Reborn with the Devil's system-Chapter 34: The chains of Ashmoor

Night fell over the distant sector of Ashmoor—a desolate region tucked into the outskirts of Noxshade where the System’s grip ran deepest. Here, the skies never cleared. The stars were veiled. The earth was cracked and blackened, as if burned by unseen fire.

Ashmoor wasn’t on any official map.

And for good reason.

It was the site of Ashmoor Penitentiary—a soul-mining prison operated by System Warden Units, where failed vessels, corrupted hosts, and rebellious contractors were stripped of their essence and recycled for "future utility."

Ceryn described it as hell wearing a human face.

And tonight, the Crimson Rebellion was going to strike it.

---

Inside the Mobile War Tent – Crimson Sanctum

"We’ll be outnumbered three to one," Myra said, flipping her dagger. "And that’s just the surface guards."

Kael cracked his neck. "Let them come."

Ceryn remained poised, her red eyes scanning the conjured blueprint. "This isn’t about brute strength. It’s extraction. Hit. Grab the targets. Vanish before reinforcements arrive."

Elias stood at the head of the table, arms folded.

"They’ve got over two dozen trapped vessels—people like us—souls with potential. The System is draining them dry."

He tapped the center of the layout where the sigil vault pulsed.

"That’s where they store the extracted energy and suppress their memories. We disable it... they remember who they are."

"Then what?" Myra asked.

Elias’s eyes burned with violet light.

"Then we light a fire the System can’t put out."

---

> [Mission Accepted – Chains of Ashmoor]

Type: High-Risk Strike Operation

Objectives:

– Infiltrate Ashmoor Penitentiary

– Free a minimum of 5 vessels

– Disable the Soul Extractor

Optional:

– Defeat Warden-class System Unit

– Extract Sigil Vault Core

Rewards:

– +5 Evolution Points

– Passive: Liberation Pulse

– Unlock Rebellion Recruitment Beacon

> Warning: If Elias dies during this quest, soul recursion will be blocked.

---

Ashmoor – Perimeter Walls, 2:39 AM

Lightning clawed the sky as Elias crouched at the edge of a jagged rock ledge, the wind slicing through his cloak. Below lay the walls—grey, pulsing with suppression runes, and guarded by four mechanical Sentinels.

"Two minutes before next rotation," Ceryn whispered.

Elias nodded. "Myra?"

"Already on it."

In the distance, a boom echoed.

One of the Sentinels collapsed—legs vaporized by Myra’s planted explosives. Screams rose. Lights flared.

"Go!"

The team burst from cover. Elias dashed first, shadow leaping across the battlefield. Kael followed, absorbing incoming fire with a demonic roar, his bones protruding into armored spikes.

> [Skill: Reaper’s Cloak Activated]

Enemies within 5 meters ignore host for 3 seconds.

Elias phased through a broken wall, emerging inside the inner hallway. Screams echoed from behind barred cells—screams of people who no longer remembered who they were.

He reached the Soul Extractor chamber. The heart of the prison.

---

Soul Vault – Core Chamber

The machinery looked alive.

Thick pipes of blood-red energy throbbed with every extraction. At the center was a glowing orb—the Sigil Vault Core—suspended by demonic chains. Elias approached, palm burning.

> [System Alert: Unauthorized presence detected.]

Initiating Warden Protocol.

The chamber trembled.

Then it stepped forward.

A Warden-Class System Unit—twice the size of the Executioner from before. Cloaked in corrupted holy armor, its face hidden behind a shattered gold mask. A hammer forged from sigils glowed at its side.

"You bear the Mark of Rebellion," it growled. "You will be erased."

"Try me."

The Warden charged.

Elias unleashed a wave of soul-energy, dodging left, skimming across the ground with Shadow Dash. He struck its leg—nothing. The armor didn’t even crack.

> [Suggestion: Target the Core directly. Disable its source.]

Ceryn appeared above, raining spectral daggers. Myra flanked from behind, planting charges.

Kael burst through a wall, roaring, "I’ll take its attention!"

Elias sprinted to the core.

Time slowed.

He reached into his chest, drawing out a condensed orb of his own essence—demonic, rebellious—and slammed it into the Vault.

> [Sigil Vault Damaged: Memory Seals Breaking...]

Vessels awakening: 5... 8... 14...

Screams shifted.

Now they were roars of anger.

Inside the cells, eyes opened—flaring with light.

The prisoners remembered.

And they wanted vengeance.

---

The Turning Tide

Dozens of vessels tore through the cell gates with new power. Flames, shadows, lightning—all surged into the air. The Warden turned, overwhelmed.

Elias roared, driving one final blow into the Vault Core—

BOOM!

A burst of black light erupted across the chamber.

The Warden fell—split in half.

The machinery collapsed.

Ashmoor shook.

> [Mission Complete – Ashmoor Liberated]

Reward Gained:

– +5 Evolution Points

– Passive Skill: Liberation Pulse

– Recruitment Beacon Unlocked

> [New Trait Gained – "Rebellion’s Flame"]

All nearby allies gain increased willpower and attack speed in your presence.

