fractured trust

Rose Everhart — POV

There's something about silence in a world that shouldn't be silent. It's the kind that hums just beneath your skin, like it's waiting to strike.

We were standing before what we now called the Obsidian Gate. No one knew who named it first. It just felt right — ancient, alien, and foreboding. The air around it shimmered like heat waves, even though it was cold enough to sting our cheeks. The obsidian tower loomed ahead, blue veins of light crawling over its surface, throbbing like a slow heartbeat.

I reached up and brushed a strand of red hair behind my ear, my eyes never leaving the runes inscribed across the gate. My Crimson Thread was thrumming. Something big was coming.

> [SYSTEM WINDOW – Rose Everhart] Ability: Crimson Thread Status: Destiny Tension: HIGH Fate Anchor: Unstable | Rewind: 1 Use Remaining

Threads flickered faintly around my fingertips, barely visible strands pulsing with potential. I hadn't seen them react like this before. It wasn't just danger. It was fate preparing to shatter.

Jack walked up beside me, brushing dirt from his jeans. "You're staring at it like it's going to talk back."

"Maybe it will," I said, voice quieter than I expected.

He chuckled. "With the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised. I still haven't gotten used to this UI floating in front of my face like a JRPG."

"Don't call it that," I muttered, "This isn't a game."

He raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Because if it is... I want a stat reset. My ability sucks against stone."

I smiled despite everything. Jack had that way of cracking light into even the darkest moment.

Behind us, Ayaka was scanning the field with narrowed eyes. "The others are forming up. Something's changed in the atmosphere."

"It's Jerry," I said.

Jack blinked. "What?"

I pointed. "He hasn't said a word since we got here. But look at him. He knows something."

We watched Jerry slowly approach the gate. His figure looked tiny against the obsidian mass, but his presence... it filled the space.

"I don't trust him," I whispered.

"No one does. But you especially."

"I've seen threads around him — and they twist. They don't follow rules."

Jack looked at me, serious now. "You think he's the cause of all this?"

I didn't answer right away. My Crimson Thread flickered — almost cutting itself.

"I think... he's not just a player in this world."

Then Jerry touched the gate.

The sky turned red.

> [SYSTEM INTERRUPTION] ERROR: UNDEFINED DATA

The ground shook, our windows glitching with static. Everyone's names scrambled — everyone but his.

He turned slowly, that faint, unreadable smile on his face.

"I've been thinking," Jerry said calmly, his voice amplified by the air itself. "This world… it's a new start. But every story needs tension. Drama. Conflict."

He paused, eyes scanning us. "You all got powers, abilities, dreams. But what if I told you this wasn't about fighting me?"

We looked at one another in confusion.

"It's about fighting beside me — or against me. That choice... it's yours."

Jack stepped forward. "You're saying you want to work with us now?"

Jerry tilted his head. "No. I'm saying I'm beyond sides. I'll reshape this world with or without you."

He stepped through the gate.

And it began to close behind him

And he said "I'm the true villain a story needs"

And then I get a system notification and I looked up at it and and it said [warning you faced a unranked or unknown enemy summoning heros from different realitys and universe's]