Chapter 42: The Kill Switch I Never Set

The ruins of Arkveil should've been silent.

But tonight, they whispered.

Wind through cracked windows. Stone shifting beneath cursed sigils. Voices in languages the System had forgotten how to track.

Kai stood on the rooftop of the cathedral, staring into the empty city like it was a battlefield only he could see.

Because it was.

And his next fight wasn't with a sword.

It was with his code.

Earlier that day, Liora had handed him a device.

It looked like a black crystal prism—System-made but modified. "From my timeline," she'd said. "Never meant to exist in yours."

Kai activated it.

The display flickered.

And then:

[Welcome, Kai Veyron]

Access Level: Declassified

Hidden Status: Unlocked

[FLAGGED COMMANDS DETECTED]

"KILL SWITCH – Code: [ASHFALL]"

"AUTHOR'S HAND – Observer Present"

"REWRITE INITIATED – Countdown: 6 Chapters Remaining"

Kai's heart sank.