I Was The Only Omega In The Beast World-Chapter 155: CP: It Wants Us To Come Back

Lucas and Leo exchanged a look that Alex couldn’t read.

"Alex," Lucas said carefully, "before the bond, before the sanctuary, before any of this—what did System tell you about where it came from?"

The question hit Alex like a blow. Because the answer was—nothing. System had never told him. System had always been there, had always been present, had always known what Alex needed to know when he needed to know it. But where it came from, what it was, why it had chosen him—those were questions Alex had never thought to ask.

"It was just... there," he said slowly. "When I fell into this world. It was there. It helped me understand the rules, the dangers, the artifacts. It told me about the factions. About the bonds. About everything I needed to survive."

"It told you what you needed to survive," Leo said, and there was something in his voice that Alex didn’t like. "Not what you needed to know."

"Leo—"

"I’m not saying it lied to you. I’m saying it was selective. There’s a difference."

"The shadow said System’s headquarters sent it," Sally interrupted. "Sent it here. To this world. And that there were others. Others like it. That were sent to condemn... something. Condemn the shadow."

Alex looked at her. "You think System was sent to find the shadow."

"I think System was sent to find something. And whatever it found, it didn’t tell you about."

The silence that followed was the worst kind—the kind that held accusations that no one wanted to voice.

Granite’s paw settled on Alex’s shoulder. "We can figure out what System was later. Right now, we have a shadow that can block System’s connection, scatter the artifacts, and knew enough about Alex to know he wasn’t from this world. That’s the immediate problem."

"The stones," Alex said. "System said the stones are the key. Whatever the shadow wants, it’s connected to them."

"The stones are in the valley," Lucas said. "With the shadow."

"Yes."

"Then we get them back." Lucas’s voice was matter-of-fact, the voice of a pack lord discussing a hunting strategy. "We go in, we retrieve the artifacts, we get out."

"And the shadow?" Naga’s voice was sharp.

"We deal with the shadow."

"Deal with it how? We don’t know what it is. We don’t know what it wants. We don’t know how to fight something that eats light and breaks connections to things we don’t even fully understand."

"We’ll figure it out." Lucas’s jaw was set. "We’ve figured out everything else."

Naga’s coils shifted. "Have we really? Because right now, I’m looking at Alex—Alex, who never goes anywhere without System, who has had System whispering in his ear since the moment he arrived in this world—the reason how we even became mates. And whatever it was it could shatter the invisible connection between Alex and his system. We’re not dealing with a physical threat here. We’re dealing with something that attacked the one thing Alex has always been able to rely on. The one thing we all rely on, because it’s been there since before any of us knew Alex existed."

"Nag—"

"I’m not blaming Alex." Naga’s voice was tight. "I’m saying we can’t fight this the way we’ve fought everything else. We can’t just charge in with claws and fangs and hope that’s enough."

Sally, who had been quiet through the exchange, stepped forward.

"What if we don’t have to charge in at all?" she said.

Every eye turned to her.

"The shadow—it let you go, right?" She looked at Alex. "It could have stopped you. It didn’t. It let you run. It let you come back here. Why?"

Alex thought about the valley. The darkness. The way it had followed them without chasing, the way it had let them reach the ironwood forest, the way its voice had been almost... patient.

"It wants us to come back," he said slowly. "It wants something from us. Something it can’t take by force."

"The stones," Granite said. "It took the stones. It didn’t need to follow you to get them."

"Then what?"

"The System." Sally’s voice was quiet. "It went for the System. It said the System had more substance than it expected. That it wasn’t just a machine. It went for the connection between you. It didn’t want you dead. It wanted you alone."

Alex stared at his sister. "Why?"

"I don’t know. But whatever it wants, it thinks it can get it if you don’t have System to guide you. It’s currently isolating the system from everything else. That means System is a threat to it. And as far as I know about all the sci-fi romance novels, system like that always answer to their main system. And I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what headquarter is. Meaning system can contact it and report this shadow guy’s existence anytime. "

" To put in simple words, this shadow thing seems to be afraid of the so called headquarter. "

Alex looked at his sister with a shocked expression. His sister was getting more and more smarter each passing day.

He heaved a long breath then stood at the edge of the construction site, watching the afternoon light shift across the half-raised walls, and felt the absence of System like a physical wound. There was no voice in his ear analyzing the shadow’s words. No data streams at the edge of his vision calculating probabilities. No quiet presence that had been with him so long he’d stopped noticing it until it was gone.

Sally’s words echoed in his head. The shadow is afraid of headquarter.

Which meant the shadow had struck now—before the sanctuary was finished, before the alliances were fully cemented, before System could report whatever it had learned about the thing in the valley.

The shadow had been condemned. By System’s headquarters. By machines like System. And now it was here, in this world, waiting in a valley that should have been perfect for planting, doing something to the connection between Alex and the only guide he’d ever had.

"We need to talk about System," Alex said, turning to face the family gathered behind him.

They’d arranged themselves in the loose formation that had become natural over the past months—Naga coiled near the pool, Zale in his sphere, Leo on a high rock, Lucas standing with the particular stillness of a wolf waiting for prey to move. Granite and Drakar at the edge of the group, their massive form a a quiet reassurance. The snakelings had been sent to the cave with stern instructions to stay put, and for once, they’d listened.

Sally sat on a fallen log, her phone clutched in her hands like a talisman.

"System never told me where it came from," Alex continued. "I never asked. It was just... there. From the first moment I fell into this world. It told me about the artifacts, about the bonds, about how to survive. But it never told me why it was here. What it was looking for. What its headquarters wanted."

"You think it was looking for the shadow," Lucas said.

"I think it was looking for something. And I think it found it." Alex’s throat tightened. "And now the shadow has done something to the connection between us. Something that’s isolating System from me. From everyone."

Zale’s voice came from the sphere, thoughtful and slow. "What if System isn’t just a tool? What if it’s something else? Something that was sent here with a purpose that goes beyond helping you survive?"

"Like what?"

"I don’t know. But the shadow seemed to know System. Or know of System. It recognized what System was. And it was afraid."

"Good," Leo said, and there was something fierce in his voice. "If the shadow is afraid of System, then System is our best weapon."

"System is gone," Alex said.

"For now." Leo’s golden eyes were steady. "The connection is blocked, not broken. That means there’s a way to restore it. We just have to find it."

"And the stones?" Naga’s voice was sharp. "The shadow has the stones. The artifacts that System said were the key to everything. The things we spent six months collecting."

"We get them back," Lucas said. "We go into the valley, we retrieve the artifacts, we restore System’s connection."

"Just like that?" Naga’s coils tightened. "Walk into the darkness that eats light and fight a thing we don’t understand?"

"Not fight. Retrieve."

"You think the shadow will just let us walk in and take the stones?"