The morning sunlight filtered softly through the towering canopy above us, painting golden patterns across the weathered wooden bridges and walkways of the Shai’renn vilge. Birds—or something close to birds—sang faintly in the distance, and the faint hum of the sanctuary’s magic lingered in the air.

  We stood at the edge of the vilge, just past the st archway marking the safety boundary. Devon adjusted the strap of his greatsword across his back while Selene double-checked her belt of throwing daggers. I stared nervously at my HUD, watching as the waypoint flickered faintly in the corner of my vision.

  [SIDE QUEST: FIND THE STUBBORN SHAI'RENN SCOUT, KALRI] Distance to Target: 3.5km

  we stepped beyond the sanctuary’s boundaries and into the emerald haze of the forest.

  The trail was well-trodden at first—clearly used by Shai’renn scouts and adventurers who had been here before. But the further we walked, the more narrow the path became, overgrown roots twisting like traps underfoot.

  Devon led the way, his heavy boots crunching twigs and leaves as he kept one hand near his greatsword. Selene moved beside him, her gaze flickering to every movement in the underbrush.

  I stayed close behind, my shadows flickering faintly at my feet, occasionally darting ahead like cautious scouts.

  “Okay, question,” I said, breaking the silence. “Why do scouts in every game always wander just far enough away to become someone else’s problem?”

  “It’s in their job description,” Devon said without missing a step. “‘Scout: Bold enough to investigate danger, but conveniently incapable of avoiding it.’”

  Selene smirked faintly. “It keeps pyers like us busy, doesn’t it?”

  “Busy, yes. Safe? Absolutely not.”

  About an hour into our trek, we heard faint voices ahead—arguing by the sound of it. Devon signaled for us to stop, holding up one hand as Selene crouched low, one dagger already drawn.

  We crept forward cautiously until the trees opened up into a small clearing. Two pyers were standing near a shallow stream, their gear suggesting mid-level adventurers. One was a towering guy in heavy chainmail, a broad hammer strapped to his back, and his username—[Mason]—floating above his head. The other was a slender girl in dark leather armor, dual short swords strapped across her back, her username reading [F.

  “I’m telling you, Mason, we should’ve turned left back there!” Fi’s voice was sharp, her hand gesturing dramatically toward the path behind them.

  “And I’m telling you, Fi, the map said to follow the stream!” Mason retorted, crossing his arms. “You’re just mad because your navigation skill sucks.”

  “Excuse me?!”

  Devon cleared his throat loudly.

  Both pyers jumped, spinning around with weapons half-drawn before realizing we weren’t hostiles.

  “Oh, hey!” Mason said, his hammer rexing against his shoulder. “Uh, you guys lost too?”

  Selene raised an eyebrow. “No. And judging by your conversation, you’re not exactly ‘found,’ either.”

  Fi groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Don’t remind me.”

  Devon stepped forward, his imposing figure making Mason straighten up instinctively. “We’re looking for a Shai’renn scout named Kalri. Have either of you seen anything?”

  Mason rubbed the back of his neck. “We haven’t seen anyone named Kalri, but we did see something weird upstream. The water started glowing red for a few seconds before it stopped. Thought it might be a graphical glitch or something.”

  Selene exchanged a gnce with me. “That sounds like a glitch anomaly.”

  I nodded. “It’s worth checking out.”

  Fi perked up. “You mind if we tag along? Honestly, we’d rather stick with you guys than keep wandering in circles arguing about cartography.”

  Devon sighed but nodded. “Stay close. And if anything jumps out at you, hit it hard.”

  “Got it,” Mason said with a firm nod.

  “Finally, some progress!” Fi grinned, twirling one of her short swords. “Let’s go before Mason decides to consult his map again.”

  We followed the stream uphill, the gentle trickle of water gradually giving way to a faint, ominous hum in the air. The waypoint on my HUD flickered, and my shadows bristled faintly at my ankles.

