The stark message, "The anomaly persists. Correction sequence initiated. Your path is diverging too rapidly," burned itself into Zayn’s mind, eclipsing the city lights, the remnants of Thorne’s chilling call, and every victory he had just claimed. The blood, moments ago thrumming with defiance, drained from his face, leaving a cold, hollow ache in his chest. The Guardians. The name, whispered by the system, now resonated with an ancient, cosmic weight. Thorne was not the apex predator. Thorne was a mere shadow, a herald for something infinitely more vast, more powerful, a force that considered reality itself its personal domain. The game had not just begun; it had become a fight for the very fabric of existence, and Zayn, the newly crowned king of a corporate empire, felt suddenly like a v
