The forest had grown quiet again—not peaceful, but quiet. The kind of silence that carried weight, like the world itself was holding its breath. Our group followed the flickering anomaly marker on my HUD, winding through tangled roots and bioluminescent moss that glowed faintly in the dim light.

  Selene walked at the front, her twin daggers strapped snugly to her belt. Devon followed close behind her, his greatsword resting against his shoulder. Mason strolled casually, but I caught him occasionally gncing at the shadows between the trees. Fi walked beside me, her sharp gaze flicking toward every movement.

  The waypoint pulsed steadily on my HUD, glowing like a distant heartbeat.

  [OBJECTIVE: FOLLOW ANOMALY SIGNAL]

  “This feels… different,” Mason said, his usual grin absent. “The air’s all weird and heavy. You guys notice that?”

  “It’s denser here. That means we’re close.” Selene said without turning around.

  Fi’s hand hovered near her short swords. “Close to what, exactly?”

  Neither Selene nor Devon answered.

  I gnced at Devon, whose shoulders seemed unusually tense. His hand gripped the hilt of his greatsword tightly, knuckles white.

  “Devon?” I asked softly.

  He didn’t look back. “We’ve been here before. Or somewhere like it.”

  Fi’s brows furrowed. “Wait, you guys have been here?”

  “Not here specifically,” Selene crified. “But we’ve… encountered what we think might be waiting for us.”

  Mason raised an eyebrow. “You mean, like… a boss fight? A big one?”

  Selene’s voice was ft. “Worse.”

  The deeper we went, the more the forest seemed to fracture. Glowing cracks etched themselves across trees and stones, pulsing with faint crimson light. The air crackled faintly with static, and the shadows seemed to move even when we stood still.

  My HUD glitched briefly, flickering with faint red text before stabilizing again.

  Fi stopped walking and pointed to a stone nearby—a jagged monument that had been cracked in half, glowing faintly along the edges. “That… doesn’t look natural.”

  “It’s not,” I said softly.

  Mason looked around, his hammer now held firmly in both hands. “Okay, you’re all acting way too serious about this. What aren’t you telling us?”

  Devon finally spoke, his voice low. “We’ve fought someone or… something. A Guardian.”

  Fi’s brows shot up. “Wait, a Guardian? As in, one of the systems failsafe?”

  Selene nodded slowly. “Guardian Oberon. He’s not just some raid boss. He’s… different. Smarter. And his purpose is tied directly to the game’s core.”

  Mason’s face paled slightly. “Okay, but… you beat him, right?”

  I swallowed hard. “We escaped.”

  Neither Devon nor Selene added anything, and the silence that followed spoke louder than words.

  Fi crossed her arms, her sharp gaze locking onto me. “And now we’re walking straight into his turf. Great.”

  The waypoint signal began to pulse erratically as we neared a rge clearing. Glowing fragments of code floated in the air like drifting embers, and the ground was scarred with deep fissures glowing with Rift energy.

  I stopped at the edge of the clearing, my shadows twitching violently at my feet.

  Selene froze beside me. Devon shifted his grip on his sword. Mason and Fi exchanged a gnce, both of them visibly on edge.

  “Is he here?” Mason whispered.

  “No,” Selene said softly. “But… something is.”

  I gnced at my HUD. The waypoint pulsed furiously before stabilizing.

  [ANOMALY DETECTED] [DANGER LEVEL: HIGH]

  Before anyone could react, a distorted voice echoed across the clearing.

  “Unauthorized… anomaly detected… protocol engaged…”

  The ground shuddered, and a sharp hum filled the air. From the center of the clearing, dark energy surged upward in jagged, crimson lines, and creatures began to cw their way out of the glowing cracks.

  They were twisted and malformed—spindly limbs, glowing eyes, and jagged edges where flesh met glitching light.

  [ENCOUNTER: RIFTBOUND HORDE – LVL 20]

  Fi drew her swords instantly. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

  Devon stepped forward, raising his sword. “Positions! Don’t let them surround us!”

  The horde charged forward, their distorted screeches cutting through the air.

  Mason pnted his hammer into the ground, his stance wide. “Alright, let’s do this!”

  “Shadow Mirage!” I activated my ability, my shadows splitting into faint duplicates scattered across the clearing.

  Selene darted into the fray, moving like a shadow herself. Her daggers fshed t as she danced between enemies, slicing weak points with surgical precision.

  Fi was a blur of motion, her short swords carving glowing lines across the distorted creatures. Mason swung his hammer with devastating force, each strike sending glitching monsters flying backward.

