The sky above the Mistwood Expanse had shifted from the faint gold of dawn to the dusky gray of early evening. Shadows stretched long across the uneven forest floor as Selene, Lucien, and I moved with deliberate speed away from the ruins. My HUD continued to pulse faintly, the binary code I’d retrieved earlier embedded somewhere deep within my interface.

  The ruins were behind us, but their presence lingered—an oppressive weight clinging to the air.

  Lucien walked close beside me, his lute still strung across his back, but his usual cheer was repced with a quiet vigince. Selene led ahead, every step careful, every gnce sharp as she scanned the treeline.

  “We should stop soon,” Lucien said softly. “My muse, even a bard needs to rest his feet and tune his lute from time to time.”

  Selene paused near a crooked tree, her sharp amber eyes scanning the perimeter before nodding. “Fine. We’ll stop here. But not for long.”

  The clearing was small, tucked between a ring of moss-covered boulders and an ancient tree whose gnarled branches twisted like skeletal fingers.

  The crackle of fire filled the quiet as Lucien strummed faintly on his lute, weaving a melody that felt both comforting and haunting. Selene sat across from me, sharpening one of her daggers with a whetstone. Her face was illuminated by the flickering light, shadows dancing across her sharp features.

  I sat cross-legged, scrolling through my HUD, trying to make sense of the new fragment sitting in my interface. It was locked behind yers of unreadable text and glowing error messages.

  [Fragment Status: Inert][Decryption Progress: 0%]

  Selene spoke without looking up. “You’re not going to figure it out staring at it like that.”

  “I know,” I muttered, closing the window. “But it feels like it’s… alive. Like it’s waiting for something.”

  Lucien gnced up from his lute. “Perhaps it waits for the next piece of its fragmented soul?”

  Selene raised an eyebrow. “Not a bad metaphor, bard.”

  A faint chime echoed through my interface as a notification appeared.

  [SYSTEM MESSAGE: Incoming Party Invite][PLAYER: Overlord Ren]

  I blinked. “Who?”

  Selene stopped sharpening her dagger, her amber eyes narrowing slightly. “Is it Unknown?”

  I shook my head. “Someone named Overlord Ren just messaged me.”

  Selene smirked. “That's Devon’s avatar's name. A bit over the top I always thought.”

  Lucien adjusted his lute. “Ah, the brother returns! Shall we prepare a bald for his grand arrival?”

  Feeling eted that I could finally see my stepbrother after he'd been MIA. I accepted the invite, and the air near our campfire shimmered briefly as a figure materialized.

  The avatar standing before us was taller than Devon looked in real life—broad-shouldered, armored in polished bck and crimson pte mail. His weapon, a massive greatsword with glowing red etchings, was slung casually over his back. His face was hidden behind a dark helmet, but the cocky stance and faint tilt of his head gave him away instantly.

  [PLAYER: OVERLORD REN/Devon][CLASS: Shadow Knight]

  “Kiera,” he said, his voice filtered through the helmet’s modutor but still undeniably Devon. “You’ve been busy.”

  I blinked, half-ughing. “You look ridiculous. Since when did you go full ‘edgelord knight’ on me?”

  He chuckled and removed his helmet, revealing his familiar grin and dark brown eyes. His hair, which in real life was usually messy and untamed, was styled into something that actually looked intentional.

  I got up as he walked over to me and we embraced each other in a tight hold. I squeezed my arms around his metal gear, not realizing how much I had missed him.

  “Gotta keep up appearances,” he said with a shrug, we separated from our embrace, and his eyes flicked to Selene. “Selene. Good to see you, thanks for keeping an eye on her.”

  Selene gave a small nod. “Devon. Took you long enough.”

  Lucien tilted his head. “Ah, the mysterious sibling enters the fray. Should I strike up a heroic bald or a tragic elegy?”

  Devon gave Lucien an amused look. “I see you still have the bard with you.”

  “Lucien,” I said quickly. “He’s been… helpful.”

  Devon’s eyes lingered on Lucien for a moment before he looked back at me. “Kiera… you’ve gotten yourself into something huge. And I mean endgame-level huge.”

