The forest stretched endlessly before them, shadows bending unnaturally as if the trees themselves were caught in a loop. Branches swayed to a rhythm that didn't exist, and every so often, an animal appeared at the edge of sight—only to flicker, vanish, and reappear again.
Arin walked slowly, one hand dragging his blade along the ground more for balance than menace. His whole body ached, not from physical wounds but from the weight of what had just happened.
System Rewrite.
The words replayed in his head over and over. He had forced the world to obey him—changed terrain, inverted gravity, bent the rules themselves. But when the adrenaline faded, the truth hit harder.
[Corruption: 3.2%]
The number floated in the corner of his vision, a quiet countdown. Every use of that power came at a price. And the system wasn't going to let him forget it.
"You're quiet," Lyra said.
Her voice pulled him back. She walked a few steps ahead, her silver hair swaying in the broken light. Unlike before, she wasn't watching the forest. She was watching him.
"I'm thinking," Arin muttered.
"About what?"
He hesitated. The answer clawed at his throat, raw and bitter. "About whether I'm even me anymore."
Lyra stopped. Slowly, she turned, her expression unreadable. "You are."
"You sound sure," he said, though his laugh came out hollow. "I saw flashes, Lyra. A boy in a hospital bed. Code labeled 'Project E-01.' And me standing here with 'Bugged One' stamped on my forehead. Maybe I'm not Arin anymore. Maybe I'm just… leftovers the system stitched together."
The wind glitched, carrying whispers of static. For a moment, the whole world seemed to hold its breath.
Lyra stepped closer. "If you were only code, you wouldn't doubt. You wouldn't laugh at your own pain. You wouldn't look at me the way you do now. The system may have shaped this version of you, but you are what defies it."
Her words struck something deep inside him. Arin looked away, hiding the storm in his chest.
Before he could respond, his HUD blinked.
[System Warning: Zone Instability Detected]
[Incoming Corruption Surge]
The trees around them shuddered violently, their shapes melting into twisted polygons. The ground shifted like liquid, swallowing entire patches of grass before spitting them out again in jagged formations.
Arin cursed, snapping his blade up. "Of course. No rest for the broken."
But the surge wasn't like the usual monsters spawning. This was… different.
The sky itself fractured, shards of digital glass raining down. Each piece pulsed with corrupted energy, striking the ground and birthing distorted creatures. Wolves with too many eyes. Birds with wings folded inside-out. Shapes that couldn't exist in any sane world.
And they were all heading straight for him.
Lyra's eyes narrowed. "It's pulling you again. The Core knows where you are."
Arin's grip tightened on his blade. His pulse thundered in his ears, the corruption percentage ticking higher just by standing this close to the storm.
[Corruption: 3.5%]
"Figures," he growled. "It's not done with me."
Lyra raised her hand, summoning her faint silver glow. "Then we'll make it regret letting you walk away."
Arin smirked, despite the chaos boiling around them. "That's the spirit."
The monsters surged, their roars blending with the static of the broken world. Arin lunged forward, blade flashing, his bug exploits sparking in his veins like fire.
This wasn't just another fight. This was a message.
The Core wasn't going to let him escape.
And he wasn't going to let it win.