Chapter 105 - The Hidden Record
Administrator Orion forced himself to keep walking.
His damaged body flickered with fragments of golden code, the System desperately attempting to repair the corruption left behind by the collapse of his Domain.
A golden portal appeared before him.
Without hesitation, he stepped through.
The scenery changed instantly.
Gone were the streets of Helios Reach.
Gone was the New World.
He now stood inside a place that ordinary players could never enter.
The Administrator Headquarters.
A realm existing outside the boundaries of every merged game.
Its endless halls were constructed from white stone and flowing streams of living code. Countless floating screens displayed system logs, world events, player records, and reports from every corner of the New World.
Only Administrators and those with the highest level of Authority could access this place.
As Orion walked through the massive hall, several Administrators noticed his condition.
One of them raised an eyebrow before letting out a laugh.
"...What the hell happened to you?"
"You look terrible."
Orion shot him an irritated glare.
"...Shut up."
"I don't need your commentary."
Another Administrator looked up from the holographic screen he had been studying.
"So..."
"What was it this time?"
"A World Ranker?"
"A hacker?"
"Another corrupted Raid Boss?"
Orion continued walking without slowing down.
"...None of your business."
The two Administrators exchanged confused looks as he disappeared down the corridor.
One of them sighed.
"...There he goes again."
"Orion's one of the few Administrators who actually enjoys visiting the New World."
His companion leaned back in his chair.
"I'll never understand it."
He gestured around the Headquarters.
"We have everything here."
"Unlimited resources."
"Perfect food."
"Luxury."
"Every form of entertainment imaginable."
"No danger."
"No politics."
"No wars."
He chuckled.
"...I guess Orion really enjoys playing god."
The two laughed before returning to their work.
Farther within the Headquarters...
Orion reached a pair of massive white doors marked with glowing symbols.
SkyRealm Data Archives.
The doors silently opened.
Rows upon rows of floating data streams filled the enormous chamber.
Every player...
Every NPC...
Every monster...
Every event that had ever occurred within SkyRealm was stored here.
Orion walked to the central console.
He placed his hand upon it.
The endless streams of code immediately obeyed his command.
"Search."
"Player..."
"...Blaze."
Millions upon millions of records flashed past in an instant.
Combat logs.
Guild registrations.
Quest completions.
Trade history.
Player profiles.
The search continued for several seconds.
Then...
Nothing.
Orion frowned.
"...Impossible."
Only a single record appeared.
First confirmed appearance: Recent.
That was all.
No origin.
No previous activity.
No login history.
No account creation.
Nothing.
As if Blaze had simply appeared from nowhere.
"...That's not possible."
Every player left traces within the System.
Even deleted records left fragments behind.
Yet Blaze...
Had almost no history at all.
Orion narrowed his eyes.
"...Did someone erase his records?"
He immediately rejected the idea.
"No..."
"If they were deleted..."
"I would still find the empty spaces."
"But this..."
He stared silently at the floating code.
"It's as though the records never existed."
Only one possibility remained.
Someone with greater authority than his own.
A single name entered his mind.
The Head Administrator.
The only Administrator who answered directly to SyncCorp itself.
If anyone could conceal a player's existence from every other Administrator...
It would be the Head Administrator.
Orion slowly closed the data stream.
"...You know something."
"...Don't you?"
He looked through the transparent walls of the archive toward the endless digital sky beyond.
A faint smile slowly returned to his face.
"...This is becoming troublesome."
He paused.
"...And far more interesting than I first thought."
For the first time in years...
Administrator Orion found himself genuinely curious about a single player.
Blaze.
Whoever...
Or whatever...
He truly was.