Chapter 61: The Unbound Canvas
The void vibrated heavily. The giant inverted pyramid crystal in the center of the room was no longer pure blue and gold. Sickly purple veins pulsed violently through its core. The corrupted logic loop Kanos had just injected was spreading like a highly aggressive cancer.
Kanos lay on his side on the invisible floor. He coughed up another mouthful of dark blood. His vision was swimming in a sea of black dots. The glowing golden system panel flashed frantically right in front of his eyes. The number one was blinking in his health bar. A single point of life keeping his soul tied to his broken physical body.
The Architect’s glowing projection flickered like a broken television screen. Its perfect, majestic face was now heavily distorted with lines of corrupted red and purple code. The absolute god of the Yomalvara system was currently choking on its own inability to calculate a solution.
"Terms accepted," the Architect’s voice buzzed with harsh, metallic static. "Quarantine Protocol aborted. Hostility parameters regarding the Anomaly are permanently disabled."
Sili let out a massive, ugly sob from the corner of the room. The skinny broker buried his face in his hands, completely overwhelmed by the fact that they were not going to be deleted today.
High above them, extending far beyond the invisible ceiling of the eighth floor, a terrifying screeching sound echoed across the entire underground city. The descending red barrier of the Quarantine Protocol suddenly shattered. It broke apart into millions of harmless white pixels, falling gently over the slums of Marrath like a quiet winter snow. The absolute execution order was officially canceled.
Kanos did not smile. He did not have the energy left to move his facial muscles. He just kept his heavy eyes locked entirely on the glitching projection of the Architect.
"Patching Anomaly status," the Architect continued mechanically. "Generating Unbound privileges. Commencing fatal damage restoration."
A warm, blindingly bright golden light suddenly rained down from the void above. The light engulfed Kanos completely. It felt like stepping into a hot bath after freezing in the snow for weeks. The agonizing pain in his ribs vanished instantly. His punctured lungs expanded fully, pulling in huge amounts of clean air. The heavy bruises on his face faded away in seconds. His health bar rapidly shot up from one to eight hundred.
But the golden light suddenly flickered and recoiled the moment it touched his right arm.
Kanos gasped loudly. He forced himself up into a sitting position. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand. The healing magic of the system was actively being rejected by the thick void stone shards deeply embedded in his palm. The anti magic properties of the void stone fought violently against the system’s holy restoration code.
The resulting chemical reaction was terrifying. The pure white light and the dark purple void energy crashed into each other, violently melting the skin and muscle of Kanos’s right hand.
Belida rushed forward. The giant knight dropped his sword and dropped to his knees next to Kanos. "Illustrator! Hold on! Do not pass out now!"
Kanos gritted his teeth so hard he almost cracked his jaw. He refused to scream. He watched in morbid fascination as the void stone completely liquefied, merging directly with his own blood and bone marrow. The intense pain only lasted for ten agonizing seconds. Then, a sudden, absolute coldness washed over his entire arm from the elbow down.
The golden light finally faded away. The void returned to its dim, ambient glow.
Kanos sat in total silence. He slowly lifted his right arm. The bandages were completely burned away. His hand was no longer human. From just below his elbow to the very tips of his fingers, his flesh had been permanently replaced by a smooth, pitch black material. It looked exactly like living obsidian. His fingers ended in sharp, elegant points. Faint purple veins pulsed softly beneath the black surface, matching the exact rhythm of his heartbeat.
He slowly curled his new fingers inward, forming a fist. The joints moved flawlessly. There was no stiffness. There was no pain. It felt incredibly heavy, but completely natural. He had permanently lost his human arm, but he had just gained an ultimate, unbreakable drawing tool built directly into his body.
"You look like a demon lord now," Papuyu commented quietly. She walked over, wiping a thin trail of dried blood from her own chin. The system had healed her internal bleeding as well.
"It fits the job description," Kanos answered flatly. He pushed himself up to his feet. He did not stumble. His balance was perfect. He looked at his new black hand one more time, feeling the raw, terrifying void energy humming quietly inside his own veins.
The Architect’s projection slowly stabilized. The purple corruption veins inside the giant pyramid crystal receded, completely quarantined into a safe, isolated sector of the core. Kanos had kept his end of the bargain. He stopped the virus from completely deleting the server.
"The physical cost of your override has been applied," the Architect spoke, its voice returning to a smooth, emotionless echo. "You are now registered as an Unbound Entity. The system will no longer generate quests, restrictions, or level caps for you. You exist outside the natural order."
A massive circle of glowing blue light suddenly materialized on the invisible floor exactly ten meters to their right. The light expanded rapidly, forming a massive, elegant glass cylinder that shot straight up into the endless darkness above. It was a primary transport elevator.
"The gateway to the Zenith is open," the Architect announced. "The highest point of the upper city. The seat of the Sensor Bureau. You may ascend."
Kanos did not say thank you. He simply turned his back on the glowing golden figure. He snapped the fingers of his new black hand. The sound was sharp, like two heavy rocks colliding.
The remaining eighty Null Hounds immediately stood up from the floor. They shook their dark violet smoke bodies and walked obediently behind Kanos. Belida picked up his greatsword, resting it heavily on his broad shoulder. A wide, excited grin was plastered across the giant knight’s scarred face.
Sili hurriedly grabbed his leather bag, hugging it tightly against his chest. He practically sprinted to catch up with the group, his cracked glasses slipping down his sweaty nose.
They all stepped into the glowing blue glass elevator. The space inside was massive, easily fitting all four of them and the entire pack of shadow beasts without feeling cramped at all. Kanos stood at the very front, facing the glass doors as they smoothly slid shut.
"Next floor," Kanos said quietly. "The surface."
The elevator shot upward with terrifying speed. The endless void of data streams quickly blurred into a tunnel of blinding blue light. The intense pressure pressed them firmly against the floor. Kanos did not blink. He kept his eyes fixed upward, ready to finally see the sun after weeks of fighting in the dark.