  “Yeah, no kidding,” I muttered.

  Devon’s face grew serious. “The forums are losing their minds. Glitches popping up everywhere, operatives showing up in zones they shouldn’t even have access to, and now… the underground forums know your name. They know about you, Kiera. And they’re moving fast and a lot of them are corrupted and up to no good.”

  Selene spoke up. “We ran into three of them back at the ruins. They knew she was coming.”

  Devon sighed, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t just about rogue developers or pyers exploiting glitches anymore. Something deeper is happening. They know what UNKNOWN had been doing, they know about the message that was accidentally sent to you, and now people who are even against them want the games code. And if they get all the fragments, they’ll have access to something bigger than any of us realize.”

  I swallowed hard. “And what happens if they get it?”

  Devon’s eyes met mine, his expression grim. “They’ll have control over the game’s entire infrastructure. Every pyer account, every AI process… they’ll be able to rewrite the rules. Not just bend them—rewrite them.”

  Lucien’s lute made a faint, mournful sound as he strummed softly. “It sounds as though the world itself hangs by threads thinner than a spider’s silk.”

  Selene leaned forward, her amber eyes sharp. “Then we need to move faster. Kiera’s the only one with access to these markers. We can’t waste time.”

  Devon nodded. “Agreed. Do you know where the next fragment’s marker is, Kiera?”

  I checked my HUDs map where it already showed up on my map. “It’s deeper into the Mistwood Expanse, past something called The Hollow Gate.”

  My HUD pinged softly, a new marker appearing on the map.

  [NEW OBJECTIVE: Travel to The Hollow Gate]

  “Then let’s move,” Selene said, standing and sheathing her daggers.

  Devon extended a hand to me, resting on my shoulder. “Kiera, I’m not letting you out of my sight this time.”

  I nodded, my HUD updating with the new objective.

  Lucien stood as well, strapping his lute securely across his back. “And thus, our fellowship grows. Shadows deepen, the path narrows, and the stage is set.”

  Selene gave him an exasperated look. “You know, bard, I could have sworn you said being quiet was apart of your “poetic nature”.”

  He winked. “It’s part of my charm, my dy.”

  As we packed up our camp and began walking toward the next objective, I couldn’t shake the sense of dread cwing at the edges of my mind. The underground was moving, the system was breaking, and now Devon was here too.

  But for the first time in a while, I didn’t feel alone.

  ?????°???°?????

  The Mistwood Expanse stretched endlessly before us, an ancient forest swallowing the horizon in gnarled roots and whispering leaves. The deeper we ventured, the more unnatural everything began to feel. Patches of glitching textures flickered in and out along the forest floor, and faint static occasionally crackled in the distance.

  The four of us walked in uneasy silence: Devon—or Overlord Ren as his HUD dispyed—at the front with his massive greatsword slung across his back; Selene, alert and sharp-eyed, walked beside him; Lucien trailed behind with his lute slung across his shoulder; and I stayed in the middle, my HUD pulsing faintly with the marker leading us to our next objective: The Hollow Gate.

  “Devon,” I said softly, my voice cutting through the ambient hum of distant static. “How much do you actually know about what’s going on?”

  He gnced back briefly, his crimson-etched armor glinting in the faint light filtering through the trees. “More than most people, but not enough to make a difference yet. The underground forums are losing their minds—leaks, rumors, pyers disappearing. People are piecing together fragments of what happened to you, but nobody has the full picture. And now you’re walking around like the literal epicenter of it all.”

  Lucien whistled softly. “Our muse has become a legend in the making. If we survive this, I’m composing an entire symphony about it.”

  Selene rolled her eyes but didn’t comment.

  I sighed. “So… they know about me. They’re coming after me. I'm UNKNOWNs guinea pig, and I’m the only one who can see the fragments. Great. No pressure at all.”

  The forest eventually gave way to a clearing dominated by an ancient stone gate embedded in a mountainside. The gate stretched impossibly high, cracked and weathered, its surface covered in faintly glowing runes. Jagged lines of glitching code flickered faintly across its surface, like corrupted veins spreading through stone.

