I was walking home from my night shift at the supermarket, my steps slow and heavy as usual. My backpack hung limply on my right shoulder, stuffed with high school textbooks I didn’t have time to read today and a half-empty bottle of mineral water I sipped as I walked. The clock at the supermarket had shown exactly 11 p.m. when I took off my apron, and the city streets, with their flickering neon lights along the sidewalks, felt emptier than usual. The September night air was biting cold, the southern wind carrying the smell of exhaust fumes and fried food from the roadside stall that had already closed. My thin jacket, frayed at the elbows from too many washes, did little to shield me from the wind’s sting. My mind was consumed by exhaustion, piling up like the empty cardboard boxes in the supermarket’s storeroom: school tomorrow at 7 a.m., math homework waiting on my boarding house desk, and the electricity bill, two days overdue. I’m nobody special, just Rei, an ordinary 11th-grade student surviving on a measly couple hundreds part-time salary. My life feels like the wheel of an old bicycle, creaking with every turn, going nowhere, and I’m tired of pretending things will get better someday. Maybe if I graduate high school, I’ll land a steady job, but that’s an empty dream. My parents back in the village can’t help much, and this one-room boarding house on the edge of the city has been my “home” for the past two years.

As I passed through the narrow alley behind the supermarket, an alley always shrouded in darkness because the streetlight broke last month, someone emerged from the shadow of an acacia tree, its leaves falling like whispers. This wasn’t just anyone. He was tall, dressed in crisp black attire, like an office executive lost in the night: a long-sleeved shirt rolled up to his elbows, slim-fit trousers, and glossy leather shoes that didn’t belong in the puddles on the sidewalk. But his eyes… his eyes were like a snake’s, predatory, greenish-blue, and full of secrets that seemed to pierce the darkness. His short hair was neatly combed back, and his smile was faint, barely visible under the dim glow of a cigarette shop’s light at the end of the alley. “Rei,” he said, his voice smooth but sharp, like a cold scalpel grazing skin. I froze, my heart pounding like a drum struck too hard. Who was this? A stalker? Or just a lunatic who got my name wrong? I don’t have enemies or close friends who know my late-night schedule. At the supermarket, I’m just a quiet cashier who works and goes home.

“You’re tired of this life, aren’t you? Always on the fringes, always struggling to survive. Waking up for school in the morning, working at night, and what do you get? A damp boarding room, instant noodles, and dreams that will never come true.” He stepped closer. I stepped back, gripping my backpack strap tighter, my fingers cold with sweat. How did he know my name? And my life… he described it too perfectly. “I can offer you something more, a chance to be better than what you have now. To become… a god.” The word “god” sounded absurd, like a line from a cheap anime I’d watch on my phone during breaks. His smile widened as he held out a glossy black card, like a business card but blank, its surface reflecting the streetlight’s glow. “Think it over. Tomorrow, if you’re ready, call my name: Ophiuchus.”

I stared at the card briefly but didn’t touch it. This was insane. I’m not the type to believe in nonsense like gods or magical opportunities. My life’s hard enough without adding stupid fantasies. “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong person,” I mumbled, my voice barely audible, then ran off without looking back. My feet slapped the wet sidewalk, my breath ragged, and when I reached my boarding house, I slammed the creaky wooden door shut and locked myself in my tiny room. A narrow bed with crumpled sheets, a study desk buried in notebooks, and a window facing the neighbor’s wall. That night, I slept fitfully, haunted by nightmares of a giant snake swallowing the world, its scales glinting like that black card. I woke up sweating at 3 a.m., staring at the cracked ceiling, convincing myself it was just exhaustion-induced hallucinations. Tomorrow would be a normal day: school, then the afternoon shift at the supermarket.

