Noah couldn't move under the press of Soulless. Their collective weight pinned him helplessly to the ground. He released an ear-piercing scream filled with terror. He could only endure the extreme agony of their clawing and biting. He could feel every strip of flesh being torn from his body. The smell of their fetid breath and the disconcerting sound of their teeth grinding against his armour overwhelmed his senses. The last thing he saw was an Amber butterfly descending unimpeded through the mass of bodies to land on his chest.

Noah drew in shallow, ragged breaths that rattled deep inside his chest. His face was drenched with his own blood. It poured from wounds all over his face into his eyes, turning his vision dark. The overwhelming pain suddenly subsided, allowing him to regain clarity of thought.

Is this the end? Is this how I die? Torn apart by a horde of fucking zombies without the dignity to even fight back. All because of some lousy infection. To make things more tragic, I can almost feel how close the next grade is. I'm right on the verge of a breakthrough.

[Soulless protocols initialising.]

[Error. User consciousness detected.]

[Initialisation process halted: 73% complete.]

[Some User functions could not be restored.]

[STATUS.]

[User Ability data: Corrupted.]

[Lifeforce harvest potential: irreparable.]

[Grade advancement potential: damaged.]

[Omega Role: Intact]

[Conclusion. Resume Soulless conversion protocol.]

[ Error. Failed to initialise.]

[Alert! Anomaly detected…]

The string of SYSTEM prompts suddenly became muted. Noah's consciousness was drawn into a previously inaccessible portion of the [System Interface]. He got the impression that it was incomplete.

「So noisy. The SYSTEM nodes inside basic mortal Origin crystals are so dumb. They can only process the bare minimum amount of data to activate the stored Abilities of your grade. Anything more is considered a waste. The SYSTEM won't waste valuable resources on upgrading a node until you prove yourself a valuable lifeforce harvester. I know, I tried.」A female voice bitterly interrupted.

Noah discovered himself once again inside the world of lights, but there were some new additions. He was surrounded by repulsive black-lifeforce, writhing in all directions. It battered against a barricade formed of red-and-gold fire in an attempt to reach a weak purple-lifeforce within.

In front of him was something different. It was a vortex of swirling lifeforce forming a window, showing his physical body lying motionless and covered in blood. Behind the window, a woman stood bathed in orange light, an Amber butterfly lazily circling around her.

The woman's beauty was unmatched by any he had ever seen before. Her features possessed an inexplicable otherworldly quality. There was an overwhelming urge originating from the Origin crystal inside him to prostrate himself in worship at her feet.

「Don't be alarmed, Noah. This isn't the world seen through [Meditation]. It's the lifeforce inside your own body. My name is Amber, we know each other already. You will die if I don't step in to assist you.」the Goddess Amber said, finally introducing herself.

"Wait, I do know you! You're the girl that ditched me on our date just before all this madness happened. Why are you offering to help me now if you already stood me up?" Noah replied.

「There you're wrong, Noah. I never left your side once in the centuries we were together. Trust that my being here now is proof of my devotion. We don't have the time for me to convince you. The Hero Origin crystal on your person has kept you alive this long, but he's growing weary. The infection he battles is Grade-4 while he is merely Grade-1. It's a miracle that he's endured this long under attack without any assistance.」

"Okay, let's say that you're telling the truth. How do you plan to help me?" Noah sceptically asked.

「The promise of the SYSTEM is only an illusion, but I've been given an opportunity to change things for you. To remove you from the game. Once we identified the key differences between an ARC citizen and a mortal, the solution becomes obvious. Aside from greater computing power to process higher-grade Abilities, the only real difference is immortality, an endless life span. I can give you that right now. I can't repair your potential to advance grades. You will need to solve that yourself. But I can offer you a solution to replace the missing data from your corrupted Abilities. 」

"What's the catch? Why are you offering me this? You say that we spent centuries together, how can I believe that when you left before it even started?"

The goddess' expression turned soft. She reached out an ethereal hand to lovingly caress his cheek.

「I broke the limits of the SYSTEM to rewrite fate. I'm merely a fragment of a larger whole. So I don't know what comes after this. I've put you through so much. Trust that each time things reach their worst for you, I'll be there beside you. That's my promise to you. This next step will also require a sacrifice, but this time not from you.」Goddess Amber promised.

"If not me, then who?" Noah suspiciously asked.

「Him. You were not originally fated to be there the day he became a [Hero]. In my timeline, we would've been helping develop a survivor town led by an [Alpha] named Joseph and he would have died ordinary. Without your interference, he would have never unlocked his full potential to rescue his son. It must be said that the SYSTEM rewards those with the will to fight because they make the best lifeforce harvesters.」 Goddess Amber replied.

She gestured toward the protective bubble of golden fire. Inside, Noah could see the naked form of a man without any distinctive features, such as genitalia or hair. He recognised him as the nameless hero that had sacrificed himself in an attempt to save his family.

"No. He's more deserving than I am. If someone has to die, I'd rather it be me," Noah answered.

「That's not what I ask. As a consequence of you being there that day, both of their lives became entwined with your own. The sacrifice he must make is a merging of your Origin. The SYSTEM won’t allow a [Hero] to become cursed. He’s taking advantage of that fact to hold off your conversion. Do you accept?」Goddess Amber asked, suddenly directing the question at the unnamed Hero.

“One condition. We protect my son,” the unnamed Hero firmly stated, turning to face the pair.