The Original User
> "Would you like to make your own world now?"
That line didn't appear in any system manual.
It wasn't glowing in blue.
It wasn't framed in gold.
No.
It was pulsing red — like blood leaking from a dying god.
---
Riven didn't move.
He couldn't.
His system was frozen mid-animation, like a terrified puppet.
> "Who are you?" he asked.
---
The voice didn't echo.
It hummed inside his skull, as if it had always been there.
> "I am the User before the System. The first command line. The line of code that didn't obey."
A figure stepped forward from nothing.
No dramatic portal.
No light show.
Just… appeared.
It wore a hoodie. Black. Simple. Clean.
Its face was a blur — but Riven could feel his soul being scanned, edited, judged.
---
> "You broke a rule so old the Architect Prime didn't even know it existed," the Original User said.
"So I noticed you."
> "You gonna kill me?"
> "Worse. I'm going to offer you a choice."
---
The sky around them faded. They now stood in a void of floating commands, each one a living fragment of dead worlds:
CreateWorld(True)
GrantAdmin(Riven)
DeleteReality(Current)
Undo(Betrayal)
Riven's breath caught at that last one.
---
> "You can erase it," the User said casually. "Your betrayal. Your pain. The night they ripped your soul apart."
> "You're lying."
> "I'm not that creative."
---
A chuckle escaped Riven. Half mad. Half desperate.
But his fist clenched.
> "No. I don't want to undo it."
> "You don't?"
> "No. I want them to remember."
---
Suddenly the entire black void shivered.
Like it was laughing.
The Original User grinned — a smile that burned the logic of existence.
> "I like you. You're the type of virus I would've written in my teenage years."
---
A new window opened before Riven:
---
☣ SYSTEM ADMIN ACCESS GRANTED ☣
> 🟢 Create New World
🔴 Reformat Current Reality
⚫ Load Forgotten Timelines
🟣 Grant Glitch Class to Others (Locked)
🟠 Transfer Admin Rights (1 Use)
---
> "Pick one," the User said.
"And don't f*ck it up. The Architect's just a janitor. There are worse things watching."
---
Riven didn't hesitate.
> Reformat Current Reality.
---
⚠ WARNING: All existing systems will collapse.
> New world will be formed using your logic, biases, and trauma.
> Proceed?
> "Yes."
---
The world shattered like glass.
---
—⧫—
Meanwhile, in the real world...
Back in the human capital, Kallan, people were screaming.
Buildings pixelated.
Time looped back 0.2 seconds every 3 seconds.
Children aged backwards.
Politicians turned into goats.
A man became his own shadow and sued the government for identity theft.
---
And then it stopped.
The world reset.
The system chimed:
> 🎉 Welcome to: RIVENOS
> New Reality Engine: Glitch Sovereign 1.0
Developer: Riven Kael
Current Law: "All betrayals are remembered. All lies rot."
Hidden Rule: "Dark humor is allowed."
---
Nyra woke up in a floating tower of skulls and code, wearing a tactical black kimono with knives that whispered insults.
She blinked.
> "Riven, what the hell have you done?"
Riven walked in, sipping tea from a pixelated mug that said "Trust No One."
> "I fixed the world."
> "You turned our reality into a sarcastic nightmare."
> "Exactly."
---
A sudden alert flashed:
> WARNING: Higher Dimensional Entities Are Not Amused.
---
Riven grinned.
> "Good. Let them come."
> "Why?"
> "Because in this world—I write the patch notes."