  Devon held the frontline, his greatsword cleaving through enemies like a wall of unyielding steel.

  I focused on controlling my shadows, using them to bind and disorient creatures wherever I could.

  “Shadow Maw!” I smmed my hand against the ground, and shadows erupted upward, devouring several creatures in a swirling vortex.

  But despite our efforts, they kept coming—pouring endlessly from the glowing cracks.

  “They’re not stopping!” Mason shouted, his hammer cracking another enemy’s skull.

  Selene appeared beside me, her breathing ragged. “We can’t hold this position. Kiera, do you see anything?”

  I gnced at my HUD. The waypoint flickered faintly, pointing toward a faint crack in the far side of the clearing.

  “There!” I pointed. “There’s an opening. We have to go!”

  “Everyone, fall back!” Devon roared.

  We started to move as a unit, fighting backward toward the faint crack in the clearing. The creatures surged after us, their twisted forms cwing and screeching as they closed in. Fi and Mason covered our fnks, while Selene and Devon carved a path forward.

  As we neared the opening, the air behind us shuddered violently, and a familiar voice echoed again.

  “You cannot proceed… Compliance is mandatory…”

  A shadow loomed over the clearing—a faint, massive silhouette forming.

  It was Oberon. Even if he wasn’t fully materialized, his presence was suffocating.

  Devon grabbed my arm and practically dragged me through the crack in the clearing. The others followed Mason narrowly avoiding a jagged cw swipe as he slipped through.

  The crack sealed behind us with a faint shimmer, and silence fell.

  We colpsed against the moss-covered ground, our breaths ragged and our weapons heavy in our hands.

  Mason let out a hollow ugh. “Well… that sucked.”

  Fi wiped sweat from her brow. “That was him, wasn’t it? Guardian Oberon.”

  Selene nodded, her amber eyes sharp. “He’s preventing anyone from getting a hold of the game’s code.”

  I stared at my HUD, where the waypoint still flickered faintly ahead.

  [OBJECTIVE UPDATED: TRACE FRAGMENT SIGNAL]

  Whatever y ahead, it was clear now: Guardian Oberon wasn’t just standing guard—he was waiting.

  ?????°???°?????

  The path beyond the Rift crack had led us deep into a narrow ravine. Jagged rock walls rose high on either side, glowing faintly with the same glitching crimson energy we had seen before. The waypoint on my HUD pulsed steadily ahead, like a guiding star through an unfamiliar night.

  None of us spoke much as we walked. The air was heavy, charged with an unnatural stillness. Devon’s grip on his greatsword was white-knuckled, Selene’s daggers gleamed faintly in her hands, and Mason and Fi were unusually quiet. Even my shadows were still, flickering faintly at my feet as though holding their breath.

  For the first time since leaving Hollowrest, I felt small—fragile, even.

  [OBJECTIVE: TRACE FRAGMENT SIGNAL]

  Devon finally broke the silence when we reached a narrow ledge overlooking a drop into what looked like a canyon of glowing fissures.

  “That thing—Oberon—it wasn’t fully materialized. If it had been…” He trailed off, his voice rough.

  Selene’s amber eyes flickered toward him. “We wouldn’t be here right now.”

  Fi let out a sharp breath. “Okay, can we all agree that was way above our pay grade? Because it definitely felt like an endgame raid boss.”

  Mason scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, like, shouldn’t we have… I dunno… twenty other pyers backing us up for stuff like that?”

  I swallowed, my HUD reflecting faintly in my eyes as I stared at the glowing waypoint ahead. “We don’t have that luxury. Whatever’s ahead of us… it’s just us now.”

  The words hung heavy in the silence.

  Devon stepped forward, his voice softer this time. “We’ll figure it out, Kiera. We always do.”

  I managed a faint smile, but the knot in my chest didn’t loosen.

  ?????°???°?????

  The canyon path led to a ftter pteau—a small clearing surrounded by rocky walls. The waypoint pulsed faintly ahead, but jagged debris blocked the path beyond.

  Selene scanned the area before turning back to us. “We can rest here for a while. no monsters, no Guardians breathing down our necks.”

  Mason dropped heavily onto a nearby boulder with a groan. “Thank you. My legs were about to stage a rebellion.”

  Fi smirked faintly as she sat cross-legged on the ground, cleaning her short swords. Devon leaned against a boulder nearby while Selene began inspecting her daggers for any signs of damage.

