Arin's boots pressed softly against the mossy stone floor as he walked deeper into the forgotten cavern. His breath puffed in the cold air, and faint glimmers of crystalline reflections guided his path like ghostly stars. The air tasted metallic… almost digital.
Nova trotted beside him in shadow-form, her nine tails flickering with data particles. "This place shouldn't exist…" she whispered, ears angled back. "The system removed these zones months ago…"
Arin smirked, "That's why they're perfect."
Behind them, Celeste's heels clicked with deliberate elegance. Her crimson eyes glowed faintly, scanning every corridor. "You're hoping to find a loophole — a backdoor into the world code."
"Not hoping," Arin said. "Knowing."
He placed a palm against a pulsing wall — circuits glowing beneath stone like veins.
A secret dungeon not built by developers… but by something else.
System Warning: Zone Breach Detected
Reality-Integration Protocol Active…
A tremor rolled under their feet.
Arin drew his sword instinctively — but instead of the cool weight of metal, a flicker of blue code danced around his hand. The data blade manifested sharper than steel.
His heart skipped.
"This again…"
Celeste stepped closer. "Your weapon manifested without an item call… You're learning to bend the rules."
"Or the world is bending me," Arin muttered.
Nova hissed. "Something is awakening."
They reached a grand chamber.
A massive crystal obelisk stood in the center, cracked like a glitching hologram. Random images jittered across its surface — cities, forests… and then a horrifying one:
Earth. Burning. Cities collapsing. People screaming — glitching out.
Arin froze.
"That's… my world."
The images cut abruptly.
System code surged around the obelisk, rewriting itself violently. The ground bulged as a creature crawled out — part flesh, part corrupted geometry. Spikes twisted through broken polygons, and eyes flickered like error messages.
ABERRANT ENTITY: ROOT BUG
Classification: ❌ Unknown
Status: Must Not Exist
Celeste summoned a staff of violet flame. Nova's form shifted — claws gleaming with code.
Arin stepped forward, electricity crawling across his armor.
"Let's debug," he growled.
⚔️ Battle: Reality vs Corruption
The Root Bug screamed — chunks of stone shattering as gravitational distortions erupted around them.
Arin dodged — the world glitching for a split second. A warning message flashed before his eyes:
You are desynced from reality.
"What the hell does that mean?!" he shouted.
Nova launched upward — slashing with precision, leaving bright code scars across the beast's hide.
Celeste traced runes midair — a Firewall Sigil burst into flames, burning away the corruption.
Arin saw an opening. He thrust his blade — but halfway through, the creature's body deleted, and the sword passed through empty data.
"Cheating bastard!"
The Root Bug reappeared behind him — biting into his shoulder. Pixelated blood scattered.
His HP dropped. Fast.
Celeste screamed his name — but Arin didn't hear her.
In that moment…
Something inside him snapped.
⚡ SYSTEM OVERRIDE: Player Ascension (Unstable)
His pupils turned neon-blue.
The air cracked like glass.
Arin grabbed the monster's head — code streaming into his palm.
He wasn't just fighting the glitch…
He was rewriting it.
Developer-Level Command Detected.
Execute? [Y/N]
Arin whispered, "Yes."
The Root Bug exploded into pure light — erased, not defeated.
Nova and Celeste stared — stunned.
"You accessed an authority you shouldn't have…" Celeste whispered.
Arin staggered back, gasping — his heartbeat echoing like metallic clicks.
The obelisk pulsed again.
A new message etched itself across its surface:
WARNING
You are not a player anymore.
You are becoming the Error.
And Reality fears you.
Arin clenched his fists. "Good. Let reality be afraid."
But then—
He spotted something embedded in the shattered crystal. A shard… glowing with frozen time.
He picked it up and the world flashed —
Vision: 72 Hours Later
Cities in both worlds collapsing. Code merging with flesh. Humanity screaming.
A voice echoing:
"The evolution you triggered… cannot be stopped."
Arin dropped the shard, heart racing.
Nova pressed against his leg. "Partner… what did you see?"
He shook his head. "A future we're not going to let happen."
Celeste stepped closer — eyes soft for once.
"You're changing. More than you realize."
Arin forced a smile. "As long as this power keeps my people alive… I'll take the risk."
But deep inside…
He wondered:
What if he wasn't saving the world
…but rewriting it into a nightmare?
As they turned to leave…
The shards of the crystal reassembled behind them — forming a single glowing symbol:
THE ERADICATOR IS COMING
And Arin's name flickered beneath it…
Like a threat.
Or a prophecy.