[SYSTEM TRANSFER COMPLETE][WELCOME TO FLOOR TWO: "THE ROOM WHERE NAMES ROT"][POPULATION: 231,902 ACTIVE SURVIVORS][PRIMARY LAW: NAMES HAVE WEIGHT. THE WRONG ONE WILL BE TAKEN.][UNIQUE RULE: YOU MAY NEVER SAY YOUR OWN NAME TWICE.]
The world reassembled like broken glass.
Cold light. A skyless ceiling made of impossible geometry. Stone bridges hung over a black abyss, connecting platforms the size of cities. Kyren stumbled forward, Mirae at his side, both blinking against the sudden scale of it all.
And then they saw them.
Thousands of people.
Weapons glowing with runic fire. Armored cloaks that shimmered like starlight. Shields taller than Kyren. Creatures on leashes. Floating titles above heads—some as long as full paragraphs. Voices yelling out damage numbers. People flying.
Flying.
Kyren froze.
"...What the hell is this place?" Mirae whispered.
It wasn't a floor. It was a city of survivors. Not desperate, not panicked—trained. Armed. Efficient.
One woman walked by in plated crimson armor, her face etched with soot and rage. Her system window flashed:
[LEVEL 19 – TITLE: FLAME EATER – PATH: WRATH DIVINED][KILL COUNT: 87 | SOUL INTEGRITY: 32% | PERK: FIRE CANNOT HARM YOU. EMOTIONALLY OR OTHERWISE.]
Kyren's own stats were still visible beside his HUD.
[LEVEL: 1 – CLASS: VOWBREAKER – TRAITS: False Catalyst, Murmur II, Loyalty Loophole][KILL COUNT: 2 | ASSIST: 2 | PATH PROGRESS: 21%]
Compared to them, he wasn't just underleveled.
He was irrelevant.
"Mirae," he said quietly, swallowing hard. "We were lucky."
She looked at him.
"You're just realizing that?"
A sudden shout interrupted them. A group of survivors were gathered near a glowing monolith, where a massive queue had formed. People were exchanging loot. Selling information. Trading party spots.
A man with gray hair and tattoos on his throat stepped onto a raised platform.
His voice echoed:
"Welcome to Floor Two. We're not here to save you. We're here to make sure your death means something useful."
His screen flashed behind him for all to see.
[LEVEL 32 – "THE HANGED STRATEGIST" – FACTION: BLACK VEIL]
"You survived the tutorial. Congratulations. Now you're just one name in a database of over seven billion."
Kyren felt it then.
The weight.
He thought he was strong because he was clever. Because he found loopholes. Because he survived when others didn't.
But this place?
This was a wall.
A mass grave for people who thought they were the main character.
"I'm nothing here," he muttered.
Mirae didn't comfort him.
She just said:
"You made me survive. So now we do it again. Smarter. Slower."
They moved through the crowd, trying not to draw attention.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEW STATUS EFFECT – "NAME ROT" BEGINS IN 48 HOURS][FAILURE TO ACQUIRE A TITLE OR BE REMEMBERED BY A GROUP WILL RESULT IN IDENTITY DEGRADATION][COMMENTARY: Hope you left a good impression. It might be the last thing you are.]
Kyren froze.
"Wait… it's not just about strength now. It's about being known."
Mirae nodded slowly.
"If the Tower forgets you, it eats you."
A wave of static rolled through his vision. And with it, a memory.
A classroom.
Laughter in the halls.
A cracked lens on his glasses.
He saw himself, sitting alone, doodling monsters in a notebook. Wanting someone to notice. Wanting to be special.
"I thought I was the main character," Kyren whispered, voice tight. "Because the System gave me something first. Because I killed something early. Because I lied well."
He looked at Mirae.
"But this… this is a world where everyone's been broken first. And most of them liked it."
"You gonna break too?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"No. I'm going to remember who I was before I wanted to be special."
He helped Mirae walk to a nearby rest point. Found bandages. Stitched her up.
No tricks.
No calculations.
Just care.
Not for the Tower.
Not for the stats.
But for her.
The only one left.
And for a brief moment, the System glitched.
Just a flicker of static.
Then a new message blinked into place.
[SOUL INTEGRITY: +2%][COMMENTARY: You remembered something real. Don't make it a habit.]
[KYREN HAO – LEVEL 1][CLASS: VOWBREAKER – TRAITS: False Catalyst, Murmur II, Loyalty Loophole, Survivor's Doubt][SOUL INTEGRITY: 66%][MENTAL STATE: STABLE – HUMBLED][FLOOR TWO OBJECTIVE: ESTABLISH IDENTITY BEFORE NAME ROT – TIME LEFT: 47:56:13]
[SYSTEM ALERT: NAME ROT ACTIVE – TIMER: 47:56:13][CURRENT IDENTITY STABILITY: LOW][YOU ARE NOT YET KNOWN ENOUGH TO EXIST.]