  [Objective Reached: The Hollow Gate]

  The marker on my HUD pulsed urgently, and faint binary text shimmered faintly in the air around the gate.

  “Is it… broken?” Lucien asked, squinting up at the enormous structure.

  “No,” I said, stepping closer. “It’s locked. But… something feels off. Like it’s waiting for me specifically.”

  Selene moved to my side, her amber eyes scanning the gate. “If this is where the next fragment is, and if the underground forums are getting wind of who you are, we’re not going to be the only ones who know about it.”

  Devon crossed his arms, his crimson greatsword resting against his shoulder. “Do your thing, Kiera. Open it.”

  I hesitated, shadows flickering faintly at my fingertips. I could feel the code I’d absorbed earlier reacting to the gate, like two magnets trying to pull toward each other.

  Reaching out slowly, I touched the cold stone.

  A sharp pulse of energy erupted outward, and my HUD lit up with cascading error messages.

  [System Override Detected][Fragment Synchronization in Progress…]

  The gate groaned and shifted, ancient stone grinding against itself as it slowly began to open. Behind it, an ominous dark corridor stretched endlessly into the mountainside, faint blue lights flickering far in the distance.

  But my HUD also dispyed something else:

  [WARNING: Hostile Presence Detected]

  Before I could react, a voice crackled through the shadows behind us.

  “Well, well… looks like we caught up to the anomaly.”

  The four of us turned sharply as three figures stepped out of the forest, their forms flickering faintly with corrupted light.

  [PLAYER: NullVex] (Rogue Css, Dual Daggers)

  [PLAYER: ByteWraith] (Necromancer Css, Corrupted Magic)

  [PLAYER: IronCircuit] (Heavy Gunner Css, Prototype Cannon)

  Their names glowed with faint static outlines, and their presence made my HUD glitch faintly at the edges.

  Devon unslung his greatsword with a heavy thunk, his crimson armor glowing faintly with runic energy. “Don’t you people ever get tired?”

  NullVex twirled a dagger in one hand, their voice dripping with amusement. “You’re in the way, Overlord Ren. Move aside, and we’ll make this painless.”

  Selene’s daggers gleamed as she shifted into a fighting stance. “If you want her, you’ll have to go through us.”

  ByteWraith ughed softly, a hollow, rattling sound. “We’re not leaving without her… or without it.”

  Their eyes locked onto me, and my chest tightened.

  Lucien’s lute shimmered faintly with magic as he took a step forward. “Such hostility! Can we not discuss this over a cup of tea and poetic baldry?”

  No one ughed.

  The silence broke with a sudden screech of metal as IronCircuit’s massive cannon began to charge, glowing with blinding red light.

  “MOVE!” Selene shouted.

  The fight erupted into chaos.

  Devon cshed with IronCircuit, his massive greatsword crashing into the heavy gunner’s cannon with deafening force. Sparks and static flew as they traded blows.

  Selene moved like a shadow, weaving around NullVex’s dual daggers and striking with pinpoint precision. Their movements were so fast I could barely track them.

  Lucien strummed sharp chords on his lute, protective wards flickering around us as damage numbers popped up above our heads:

  [Protective Ward: Damage Mitigated by 15%]

  ByteWraith’s hands glowed with corrupted magic, summoning skeletal creatures from glitching bck portals. They rushed toward me, cws outstretched.

  “Shadow Bolt!” I shouted, sending crackling purple energy into one of the creatures. It dissolved instantly, but two more lunged at me.

  [Health: 76%]

  Selene darted past me, sshing through the skeletal minions with both daggers. Her amber eyes met mine briefly. “Focus, Kiera! Stay sharp!”

  Devon roared as he smmed his greatsword into IronCircuit’s cannon, causing it to spark violently.

  “Lucien, can you disrupt ByteWraith’s spells?” I shouted.

  Lucien grinned faintly. “With pleasure, my muse!”

  He strummed a sharp, discordant note. ByteWraith staggered backward, clutching their head as their magic flickered out of control.

  With ByteWraith momentarily disrupted, Selene lunged at NullVex, nding a deep strike across their chest. NullVex let out a strangled cry before dissolving into static particles.