  I stepped a little away from the group, my HUD flickering faintly as I opened my skill menu.

  “Alright,” I muttered. “Time to get creative.”

  Devon must have been watching because he pushed off the rock and walked toward me, his brow furrowed. “You’re doing it again.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Thinking too hard. Your abilities work because you trust them, not because you overanalyze them.”

  I sighed, my shadows curling faintly around my fingertips. “I don’t want to mess up again.”

  “You won’t. And even if you do, we’re here.”

  Selene joined us, arms crossed over her chest. “Why don’t you show us what you’ve got, Kiera? This is the perfect pce to practice.”

  I activated Shadow Mirage with a deep breath, sending my duplicates darting outward in three directions. They moved more fluidly this time, their forms almost lifelike.

  Next, I focused on Crimson Kiss, summoning a faint orb of crimson energy in my palm before releasing it into one of the duplicates. The shadows reacted, absorbing the energy and glowing faintly as they darted forward.

  “Nice,” Mason called from his rock perch. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

  Fi smirked. “You’d probably trip over your hammer before she got to you, Mason.”

  After a few more rounds of practice—controlled uses of Shadow Maw, integrating Crimson Kiss for HP recovery, and finding ways to link my abilities together—I felt… better. Stronger, even.

  After a brief rest and some teasing banter from Mason and Fi, we finally reached the end of the pteau. The debris blocking the path had shifted—revealing a yawning cave mouth framed by jagged crimson light.

  [NEW LOCATION DISCOVERED: RIFT-BOUND CRYPT]

  The faint hum of corrupted energy vibrated in the air, and the waypoint on my HUD pulsed brightly.

  Selene crouched near the entrance, her amber eyes scanning the shadows. “This isn’t a normal dungeon.”

  “Yeah,” Devon muttered, his grip on his sword tightening. “It feels like something’s waiting for us.”

  Mason let out a nervous ugh. “Great. That’s not ominous at all.”

  Fi rolled her shoulders, her short swords gleaming faintly. “Only one way to find out.”

  As we crossed the threshold into the cave, the light behind us dimmed, and the air grew colder. Glitching patterns pulsed faintly along the cavern walls, and the faint sound of whispers filled the silence.

  The Rift-Bound Crypt felt alive—or at least, aware. The air was damp and cold, and faint streams of crimson light pulsed along the cavern walls like veins beneath fragile skin. Each step echoed unnaturally in the stillness, and every shadow seemed to stretch too far.

  [OBJECTIVE: INVESTIGATE THE RIFT-BOUND CRYPT]

  My HUD flickered briefly as I scanned our surroundings. The waypoint ahead pulsed faintly, but no clear path presented itself: only darkness, stone, and the faint hum of corrupted energy.

  “Does anyone else hear that?” Mason asked, his voice low. “The whispers… they’re getting louder.”

  Fi’s knuckles tightened around her short swords. “Yeah. And they’re… saying something. But I can’t quite make it out.”

  Selene stopped suddenly, raising one hand. We all froze.

  Ahead of us, the tunnel opened into a vast chamber—an ancient crypt with massive stone pilrs stretching upward into darkness. Flickering crimson runes glowed faintly along the pilrs and walls, casting warped shadows across the uneven ground.

  Devon’s brow furrowed as he scanned the room. “Stay sharp. I stepped forward cautiously, my HUD dispying faint static along the edges of my vision.

  “Unwelcome… intruders… anomaly detected…”

  The voice echoed faintly as if coming from the walls themselves.

  I swallowed hard. “It knows we’re here.”

  Selene’s gaze flickered back to me, her expression unreadable. “Then let’s not waste time.”

  At the center of the chamber, an ancient altar stood surrounded by glowing crimson runes etched into the floor. Four stone pedestals were positioned around it, each engraved with a faintly glowing symbol: Fire, Shadow, Blood, and Void.

  A faint HUD notification appeared before me:

  [OBJECTIVE UPDATED: ACTIVATE THE ALTAR TO PROCEED]

  Mason stepped closer, tilting his head as he studied the altar. “Okay, I’m just gonna say it… this looks like puzzle nonsense.”

  Fi sighed. “It is puzzle nonsense, Mason. But let’s not blow it up with your hammer just yet.”

  Devon inspected one of the symbols. “These elements match up with Kiera’s abilities.”

  Selene nodded slowly, tracing her finger over the rune for Shadow. “Kiera, I think this is your show.”

  I stepped forward. The others stepped aside, watching me cautiously.