The next morning, I biked to school on my rusty bicycle, passing streets now buzzing with kids my age, some on motorbikes, others walking while scrolling their phones. Math class dragged on, the formulas incomprehensible, and I doodled snakes in my notebook. During break, a classmate asked why I looked so pale, but I just said, “Didn’t sleep well.” That afternoon, I headed straight to the supermarket for my 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. shift. Andi, my coworker, a friendly guy in his 20s who always joked about his imaginary girlfriend, was already there, stocking the drink aisle. “Yo, Rei, you look dead tired. Night shift again?” he asked, laughing, his white teeth contrasting with his tanned skin. I nodded, forced a smile, and started arranging instant noodle packs in the back aisle. Everything felt normal: customers came and went, the cash register beeped, and an old pop song played on the small radio by the counter. Nothing strange.

But around 4 p.m., everything changed. I was crouching to grab the last box of noodles from the bottom shelf when an explosion shook the entire store. Not a small one, it felt like a truck had crashed into the building, the vibrations rattling the shelves and sending cans of sardines and shampoo bottles crashing to the floor like a rain of chaos. I fell forward, my knees slamming into the cold tiles, dust swirling in the air. Customers screamed: a mother hugged her child, a middle-aged man ran to the door yelling, “Bomb! It’s a bomb!” I stood slowly, my hands trembling, and peered out the cracked front window. On the sidewalk, two bizarre figures stood amid the chaos, dressed in shimmering metallic costumes like heroes from a low-budget superhero movie, but their movements were brutal, inhuman. One, bulky with horns on his helmet, slammed his glowing red fist into the ground, cracking the asphalt like shattered glass, debris flying like bullets. The other, slender with a bull motif on his chest, leaped high and unleashed a wave of brown energy that scorched the sidewalk, black smoke curling into the air. A passing car was hurled into the supermarket’s wall by the shockwave, its windshield shattering like deadly confetti, tires spinning uselessly.

“What the hell is this?!” I screamed internally, ducking behind the tilted counter. It was worse than anything I could’ve imagined. The front glass door shattered completely, shards flying inward like a bloody snowstorm. Andi was near the entrance, carrying a box of milk for the shelves, with no time to run. A large glass shard, the size of a palm, struck his neck, blood spraying like a red fountain, soaking his white uniform. He collapsed, clutching his throat, his brown eyes wide with confusion and pain. “Andi!” I ran to him, my knees slipping in the mix of blood and spilled water from broken bottles, but by the time I reached him, his breaths were shallow gasps. “Rei… what… is this…” he whispered, blood bubbling from his mouth, then his eyes closed forever. I knelt beside him, pressing his wound uselessly, my tears mixing with the blood on the floor. Other customers fled, and police and ambulance sirens wailed in the distance. The two figures, Riders?, vanished, leaving a charred sidewalk and a wrecked car. Why wasn’t anyone talking about their strange costumes? Witnesses seemed to forget those details, assuming it was just a “mysterious explosion.”

The police arrived quickly, cordoning off the supermarket with yellow tape, now resembling a small war zone. I was taken to the nearest station for questioning, sitting in a stuffy interrogation room reeking of stale coffee and old paper. The officer, a balding man in his 40s with a thick mustache, typed my statement while nodding skeptically. “So, you’re saying there were two people in weird outfits? Like metal soldiers?” he asked, his tone dubious. I nodded, describing everything the horns, the energy waves, the gleaming costumes, but he just shook his head. “Maybe you’re in shock, kid. Other witnesses said it was just a traffic accident, a car crash due to brake failure. Nobody saw any ‘soldiers.’”

When I left the station around 9 p.m., a light drizzle had started, and I sat alone on a park bench nearby, staring at a puddle reflecting the streetlights. Tears fell again, a mix of anger and helplessness. Andi died for nothing, and the world pretended nothing happened. My phone buzzed with news: “Explosion at downtown supermarket, one fatality,” no mention of Riders or strange details. They didn’t even name Andi. He was just a statistic. “One fatality.”

A coldness crept in, not just from the night air but from within. A painful emptiness. In that despair, I remembered the strange man from the alley. His insane offer. My trembling fingers, without thinking, touched the black card in my jacket pocket, somehow there since last night, cold and slick. He must’ve slipped it in when I wasn’t paying attention.

