Chapter 64 – The Order I Shouldn’t Have Obeyed
The door was wrapped in chains.
Rusty.
Tight.
Still bleeding.
When I touched it, the chains slithered.
And when it opened—
The sound of boots filled the air.
Marching in sync.
Like bones grinding in rhythm.
---
> [Zone: M011 – STAINED CHAIN COMPOUND]
Objective: Eliminate rogue cult operatives attempting soul-breach
Status: Success (Redacted Casualties)
Logged: "Chain Protocol Enforced – Full Squad Execution Ordered"
Note: Suppressed System Alert – "Unnecessary Obedience Recorded"
---
I stood on scorched cement.
Surrounded by the ghosts of a facility that had once been our training blacksite.
Steel corridors.
Reinforcement gates.
And blood that never washed off.
The system had sent us to "cleanse a breach."
But the breach…
Had been a setup.
The cult was inside—but not active.
The threat was… contained.
But my superior—
Commander Rhaziel—
ordered full purge anyway.
Men. Women. Children.
All sealed in by our boots.
Burned in by our hands.
---
> [Echo Manifestation: RH-001 – "Commander Rhaziel"]
Rank: System Vanguard (Terminated)
Emotional Signature: Absolute Control
Conflict Class: Authority Rebound
Status: Active Fragment
---
He stepped out from the fog of memory.
Fully armored.
Helmet cracked but eyes glowing red.
And his voice—
Just like I remembered.
> "Kai Ravenhall. You executed my order. Did you come back to carry it out again?"
I didn't answer.
He walked closer.
> "You hesitated that day. But you obeyed. Loyalty, even in doubt—that's why the system chose you."
---
I clenched my fists.
He kept going.
> "Those we burned… weren't innocent. No one is. We remove future threats. That's the system's burden."
His words still echoed inside me.
I had repeated them once.
Believed them once.
Used them to sleep at night.
But now?
Now I saw the truth beneath the chain.
The fear he wore as righteousness.
The convenience he called justice.
---
I took a step forward.
And whispered:
"I obeyed because I was afraid to be wrong."
His eyes narrowed.
I spoke louder:
"You taught me to follow. But you never taught me to question. That's why I came back."
He unsheathed his weapon.
"Then kneel, Sinner."
I didn't.
Not this time.
---
> [CHOICE ENGAGED – Emotional Sync Required]
> Break Obedience: Face judgment from the one you obeyed
Revert: Accept chain again, erase deviation, maintain order
---
I drew my blade.
Pointed it at the one who once trained me.
"No more chains."
He lunged.
---
The fight was brutal.
He didn't bleed.
He burned.
Every strike came with the force of my past.
Commands barked.
Orders screamed.
Moments where my hands obeyed while my heart begged not to.
And in the middle of the fight, I saw their faces again—
The ones we purged.
The ones we sealed.
The children behind the doors I welded shut.
---
With one final strike, I drove my blade into his chest.
He didn't scream.
He saluted.
And said:
> "Finally, you disobeyed."
Then turned to ash.
---
> [Fragment 5 / 13 Resolved – "OBEDIENCE"]
Trait Gained: "Chainbreaker" – Kai can now sever control-based abilities from higher-ranked system entities or enemy manipulators
Soul Integrity: -2% (Remaining: 18%)
---
The doors to the compound blew open.
Sunlight—faint, distant—touched my boots.
And a chain dropped from my wrist.
One I hadn't noticed I was still wearing.
---
I stepped through.
Back into the circle.
Five doors now closed behind me.
Eight remained.
The next pulsed yellow.
TRUST.
---
> [Next Door Opening: 6 / 13 – "Trust"]
Zone: M022 – "The Mirror Pact"
Subject: Betrayal Between Allies
Emotional Signature: Fractured Trust / Loyalty vs Survival
Companion Fragment Detected – Unknown User