  Up ahead, the stream widened into a small pond surrounded by jagged rocks. In the center, the water pulsed faintly with a dull crimson glow.

  “That’s not normal,” Devon muttered.

  Selene’s amber eyes narrowed. “No sign of Kalri. But this… it’s definitely caused by the glitch.”

  I stepped closer, shadows curling along the water's surface like faint ripples. “If this is connected to Kalri, he might’ve been drawn here.”

  Mason lifted his hammer off his shoulder, his expression serious. “So what’s the pn?”

  Before I could answer, the pond erupted.

  A writhing mass of corrupted tendrils surged upward, water spshing violently outward as a twisted, glitching creature emerged. Its molten red eyes locked onto us, and a notification fshed across my HUD:

  [ENCOUNTER: RIFTBOUND ABERRATION – LVL 18]

  “Oh, come on!” I shouted as Devon already charged forward with a battle cry.

  The fight was chaotic but not overly dangerous. Devon held the creature’s attention with broad, heavy swings of his greatsword, each strike sending shadows scattering into the water. Selene darted in and out, her daggers carving into weak points precisely.

  Fi was quick on her feet, her twin short swords slicing tendrils before they could ensnare anyone, while Mason smashed his hammer down with satisfying thuds that cracked the creature’s corrupted shell.

  I stood slightly back, focusing on support.

  “Shadow Embrace!” I commanded, shadows slithering out and coiling around one of the creature’s limbs, immobilizing it briefly.

  When its health finally hit zero, the creature released a distorted screech before colpsing into a pool of corrupted mist.

  [ENCOUNTER COMPLETE: EXP +1200]

  Mason let out a triumphant ugh. “That wasn’t so bad!”

  Fi was already sheathing her swords. “Speak for yourself. I think I sprained my wrist IRL.”

  Selene scanned the area. “No sign of Kalri. But… something’s nearby. I can feel it.”

  Devon nodded grimly. “We’re getting closer.”

  I stared at the faint crimson glow still lingering in the water, my HUD flickering faintly as another faint pulse of Rift energy rippled outward.

  Wherever Kalri was… he wasn’t far.

  ?????°???°?????

  The aftermath of the Riftbound Aberration fight left us standing in the clearing near a glowing pond water. Mason was wiping his hammer clean with a leaf—because apparently, that’s how he dealt with corrupted ichor—while Fi crouched nearby, poking curiously at the now-fading crimson glow in the water.

  Selene stood at the edge of the clearing, her sharp amber eyes scanning the treeline. Devon leaned on his greatsword like a tired statue, sweat trailing down his brow.

  “Okay,” Mason said, cpping his gloved hands together. “Nobody whited out, the monster’s dead, and I didn’t embarrass myself. I’d call that a win.”

  Fi snorted. “You tripped over your own hammer twice.”

  “Combat flourish!” Mason decred dramatically, raising one finger. “It’s part of my fighting style.”

  “Sure,” Fi said dryly, before turning to me. “That was some impressive spellwork back there, by the way. What was that shadow-binding move? It didn’t look like anything I’ve seen before.”

  My stomach tightened slightly. “Uh, just… a variation on standard Shadow Bind. I’m still figuring it out.”

  Fi raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the topic further. Instead, she plopped down on a nearby rock, pulling a glowing fruit out of her inventory and taking a bite.

  We decided to take a short break near the edge of the clearing. Devon started a small campfire using flint and steel while Selene scouted briefly ahead before returning with a nod of confirmation that the area was secure.

  The fire crackled softly as we all gathered around. I could feel my HP gradually regenerating as I sat cross-legged, my shadows curling around me faintly like zy cats.

  “So…” Mason began, leaning forward on his elbows, his hammer propped beside him. “You guys seem pretty experienced. Are you in a guild or something?”

  Devon shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s… complicated.”

  Selene smirked faintly. “Let’s just say we’ve been busy dealing with some unique challenges tely.”

  Fi gnced at me. “You three definitely don’t look like random solo pyers. I mean, your group composition alone screams ‘storyline party.’”