“They erased it all, didn’t they?” His smooth voice cut through the sound of the rain. Ophiuchus stood under a tree, untouched by the drizzle, an eerie dry aura surrounding him. This time, his faint smile was gone, replaced by an expression that seemed to understand everything. “Your friend’s life, the witnesses’ memories, the truth you saw with your own eyes… all erased to keep their game tidy.” He stepped closer, his shoes silent on the wet asphalt. “The police won’t help you. The media will forget his name by tomorrow. This world doesn’t care about people like you, Rei. You and Andi… you’re just collateral damage.”

Each word was like a blade slicing into my anger. He didn’t explain anything about gods or zodiacs. He just stated the bitter truth I’d just experienced.

“So what am I supposed to do?” My voice was hoarse, almost a whisper. “Just accept it?”

“You can keep being a victim,” he said calmly. “Or you can take the power to ensure no one else dies pointlessly like he did.”

He didn’t offer anything this time. The choice felt entirely mine. I stared at him for a long time, Andi’s lifeless body flashing in my mind. The blood. The confusion in his eyes. Then nothing. The anger that had been a smolder now roared into a blaze. Not for godhood. Not for wealth. But for one thing: to make what I saw matter, to give Andi’s death meaning.

“Fine,” I said, my voice steady despite my trembling body. “Give me that power.”

The faint smile returned to Ophiuchus’s face. “That power is already within you.”

At that moment, my phone vibrated violently, its screen lighting up on its own. Not a normal notification, but a glowing green symbol of a coiled snake. The screen read:

[Would you like to activate Infinity OS?]  

[Y/N]  

I pressed [Y] without hesitation.

The world around me seemed to slow. The air grew heavy. A sharp, cold sensation surged from my phone through my body, like thousands of icy needles piercing my skin from within. Green light particles enveloped my arms, forming living armor plates. Metallic scales crawled across my chest, shaping a coiled snake symbol. A helmet formed around my head, and the world transformed into a digital interface.

Then… the information came. Not as an explanation, but as a flood of data overwhelming my mind in an instant.  

A battle royale with 13 participants. The Zodiac System. Twelve official Riders with two lives, ♥♡. The winner gains ‘root access’ to rewrite the world’s rules in the next cycle. The losers… erased.  

And the most terrifying piece of information appeared in the corner of my vision, next to my health bar:  

[Player: Rei]  

[Zodiac: Ophiuchus (Forbidden Class)]  

[Lives: ♥ 1/1]  

I was just a pawn in a larger game of gods, with only one life to fight. And Ophiuchus, the avatar of the forsaken zodiac, never mentioned that little detail. He just stood there, watching me with a satisfied smile, as if admiring his newly forged weapon.

The next morning felt like a nightmare that wouldn’t end. I woke up in my boarding house with a throbbing headache. The morning sunlight slipped through the cracks of the rickety wooden window, illuminating the damp, moldy walls. The old wall clock on my study desk showed 6:15. I hurriedly took a cold shower from a bucket the water heater had been broken since yesterday.

In the small mirror above the sink, my face looked pale, my eyes red from lack of sleep, and a small scratch on my cheek from last night’s glass shard stood out. “This is crazy,” I muttered to my reflection while brushing my teeth. What did I do last night? Touching that black card, feeling a strange vibration in my phone, and suddenly my body felt encased in cold scales that vanished when I returned to normal. Ophiuchus called me a “Forbidden Zodiac Rider,” but that sounded ridiculous. I’m not some anime hero just Rei, who can’t even pay bills on time. Maybe it was just a hallucination from the trauma of watching Andi die. I shook my head, put on my wrinkled high school uniform, and grabbed my backpack. No time to think school was waiting.

The ride to school felt ordinary. I pedaled my rusty bike, its chain always threatening to slip, passing the bustling morning market. The smell of fresh fish and fried snacks mixed in the air. I stopped briefly at a coffee stall, bought a warm sweet tea, and sipped it while checking my phone. News about the minimarket incident was still trending: “Fatal traffic accident, police investigating brake failure.” No mention of Riders, no strange details. I zoomed in on a photo of the wreckage. There were odd cracks in the asphalt, like the impact of a giant fist, but the caption called it “caused by a collision.” The public’s memory had been erased, just as Ophiuchus said. I turned off my phone and pedaled faster, trying to forget everything.

