88CloudSpace

Gabriel Alvarez was born with nothing. A poor Hispanic-American kid struggling to survive the streets of New York, he died alone and starving—just another forgotten soul. But death wasn’t the end.

He awakens in Neo-Terra, a world where magic and technology have fused into a powerful System that governs society. Every person has a class, skills, and stats, their fate determined by the System’s rules. Yet Gabriel is different. Labeled Unawakened, he has no class, no abilities—until he discovers something forbidden.

He can hack the System.

What starts as a glitch quickly escalates into something much bigger. Gabriel isn’t the first to defy the System—there were others before him, people known as Deviants. Every single one of them was erased. Now, the Academy that once offered him sanctuary wants him dead. The Federation considers him a threat to world stability. And an ancient secret buried deep within the System is waiting for him to uncover it.

Armed with his unique ability to override the laws of reality, Gabriel is no longer a forgotten street rat—he’s a rogue element in a world that runs on rules.

And if the System wants him erased?

Then he’ll rewrite it.

Reborn in a World of Magic and Machines

Gabriel followed the young Red Hand rebels as they led him through a series of winding tunnels, deeper into their hidden network. The air grew thick with the scent of burnt metal and ozone, and soon, the passage opened into a vast underground workshop.

This wasn't just a workshop—it was a technological graveyard, reborn.

Salvaged Federation drones hovered near the ceiling, their core programming rewritten to obey new masters. Cybernetic limbs hung from workbenches, modified with glowing red circuitry that pulsed like living veins. Massive holo-screens displayed fragmented code—pieces of the System, stolen and corrupted into something unrecognizable.

The Red Hand didn't just evade the System.

Aurelia whistled. "Damn. You guys aren't just scavengers—you're engineers."

A young rebel, no older than twenty, smirked. He had a mechanical arm, its fingers lined with glowing runes that pulsed as he flexed them.

"We don't just steal tech," he said. "We break it apart and put it back together our way."

Gabriel approached one of the workstations, eyes scanning a half-disassembled Federation combat gauntlet. It had once been a standard-issue Federation weapon, designed to integrate directly into the System. But the Red Hand had stripped out the compliance protocols and rewritten its functionality from scratch.

"You're hacking the System on a level I've never seen before," Gabriel muttered. "How?"

The young rebel grinned. "We use what's called Phantom Code."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Phantom Code?"

Another rebel, a woman with a neural interface implanted in her temple, stepped forward. "It's what happens when you break a System construct so badly, it can't recognize itself anymore. The System relies on order, predictability. But if you corrupt a piece of its programming just right, it becomes invisible to it—like a ghost in the machine."

Gabriel's mind raced. This was beyond anything he'd ever imagined. The Federation relied on absolute control, but the Red Hand had found a way to exist outside its sight.

If he could understand Phantom Code, he could use it against the System itself.

A surge of hope flickered inside him. For the first time, he wasn't alone in this fight.

But before he could ask more, the Elder's voice boomed from the entrance.

The workshop fell silent as the older Red Hand warriors stepped inside. The Elder's cybernetic eye glowed ominously as he strode forward, stopping in front of Gabriel.

"You are an outsider. You wield powers that defy the System, yet you do not understand what it means to live beneath its heel." The Elder's gaze was cold. "If you wish to stand among us, you will prove your worth."

Gabriel clenched his fists. "And how do I do that?"

The Elder stepped aside, revealing a circular chamber behind him, its walls lined with old, rusted machinery and holographic projectors.

"You will enter the Trial of Shadows," the Elder declared. "If you survive, we will speak of alliances."

Gabriel swallowed hard. The younger rebels looked excited—while the older ones looked like they already expected him to fail.

Aurelia put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to do this."

Stepping forward, he entered the chamber.

Chapter 18: Hacked Steel and the Trial of Shadows