The forest was no longer quiet.
Glitching light cracked through the leaves like broken lightning, the monster came back. It stood taller now- duplicated,but not mirrored. Two bodies one mind.
And learning faster.
Althea and Aveline backed away, breath caught in their throats.
They seen monsters in the game but this one was evolved, it adapted faster and it was... watching them evolve.
" I only hit it once. "Althea growled.
"ONCE ."Aveline said looking at Althea
"Fine, more than once ."Althea murmuring.
The monster turned. One of its forms lunged. The other circled behind.
They dodged, barely. Then-
CRASH
A third form slammed into nearby stone wall,sending cracks shooting across it . The glitched energy spread like vines and the ground behind them began to fracture- not physically, but like the world's code was tearing.
Suddenly,both twins were trapped.
The monster's body wrapped around them like living walls . They were not touching it, but their presence pressed the girls down like gravity had shifted.
Aveline bow sparkled weakly.
Althea spear couldn't cut through the field.
Their strength draining.
Then
A whistle.
The air shimmered, and from between two trees, the boy stepped out.
Still calm,unreadable, but now...serious.
He didn't fight.
He only raised his hand. A thin light glowed from his palm- something like a scan. The monster froze, it turned, it didn't attack, it recognized him .
"This isn't just a breast ,"boy said.
"It's a corruption in the file.
Something got in."
"This part of the world isn't meant to exist. "
The monster hissed .Its copies flickered. They began to combine, forming a single massive form- stronger than before,but glitching badly. Its surface looked like fractured glass, flickering between armor and more exposed.
The boy's voice dropped.
"It is not going to stop until you stab the real heart. You'll only get one chance. "
Althea shouted "Where is it?"
The boy didn't answer.
"So this is how it feels to get snubbed ."Althea murmured,referring to the boy.
But then Aveline saw it.
When the creature leaned back, preparing for its strike, a glowing red core pulsed deep in its chest, beneath jagged armor and shifting pixel.
She leapt .
Aveline didn't hesitate, she threw an arrow upward. Althea caught it in midair,using the momentum to jump - her own spear drawn like lightning rod.
Together,they came down-
Althea driving the tip of the spear into the exposed core.
Aveline leaping after, shot her arrow into the red core.
The monster screamed-not with a voice,but with a soundless pulse ,a wave of heat and static.
It's body cracked. The copies shattered.
The glitch field trembled and dissolved like dust blown out of the mirror.
Silence.
The boy looked up once more . His eyes were distant.
"You didn't win," he said. "You paused it. "
And just like before....
He vanished.
The girls stood in the shattered clearing. The ground below them flickered like glass on water. Something beneath was shifting.
And the forest,now darker ,began to whisper again.
"NOT AGAIN! " screamed Althea.