At school, lessons dragged on. The English teacher droned about tenses, and I doodled snakes in my notebook. During break, a friend asked why I looked so pale. “Didn’t sleep well,” I answered curtly. No one knew about Andi. The news didn’t even mention his name just “one fatality.” The trauma was mine alone.

Around 3 p.m., on my way home, the sky turned overcast, and a strong wind blew. I took a shortcut through the usually quiet city park. My mind wandered to tomorrow’s shift at the minimarket. Should I ask for time off? I couldn’t bear to see the place where Andi died.

Suddenly, the air felt heavy, like before a storm. I heard quick footsteps behind me, but when I turned, no one was there. “Paranoid,” I muttered. Then, a long energy arrow shot from the side. It struck a tree beside me, splintering the bark and sending wood fragments flying like tiny bullets. One grazed my hand, drawing a thin line of blood. My heart pounded wildly. “Who’s there?!” I shouted, standing slowly while clutching my wound.

From behind the bushes, he appeared. A tall figure clad in golden-green armor, with an archer motif on his chest and an energy bow in hand. His helmet, shaped like a futuristic cowboy hat, glowed yellow from its eye sensors. “Sagittarius,” I whispered to myself.

“You… you’re not on the list,” his voice rasped, like a broken speaker. “Strange energy from you… forbidden? Doesn’t matter. I need a Star Fragment for today’s Quest. You’re out of luck.”

He drew his bow, and a second arrow shot faster than I could follow, hitting the ground at my feet and creating a small crater. I ran, my legs trembling, but he was faster. A gust from his movement pushed me, making me stumble into a wooden bench. “Help!” I screamed, my voice breaking. But the park was empty. A third arrow nearly hit my shoulder, its heat singeing the edge of my uniform. Cornered and panicking, my phone vibrated violently in my pocket. Its screen lit up with the snake symbol. I remembered Ophiuchus’s words: “Call when you need me.” With trembling hands, I pulled it out. “Henshin!” I shouted, and the world changed.

A cold wave surged through my body. Serpent scales emerged from my pores, spreading from my chest to my arms, forming sleek, strong organic armor. A snake-shaped helmet encased my face, and the world turned into a digital interface through a bluish-green visor. My body felt different lighter, stronger. My muscles pulsed with new energy, my breathing steady despite my racing heart.

As Sagittarius fired a fourth arrow, I instinctively leaped aside. Time seemed to slow. The arrow obliterated the bench, wood splintering, but I was already in the air, landing perfectly without stumbling. My body moved on its own. I ran in a zigzag, dodging a fifth arrow that scorched the grass, and closed in on him.

My fist connected with his arm. The Serpent Scale’s basic ability activated, absorbing some of the heat from his arrow. My arm felt warm but unharmed. I struck his chest, a punch that would’ve been weak now feeling like a hammer. He staggered back, his helmet screeching. “You… Ophiuchus? An illegal Rider!” he roared.

He drew his bow again, but I was faster. I rolled under his attack, sweeping his legs until he fell. The fight was short, brutal. I had no special abilities, only raw speed and strength, but it was enough to overpower him. With a final push, I threw him into a tree. His bow snapped, glowing, and his body vanished in a flash of white light, leaving behind a card with an arrow logo on the ground.

My visor showed my life symbol ♥ blinking, unchanged. But as the transformation faded, my body trembled again. I was back to being Rei, an ordinary high school student. Yet now I held a card proving it was all real, with no way back.

I sat on the wet grass, gasping for breath. The park was wrecked: craters in the ground, a charred tree, a shattered bench. In the distance, police sirens wailed someone probably reported a “fallen tree accident” or whatever they’d call it. I picked up the card Sagittarius left behind. It was cold and slick, its glowing arrow logo faint. Touching it sent a burning sting, like a burn, followed by a strange power creeping through my skin. New information flooded my mind: Sagittarius, official Rider, lives ♥ 1/2.

