Truth

Noah had always known that something about his system felt... off.

It had given him strength, speed, skills beyond normal human limits. But there were moments—glitches, strange messages, abilities unlocking at unpredictable times—that had made him question its origins.

And now, standing in the darkened alley behind the underground arena, staring at the twisted, impossible figure before him, he finally understood.

His system was never meant to be his.

And the thing known as the Collector?

It wasn't human.

---

A Meeting with the Impossible

Next day he went to the same area and tried to summon the person whom he met yesterday. The air felt wrong. Heavy. As if gravity itself had shifted. The neon lights of the alley flickered erratically, casting long, unnatural shadows.

Noah's instincts screamed at him to run, but his feet remained planted.

The Collector loomed before him, half in darkness, half in flickering light. It wasn't a person—not in any way Noah could comprehend.

Its body shimmered, shifting like a mirage, neither fully solid nor entirely incorporeal. Faces formed and dissolved in the swirling mass of its presence, eyes appearing only to vanish the next second.

And then, it spoke.

A voice layered upon itself, deep and ancient yet disturbingly familiar.

"You were never meant to have it."

Noah's pulse pounded in his ears.

He swallowed, keeping his stance firm. "What are you talking about?"

The Collector tilted its head, its form twisting unnaturally.

"The System. It was not meant for you. It was stolen."

A sharp chill ran down Noah's spine.

Stolen?

His fingers twitched. He had never questioned how he'd received the System. One day, it had simply appeared, granting him power, giving him a chance to fight back against Ryan Miller and the underground world.

But now…

Stolen.

The word settled like a stone in his gut.

"Who did I take it from?" he asked, voice hoarse.

The Collector's form convulsed, shifting between something human and something utterly alien.

"You took it from the one who was meant to change everything."

The words sent a shudder through Noah's very being.

Someone else was supposed to have this system. Someone who, according to the Collector, was meant to 'change everything.'

But instead, he had it.

And that meant—

That person had been left powerless.

Noah clenched his fists. "Why? How did it happen?"

The Collector let out a sound—a chuckle? A growl? It was impossible to tell.

"A mistake."

The word echoed unnaturally in the space between them.

Noah's breath came faster. "A mistake?"

"A simple error in the transfer. A miscalculation."

A glitch.

A cosmic error.

That was all it took for him to inherit a power that wasn't meant to be his.

The thought left a sick feeling in his stomach.

The Collector moved closer, its shifting presence sending waves of unnatural energy through the air.

Noah fought the urge to step back.

"And now, the rightful owner has begun to awaken."

Noah's blood ran cold.

The rightful owner.

Someone out there—someone who had been supposed to have this power—was still alive. And now, they were awakening.

What would happen when they found out the truth?

Would they want it back?

Would they come for him?

A system couldn't exist in two people.

Which meant only one thing.

If the true owner wanted their power back—

Noah would lose everything.

---

System Malfunction

A sudden, sharp pain shot through Noah's head.

He staggered, clutching his temple.

Then—

DING!

A system message blinked into his vision.

[Warning: System Instability Detected]

[Recalculating Host Synchronization...]

Noah gasped. The system's text was flickering, glitching.

His vision blurred, the world around him warping.

The Collector watched in silence as more messages flooded his mind.

[System Host: Noah Carter]

[Error—Invalid Host Detected]

[Attempting Correction...]

Pain exploded in his chest.

Noah dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth.

Something was changing inside him.

His stats—his skills—his very connection to the System—

It was all fluctuating.

As if something, somewhere, was trying to take it back.

DING!

[Host Override Blocked]

[Entity Interference Detected—Stabilization in Progress]

The pain stopped abruptly.

Noah gasped for air, his hands shaking.

The Collector let out a slow, distorted sigh.

"You are holding onto something that does not belong to you."

Noah pushed himself up, still breathing hard.

"I don't care," he said, voice steadier than he felt.

The Collector regarded him, its many shifting eyes watching.

Then, for the first time, it seemed amused.

"Very well."

Its form began to unravel, darkness spilling into the alley like ink.

Noah took a step forward. "Wait—"

But it was too late.

The Collector was gone.

And Noah was left standing there, his mind reeling.

He had stolen his power.

And the real owner—whoever they were—was waking up.

Noah exhaled, clenching his fists.

It didn't matter.

Rightful owner or not—

He wasn't giving up the System.

Not without a fight.

---