The floor beneath Kaelen Thorne's leather shoes did not just crack. It dissolved. One moment the marble of the executive office was a solid testament to his power and the next it was a grid of glowing white lines stretching into an infinite abyss. The bookshelves filled with ancient mana theories and the holographic terminals displaying global debt were flickering like a dying television screen.
Kaelen gripped the edge of his mahogany desk which was one of the few objects still holding its physical form. He looked out the shattered window and his heart went cold. The city of Seoul was gone. In its place was a vast featureless void of digital static where buildings and streets were being unmade into raw code. The sky was no longer violet or gold. It was a flat blinding white.
[NOTICE: REALITY DELETION IN PROGRESS]
[SECTOR: EARTH 01]
[PROGRESS: 65% COMPLETE]
[CURRENT ARCHITECT: KAELEN THORNE (ACTING)]
[CURRENT BUDGET: 0 MANA]
Lia Sinclair floated in the center of the room her violet void aura the only thing keeping her from being erased by the white light. Mr. Thorne she whispered her voice sounding thin and distorted. I can't feel the students anymore. The threads... they're snapping.
Kaelen didn't answer immediately. He was staring at the 0 mana notification. In any other situation being the Architect of a universe would be the ultimate power. But being the Architect of a world that was already in the middle of a 'Hard Delete' with no resources was like being the captain of a sinking ship that had already lost its engines and its hull.
Uriel Kaelen barked his voice cutting through the hum of the dissolving world. You are a divine being. You know the structural integrity of this server. Where is the Source Code?
The fallen archangel was slumped against the wall his eyes wide with a terror that only a god could feel. It's not a place Kaelen Uriel rasped. It is the Prime Meridian of Existence. It is the throne where the Architect sat to weave the laws of physics. But he's gone. He took the 'Root Access' with him. We are just data waiting to be overwritten.
There is no such thing as a total deletion Kaelen said his eyes glowing with a desperate predatory gold. In every bankruptcy there is a 'Residual Value'. Even if the company is liquidated the hardware remains.
Kaelen grabbed the silver vial Lia had used earlier and the black crystal shards of the Chronos Core. He slammed them together on the desk.
Silas Vesper appeared beside him his form nearly transparent. Master the Shadow Scholarship students are vanishing by the thousands. Every time a student is deleted the Ledger loses its collateral. We are losing our 'Social Capital'.
I'm aware Silas Kaelen said his fingers flying across a flickering holographic keyboard that he was forcing into existence through sheer willpower. If the Architect has left the server then the System is looking for a new 'Host'. It's trying to delete us because it thinks we are 'Cache Files' that are no longer needed.
Kaelen looked at the [ACTING ARCHITECT] status. He realized he had been given a title but no 'Permissions'. He was a king who couldn't even open his own front door.
Lia Kaelen said turning to the Void-girl. I need you to do the unthinkable. I need you to eat the Deletion.
Lia blinked her violet eyes. Eat... the white light?
The Deletion is a process of converting matter into information Kaelen explained his voice fast and clinical. Your void is a process of converting matter into nothingness. If you can intercept the deletion signal you can act as a 'Temporary Buffer'. You can hold the data of the world inside your stomach until I can find a way to pay the 'Server Maintenance Fee'.
Lia looked at the encroaching white void outside the window. She saw the mountain of the Academy starting to pixelate. She didn't hesitate. She stepped out into the empty air and opened her arms.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: VOID BUFFER (EXPERIMENTAL)]
[LIA SINCLAIR IS NOW ACTING AS THE PRIMARY DRIVE]
A massive black hole erupted from Lia's chest. It didn't pull in the furniture or the people. It pulled in the white light. The deletion process slowed down as the digital static was sucked into Lia's endless hunger. She let out a scream of pure agony as the weight of an entire reality began to crush her internal mana circuits.
Kaelen turned back to his screen. He had bought himself a few minutes.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
[MANA ACCOUNT: 0]
[SOUL EQUITY: 50,000,000]
I don't need mana Kaelen whispered to himself. I have Soul Equity.