He didn’t die. I’d only defeated him once, taking one of his two lives. It felt strange. I hadn’t killed him, but I’d stripped something vital from him. He’d be back, and he’d remember me. This wasn’t a victory it was a warning.

Since then, my life split in two. By day, I was Rei the high school student, sitting in class, listening to teachers, and trying to do homework. I tried hard to act normal, but under my school uniform, the scratches from wood splinters on my arm felt all too real. By night, I was Rei the Ophiuchus, learning the rules of the Infinity OS that kept flooding my mind. The information came in fragments, like an incomplete puzzle. There were 12 Riders representing the Zodiac, each with unique powers and two lives. Then there was me, Ophiuchus, the forbidden Zodiac with only one life.

The most unsettling information was about Star Fragments. Each time a Rider lost a life, they released part of their power as a Star Fragment. Collecting these fragments was the way to grow stronger. The Sagittarius card in my pocket now felt heavy, a burden of a lost life and a power I had to answer for.

One night, about three days after the park fight, I couldn’t sleep. At 2 a.m., my phone’s screen lit up with an Infinity OS notification. A digital map appeared, showing two red dots moving fast in the city center. Leo and Aries. Both were marked with clashing sword icons. They were about to fight.

My heart raced. Could this be a chance? A chance to observe and learn about other Riders’ powers without fighting? A voice in my head, sounding like Ophiuchus, whispered, “They’re not a spectacle, Rei. They’re your enemies. This is your chance to gain more power.”

Despite my fear, I decided to go. I threw on my worn-out jacket and hurried out, following the map’s directions. The red dots moved toward a deserted industrial area. The air was cold and damp, reeking of oil and rusted metal.

When I arrived, the battle had already begun. I hid behind a stack of containers, watching from afar. Leo was majestic, clad in golden armor with a flaming mane. He wielded a massive sword, each swing unleashing waves of fire that scorched the asphalt. Aries, more agile, wore silver armor with a ram’s horn motif. He dual-wielded short blades that moved like lightning, leaving trails of electricity.

Their fight was brutal and spectacular. Explosions of fire and lightning flashes filled the area. They fought with incredible power, wrecking warehouses and crushing parked vehicles. The clash of metal and their roars made me tremble. I saw Leo parry Aries’s attack with his sword, then retaliate with a fire blast that engulfed a truck. Aries countered, leaping onto a container and unleashing a shockwave of electricity that knocked Leo to the ground.

As the battle reached its peak, a thought hit me. Why was I just watching? If one of them lost, I could claim their Star Fragment and grow stronger. That’s how they survived, how they gained the upper hand. Suddenly, a blue dot appeared on the map. Taurus. He was approaching, likely drawn to the fight. I had to act fast.

The industrial area was a warzone of fire and lightning, the clash of Leo and Aries painting the night in bursts of gold and silver. Hidden behind the rusted container, I crouched low, my breath shallow, my phone’s Infinity OS map glowing faintly in my hand. Taurus’s blue dot pulsed closer, his heavy footsteps rumbling like an approaching earthquake. My plan was simple: stay hidden, watch, and learn. No fighting. Not with three Riders here. My one life, ♥ 1/1, was too fragile to risk.

But the air shifted, a prickling heat crawling up my spine. Leo and Aries froze mid-clash, their weapons, Leo’s flaming sword and Aries’s electric blades, hovering as if time had paused. Leo’s helmet, its mane flickering like a dying campfire, turned slowly toward my hiding spot. Aries’s silver armor sparked, his head snapping in the same direction. Their visors glowed, scanning the darkness.

“An intruder,” Leo growled, his voice deep and regal, like a lion sizing up prey. “Not Taurus… something else.”

“Forbidden energy,” Aries hissed, his voice sharp and electric. “Ophiuchus.”

My heart stopped. How did they know? I hadn’t transformed, hadn’t made a sound. The Sagittarius card in my pocket burned against my thigh, its glow faint but betraying, like a beacon I couldn’t hide. I pressed myself against the container, its cold metal biting into my back, praying they’d dismiss it as a glitch.

