The shadowed figure stepped from the glitching horizon, his armor patched together from fractured textures and corrupted models. His steps were deliberate, heavy, each one causing the ground to flicker beneath him. His face was hidden beneath a cracked helm, but his eyes burned—glowing with lines of code.
Arin's pulse quickened. Another player.
"So," the stranger's voice rasped, distorted as though filtered through static, "you're the one they call the Bugged One. Kael was right… you're different."
Arin gripped his fists, Advanced Code Rewrite humming faintly beneath his skin. "If you're with Kael, save the threats. I'm not interested."
The stranger chuckled low. "Not interested? Then why is your hand shaking? No… you're curious. You want to know how you measure up. Against someone like me."
Before Arin could reply, the figure lunged.
He moved unnaturally fast, his body stuttering like corrupted video frames. One moment he was meters away—then suddenly in Arin's face, his jagged blade already swinging.
Arin threw himself backward and activated Pause Function.
The world froze. The stranger's blade hung inches from his throat, static sparks dancing along its edge. Arin's heart hammered. Too close. He sprinted sideways in the frozen world, weaving terrain spikes into existence with Code Rewrite. Jagged shards of corrupted stone rose in the stranger's path.
3… 2… 1.
Time resumed.
The figure struck, his blade biting into one of the spikes. But instead of shattering, he phased through it, his body flickering to the other side like a ghost in broken code.
Arin's eyes widened. "He can… pass through objects?"
"Exactly," the stranger grinned, twisting toward him. "My exploit is called Phase Shift. You manipulate the world… I ignore it."
He lunged again, his attacks slipping through obstacles and barriers as though they weren't there. Arin ducked, rolled, duplicated rocks midair, and forced the terrain to shift—but the man simply glitched through each creation.
Arin's breath came in sharp bursts. This guy's exploit is a direct counter to mine. I can't block him… I have to outthink him.
He activated Pause again. The world froze, and he sprinted behind the stranger, reshaping the terrain into a pit beneath him.
When time resumed, the figure fell into the glitching hole. Arin duplicated debris, collapsing it in on him—only for the man to phase straight out of the trap, laughing.
"You're creative," he admitted. "But creativity won't save you forever."
His blade sliced across Arin's arm. Pain flared—not fatal, but sharp enough to make his vision blur. The wound didn't bleed normally; instead, his skin flickered like a corrupted texture. A system warning flashed:
[Player Data Corruption: 1.1%]
Arin hissed through his teeth. If that number gets too high… I'm done.
He forced himself upright, clutching his arm. "Then I'll just have to get more creative."
He triggeredPauseone last time. The world froze, silence stretching. He duplicated debris rapidly, hurling it into place, but this time… he didn't aim to trap the figure. Instead, he reshaped the environment itself—layering rocks and branches into a funnel, a path the enemy would want to move through.
3… 2… 1.
Time resumed.
The stranger lunged forward, phasing through obstacles—but straight into Arin's makeshift funnel. The moment he shifted inside, Arin collapsed it with Code Rewrite, warping the funnel into a crushing vice.
The stranger phased through—but not fast enough. The corrupted environment clipped into him, sparks of code bursting across his armor. He staggered, gritting his teeth.
Arin leapt back, chest heaving. "Got you."
The figure smirked, shaking off the damage. "Not bad. You've got instincts. But instincts won't be enough against Kael. He's leagues beyond me."
Before Arin could press further, the man's body flickered. His form destabilized into pixels, collapsing into the glitching air. His distorted voice lingered a moment longer:
"We'll meet again, Bugged One. And next time… I won't be testing you. I'll be ending you."
Then he was gone.
Arin stood in the barren landscape, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his face. His arm still flickered with data corruption, a reminder of how close he had come.
He clenched his fists. Kael has others like him. Exploit users. Rivals. Maybe even an army.
The thought should have terrified him—but instead, a grin spread across his face.
"Good. Then I'll just have to get stronger. Stronger than all of you."
The corrupted wind howled through the wasteland, carrying fragments of broken code. And for the first time, Arin didn't feel like prey. He felt like a contender.