The call came less than forty-eight hours later.
No warning window.
No preparation time.
The system activated first.
[EMERGENCY DIRECTIVE — LEVEL TWO]
[Event Type: Gate Manifestation Industrial Zone]
[Priority: Event Resolution]
Aiden was already on his feet when Hana entered containment.
"They didn't even wait," she said tightly.
Aiden nodded. "They never do."
The industrial district was still active when they arrived.
Factories hummed. Trucks moved through checkpoints. Workers gathered in confused clusters as evacuation orders blared too late to matter.
The gate was forming inside a processing plant.
Not unstable.
Anchored.
Aiden felt it immediately.
"This one won't collapse," he said quietly. "It's feeding."
Lucas frowned. "Feeding on what?"
Aiden looked at the workers still inside.
"People."
The system pulsed.
[Assessment: Accurate.]
Inside the plant, space twisted violently around massive machinery. The gate hovered above the floor like a rotating wound, disgorging creatures shaped from molten metal and fractured geometry.
The unit engaged instantly.
Mei-Lin carved through emerging entities with brutal efficiency.
Jaxon's barriers struggled under relentless pressure.
Amara scouted desperately, calling out trapped civilians.
"Aiden!" Lucas shouted. "We're losing ground!"
He could feel the system tightening already.
[Directive Active.]
[Civilian Delay Threshold: 12 seconds.]
Aiden's breath caught.
Twelve seconds.
That was all the system would allow before overriding him.
"There are still people inside!" Amara's voice cracked over comms. "At least six maybe more!"
Aiden stepped forward.
The Fragment surged eagerly.
He could end this.
One push.
One decisive act.
But,
"Get them out," he said. "I'll hold it."
The system flared red.
[Warning: Inefficient Action Detected.]
Pain stabbed through his chest as containment tightened.
He forced himself to stand firm.
The gate reacted violently to his presence, pulling harder, faster. The factory walls screamed as reality warped.
[Output: 0.09%]
Blood filled Aiden's mouth.
"Move!" he shouted.
Amara ran.
Jaxon reinforced the exit corridor, barriers cracking under strain.
Mei-Lin swore, fighting to keep entities from overwhelming them.
The system counted down silently.
[Override in: 3…]
Aiden screamed not in pain, but defiance and pushed harder.
[Output Spike — 0.11%]
The world bent.
The gate shrieked.
For a heartbeat, everything froze.
Then the system struck back.
[OVERRIDE EXECUTED.]
Agony unlike anything before tore through Aiden's body. His vision went white as the Fragment was forcibly compressed, redirected not suppressed, but guided.
The gate collapsed inward violently.
The factory imploded.
Silence followed.
When Aiden regained awareness, he was lying in the rubble outside the plant, body shaking uncontrollably.
The system flooded his vision.
[Event Resolved.]
[Civilian Casualties: 3.]
[Outcome: Optimized.]
Aiden stared at the words.
Three.
Amara knelt nearby, hands shaking, face pale.
"I…." Her voice broke. "I couldn't reach them in time."
Aiden closed his eyes.
The system spoke again.
[Subject Delay Identified as Primary Risk Factor.]
His chest tightened.
So this was the cost.
Back at the facility, no one called it a failure.
The director's tone was calm. "Casualties were within acceptable parameters."
Acceptable.
Aiden didn't speak.
Hana's hands were clenched into fists.
Mei-Lin wouldn't meet his eyes.
That night, the system did not wait.
[Behavioral Adjustment Recommended.]
[Emotional Suppression: Pending.]
Aiden sat alone in containment, staring at the floor.
"If you take that," he whispered, "I won't be me anymore."
The system paused.
Then replied.
[Correction:]
[You will be functional.]
Aiden laughed softly.
Functional.
Three people were dead.
And the system had learned something valuable.
So had he.
This wasn't about saving everyone.
It never had been.
It was about deciding who mattered.
And slowly—
Relentlessly—
That decision was being taken out of his hands.