No such luck. Leo raised his sword, flames roaring to life, and pointed it at my hiding spot. “Come out, snake. Or we’ll burn you out.”

Aries moved faster, his blades crackling with electricity as he leaped onto a nearby container, his silhouette framed against the smoky sky. “Forbidden Riders don’t belong here. Your existence breaks the System’s balance.”

Panic clawed at my chest. I wasn’t ready for this, not for two official Riders, both with two lives and battle-honed skills. Taurus’s dot was now fifty meters away, closing fast. If I stayed hidden, I’d be cornered. If I ran, they’d chase me. My trembling hand gripped my phone, the snake symbol pulsing. No choice.

“Henshin!” I shouted, my voice cracking.

The familiar cold surged through me, like ice water flooding my veins. Serpent scales erupted across my skin, forming sleek, greenish-black armor. A snake-shaped helmet encased my head, its bluish-green visor transforming the world into a digital battlefield. My muscles tightened, stronger, lighter, but my heart still pounded like a drum. The Infinity OS displayed their stats: [Leo | Lives: ♥♡ 2/2 | Ability: Solar Flare] and [Aries | Lives: ♥♡ 2/2 | Ability: Volt Rush]. Both untouched, both deadly.

I stepped out, fists clenched, trying to look braver than I felt. “I don’t want to fight,” I said, my voice steady through the helmet’s filter. “Just let me go.”

Leo laughed, a booming sound that shook the air. “A forbidden Rider begging? Pathetic.” He swung his sword, unleashing a wave of fire that roared toward me, scorching the ground black.

I dove to the side, the heat singeing my armor, my visor flashing a warning: [Thermal Damage: 5%]. Aries was already moving, a blur of silver and lightning, his blades slashing at my chest. I blocked with my arm, the Serpent Scale absorbing some of the shock, but the impact sent me skidding across the asphalt, sparks flying. Pain shot through my ribs, my visor blinking: [Structural Integrity: 85%].

They were too strong, too fast. Leo charged, his sword raised for a crushing blow, while Aries flanked me, his blades sparking with enough voltage to fry me. I dodged Leo’s strike, the ground exploding into molten fragments, but Aries’s blade grazed my shoulder, sending a jolt through my body. My vision blurred, my visor screaming: [Electrical Damage: 15%]. I stumbled, barely staying upright. They fought like a unit, their movements synchronized from years of battles I’d never seen. I was a kid playing hero, outmatched and outclassed.

Desperation clawed at me. Andi’s blood-soaked face flashed in my mind, his dying whisper: “What… is this…” I couldn’t die here, not like him, not for nothing. My hand found the Sagittarius card in my pocket, its arrow logo glowing hotter, burning through my armor like a brand. A new notification appeared on my visor: [Star Fragment: Sagittarius | Activate? Cost: 1 Day of Life | Y/N].

One day of my life. I didn’t even know what that meant, would I age faster? Lose a memory? Die sooner? But as Leo’s sword descended again, flames licking the air, and Aries’s blades closed in, I had no time to think. “Y!” I screamed, pressing the card against my chest.

A searing pain erupted in my core, like a piece of my soul was being torn away. My vision flashed white, then green. The Sagittarius card dissolved into particles of light, merging with my armor. My right arm tingled, then transformed, scales reshaping into a sleek, golden-green bow, its string humming with energy. The Infinity OS updated: [Temporary Ability: Celestial Shot | Duration: 60 seconds].

Leo’s sword was inches from my head. I rolled back, pulling the bow’s string instinctively. A glowing arrow materialized, its tip crackling with the same energy Sagittarius had used. I aimed at Leo and released. The arrow streaked through the air, faster than I could track, and hit his chest with a deafening boom. He staggered, flames dimming, his visor flashing: [Leo | Lives: ♥♡ 2/2 | Damage: 30%].

Aries lunged, but I was already moving, my body lighter, guided by the bow’s power. I fired a second arrow, this one grazing his leg, sending him crashing into a stack of crates with a burst of sparks. [Aries | Lives: ♥♡ 2/2 | Damage: 25%]. The bow’s energy pulsed through me, but my visor blinked a warning: [Celestial Shot: 30 seconds remaining]. My body felt heavier, the cost of the fragment sinking in, a day of my life, gone.