  “Alright… let’s see if this works.”

  I focused on the Shadow Rune first, my hand hovering above it.

  “Shadow Mirage.”

  A faint pulse of shadow energy spread across the rune, glowing briefly before dimming again.

  Next, I moved to the Blood Rune.

  “Crimson Kiss.”

  A faint orb of crimson energy left my palm and touched the rune, causing it to glow faintly before fading.

  The Fire and Void runes, however, remained unresponsive.

  Mason scratched his head. “Uh, I don’t remember you having fire powers, Kiera.”

  “Because I don’t,” I replied, frowning.

  Selene stepped closer. “Maybe we need something else. Look around—the answer might be here somewhere.”

  I wandered toward a faint glow emanating from a crevice in the wall. Shadows pooled faintly at my feet as I approached, and a faint notification pinged:

  [INTERACT: ANCIENT RUNED VESSEL]

  Carefully, I reached out and touched the vessel. A sharp sting shot up my arm, and a faint pulse of Crimson Energy surged outward.

  My HUD flickered:

  [NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: BLOOD IGNITE – TEMPORARY SKILL] “Sacrifice HP to ignite your shadows with searing crimson energy for a brief time.”

  My health bar ticked down slightly as my shadows began glowing faintly crimson, flickering like dying embers.

  “Kiera!” Devon called. “Something changed on the altar!”

  I hurried back, my crimson-lit shadows pooling at my feet. Carefully, I approached the Fire Rune, focusing on my new skill.

  “Blood Ignite!”

  A faint ember burst from my hand, colliding with the rune. The Fire Rune glowed brightly before fading.

  The final rune—Void—began to pulse faintly on its own.

  Selene’s voice was sharp. “Stand back!”

  The rune pulsed violently before shattering, releasing a wave of glitching energy that rippled across the altar.

  The ground trembled, and the stone doors at the far end of the chamber slowly ground open.

  [PUZZLE COMPLETE: ACCESS GRANTED]

  The passage beyond the altar led downward—a spiraling staircase carved into jagged stone, faintly illuminated by flickering crimson veins etched into the walls.

  We moved cautiously, weapons drawn, the oppressive weight of the crypt pressing down on us with every step.

  “Does anyone else feel like we’re being watched?” Fi asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Mason shifted uneasily. “I thought it was just me…”

  Selene’s amber eyes flicked upward, scanning the shadows. “Keep moving. We’re not safe here.”

  As we descended deeper, the faint whispers returned—louder this time, more urgent.

  Devon gnced at me, his brow furrowed. “They know we’re here. Whatever’s down here doesn’t want us reaching it.”

  The air grew colder as we stepped into a vast underground chamber. A massive crystalline structure pulsed faintly in the center, wrapped in glitching shadows. The fragment was embedded inside—glowing softly, like a heart beating in the dark.

  [OBJECTIVE UPDATED: RETRIEVE THE FRAGMENTED BINARY CODE]

  But we weren’t alone.

  Figures moved in the shadows—humanoid shapes with jagged, glitching outlines. They stepped into the faint light, revealing twisted faces and hollow eyes.

  [ENCOUNTER: VOIDBOUND SENTRIES – LVL 22]

  The crystalline structure pulsed at the chamber's center, glitching shadows writhing around its jagged surface. Inside, the Fragmented Binary Code glowed faintly.

  The Voidbound Sentries stepped into the faint light. Twisted humanoid figures with hollow eyes, glitching outlines, and jagged weapons fused into their hands. Their bodies flickered sporadically as though reality itself struggled to keep them stable.

  My HUD pulsed an ominous notification:

  [ENCOUNTER: VOIDBOUND SENTRIES – LVL 22] [OBJECTIVE: RETRIEVE THE FRAGMENTED BINARY CODE]

  Devon stepped forward, his greatsword gleaming in the crimson glow. “Alright, same pn as always. Stick together, watch each other’s backs, and don’t get reckless.”

  Selene’s daggers twirled in her hands as she crouched low. “No unnecessary risks.”

  Fi and Mason exchanged a gnce, weapons ready.

  I exhaled slowly, my wings twitching as shadows began to coil around my fingertips. “Let’s end this.”

  The Voidbound Sentries let out a distorted screech and charged.

  The chamber erupted into chaos.

  Devon met the first sentry head-on, his greatsword crashing against the enemy’s jagged bde with a sound like grinding gss. Sparks flew as the two figures locked in brutal combat, Devon’s raw strength keeping the creature at bay.