  “Storyline party?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “It’s what we call those groups in MMOs that seem like the devs handpicked them,” Mason expined. “Y’know—broody rogue, stoic tank, mysterious magic caster.” He pointed at each of us in turn. “Check, check, and double-check.”

  Selene rolled her eyes, but the faintest twitch of amusement was at the corner of her lips.

  “So what about you two?” Devon asked, leaning back slightly. “Are you guys in a guild?”

  Fi shook her head. “Nah, we’re just here for fun. We’ve been gaming together for years.”

  Mason nodded. “Yeah, we go to the same high school IRL. Fi’s the overachiever who finishes homework early, and I’m the guy who copies said homework in the hallway five minutes before css starts.”

  Fi smirked. “And yet, somehow, he’s better at MMOs than me.”

  “That’s because I’m built different,” Mason said with mock seriousness, earning a ugh from all of us.

  As the conversation continued, Fi’s expression grew more serious. She leaned forward slightly, her swords resting across her p.

  “Have you guys noticed… the glitches?” she asked carefully.

  I froze slightly, my fingers twitching against my knee. Devon and Selene exchanged a gnce.

  “Glitches?” I said carefully.

  “Yeah,” Mason said, his brow furrowing. “Stuff that doesn’t make sense. NPCs glitching out mid-dialogue, quest markers disappearing, and random environmental bugs. I’ve even heard rumors of areas getting wiped—like, pyers go there, and it’s just… gone.”

  “Plus,” Fi added, her sharp gaze locking onto me, “there’s been talk about certain pyers triggering these glitches. Like, anomalies in their character data causing ripple effects.”

  My stomach tightened, and shadows flickered faintly at my feet before I could stop them. Devon subtly shifted closer to me, as if positioning himself between me and their questions.

  Fi’s eyes narrowed slightly as she continued. “Your css… it doesn’t register on my HUD, Kiera. You know that, right?”

  I froze.

  She tapped her temple, indicating her own dispy. “When I looked at the party status earlier, Mason’s said ‘Berserker,’ mine said ‘Shadowbde,’ Selene’s said ‘Nightstalker,’ and Devon’s said ‘Warlord.’ But yours? Just… nothing. Bnk.”

  Mason looked between us, suddenly realizing the tension in the air. “Whoa, wait, is this… like… cssified info or something? Did I just walk into an anime plot twist?”

  Selene sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re more perceptive than I gave you credit for, Fi.”

  Fi crossed her arms, her sharp eyes never leaving me. “So? Are you one of those anomaly pyers?”

  I hesitated. The flickering glow of the campfire danced across my HUD, lighting up the faint violet cracks along my hands. I could’ve lied. I could’ve deflected. But something in Fi’s steady gaze told me she wouldn’t drop it.

  “…It’s complicated,” I said quietly.

  Mason whistled low. “Oh, yeah. That’s definitely an anime plot twist.”

  Fi sighed, leaning back slightly. “Look, I’m not gonna press you. If you’re caught up in whatever mess is going on in this game, it’s probably not by choice. But… Mason and I aren’t stupid. We can tell something big is happening.”

  Mason nodded. “Yeah. And honestly, if you guys need backup, we’re not about to run off screaming. Right, Fi?”

  “Right,” Fi agreed, though her sharp gaze softened slightly. “We’ll watch your backs. Just… don’t make us regret it.”

  I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Thanks. Really.”

  Devon cpped Mason on the shoulder with a smirk. “You’re a good guy, Mason. Even if your hammer swings look like you’re trying to squash cockroaches.”

  “Hey!” Mason protested, but the grin on his face betrayed his mock offense.

  Selene shook her head with a faint smile before returning to the forest beyond. “We should keep moving soon. The anomalies won’t wait for us to finish bonding.”

  “Agreed,” I said, pushing myself to my feet and dusting off my armor.

