The chamber stretched endlessly, a cathedral carved from broken code. Its walls flickered between stone and streams of glowing script, the air thick with static so heavy that each breath felt like swallowing sparks.
At the center pulsed the Glitched Core.
It was massive, larger than any boss Arin had ever faced — a crystalline heart suspended in midair, fractured into shards that never fully broke apart. Every pulse of light sent ripples through the chamber, bending reality with each beat.
Arin staggered forward, blade loose in his grip, his body still aching from the clash with the Enforcer. His HUD flickered uncontrollably — numbers blinking, vanishing, then reappearing in different places. Even his name tag glitched into a garbled mess of letters.
[Name: A----]
[Class: ----]
[Title: The Bugged One]
He clenched his teeth. "Figures. Even here, I'm broken."
Beside him, Lyra's silver hair shimmered faintly in the glitch-light. Unlike before, she wasn't calm. Her eyes were wide, her face pale. For the first time since he met her, she looked… afraid.
"Arin," she whispered. "Do you feel it?"
Arin swallowed, his throat dry. "Like it's watching me."
Because it was.
The Core's fractured surface shifted, shards rotating until an eye of glowing data stared back at him. It wasn't human. It wasn't even alive. But it was aware.
And then the voice came.
Not sound. Not words. Just fragments of code that stabbed directly into his skull, rearranging themselves into meaning.
[BUG DETECTED.]
[INTEGRITY COMPROMISED.]
[IDENTITY: UNRESOLVED.]
Arin staggered, clutching his head. The voice wasn't loud, but it reverberated inside him, pulling at his very being like it was trying to unravel him.
"Stop it—!" His shout cracked. "I'm not your damn bug. I didn't ask for this!"
The Core pulsed again. This time, a wave of data swept across the floor, projecting images into the air.
He saw flashes — fragments of a story he wasn't supposed to know.
— A boy in a hospital bed, eyes closed, machines beeping faintly beside him.— Developers arguing over corrupted test builds, panic in their voices.— A line of code highlighted in red, reading: "Project E-01: The Bugged One – Forced Integration."
Arin's heart froze. His legs buckled.
"That…" His voice broke. "That was me."
Lyra's hand shot out, steadying him. Her grip was firm, grounding. "Arin—listen. It's showing you fragments, not the whole truth. Don't let it consume you."
But his mind was already racing. Hospital bed. Project E-01. Forced integration. Was he even… alive anymore? Or just data stitched together by a broken machine?
The Core pulsed harder, like it was reacting to his doubt.
[UNSTABLE ENTITY.]
[CORRUPTION PROGRESSION: 2.7%.]
[SOLUTION: REFORMAT.]
A beam of pure glitch-light erupted from the Core, lancing straight toward him.
Arin's instincts screamed. He threw up Exploit Shield, fusing Pause Function with Data Fragment Lock. The shield flickered into existence just as the beam struck — and shattered instantly.
The blast hurled him across the chamber, slamming him into the wall. Pain exploded through his body, his HUD flashing red.
[HP: 12%]
"Arin!" Lyra cried, rushing toward him. She knelt, her hands glowing faintly as she patched him with her strange healing code. But even her ability flickered, struggling against the Core's presence.
He coughed, forcing himself to his feet. His entire body trembled, but his spirit burned hotter than ever.
"You think you can just erase me?" he snarled at the glowing heart. "I don't care if I'm a bug. I don't care if I'm broken. I'm here, and I'll survive. That's more than your perfect little world ever managed."
The Core paused. Then, impossibly, it… laughed.
Not human laughter, but a distortion — a cascade of broken audio files overlapping until it became unbearable.
[RESISTANCE ACKNOWLEDGED.]
[ACCESS: PARTIAL GRANTED.]
[BUG EXPLOIT – SYSTEM REWRITE ACQUIRED.]
A new notification flashed before his eyes, burning brighter than any before.
[Skill Unlocked: System Rewrite]
[Effect: Temporarily override or alter one system function within range.]
Arin's jaw dropped. Rewrite the system? That wasn't just an exploit. That was control.
Lyra's eyes widened, reflecting the glowing words. "Arin… do you understand what this means? You can change the rules themselves."
His chest heaved, his heart pounding with fear and exhilaration all at once. For the first time, he didn't feel like a victim of the bug. For the first time, he felt… dangerous.
The Core pulsed again, but weaker now, its light dimming as though granting him the power drained it.
The voice returned, softer.
[SURVIVE… OR CONSUME.]
[THE CHOICE IS YOURS.]
Then the chamber shuddered. Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls. The Core dimmed further, retreating into silence.
The ground trembled violently. Pieces of the ceiling began to fall.
Lyra grabbed his arm. "It's collapsing! We need to get out now!"
Arin hesitated, staring one last time at the fading Core. Questions burned in his mind, but answers would have to wait.
He turned and ran with Lyra as the chamber fell apart behind them, the pulse of the Core echoing faintly in his chest.
A reminder.A warning.And a promise.