  Selene darted into the fray, her movements fluid and precise. Her daggers glinted as they found weak points in the sentries’ warped armor, disabling them before they could strike back.

  Fi was a blur, her short swords fshing as she danced between two sentries, slicing at joints and tendons. Mason smmed his hammer into the ground, sending shockwaves through the stone floor that staggered the enemies around him. “Come on, you glitchy freaks! You want some?!”

  I stayed near the back, shadows pooling around me. My HUD flickered as I prepared my first move.

  “Shadow Mirage!”

  Three duplicates split from me, rushing toward the nearest sentries. They flickered and moved unpredictably, drawing attention and creating openings for my teammates.

  A sentry broke away from Devon and lunged at me. My shadows twitched instinctively.

  “Shadow Maw!”

  A swirling vortex of darkness erupted from beneath the creature, consuming it instantly.

  But the sentries weren’t letting up. More of them emerged from the shadows at the edges of the chamber, their hollow eyes glowing with faint crimson light.

  “Devon!” Selene shouted as two sentries lunged at his exposed fnk.

  Devon twisted mid-swing, catching one with his bde while Selene dove in, driving her daggers into the second’s back. They worked in perfect sync, their movements complementing each other effortlessly.

  On the other side of the chamber, Mason pnted his hammer into the ground again, creating a seismic shockwave that sent two sentries sprawling. Fi followed up, her bdes carving through the air as she dispatched them swiftly.

  I gritted my teeth, my HUD fshing warnings as my HP dipped lower. I couldn’t keep throwing heavy abilities. I needed to be smarter.

  “Crimson Kiss!”

  I focused on one of the staggered sentries, a faint crimson light draining from its body and transferring into me.

  [HP: +10% |

  Better.

  Selene nded beside me briefly, panting lightly. We need to focus on the binary code.”

  Devon roared from across the chamber. “Kiera! If you’ve got something big left, now’s the time!”

  My HUD flickered as I stared at the glowing crystal in the center. The shadows around me coiled tightly, waiting for my command.

  “Everyone, clear the center!” I shouted.

  Selene, Devon, Mason, and Fi scattered, pulling the sentries’ attention away from the crystal.

  I stepped forward, shadows pooling beneath me like ink spreading across water.

  “Shadow Maw: Ravager Form!”

  The vortex erupted outward, rger and more chaotic than before. Jagged tendrils of shadow shed out, tearing into the sentries and creating a path straight to the crystal.

  The creatures screeched as they were dragged into the swirling abyss, their glitching forms colpsing into static before vanishing entirely.

  I stumbled slightly, my vision blurring at the edges. But the path was clear.

  Selene appeared at my side, steadying me with one hand. “Go. Finish it.”

  I nodded weakly and stepped toward the fragment. My HUD glitched slightly as a faint notification appeared:

  [INTERACT: FRAGMENTED BINARY CODE]

  [FRAGMENTED BINARY CODE ACQUIRED: 3/???]

  I reached out, my fingers trembling as they touched the glowing surface.

  The world went white.

  ?????°???°?????For a brief moment, I wasn’t in the crypt anymore.

  I was floating in an endless void of white light, fragmented binary code drifting around me like falling snow. Voices whispered faintly—some urgent, others soft and distant.

  “The Guardians must endure…” “Fragments scattered… protect the core…” “You are… not supposed to be here…”

  A faint figure appeared in the distance—a silhouette shrouded in light. Its voice echoed, distant yet crystal clear.

  “You are walking a dangerous path, anomaly. The fragments are not meant for you… but now, you have no choice but to follow them.”

  The light began to fade, the whispers growing distant

  I gasped, stumbling backward as the light from the crystal faded. Devon was already beside me, steadying me before I could fall.

  “Kiera!” he said urgently. “Are you okay? What happened?”

  [FRAGMENTED BINARY CODE ACQUIRED: 3/???]

  Selene stepped forward, her amber eyes locked onto me. “What did you see?”

  I hesitated, the voices still echoing faintly in my head. “Something… something’s watching us. And it doesn’t want us collecting these codes.”

  Fi gnced nervously at Mason. “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

  Mason exhaled sharply. “So… we’re gonna keep going, aren’t we?”

  I nodded, my shadows flickering faintly at my feet. “We don’t have a choice. If we stop now, everything we’ve done so far will mean nothing.”

  The group fell silent, the weight of our path ahead pressing down on us.

  Somewhere deep in the crypt, faint whispers still echoed.