The Reassigned Protagonist

[System Action Initiated – Narrative Role Adjustment]Primary Anchor Caelum – Stability: CompromisedCandidate Evaluation in Progress…New Protagonist Required

It began with a whisper.

No voice. No interface.

Just a hum in the air, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

And then every student, faculty member, and forgotten soul in the Academy received the same prompt—displayed directly across their interface:

Protagonist Role AvailableQualifications: Adaptive, Narrative-Resilient, Potential for Growth

[Do you accept this role?]

One word blinked beneath the question:

YES ☐      NO ☐

Sylva was the first to see it.

The moment the prompt flashed across her eyes, her blade stopped mid-swing.

She stared at it—at that one glowing sentence—then shut it off.

"I'm no one's protagonist," she muttered, sweat dripping down her cheek. "Especially not theirs."

But deep down, the words stayed with her.

Not as an invitation.

As a challenge.

Tarn sat on the roof of the South Dormitory, eating a bland rice cake, legs dangling off the edge.

When the prompt came up, he smirked.

"Finally," he said.

He reached out…

Paused.

And then laughed bitterly.

"Too late, system. You had your chance."

He declined.

And the system noted his answer.

[Candidate Rejection Logged]

In a far-forgotten simulation chamber, where broken training programs looped endlessly, a lone girl stared at the blinking question.

She had no name.

Only a designation: Subject 141-B.

A failed prototype for the "Fated Hero" arc.

She hadn't spoken in years.

But when the system asked her if she wanted to be the protagonist…

She smiled for the first time.

And pressed YES.

In the System Core, chaos bloomed.

Dozens of answers streamed in.

Too early. Too proud. Too broken. Too dangerous.

The system processed thousands of profiles in milliseconds, filtering, analyzing, rejecting.

Until finally…

[Candidate Shortlist Finalized]1. Subject 141-B – Compatibility: 87%2. Sylva Varin – Compatibility: 83%3. Kieran Dax – Compatibility: 76%4. L-07 – Compatibility: ???5. Vyrien – Compatibility: System Conflict6. Caelum – Status: Legacy Anchor (Pending Reclassification)

Elsewhere, Vyrien laughed.

The kind of laugh that makes the world feel thin.

"The system's choosing favorites now," he mused, watching the data cascade like falling rain.

Kieran stood beside him, arms crossed. "And you're not upset?"

"I'm amused. What's more tragic than a story choosing a protagonist when none of us want the crown?"

"You wanted it once."

"No," he said calmly. "I wanted to tear it off the original one."

The Glitch Knight stood silently as his interface flashed the message.

He didn't respond.

Because he wasn't registered.

Not anymore.

But the system noticed him anyway.

[Warning – Untracked Entity Exhibiting Narrative Magnetism]Recommendation: Observation Only

Meanwhile, Caelum stood in the central archive, surrounded by a rotating cyclone of memories—his own past drafts spinning like stars around him.

Every rejection.

Every rewritten chapter.

Every time he tried to write a better world…

…and failed.

He had not received the prompt.

Because he already was the protagonist.

Or rather, had been.

Until the story itself lost faith in him.

And now?

He was just a name. A shadow.

A thread too tangled to follow.

The System made its decision.

[Protagonist Designation Assigned]Subject: 141-BRole: Emerging Heroine (Version 0.1)Narrative Priority ShiftedAll Characters Now Orbit New Central Thread

But in the same moment, something rebelled.

A line of corrupted code in the core.

A voice uninvited.

"You don't choose heroes."

It was L-07.

No connection to the System.

No role.

But his very presence distorted the logic.

He appeared behind Subject 141-B as she stood in her dorm room, unaware of the system's announcement echoing across the Academy.

He stared down at her quietly.

And said, for the first time in years:

"You will be hunted now. Are you prepared?"

She looked at him.

Eyes clear.

"Wasn't I always?"

In the shadows, Caelum watched the world tilt again—subtly but decisively.

The System's attention was drifting.

He wasn't the focal point anymore.

But that… gave him freedom.

He smirked slightly.

"Good," he whispered. "Let them forget me."

[System Announcement – Effective Immediately]Primary Narrative Thread: 'The Rise of Subject 141-B'Previous Anchor Caelum: Role Relegated to Legacy NPCVyrien: Rejected Narrative Status MaintainedL-07: Null Presence Observed – No Action TakenSylva: Antagonist Thread Potential DetectedTarn: Narrative-AdjacentKieran: Watchlist Candidate

And just like that…The story changed.

But stories don't forget.

They wait.

They watch.

And sometimes, the ones pushed to the background…

…are the ones who write the final chapter.