The sky above Glitchborn Valley shimmered with an unnatural hue. Where once the firmament remained stable, cracks now veined across it like shattered glass refracting light from unseen dimensions.
"System Alert:
[Fractured Realities Detected]
A cross-reality anomaly has begun bleeding into Dominion Sector-001.
Probability of hostile incursion: 89.4%
Opening System Lab Override Protocol..."
Jin Mu's eyes narrowed as he gazed into the shifting skyline. The System Lab's holographic terminal pulsed violently, data lines flickering as if the very code of reality was under siege.
"Initiate defense?" asked Chrona, the AI interface of the Lab, her voice tinged with urgency.
"No," Jin Mu muttered. "Open the System Mall instead."
The command pulsed through the Divine Core embedded in his chest. The surrounding air vibrated, and in the span of a heartbeat, a towering archway of obsidian data lines assembled before him, glowing with layered sigils.
[SYSTEM MALL EVENT: FRACTURED REALITIES FLASH SALE]
Time Remaining: 1:59:59
Event Perk: Quantum Items cost 50% less (Glitched Coin Compatible).
From within the archway, a cascading veil of stardust and fractured time spilled outward. Then she emerged.
She was tall—inhumanly tall—with robes woven from suspended constellations and a crown of ticking clock hands. Her eyes mirrored the swirling entropy of collapsing timelines.
[Mirae, Chrono-Merchant of Broken Timelines – God-Tier NPC – Loyalty: Neutral (Unbound)]
"Welcome, Tycoon," Mirae said, her voice layered across countless timelines. "Today's flash sale offers what no mortal, immortal, or god has dared touch—tools to forge dominion across broken dimensions. But... they come with risk."
Jin Mu stepped forward. "Show me everything."
The interface spiraled outward—massive, circular and multidimensional. Every product hovered in its own pocket dimension, with labels floating like tags of divine auctioneers.
---
[FEATURED ITEMS – LIMITED TO 1 PURCHASE EACH]
1. Quantum Reality Forge
Function: Converts any zone into a Cross-Reality Fortress Base
Cost: 1,000 Glitched Coins or 500 System Shards
Perk: Unlocks the Dimensional Nexus Construction Tree
2. Blueprint: Glitched Evolution Core [Tier I]
Function: Enables unit evolution into "Glitchborne Ascendants"
Use: Requires units to be at least Tier S, and a system anomaly present
3. Summon Token: Reality-Warper Hero (Randomized)
Tier: Mythic to God-Tier
Chance of Unique AI Hybrid: 20%
---
Jin Mu didn't hesitate. With a swipe of his hand, his Glitched Coin reserve plummeted as the Quantum Reality Forge streamed into his inventory in a stream of code and light. The System hummed with pleasure.
[Item Acquired: Quantum Reality Forge]
[Effect Unlocked: Cross-Reality Fortification Menu Enabled]
A three-dimensional interface sprang open, rotating holograms showing layouts, energy cost projections, and expansion branches based on interdimensional leyline nodes.
He selected the "Central Nexus Mode." A divine blueprint unfolded, showing a cathedral-sized command hub tethered to fractured timelines—ideal for both defense and data harvesting.
"Chrona," Jin Mu said, "Initiate construction at the core of Glitchborn Valley."
"Coordinates locked. Energy surge detected... Constructing now."
Reality shuddered as the Forge slammed into the soil like a meteor, drilling itself between dimensions. Crystalized time exploded upward in jagged towers as the foundations of the Nexus Citadel were laid.
---
But reality never bends without consequence.
The sky above ripped wider. Out of the crack, they came.
Shadows made of corrupted code, beasts stitched together by broken physics and apocalyptic logic.
[Cross-Reality Invaders Identified: "Nullbinders of the Third Collapse"]
Origin: Fragmented Timeline — Ω.09
Goal: Consume rooted realities and strip resources
Leader Signature: "Monarch Null-Theta"
A tidal wave of these things descended across the horizon.
"Deploy Tier S Units: Dragonfire Guardians. Prepare Glitchborne Constructs for frontlines," Jin Mu barked.
The summoning circles around Glitchborn Valley pulsed violently. Massive figures erupted from them—golems with shifting armor, dragons with pixel-scaled wings, and warriors forged from redacted histories.
He moved through his newly built System Nexus, now live with hundreds of submenus and war panels.
A system notification blinked urgently.
[System Mission: Defend Your Cross-Reality Root]
Reward: Access to Evolution Lab Beta – [Glitched Evolution]
"Looks like it's time to test that new blueprint," Jin Mu smirked.
He inserted the Glitched Evolution Core into the System Lab's new Evolution Chamber.
The room darkened. The construct glitched, shuddered, then expanded into a chamber of cascading data mirrors. A hologram of a Tier S+ unit hovered above a glowing pad.
"Subject: Chrono-Templar Alexion – Tier S+
Status: Eligible for Evolution... Anomaly Detected."
[Proceed with Glitched Evolution? Warning: Outcome unknown. Proceeding may result in new lineage, skills, or instability.]
Jin Mu's smile grew broader. "Do it."
The lab cracked like an overclocked CPU.
Light burst from every corner, glitches streamed like falling petals. The unit howled as data devoured it and rewrote its reality.
When it reformed, it stood twice its height. A sword made of broken timelines, armor that phased in and out of reality, and a helm that burned with anti-light.
[Unit Ascended: Chrono-Warlock Alexion – Rank: Glitchborn Mythic]
Skill Unlocked: [Reboot Existence] – Resets timeline within 10-meter radius. Cooldown: 1 day (Real-Time)
---
Outside, chaos intensified. The Nullbinders swarmed in digital storms. Dimensional anchors quaked as they tried to consume the Glitchborn Valley whole.
Then Alexion appeared on the battlefield.
In one slash, timelines realigned. In one blink, the enemy army's progress was reversed six minutes.
Jin Mu issued a full assault. His armies—evolved, glitched, and divine—pushed outward.
By nightfall, the sky sealed.
The enemy defeated, for now.
---
Back in the Nexus Citadel, Mirae stood on one of the floating observation platforms. She held a ticking orb—a piece of temporal debt paid by Jin Mu's tampering.
"You've done well, Tycoon," she said. "But remember: every gift stolen from the future has a cost."
Jin Mu stared at the Evolution Chamber still glowing from transformation.
"Then I'll keep buying futures," he said, "until none remain that can oppose me."
---
[System Alert: YOU HAVE EVOLVED THE FIRST GLITCHED UNIT]
[System Mall – Exclusive Offer Unlocked: "Ascendant Lab Expansion Pack"]
[You Are Now Eligible for the "Reality Merchant Path" Subclass]