He looked at the failed protagonists who had landed on the campus earlier. They were still there standing in the white void shielded by Lia's aura. These were heroes who had already lost their worlds. They were 'Broken Data' that the System didn't know how to categorize.
Kaelen initiated a 'Mass Revaluation'.
He didn't treat the ghosts as refugees anymore. He treated them as 'Unclaimed Dividends'.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SOVEREIGN REHABILITATION]
[EFFECT: CONVERTING THE FAILED HEROES INTO REALITY ANCHORS]
Every ghost on the lawn suddenly glowed with a dull grey light. They weren't becoming stronger but they were becoming 'Heavy'. Their presence began to stabilize the Academy mountain turning the pixels back into solid stone. By using the 'Weight' of their past failures Kaelen was anchoring the present to the floor of the universe.
The white light receded a few inches.
Uriel Kaelen said grabbing the archangel by his collar. I've stabilized the local sector. Now tell me how to get to the Architect's office. I know he didn't just vanish. He's in the 'Obsidian Vault' at the center of the Sun.
The Sun? Uriel stammered. That's the heart of the engine! No mortal can survive the heat of the Source Code!
I'm a Leased Asset Kaelen reminded him with a chilling smile. I have 'Owner's Protection'. The System cannot destroy me until the lease is officially terminated. And the Architect forgot to sign the final paperwork before he left.
Kaelen pulled out the [CROWN OF THE DEBTOR] he had absorbed from his alternate self. He placed it on his head and the barbed wire dug into his skin drawing the golden blood of a King.
Silas stay here and guard Lia Kaelen commanded. If her buffer hits one hundred percent the world explodes. Keep her vented.
Uriel we're going to the Sun Kaelen said.
Before Uriel could protest Kaelen tapped the Chronos Core shards. The space in the office folded and the two men were pulled into a vortex of raw data.
________________________________________
They appeared in a place that shouldn't exist. It was a vast chamber made of black glass inside the very core of the solar mana relay. All around them were massive pillars of light that represented the different timelines of the multiverse.
But most of the pillars were dark. Only a few were still flickering.
In the center of the room was a simple wooden desk exactly like the one Kaelen had in his office. And sitting behind it was a man who looked like an older tired version of Kaelen Thorne. This was the Original Architect.
He was packing a leather suitcase.
You're persistent Kaelen the Architect said not looking up. Most users just sit down and cry when the 'Error 404' message appears. But you... you actually found the server room.
You're leaving Kaelen said his voice cold as ice. You're performing a 'Pump and Dump' on the entire universe. You pumped up the value with the System and the Gods and now that the market is crashing you're taking the remaining capital and running to a new reality.
It's called 'Asset Protection' the Architect said finally looking up. His eyes were not obsidian or gold. They were a flat empty grey. This world is a lost cause Kaelen. The debt is too high. The entropy is irreversible. I'm simply moving the 'Core Code' to a new project.
I won't let you Kaelen said stepping forward. I am the Acting Architect. I am filing a 'Restraining Order' on all outgoing data.
The Architect laughed. With what budget Kaelen? You have 0 mana. You have no standing here.
Kaelen pulled out the Crowned King's Ledger.
I don't have mana Kaelen said. But I have the Liability of the Dead.
Kaelen threw the Ledger onto the Architect's desk. The book flew open and millions of black threads erupted from the pages wrapping themselves around the Architect's suitcase.
In my timeline I learned that you can't leave a company while there is still an outstanding audit Kaelen hissed. And I have just filed an 'Infinite Claim' on behalf of every soul you've ever deleted.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
[LITIGATION INITIATED: THE MULTIVERSE VS THE ARCHITECT]
[ASSET FREEZE: THE ARCHITECT IS UNABLE TO LEAVE THE SERVER]
The Architect's face twisted in rage. You... you would trap yourself in a dying world just to stop me?
I'm not trapped Kaelen said his white light heart-seal glowing with a blinding intensity. I'm the new Management.
But as Kaelen spoke the room began to shake. A massive red door appeared at the end of the chamber and it began to creak open.
From the other side a voice boomed that made even the Architect tremble.
Did someone say there was a bankruptcy? the voice asked. Because the Cosmic Liquidators are here to collect the physical remains.