  As we packed up camp and prepared to move forward, I couldn’t help but feel a faint weight lifting off my shoulders. Fi and Mason knew—or at least, they suspected. But instead of turning their backs on me, they offered their trust.

  For now, that was enough.

  The waypoint flickered faintly on my HUD as Devon took the lead once more, Selene scouting ahead with her usual precision. Mason walked beside me, humming an off-key tune, while Fi kept to my other side, her sharp eyes scanning the trees.

  We moved deeper into the forest, the faint crimson glow of Rift anomalies flickering in the distance.

  Somewhere out there, Kalri was waiting. And with every step forward, I felt the shadows at my feet stirring with anticipation.

  ?????°???°?????

  The deeper we ventured into the forest, the more the air changed. The soft rustle of leaves was repced by an ominous hum—a faint, glitching distortion hanging heavy in the atmosphere. Shadows twisted unnaturally across the path, and faint crimson cracks glowed intermittently in the bark of the ancient trees.

  My shadows bristled at my ankles, responding instinctively to the unnatural energy surrounding us. Devon’s grip on his greatsword tightened, and Selene’s daggers gleamed faintly in the dim light.

  “This… doesn’t feel right,” Mason muttered, his hammer resting across his broad shoulders.

  Fi was unusually quiet, her short swords drawn and her sharp eyes flickering between the shifting shadows.

  The waypoint on my HUD pulsed faintly.

  [SIDE QUEST OBJECTIVE: KALRI LOCATED]

  Through the twisting trees, a clearing opened up—a shattered grove dominated by jagged crystalline shards of crimson glitch energy erupting from the earth. And there, in the center of the chaos, stood Kalri.

  Or… what was left of him.

  From the game’s description, Kalri was once an elegant Shai'renn scout—tall, lithe, with a calm aura and keen senses. Now, his form was twisted. Shadows writhed unnaturally from his body, glitching faintly at the edges. His once-bright eyes were hollow, flickering with faint red light, and his fingers ended in sharp, cw-like extensions.

  “Kalri…” Selene whispered, her voice low with disbelief.

  He turned slowly, his head snapping toward us with a faint crack. His voice—once smooth and articute—became jagged and broken.

  “...Nnnnot… ssssupposed… t-to… be… hhhere…”

  The corrupted aura around him fred violently, and my HUD pinged with an alert.

  [ENCOUNTER: GLITCHBOUND KAELRI – LVL 22]

  But Kalri wasn’t alone.

  From the glowing cracks in the earth, twisted forms began to emerge—spindly, glitching creatures with jagged limbs and molten eyes. At least a dozen of them emerged, their screeching cries echoing into the night air.

  Fi stepped back instinctively, her swords raised. “Those… those aren’t supposed to be here. I’ve seen every monster index in the game. These… these things aren’t in it.”

  Mason pnted his hammer into the ground, his jaw tight. “So… new enemies?”

  “Not exactly,” Selene said coldly, her daggers spinning into her grip.

  Devon gnced back at me. “Kiera, stay sharp.”

  I swallowed hard, shadows curling protectively at my feet as my HUD flickered with incoming enemy markers.

  The clearing erupted into chaos.

  Devon charged forward with a roar, his greatsword crashing into one of the glitching creatures and sending it sprawling backward in a burst of red pixels. Selene vanished into the shadows, reappearing behind another enemy and carving cleanly through its spine.

  Fi darted forward, her short swords a blur as she danced between two creatures, slicing limbs and dodging their jagged cws. Mason stood like a wall of steel, his hammer smashing into the ground and sending shockwaves through the corrupted monsters.

  Kalri’s corrupted form remained at the center of the chaos, his hollow eyes locked onto me. He raised one cwed hand, and shadows surged toward me in jagged, glitching tendrils.

  “Shadow Embrace!” I commanded, my own shadows slithering forward and intercepting Kaelri’s attack.

  The two forces collided, hissing and crackling as they struggled for dominance. My HUD fshed with a warning as my HP drained faster than expected.