Elias stood in the center of the ruin, panting.

Survivors rallied around him.

"You freed us," one whispered.

"No," Elias said, looking up at the burning sky. "We freed each other. And we’re not done."

Ashmoor burned behind them.

The sky, once ash-grey and suffocating, now pulsed with crimson light. Vessels once shackled to torment walked free—souls reclaimed, purpose reborn. Word spread like wildfire. In the shadowed corners of Noxshade, whispers grew louder:

> "The Crimson Rebellion has begun."

Elias stood at the head of the group, his cloak fluttering in the wind, the flickering flames behind casting eerie shadows across his face. He wasn’t just a survivor anymore.

He was a symbol.

A man who defied the System and lived.

> [System Notice – Crisis Level Escalated]

Crimson Rebellion status: Threat-Class Alpha

Response Initiated: Ascendant Protocol > Asset Code: Z-01 Activated

---

Elsewhere – Deep Within the Core

In a dimension between time and function, within the mechanical heart of the System, something ancient stirred.

Massive steel chains coiled around a stasis pod.

Inside, submerged in stasis fluid, was a boy—barely 18—with long silver hair drifting like ink in water. His eyes remained shut. But runes of ancient code burned beneath his skin, pulsing faster.

> [Subject Z-01 Awakening...]

Codename: Zenith

Purpose: Kill the Defier. Break the Flame.

> Vital Signs: 100%

Emotion Suppression: Offline

Soul Type: Omega-Class

Potential: Unparalleled

As the pod began to open, the System voice echoed:

> "The Rebellion has taken its first breath. End it before it learns to run."

His eyes opened.

Cold.

Empty.

And inhumanly perfect.

---

Back at Crimson Sanctum – Hidden War Room

"We liberated Ashmoor," Ceryn said, arms folded, "but we’ve stirred a goddamn hornet’s nest."

Elias reviewed the latest soul fragments uploaded from the rescued vessels—memories corrupted by the System were returning.

"They remember labs. Torture. Experiments."

Kael growled. "System’s building something darker."

"I’d bet my knives it already has," Myra muttered. "And it’s coming for you."

Elias looked at the map.

New reports were flooding in. System presence had increased threefold in nearby sectors. Drones, Enforcers, even reality-weaving Clerics were being sighted.

But what struck him most was a single whisper carried on the black market comms:

> "They’ve unleashed the Reaper Child."

---

Midnight – South Edge of Noxshade

The wind was still. Too still.

Elias had left the Sanctum to scout—alone.

He needed space.

He wandered through the husk of an old subway, hearing only his breath and the hum of low soul-static in the air.

Then, he felt it.

Something behind him.

Fast. Silent.

He spun—

Nothing.

A whisper tickled his ear:

> "Rebel."

And then—pain.

His arm was sliced open, blood trailing through the air.

From above, he dropped—a white-cloaked figure, hair silver as snow, with void-black eyes that didn’t blink.

Zenith had arrived.

"You’re him," Elias said through gritted teeth.

"I was made to unmake you," Zenith replied.

And without another word, the battle began.

---

Deadly Clash – Rebellion vs. Perfection

Zenith moved like nothing Elias had ever faced.

Every strike from Elias’s blade was countered before it landed. Every dash, blocked. His opponent predicted him—not just his movements, but his thoughts.

> [Warning – Soul Core Distortion Detected]

Your enemy’s Soul Type overrides yours temporarily.

"What are you?" Elias growled.

"I’m you," Zenith answered, voice devoid of pride. "But perfected."

Blades clashed. Powers collided.

But for every infernal spell Elias launched, Zenith matched it with a mirror of divine control.

> [Skill Countered – Reaper’s Blow Neutralized]

Enemy Skill: Soul Harmony Strike activated

Elias was bleeding, beaten, and outmatched.

But he wasn’t broken.

He surged backward, landing hard against a crumbling pillar, and whispered, "Let’s see if you can copy this."

> [Skill – Liberation Pulse]

All nearby shackles of control shattered. True soul flares to maximum intensity.

A burst of red-violet light engulfed the tunnel.

Zenith flinched—just for a second.

Enough time.

Elias charged, grabbing a steel bar and driving it through the Warden’s eye from their last fight—then slamming it down toward Zenith’s core.

It pierced through.

But... nothing.

No scream.

No blood.

Zenith simply smiled.

"I don’t bleed like you."

And with one motion—he vanished.

---

Aftermath

Elias collapsed, coughing blood.

The tunnel was quiet again, but now it smelled of ozone and static. The System had shown its hand.

And it had a face.

---

> [System Update: Critical Encounter Recorded]

You have faced Ascendant Asset Z-01 and survived.

Your resistance has earned global attention.

New Title: The One Who Bleeds the Code

> WARNING:

You will now be hunted relentlessly.

Elias smiled bitterly.

"Good," he said, dragging himself to his feet.

"Let them come."

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)re𝒆web(n)ovel.com