The transition into the fifth layer wasn't gentle.One step forward—and the ground exploded into fire.
Arin barely managed to leap aside, clutching Lyra's hand as molten cracks tore through the earth. The once-solid path was gone, replaced by a battlefield in constant flux.
Mountains rose, crumbled, and burned to ash within seconds. Rivers of ice carved themselves across the fiery land, freezing flames into jagged glass before shattering into storms of shards. Thunder roared from skies that split between blazing sun and eternal night.
It wasn't a dungeon. It was chaos given form.
[Zone Transition: Abyss – Layer 5]
[Environmental Error: Elemental Instability – EXTREME]
[Warning: Stable footing not guaranteed.]
Arin cursed under his breath. "This place isn't even trying to kill us with monsters—it's the whole damn map!"
The ground beneath him shifted from rock to ice in an instant. His boots slid, and he nearly fell into a chasm where lava churned like a hungry maw.
Lyra reacted quickly, driving her corrupted arm into the ground, the tendrils anchoring them both. The heat singed their skin even through the system's damage filters.
"Stay close!" she yelled over the roar of colliding elements. "If we're separated, this place will eat us alive."
A lightning bolt struck just meters away, crackling with unstable code. It left behind a glowing fissure that pulsed like a system wound. Arin's instincts screamed.
"That… that's not normal lightning."
He examined it quickly, eyes widening. It wasn't just elemental—it was system lightning, raw fragments of code ripping reality apart.
Arin's mind raced. He couldn't brute-force this. Fighting the environment was like punching the sky.
"Think…" he muttered. "Pause Function… Gravity Anchor… Glitch Bind… none of those stop a whole world from trying to kill us."
Lyra looked at him sharply. "What about Memory Lock? Can it stabilize more than memories?"
The idea clicked. If he could stabilize cognitive patterns, why not environmental code fragments?
He carved a symbol mid-air, glowing with glitch light:
[Exploit Activated: Reality Lock]
Anchors a limited area of unstable environment into stability.
Duration: 30 seconds.
Radius: 5 meters.
Cost: Exploit Stability –10%
The effect spread like ripples. The ground beneath them solidified into stone, the air calmed, and the lightning avoided their small bubble of order.
Arin exhaled in relief. "It works. But it won't last long. We'll have to leapfrog—Reality Lock by Reality Lock—until we reach the exit."
Lyra smirked faintly despite the chaos. "Then let's hope your timing doesn't fail."
For what felt like hours, they moved through the layer step by step. Arin would anchor reality, they'd sprint across collapsing terrain, then he'd do it again.
But each use chipped away at his Exploit Stability. The red warning bar at the corner of his vision crept lower and lower.
[Exploit Stability: 42%]
[Warning: Critical Threshold Approaching]
Sweat trickled down his face. If his stability dropped too far, the Abyss could consume him outright.
At one point, the environment shifted violently—lava and ice colliding into an explosion of steam. Arin miscalculated, his Reality Lock flickering. A wave of fire surged toward them.
Lyra reacted instantly, spreading her corrupted arm like a shield. The flames washed over her, searing, but the corruption absorbed part of it. She gritted her teeth, pain flashing in her eyes.
"Keep moving!" she snarled.
Arin grabbed her, pulling her forward. They stumbled onto solid ground just as the lock renewed, barely escaping the collapse behind them.
Finally, they reached the heart of the layer: a massive storm vortex swirling with fire, ice, lightning, and wind. The exit glowed faintly at its center.
Arin's stomach dropped. "We… we have to go through that?"
Lyra smirked, battered but unbroken. "Unless you've got a better exploit, yes."
He clenched his jaw, focusing every ounce of energy he had. One last Reality Lock—expanded beyond its limit.
[Exploit Overclocked: Reality Lock – MAX]
Radius extended to 15 meters.
Duration unstable.
Severe Stability Cost.
The storm parted just enough to carve a path. Together, they sprinted, dodging lightning and shards of frozen fire. Their health bars dropped dangerously low, but they didn't stop.
With one final leap, they hurled themselves into the glowing exit—just as the overclocked lock shattered behind them.
They collapsed in a calmer zone, the chaos left behind. Arin's stability meter blinked angrily:
[Exploit Stability: 23%] – DANGEROUS LEVEL
Arin's chest heaved. "One more mistake, and I'll glitch out completely."
Lyra touched his shoulder gently. "But you didn't. You adapted. And that's why we're still alive."
Her words steadied him. For now. But deep down, Arin knew: the Abyss wasn't done.