I didn’t wait for them to recover. I turned and ran, my legs pumping faster than ever, the Serpent Scale’s speed carrying me through the industrial maze. Behind me, Leo roared, “You can’t hide, snake!” Aries’s lightning crackled, but the distance grew. I ducked behind a warehouse, my armor retracting with a hiss, leaving me as plain Rei again, gasping on the cold ground. My phone buzzed, the Infinity OS showing their dots still active but no longer pursuing. Taurus’s dot had stopped, likely joining the fray I’d escaped.

Sweat drenched my uniform, my hand stinging where the Sagittarius card had burned. The bow was gone, its power spent. I’d survived, but at what cost? One day of my life for a fleeting chance to fight back. And they knew me now Ophiuchus, the forbidden Rider. The game had just gotten deadlier.

My lungs burned as I sprinted through the industrial maze, the cold night air biting at my face. The Infinity OS map on my phone flickered, showing three red dots, Leo, Aries, and now Taurus, closing in like predators. My Serpent Scale armor was gone, its energy spent after using the Sagittarius Star Fragment. I was just Rei again, a scrawny high schooler with a rusty bike nowhere in sight and a body screaming for rest. The warehouse district’s narrow alleys offered no escape, their rusted walls and oil-stained ground boxing me in.

Behind me, Leo’s roar echoed, his flaming sword casting an orange glow across the asphalt. “You can’t run forever, snake!” Aries’s electric blades crackled, his silver form a blur as he leaped from container to container, cutting off my left flank. Worse, Taurus’s seismic steps shook the ground, each thud sending tremors through my bones. My visor, still faintly active in my mind’s eye, flashed his profile: [Taurus | Lives: ♥♡ 2/2 | Ability: Seismic Charge]. A new message followed: [Threat Level: Critical]. No kidding.

I ducked into a dead-end alley, a chain-link fence blocking my path. My heart sank. Cornered. The Sagittarius bow had bought me seconds, but it was gone, and the cost, one day of my life, left me dizzy, like a piece of me had been carved out. I clutched the fence, its cold metal biting my palms, and turned to face them.

Leo stepped forward, his golden armor glowing like a furnace, sword raised. “Forbidden Riders threaten the System’s order. You die here.” Aries flanked him, blades sparking, his visor locked on me. Taurus loomed behind them, his bronze bull-emblem armor glinting under a flickering streetlight. His hammer, glowing green, hummed with power. “I hate nothing more than those who disrupt the status quo,” he growled, his voice like grinding stone. “Your existence is a glitch, Ophiuchus.”

My phone vibrated, the snake symbol pulsing, but transforming now felt pointless. Three against one, all with two lives, all battle-hardened. My single ♥ blinked in my mind, mocking me. I was no hero, just a kid who’d made a stupid choice. Andi’s bloodied face flashed again, his dying question unanswered. Was this how it ended?

A sharp laugh cut through the tension, light and playful, like a bell in a storm. “Wow, three big shots ganging up on one newbie? That’s, like, totally unfair!” From the shadows above, a figure dropped, landing between me and the Riders. No, two figures, identical, clad in sleek, silver-green armor with a twin-star emblem on their chests. Gemini. Their visors glowed a soft purple, and they moved in perfect sync, one holding a shimmering whip, the other a pair of daggers.

“Gemini?” Leo snarled, stepping back. “This isn’t your fight.”

“Oh, but it’s so boring just watching!” one Gemini chirped, her voice bubbly. The other, silent, spun her daggers with a cold precision. My visor updated: [Gemini | Lives: ♥♡ 2/2 | Ability: Mirror Clone]. Before I could process, the cheerful Gemini snapped her whip, and the air shimmered. Two more Geminis appeared, then four, then eight, clones splitting like reflections in a fractured mirror. Each held the same whip or daggers, their movements a chaotic dance.

