As soon as the words left his mouth, the Observatory shook.
It wasn't an earthquake. It was a structural failure of reality.
A crack appeared in the glass dome. Not a crack in the glass, but a crack in the sky behind it. A jagged line of pure white static tore through the purple twilight.
"CRITICAL FAILURE," a voice boomed from the sky. It wasn't Mr. Purr-sident. It was the Rat King's voice, amplified a thousand times. "SUBJECT IS REJECTING THE NARRATIVE. INITIATE EMERGENCY WIPE."
"We have to go!" Mittens yelled, his fur standing on end. "The simulation is crashing!"
The floor of the Observatory tilted. The telescope tore loose from its mountings and crashed through the glass, tumbling down into the city below.
Noah grabbed the doorframe. "Where do we go? The whole world is falling apart!"
"The Palace!" Mittens screamed over the roar of the wind. "The Eye of the Storm! It's the only place that's stable! You have to confront him!"
"Confront who?"
"The Architect! The Purr-sident! Whoever is keeping this nightmare running!"
They scrambled down the ladder of the Clock Tower. The gears were screaming now, spinning out of control, teeth stripping and metal shearing. The Clockwork Cats were convulsing on the floor, sparks showering from their eyes.
They reached the street level.
Catsopolis was dying.
The neon signs were exploding. The carpeted skyscrapers were unraveling like cheap sweaters. The "Happy Pets" were running in circles, their programming broken, flickering between human and animal forms.
Noah saw Rex. He was standing in the middle of the street. One second he was a Golden Retriever; the next he was a terrified man in a torn jumpsuit; the next he was just a wireframe model.
"Rex!" Noah shouted, reaching out.
"Ball?" Rex asked, his voice distorting into static. "Tax return? Ball? Help?"
Before Noah could reach him, the ground beneath Rex opened up—a pixelated hole into nothingness—and he fell.
"Don't look!" Mittens shouted, dragging Noah toward the Palace. "Keep your eyes on the Castle! If you look at the void, it takes you!"
They sprinted through the chaos. The rain started to fall again, but it wasn't water. It was code. Green and black binary numbers raining down, burning where they touched.
They reached the gates of the Presidential Palace. The gates were glowing red hot.
"Open up!" Noah screamed, holding up the bag of items. "I have the collection! I finished the quest! Open the goddamn door!"
The gates groaned. They didn't open; they melted.
Noah stepped through the molten archway.