The hub on Floor Two wasn't a sanctuary. It was a market of memory, a black bazaar built on status, titles, and infamy. Everything could be traded: food, shelter, weapons, information. But the highest currency?
Recognition.
Kyren sat on a broken bench, watching people barter like warlords and priests. One man had four names floating above his head like medals. A girl with glowing silver eyes was being escorted by five guards in obsidian armor.
"Do you know her?" Mirae asked, leaning on a blood-splattered cane she'd salvaged.
"No. But the Tower does."
Kyren checked his interface again.
[STATUS: VOWBREAKER – DECEPTION PATH][NAME ROT RESISTANCE: 0%][RECOGNITION SCORE: 14 (MINIMUM REQUIRED TO STAY VISIBLE: 100)]
He was fading.
Not physically, not yet—but people were already looking through him.
A tall guy passed them, weapons holstered on either hip, power radiating from his very footsteps.
He looked straight at Kyren… and blinked.
Confused.
Like Kyren's presence didn't register as real.
"I'm already being erased," Kyren whispered.
"Then we need to carve your name into something unignorable." Mirae didn't say it like a suggestion. More like a diagnosis.
"I don't have stats. Or gear. Or kills."
"Then find something you do have. Fast."
Kyren stood, shaky but resolute. He scanned the crowd, watching, calculating. Patterns, routines, factions.
And then he saw it.
A gathering near the edge of the platform—people watching a young man duel another survivor in a pit. No System rules. No buffs. Just raw, humiliating skill.
The winner would get their name broadcast.
"That's it," Kyren muttered.
"What? Fighting?" Mirae raised an eyebrow. "That's not your style."
"No," Kyren said. "Fixing the fight is."
He approached the pit silently. The current fight was ending—one man bleeding out, the crowd cheering the victor.
"NEXT CHALLENGER!" the announcer barked. "WHO WANTS THEIR NAME BRANDED INTO THE FLOOR?"
Kyren stepped forward. The crowd didn't cheer. They barely noticed.
Until Mirae raised her hand.
"He's with me," she said, loudly.
That got attention.
The crowd turned.
Kyren's System pinged:
[RECOGNITION SCORE: 14 → 27][MIRA SONG – FACTIONLESS REPUTATION CREDIBILITY: "WOUNDED KEEPER"][COMMENTARY: You're still nothing. But now you're nothing with an audience.]
The announcer eyed Kyren skeptically.
"You sure? Looks like he'd fold under pressure."
"Let's find out," Mirae replied, calm and sharp.
Kyren stepped into the ring.
The opponent was already waiting—a wiry woman with sharp cheekbones and a curved bone-blade. Her eyes glowed faint blue.
[NAME: YAEL VENTRIM – LEVEL 7 – TRAIT: AGILITY SURGE II]
Kyren didn't even reach for a weapon.
He smiled.
"You want to win?" he whispered as she approached.
She froze.
"What?"
"Throw the fight. I'll owe you something better than victory."
"You're joking."
"No," he said. "I'm dealing."
The crowd thought they were circling. Trading feints.
But Kyren's skill False Catalyst kicked in—whispers of deception sewn into the cracks of trust.
Yael slashed forward, dramatic. Kyren barely dodged, tripping onto his back like a fool.
The crowd laughed.
Then she lunged, blade high—and stopped just short.
Kyren kicked her ankle.
She "fell."
The announcer screamed.
"WINNER: KYREN HAO – CLASS UNKNOWN!"
[SYSTEM NOTICE: PUBLIC VICTORY DETECTED][RECOGNITION SCORE: 27 → 89][COMMENTARY: That was pathetic. But people love an underdog.]
The crowd surged closer.
Some cheered. Others scoffed.
But they saw him now.
Not clearly. Not importantly.
But enough.
Enough for the Tower to register:
[NAME ROT RESISTANCE: 12%][STATUS: MOMENTARY IDENTITY STABILITY ACHIEVED]
Yael grinned as she stood.
"You owe me now, Ghost-boy."
"I always pay my debts."
Mirae joined him, her gaze unreadable.
"So… you cheated your way into being real?"
"No," Kyren said. "I lied my way into being remembered."
They walked away together.
And the Tower watched.
Not with hate.
But curiosity.
Because Kyren Hao had learned something dangerous.
Being strong wasn't the key.
Being seen was.
[KYREN HAO – LEVEL: 1][RECOGNITION SCORE: 89][NAME ROT: SLOWED][SOUL INTEGRITY: 66%][REPUTATION: "THE STUMBLING FOX" – Known for winning while losing]