me, but it wasn't Earth's sky. It shimmered faintly, almost like static. The trees were massive, with violet-glowing leaves. The grass beneath me pulsed gently, like it was breathing.
"What… in the alien anime world is this?"
Then came the voice.
[SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETE]
Welcome, Alex. You have been granted access to the CHAOS System.
Initializing baseline stats...
Scanning vessel...
Vessel? I looked down again. My body was that of a teenager—maybe seventeen. White hair like a snowstorm, mismatched eyes: one silver, the other glowing blue. I looked like someone who'd fallen out of a sci-fi novel.
[Class: NULL]
[Skill slots: Locked]
[Main Mission: Undetermined]
[Side Quest: Survive your first 72 hours]
Reward: System stabilization & class selection.
Failure: Permanent death.
"Well… that's comforting."
Before I could fully grasp the absurdity of it all, I heard it—a low growl behind me. Rustling from the glowing underbrush.
A beast stepped into view.
It looked like a wolf, but there was something wrong with it. Its form glitched faintly, like an unstable program. Its eyes were disturbingly human, and its claws shimmered like sharpened chrome.
[Hostile Detected: Dusk Howler – Level 3]
Advice: Run. You have no active combat skills.
I didn't need to be told twice.
I ran—my legs shaky, lungs burning. Branches scratched at me as I stumbled through the woods. The system kept pinging updates—stamina dropping, pulse spiking, neurological stress peaking.
"I'm gonna die. Again."
Just as the Dusk Howler lunged at me, fangs gleaming—
Time stopped.
A figure appeared mid-air between me and death.
A girl—half made of light, half of starlit void. Her hair shimmered like a galaxy. She raised one hand, and the Dusk Howler shattered into glowing code particles.
"What… the hell?" I gasped.
"You weren't supposed to die yet," she said, brushing her hair back. "Honestly, you fresh souls are always so dramatic."
She landed softly beside me, offering no hand, just judgmental eyes. "Name's Lux. System Agent. I'm here because your existence flagged a red alert. No class. No sync. CHAOS Core reacting like a glitch. You're basically a walking system bug."
I blinked. "Cool. So I'm what? A virus?"
She shrugged. "More like a wildcard. That can be dangerous—or useful."
Lux reached into the air, and a shimmering interface appeared. Panels of code and glowing runes shifted like puzzle pieces.
"You've got 72 hours before your soul either stabilizes or fades. The CHAOS System needs a compatible class to anchor you."
"And if I don't get one?"
"You dissolve. Painfully."
Perfect.
She waved a hand and summoned a glowing bracelet. "Limiter. Keeps your system output from corrupting everything around you."
I snapped it onto my wrist. It pulsed softly.
[Limiter Equipped: CHAOS Flux Suppressed by 82%]
"Follow me," she said, turning toward a clearing. "There's something you need to see."
We arrived at what looked like a stone ruin. A circular platform covered in glowing glyphs rested in the center. It pulsed with the same eerie light as my bracelet.
"That," she said, pointing, "is a Sync Stone. Step inside. If it accepts you, you get a class. If not—well, you've died before."
"Yeah. Still not fun."
I stepped in. The stone lit up beneath me. Symbols rose into the air, spinning faster, syncing to my heartbeat.
[Class Synchronization in progress…]
[Error: Undefined Soul Structure]
[Alternate Path Located… Initiating CHAOS Protocol]
The air pulsed. The sky shimmered. For a second, I felt like I was made of everything—and nothing.
Then:
[Class Path Acquired: WILDCODE]
Type: Adaptive anomaly / chaos-reactive class
Traits: Rule distortion. Environmental override. Critical evolution potential.
Skill Unlocked: CODE BREAK – Temporarily overrides enemy abilities or system logic.
I staggered as the light faded. My body glowed briefly with fractal-like tattoos that vanished just as quickly.
Lux let out a low whistle. "Wildcode. That's... new. Even for the system."
"Lucky me."
She turned to the forest. The trees had changed—darker, more twisted. The wind was heavier now.
"You've made noise," she said. "The system's eyes are on you now. And others will notice too."
"Others?"
Lux didn't answer. Instead, she opened a portal with a flick of her fingers—circular and pulsing with digital light.
"This world—Eoferra—isn't kind. It's a planet layered with artificial physics, fractured
Perfect! Let's wrap up Chapter 2 with a strong, atmospheric ending that hints at deeper mysteries, internal conflict, and what's to come.
Lux began walking away from the ruined Sync Stone, not even turning to check if I was following. I stared at my glowing wristband and the shifting code now hovering faintly in my vision. This wasn't just some dream or system glitch. This was real. The air, the danger, the power—I could feel it in my bones.
"Hey," I called after her. "You said the system has plans. What kind of plans?"
She didn't stop walking. "That's the thing, Alex. With the CHAOS Core, even the system doesn't know. You're a variable now."
I caught up to her. "And that's... good?"
"Depends who finds out first."
That hung in the air longer than it should have. I looked around at the strange trees, the glowing moss, the distant outline of jagged mountains on the horizon. This world wasn't just alien—it was watching.
[Side Quest Activated: Survive First Contact]
Time Remaining: 71:28:44
Suddenly, a sharp, mechanical shriek pierced the sky above. We both looked up—black shapes with metallic wings circled in the distance. They weren't birds. And they weren't alone.
Lux cursed under her breath. "Looks like your arrival stirred up the wrong kind of attention. That's not supposed to happen yet."
"Wait, what's not supposed to happen?"
"Your first fight."
She snapped her fingers, and a glowing blade of raw light appeared in her hand. She tossed me a small cube.
"What do I do with this?!"
"Throw it and run. I'll buy you ten minutes. After that, you're on your own."
"Wait, Lux—"
But she was already gone, vanishing in a ripple of static light.
I stood there, alone again, in a world I didn't understand, armed with a glitching system and no clue what came next.
But one thing was clear.
This wasn't just survival anymore.
This was the beginning of the deal.
And the countdown had already started