  Devon’s greatsword cleaved IronCircuit’s cannon in half, the corrupted pyer staggering back before shattering into fragments of light.

  Only ByteWraith remained, weakened and cornered. Their glowing eyes locked onto me, filled with fury.

  “You can’t stop this, glitch,” they hissed. “You’re just another pawn in their game.”

  Selene stepped beside me, her daggers raised. Devon loomed over ByteWraith, greatsword still glowing faintly.

  I raised my hand, shadows crackling at my fingertips. “This pawn isn’t going to lose.”

  Shadow Bolt.

  The energy smmed into ByteWraith’s chest, and they dissolved into a cascade of corrupted pixels.

  The battlefield fell silent.

  The Hollow Gate loomed open behind us, its dark corridor stretching into unknown depths. Devon sheathed his greatsword.

  Selene gnced at me, her amber eyes filled with something unreadable. “They’re getting bolder. We won’t have much time before more of them show up.”

  Lucien strummed a faint melody on his lute, his voice softer than usual. “The shadows grow longer, my friends. We must press onward before they swallow us whole.”

  I nodded, clutching the Midnight Fang tightly.

  “Then let’s move,” I said softly.

  Together, we stepped into the dark corridor of The Hollow Gate, shadows swallowing us whole.

  ?????°???°?????

  The darkness inside The Hollow Gate felt suffocating, heavy with an unnatural stillness that made every step feel too loud, every breath too sharp. The faint glow of my HUD was the only consistent source of light, flickering softly in my peripheral vision as we pressed deeper into the ancient corridor.

  The stone walls on either side of us were carved with intricate runes, many of them glitching faintly with fractured pixels and distorted textures. Thin threads of glowing blue binary code drifted through the air like faint embers, pulsing in and out of existence.

  Selene walked slightly ahead of me, her daggers drawn and her amber eyes scanning every shadow. Devon followed close behind with his massive greatsword drawn, its crimson etchings casting faint red light against the walls. Lucien stayed near me, one hand on his lute, his sharp eyes flicking to every flicker of motion.

  No one spoke. The oppressive silence demanded stillness.

  But then, the faint sound of static crackled from somewhere deeper in the corridor.

  I froze. “Did you hear that?”

  Selene nodded once, barely gncing back. “Whatever it is, It’s ahead.”

  Devon exhaled sharply, his armored boots grinding softly against the stone floor. “Feels like we’re walking into a trap.”

  “Isn’t that every quest we’ve done so far?” I muttered.

  Lucien chuckled softly, but the sound didn’t carry far. “Ah, the eternal optimism of adventurers. Into the jaws of danger, guided only by flickering lights and vague instructions.”

  I actually snorted. At least Lucien’s optimism made the situation less grim.

  We walked deeper, the corridor began to change. The walls rippled faintly with distorted patterns, and the air felt… thicker, almost syrupy. My HUD flickered violently, dispying error messages.

  [WARNING: ENVIRONMENTAL ANOMALY DETECTED][SYSTEM INSTABILITY INCREASED]

  “It’s like the code itself is warping,” I said softly.

  Devon frowned. “This isn’t normal dungeon behavior. It’s like the system doesn’t know how to render this pce properly.”

  Selene reached out and pced a hand on one of the glitching walls. Her brow furrowed, and her voice was low. “It’s corrupted. Whatever this pce was supposed to be… it’s breaking.”

  Lucien pyed a single faint note on his lute, the sound reverberating strangely through the air before fading into silence.

  “This pce doesn’t want us here,” he said, his voice unusually serious.

  The corridor eventually opened into a circur chamber. At its center stood a massive stone door covered in glowing runes and shifting lines of binary code. Three rge pedestals surrounded the door, each one glowing faintly with a different color—red, blue, and green.

  The marker on my HUD pulsed brightly, pointing directly at the door.

  [Objective: Unlock the Hollow Gate’s Inner Seal]

  Devon walked up to the door, inspecting the runes etched into its surface. “A puzzle lock. Cssic dungeon design. But…” He frowned, pointing at the glitching lines of binary interwoven with the runes. “It’s broken. The pieces aren’t fitting together properly.”