  Fi’s voice cut through the noise. “Kiera, behind you!”

  I spun just in time to see one of the smaller glitch creatures lunging at me. My instincts kicked in.

  “Crimson Kiss!”

  A flicker of violet energy surged from my hand, striking the creature and halting its attack mid-air. Its molten eyes dimmed briefly as it twitched, and I felt a small surge of HP flow back into me.

  But the creatures kept coming. More and more poured from the cracks in the ground, their jagged screeches filling the air.

  “We’re getting overwhelmed!” Mason shouted, smashing his hammer into another creature with enough force to splinter the ground beneath it.

  Selene appeared beside me, her expression tight. “We need to focus on Kalri. He’s the source of this anomaly.”

  Something caught my eye in the chaos—a faint glow pulsing beneath Kalri’s feet. Binary strings flickered in the air, glowing bright cyan against the corrupted red energy.

  It was a fragmented binary code.

  [FRAGMENT CODE DETECTED] [CODE PIECE 2/???]

  My breath hitched. I was the only one who could see it.

  It’s right there. But how do I get it?

  Kalri’s head snapped toward me again as if he sensed that I’d noticed the code. His cws fred with crimson energy, and he lunged straight at me.

  “Devon!” I shouted.

  Devon was there instantly, his greatsword colliding with Kalri’s cws in a spray of sparks and shadow. “I’ve got him! Go!”

  Selene and Fi worked to hold off the remaining creatures, their movements precise and deadly. Mason fought back-to-back with them, his hammer sending glitching monsters flying with every swing.

  I focused on the fragmented code, shadows curling tightly around my feet as I dashed forward.

  “Come on… just a little closer…”

  Kalri let out an ear-splitting screech as Devon’s greatsword sliced through one of his corrupted limbs. The glitch energy around him fred violently, and the clearing was filled with blinding light for a moment.

  And then, silence.

  Kalri colpsed to his knees, his hollow eyes flickering weakly before going still. The fragmented code flickered briefly in the air before dissolving into my HUD.

  [FRAGMENT CODE ACQUIRED: 3/???]

  The remaining corrupted creatures froze in pce before shattering into shards of red light.

  The clearing was quiet except for the faint hum of glitch residue lingering in the air. Kalri’s twisted form had dissolved into fragmented pixels, leaving faint crimson cracks etched into the earth behind. The soft breeze barely stirred the tension between the five of us.

  Mason was sitting on a nearby rock, his hammer across his p, staring silently at where Kalri had fallen. Fi stood near me, her arms crossed, her sharp eyes locked onto mine. Devon and Selene stayed close, their weapons still drawn but lowered.

  “So,” Fi said finally, breaking the silence. Her voice was low and steady, but it had a sharpness—like a bde drawn but not yet swung. “What exactly is going on here? Those creatures weren’t part of the game, that glitch wasn’t natural, and Kalri… he wasn’t supposed to become that. You knew something was off, didn’t you?”

  I hesitated, “It’s… complicated–.”

  “No,” Fi cut me off. “No more vague answers. You owe us more than that after what we just went through.”

  Mason raised his hand weakly. “Yeah, seconded. This feels like main plotline-level stuff, and I’m not gonna pretend I’m not curious.”

  Devon gnced at me, his brow furrowed, but he said nothing. Selene’s amber eyes were locked onto me, silently urging me forward.

  I sighed and sat on a nearby log. “You’re right. You both deserve to know the truth.”

  “I didn’t start this game with some grand quest in mind,” I began softly. “I didn’t know how to hold a weapon properly when I logged in for the first time. I picked the Succubus Css because… well, the wings looked cute.”

  Mason snorted faintly. “Valid reason, honestly.”

  I continued. “But somewhere along the way, I… accepted something I shouldn’t have—I don’t know what it was exactly. But whatever happened, it changed my css into something that doesn’t exist in the game’s official data: Succubus Demon Lord.”