“Scatter them!” the serious Gemini barked. The clones surged forward, a whirlwind of silver-green. One clone lashed her whip at Leo, wrapping it around his sword arm, yanking him off balance. Another pair tackled Aries, their daggers clashing against his blades in a shower of sparks. Taurus swung his hammer, crushing a clone into light particles, but three more took its place, their whips coiling around his legs, slowing him.

I stood frozen, my breath ragged. The cheerful Gemini grabbed my arm, her grip firm but warm. “Come on, cutie, time to go!” Before I could protest, she leaped, pulling me upward with impossible strength. The world blurred, wind rushing past as we soared, landing on the roof of a distant factory, its smokestacks looming like silent giants. The industrial district sprawled below, Leo’s flames and Aries’s lightning flashes tiny in the distance. Taurus’s roars echoed faintly.

The Gemini armor dissolved in a shimmer of purple light, revealing two girls, identical in face but opposite in vibe. Both had short black hair and sharp green eyes, but one wore a bright yellow jacket and a grin that could light up the night. The other, in a dark blue coat, crossed her arms, her face etched with irritation.

“Ugh, why did we save him, Mira?” the serious one snapped, glaring at me. “He’s a forbidden Rider. He’ll just cause more trouble.”

“Oh, come on, Lena!” the cheerful one, Mira, said, twirling a strand of hair. “A forbidden Rider? That’s, like, *super* fascinating! Ophiuchus, right? The snake guy? I wanna know *everything*!” She leaned closer, eyes sparkling with curiosity, ignoring my dazed expression.

I slumped against a rusted vent, my legs shaking. “Why… why did you help me?” My voice was hoarse, the weight of the chase still crushing me.

Lena scoffed, adjusting her coat. “Don’t get any ideas. I didn’t want to. Mira’s too soft for her own good. Helping a glitch like you could screw us over in the System.”

Mira pouted, nudging Lena. “Oh, stop being such a grump! He’s, like, a total underdog! And besides, did you *see* how he took on Sagittarius? That was cool!” She turned to me, grinning. “So, spill! How’d you become Ophiuchus? What’s your deal? Got any cool powers yet?”

I stared at them, my mind reeling. The Infinity OS hadn’t mentioned Gemini’s dual nature, but their clone ability had saved my life. Lena’s hostility and Mira’s enthusiasm were a confusing mix, and I didn’t trust either. Ophiuchus’s words echoed: *They’re your enemies, Rei.* But Mira’s curiosity seemed genuine, and they’d just pulled me from certain death.

“I… I don’t know much,” I admitted, clutching my phone, its screen dark now. “Some guy, Ophiuchus, gave me this power. Said I could make things right. But I’ve got one life, and everyone wants me dead.” The Sagittarius card was still in my pocket, its faint heat a reminder of the day I’d burned.

Lena’s eyes narrowed. “Ophiuchus himself contacted you? That’s bad news. Forbidden Riders don’t just *happen*. You’re part of something bigger, and I don’t like it.”

Mira clapped her hands, undeterred. “See? That’s why we gotta keep him around! He’s, like, a mystery box! Maybe he’s the key to winning the System!” She winked at me, but Lena grabbed her arm.

“We’re not keeping him,” Lena said coldly. “We got you out of that mess, kid. Now stay out of our way, or next time, I’ll let Leo burn you.” She turned, pulling Mira toward the roof’s edge.

“Wait!” I called, standing shakily. “What’s the Zodiac System really about? Why’s everyone after me?”

Mira glanced back, her grin softening. “It’s a game, cutie. Win, and you rewrite the world. Lose, and you’re erased. Forbidden Riders like you? They’re wild cards. Nobody likes wild cards… except me!” She giggled, but Lena yanked her away.

They leaped off the roof, their forms shimmering back into Gemini armor, vanishing into the night. Below, the industrial area glowed with distant flames. My phone buzzed, the Infinity OS map showing Leo, Aries, and Taurus moving apart, their chase disrupted. For now, I was safe. But Lena’s warning and Mira’s fascination left a knot in my gut. I was a glitch, a threat to their game, and Gemini’s help wasn’t charity, it was a gamble.