Corrupting the imperfect world

Ethan sat frozen on his thin mattress, his breath uneven.

The room was quiet except for the low hum of the kettle on his desk. The flickering light overhead cast long shadows on the cracked walls. Everything looked the same—yet something felt different.

The words still hovered in his vision.

[System Synchronization: 3%...]

He wasn't imagining it. It was real.

His fingers curled into the fabric of his hoodie as an uneasy feeling crawled through his body. A strange pressure built inside his chest, like something deep within him was being rewritten. His skin tingled, waves of cold and heat pulsing through his limbs in uneven bursts.

Then—

[System Synchronization: 4%...]

A sharp pulse ran through his skull. Ethan gasped, clutching his head as his vision blurred for a moment. The room around him warped, shifting unnaturally before snapping back into focus.

What the hell was happening to him?

His breathing grew ragged. His heart pounded against his ribs, louder than before, like something was forcing it to beat faster. His fingertips twitched, his legs felt restless—like his body was trying to wake up from something it had been trapped in for years.

The sensation wasn't exactly painful, but it wasn't normal either.

It felt like change.

A deep, fundamental shift was taking place inside him, something beyond his understanding.

[System Synchronization: 5%...]

Ethan forced himself to stand, but his legs buckled beneath him. He crashed onto his knees, his palms slamming against the cold, rough floor. His breath hitched as another pulse ran through his body, sharper this time.

It was like something old and broken inside him was being burned away.

And in its place, something new was forming.

Sweat dripped down his temples as he gritted his teeth. The dull ache in his ribs—the pain from Logan's kick earlier—began to fade, dissolving into nothing.

The hunger clawing at his stomach dulled. The exhaustion dragging at his limbs lightened.

He lifted his shaking hands, staring at them. His fingers no longer trembled. The usual weakness in his arms, the sluggishness in his muscles—it was disappearing.

A cold realization hit him.

His body was changing.

His heart thumped harder at the thought, but before he could dwell on it, another sharp wave of sensation crashed into him. His head pounded, his ears rang, and a burning heat spread from his chest, rushing through his veins.

[System Synchronization: 6%...]

Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw as his nerves burned with unfamiliar energy. Every part of him felt alive—too alive, like his body was waking up from years of slumber.

His senses sharpened.

The sound of his own breathing felt louder, the distant creaks of the building more distinct. He could hear the faint scratching of rats in the walls, the muffled voices of his neighbors arguing through the thin drywall.

He could feel everything.

The uneven texture of the floor beneath his fingers, the faint draft seeping through the cracked window, the way his hoodie clung uncomfortably to his sweat-covered back.

It was overwhelming. Too much.

His pulse quickened as panic crept into his mind.

What was this?

What was happening to him?

The synchronization kept increasing. Slowly. Steadily. A creeping, inescapable process that he had no control over.

[System Synchronization: 7%...]

Ethan gritted his teeth and forced himself to move. He pushed off the ground, his limbs feeling strangely light as he staggered to his feet. His muscles still ached, but it wasn't the deep exhaustion he had always felt.

It was different.

Like his body was adjusting to something new.

His reflection caught his eye.

The cracked mirror on his desk was dirty, the glass smudged and uneven, but he could still see his face.

And something was wrong.

His skin looked healthier, less pale than before. The dark circles under his eyes, the ones that had been there for years, seemed lighter. His face looked… sharper. More defined.

Ethan swallowed hard.

The system was changing him.

Whether that was a good thing or not—he didn't know.

But one thing was certain.

This was only the beginning.

[System Synchronization: 8%...]

Ethan's head felt heavy. His body, still tingling from the strange changes, was exhausted beyond anything he had ever experienced. The system messages had been flickering before his eyes, numbers ticking upward, his senses shifting—but his mind couldn't keep up.

His limbs ached, not from pain, but from something deeper, like his muscles were being rewritten from the inside out. He was drained.

The last thing he saw before sleep claimed him was the faint glow of the system message lingering in his vision.

[System Synchronization: 100% Complete.]

Then, everything went dark.

A sharp knock snapped Ethan awake.

His eyes shot open, and for a moment, he didn't move.

Something was different.

The stale air in his room smelled sharper, more distinct. The creaking pipes in the walls were louder. His own heartbeat—slow, steady—felt controlled.

His body no longer ached. His ribs, which had been sore from Logan's beating, felt completely fine. The usual stiffness in his muscles was gone. He felt… light. Stronger.

Another knock, harder this time.

Ethan sat up. His movements were too smooth, too effortless. The moment he pushed off the mattress, his feet touched the floor quicker than he expected, as if his body had become more efficient.

He glanced at his hands.

His fingers looked the same, but they didn't feel the same. There was no more shakiness, no more weakness.

He turned toward the cracked mirror on his desk.

And froze.

The person staring back at him was him. But at the same time… it wasn't.

His face was sharper, his features more defined. The dark circles under his eyes—ones that had been there for years—were gone. His skin looked clearer, healthier, his entire body seeming just a little more refined.

But it was his eyes that stood out the most.

They weren't tired anymore. They weren't dull or lifeless.

They were focused. Cold. Calculating.

Like a predator staring back at its reflection.

A faint chime rang in his head.

[System Activation Complete.]

Ethan's lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.