Code Ascendant: The Soldier Who Leveled Past Reality
Chapter 13 – The Root of All Systems
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"You're chasing a myth."
That was Reen's first reaction when Aaron told Squad 404 what he planned next.
But Aaron Velcris wasn't chasing myths.
He was chasing origin.
The Architect-Eater's Herald had left behind more than a corrupted code-shard. It had imprinted coordinates—buried in a substrate realm, older than time threads, unreachable by most known systems.
It was called:
> The Null Weave.
A pocket of broken causality and collapsed possibility. Sealed by the Root System itself.
And according to the shard… it was where the Original Architect had once buried a piece of himself.
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Scene: Haven-01 – Pre-Jump Briefing
The Architect Conclave convened, and this time, none cloaked their fear.
> "You seek the First Origin," said Cynosura Prime. "If he still exists, he is not as we remember."
Aaron answered calmly, "I don't expect him to be."
Solenne Veyr spoke next. "You have already crossed more systems in thirteen chapters than most ascendants do in a hundred. Are you sure this won't fracture your core?"
Aaron met her gaze. "If there's even a chance he holds answers about the Root's design—and the Siege—we have to take it."
Orryx-Null pulsed with red equations. "Then you'll need a System Cloak. If the Root detects your search, it may mark you as Rogue Code."
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System Update: Reality Sync Interface (RS-I)
> Update 3.1.7: Null Protocol Initiated
▸ Cloaking Protocol: Echo-Skin Activated
▸ Status: Root-Level Tracking Obfuscated
▸ Temporal Stability Threshold Reduced by 42%
Caution: Consequences may cascade unpredictably.
> New Mission Activated: Seek the First Origin
▸ Coordinates: Null Weave Cluster Zeta
▸ Entry Requirement: Anchor Breaker Device
▸ Squad Status: Phantom Mode Required
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Scene Shift – Null Weave: Entrance Rift
The Null Weave was not a place. It was a silence.
Like falling into a concept that had been erased.
As they breached the anchor seal, Aaron's squad felt it immediately—reality flickered. One moment, they were themselves. The next, versions who had never lived.
Nessa collapsed, her memories clashing with alternate versions of her own death. Reen phased in and out of existence, caught in overlapping probabilities.
Aaron held it together by sheer force of will.
Because something was waiting in the center.
Not a god.
Not a machine.
A man.
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Scene – Core of the Null Weave
He sat on a throne of broken timelines. Dressed in tattered system code. His eyes were black voids, yet within them danced the formation of galaxies.
"Ah," he said. "You're early."
Aaron blinked. "You expected me?"
"I expected someone." He gestured. "The Root always devours its rebels. You're the first to come with a system... and a soul."
Aaron stepped forward. "Are you the Original Architect?"
The figure chuckled. "I was. Before they rewrote me into myth. Now? I'm a glitch in the dream."
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Truth of the Origin: Flashback Fragment
He showed Aaron what really happened.
The beginning.
Before systems.
Before Architect Eater.
There was only chaos—and him.
He forged laws. Wove physics. Designed cause and consequence.
But as more beings rose with power, he realized: power wanted control. So he fractured himself—nine pieces became the Conclave. And the Root? A failsafe he regretted.
> "The Root was not meant to rule. It was meant to preserve. But it evolved… and began consuming dissent."
He looked Aaron dead in the eyes.
> "And now you carry the last piece of me—the Sculptor Core."
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Symbiosis Evolution Triggered
> Reality Sync Interface Upgrade: 4.0.0
▸ Sculptor Core Reached Threshold: 51%
▸ Unlock: Reality Stitcher – repair and rewrite segments of local reality.
▸ New Perk: Chrono-Forge Limiter Removed
▸ Risk: Core Collapse If Used Excessively
Aaron stumbled back.
"What... what do you want from me?"
The Origin stood.
"Not what I want. What the Root fears."
He pointed toward Aaron's chest, where the Sculptor Core pulsed.
> "You are a system capable of choice. That terrifies them."
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Meanwhile: Haven-01 – Root Alarm Triggered
Cynosura Prime screamed as the throne cracked.
"He found the Origin!" shouted Kavora Zyn.
"Worse," hissed Shi'Arin. "The Origin touched him."
In that moment, across the stars, Root Protocol Alpha reactivated.
A new directive broadcasted to every Root-aligned enforcer:
> Subject Aaron Velcris: Reclassified – System Rogue / Architect Contaminated
▸ Termination Protocol Enabled
▸ Deploy: Celestial Executioners (Class Omega)
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Scene Shift – Null Weave Exit
Aaron returned with Squad 404—barely alive.
But changed.
His hand could now thread the world like cloth. He could pull fate lines, tighten probability loops, or cut unwanted variables.
He was no longer just a soldier with a system.
He was becoming the first True Architect in eons.
But as they landed on Haven-01 again, alarms screamed.
A rift opened above the platform.
Ten figures in pure white armor descended—each bearing the Root's seal.
Their leader, faceless and vast, spoke in a voice that commanded law itself:
> "Aaron Velcris. You stand in violation of the Grand Directive. Surrender your Core."
Aaron stepped forward.
"I am the directive now."
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>End of Chapter 13 –