  Fi’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly. “So you’re not just… modded? This is something deeper?”

  I nodded. “It’s deeper. It’s in the core of my character data now. And because of it, I’m tied to something dangerous—something that could destroy all of Nexus and maybe real-world data as we know it.”

  I hesitated before continuing, gncing at my HUD briefly before looking back at them. “There’s an organization—hackers, rogue developers, people who you would see on the dark web. They call themselves UNKNOWN. Their code… changed me. Altered my character’s data to turn me into this anomaly.”

  Mason’s brow furrowed. “Why? What’s the end goal?”

  “They’re after the Fragmented Binary Code. It’s… pieces of the game’s core data scattered across Eidolon Nexus by the developers. It was their way of preventing people like UNKNOWN from taking full control. And I’m the only one who can well collect probably without getting myself wiped out of the system.”

  I paused, my voice tightening slightly. “If I don’t collect them all, UNKNOWN has the power to delete me—completely. Then, they’ll be able to send their code to the right person, and they’ll be able to take over how they originally wanted to do.”

  The group was silent. The crackle of glitch residue still flickered faintly in the air, and Mason’s usually jovial face was set in a deep frown.

  “But I’m not gathering these codes to hand them over to UNKNOWN,” I said firmly, my voice steadier now. “I’m going to stop them. I don’t know how yet, but when the time comes, I’ll fight them. Because… I’ve fallen in love with this world. With its beauty, its danger, its people. I can’t just let it crumble into corruption.”

  Fi uncrossed her arms, her gaze softening slightly. “So… you’re not just following some breadcrumb quest line. You’re fighting for this world.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. And I’m not going to stop.”

  Mason let out a long, slow whistle. “Man… that’s heavy. Like, ‘final raid boss cutscene’ heavy.”

  Fi shot him a gnce, but he continued. “But honestly… I get it. You didn’t run. You didn’t log out when things got bad. And back there, with Kalri? You fought like someone who actually cares about this world.”

  Fi gnced at Mason before turning her gaze back to me. “This game… it’s more than just pixels and skill cooldowns for me. It’s my escape. My way to get away from the noise and stress of reality. And if what you’re saying is true—if UNKNOWN gets those codes—this game might fall apart entirely.”

  Her sharp gaze locked onto mine. “I won’t let that happen.”

  Mason grinned faintly, resting his hammer against his shoulder. “And hey, I won’t pass up on an adventure like this. You guys are cool, you’ve got a good vibe going on, and let’s be honest—I’d probably just wander into another monster ambush without you.”

  Devon smirked faintly at that while Selene let out a soft chuckle.

  I hesitated briefly. “Are you… sure? If UNKNOWN finds out you’re with me, if something happens… they could delete you too. Completely.”

  Mason grinned wider. “If I was scared of losing data, I wouldn’t py MMOs. Besides, what’s the point of an epic adventure if there’s no risk?”

  Fi nodded firmly. “I’ve made up my mind. If this is what it takes to protect this world, then I’m in.”

  A faint chime echoed across my HUD as a notification appeared:

  [PARTY UPDATE: NEW MEMBERS ADDED] [Mason – Berserker (LVL 18)] [Fi – Shadowbde (LVL 18)]

  The names glowed brightly in my vision before fading away, and a faint warmth filled my chest. We weren’t just a trio anymore.

  Devon stepped forward, cpping Mason on the shoulder. “Welcome aboard. Try not to trip over your hammer too much.”

  “Hey!” Mason protested, but his grin stayed firmly in pce.

  Selene offered Fi a faint nod. “You’ll fit in just fine. Don’t die on us.”

  Fi smirked faintly, sliding one of her short swords back into its sheath. “No promises.”

  I let out a long breath, my shadows flickering faintly but steadily at my feet.

  We had allies now—friends who understood the stakes and had chosen to stand with us despite the risks.

  Somewhere deep in the game’s corrupted core, UNKNOWN was still watching. But for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel like the world's weight was entirely on my shoulders.