  Selene circled one of the pedestals, her amber eyes scanning the symbols. “This isn’t normal. Kiera, can you see anything we can’t?”

  I stepped closer to the door, and suddenly—

  My HUD flickered, and faint lines of glowing fragmented code spread across the surface of the door, connecting to each pedestal like pulsing veins.

  [FRAGMENT DETECTED: Connection Point Located]

  “They’re… they’re connections,” I said. “It’s like the fragment I have is reacting to these symbols.”

  “Then you’re the key,” Selene said firmly. “Focus, Kiera. We’ll cover you if anything shows up.”

  I nodded and stepped forward, holding my hand out toward the door. Shadows curled faintly around my fingertips as I focused on the fragmented lines of code.

  The runes fred brightly, and prompts began appearing on my HUD:

  [ALIGN THE CODE NODES IN SEQUENCE: RED → BLUE → GREEN]

  I focused on the red pedestal first, reaching out toward the glowing lines. Shadows danced along my arm as I touched the first symbol. The rune glowed brighter, and the red pedestal fred with energy.

  [Red Node Connected]

  “First one connected,” I told them.

  “Good,” Selene said, her voice steady. “Keep going.”

  I turned to the blue pedestal, focusing on the next set of symbols. My hand trembled slightly as the shadows extended from my fingertips, forming faint tendrils of energy that linked the glowing fragments.

  [Blue Node Connected]

  Static crackled faintly through the chamber, and the shadows along the walls began to shift unnaturally.

  Something was coming.

  “Something is coming, hurry up Kiera,” Devon said sharply, his greatsword raised as shadows began to form shapes along the edges of the chamber.

  I focused on the final green pedestal, sweat dripping down my temple. The glowing lines of code twisted violently as if resisting my control.

  “Come on… come on!” I muttered.

  With a sharp crackle of energy, the final pedestal fred to life.

  [Green Node Connected]

  The chamber shook, and the massive stone door began to slide open with a low, grinding groan. But as it did, shadows emerged from the walls, forming into jagged, glitching figures.

  The creatures lunged forward, their forms flickering and distorting like corrupted holograms.

  [ENEMY ENCOUNTER: GLITCHED WRAITHS]

  Level: 16

  Status: Unstable

  Weakness: Energy-based Attacks

  Devon stepped in front of me, his greatsword glowing faintly. “Get through the door, Kiera! I’ll hold them off!”

  “No!” I shouted. “I can fight—”

  Selene grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the door. “You’re the objective, Kiera. We cannot lose you.”

  Lucien strummed a sharp chord, and a wave of energy pushed one of the wraiths back into the shadows.

  “Through the gate!” he shouted.

  With Selene dragging me and Devon clearing a path, we surged through the opening door and into the chamber beyond.

  The door smmed shut behind us, cutting off the wraiths. The room we stepped into was impossibly vast—a cathedral-like space with towering walls etched in glowing runes and shifting code. At the center, suspended in mid-air, hovered another Fragment of Binary Code. It pulsed faintly, radiating power and… something else.

  Something alive.

  Selene let out a sharp breath, lowering her daggers. Devon caught up and rested his greatsword against his shoulder, his armored chest rising and falling.

  My chest stopped beating so heavily, thankfully that he was okay.

  Lucien stepped forward, his voice soft. “It’s… beautiful. And terrible.”

  My HUD fred as the fragment recognized my presence.

  [FRAGMENT DETECTED: RETRIEVE? YES / NO]

  I hesitated, shadows flickering faintly at my feet.

  “Do it,” Selene said softly. “This is why we’re here.”

  I reached out.

  The fragment fred brightly as it was absorbed into my HUD.

  [FRAGMENT RETRIEVED: 2/???][SYSTEM STABILITY -2%]

  The cathedral trembled slightly, and my HUD dispyed another notification:

  [WARNING: SYSTEM ANOMALY DETECTED. FOREIGN PRESENCE APPROACHING.]

  Devon tightened his grip on his sword. Selene’s amber eyes narrowed. Lucien’s lute hummed faintly in his hands.

  Something—or someone—was coming.