In Zone "A," Saland, wreathed in the energy of his EXSTAR INCOMPLETE FORM, moved like a phantom amidst the digital chaos. High-level glitches, once formidable threats, dissolved into shimmering particles before his relentless assault. Each swing of his materialized weapon was a death knell, clearing a path through the encroaching anomalies.
Then, the sky screamed. A jagged bolt of pure energy, raw and untamed, tore through the digital firmament. Saland, his senses honed by countless battles, reacted instinctively, his body a blur as he sidestepped the lethal descent. His gaze snapped upwards, tracing the lightning's origin.
Hovering above, a figure materialized from the distorted air. A glitch, yet distinct from the mindless hordes. Its skin was the color of ash, mirroring the straight, downward sweep of its gray hair. Its eyes were unsettling – white sclera framing irises of cold gray, with pupils that were stark white points. It was clad in a tailored gray jacket and matching long trousers, an air of sinister elegance clinging to its form. In its hands, it held two double-bladed spears, each humming with an unnatural, vibrant electricity.
Recognition struck Saland like another lightning bolt. "I never expected to see you again," he growled, his grip tightening on his weapon. "This time… this time I won't be beaten so easily."
A chillingly composed voice echoed down, laced with a smug certainty. "That time, your victory was a mere fluke, a consequence of my internal energy depletion. But this time…" The air around the glitch crackled with growing power. "This time, I won't even grant you the luxury of a reaction! Singularity Thundering Storm!"
The very fabric of the digital sky seemed to warp and darken. Yardrach, the Thunderstorm Glitch, underwent a startling transformation. His gray hues bled away, replaced by a stark, absolute white that encompassed his attire, his hair, and even his skin. He radiated a potent, otherworldly light, and his twin spears now crackled and spat with furious bolts of lightning and raw electricity. His eyes shifted, the white sclera now dominant, framing pupils that were sharp, black voids.
With a sudden, fluid motion, Yardrach settled into a combat stance. Saland mirrored him, his own energy coiling within him, a vibrant azure. "Let's give it our all!" he declared, his voice ringing with determination.
Yardrach moved first, a blindingly fast surge of white against the darkening backdrop. One of his electrified spears lunged towards Saland with terrifying speed and power. But Saland, his reflexes honed to an almost precognitive level, met the attack head-on. His blade, now crackling with its own intense azure electricity, deflected the glitch's thrust with a resounding clang. In the same breath, Saland lunged forward, aiming for Yardrach's chest.
But the Thunderstorm Glitch was no novice. With a flicker, he vanished, reappearing instantly behind Saland. A relentless barrage of lightning-fast thrusts from his double-bladed spears rained down. Saland met each strike with incredible speed, his blade a whirling shield of azure light. Suddenly, Yardrach unleashed an enormous surge of raw electricity, forcing Saland to leap back to create distance.
Without hesitation, Saland retaliated with a sweeping electric slash. Yardrach countered, throwing one of his charged spears like a javelin. The two energy attacks collided in mid-air, erupting in a blinding, deafening explosion of light that momentarily bleached the digital world.
As the aftershocks subsided, Saland and Yardrach stood poised for the next exchange. But before either could move, a new voice, cold and resonant, cut through the charged atmosphere.
"Well, well," it drawled, the sound sending a shiver down Saland's digital spine. "Looks like you two are having quite the fun. I trust you don't mind if I join in, do you, Yardrach?"
The Thunderstorm Glitch, the formidable Yardrach, instantly dropped to one knee, his head bowed low. "It has been far too long since I last beheld your presence, Master."
The source of the voice materialized beside Yardrach. A being of absolute blackness, an absence of form where features should have been. No nose, no eyes, no mouth – just an inky void that nonetheless emanated a palpable aura of cold, azure power. Then, it turned its attention to Saland. In the smooth, featureless expanse of its face, a horrifying mouth suddenly split open, revealing rows upon rows of needle-sharp teeth.
"You recognize me, don't you, little pest?" the voice rasped, each syllable a chilling caress. "I am Null. The Oblivion Glitch."
Saland's fists clenched, his knuckles glowing with contained energy. "How could I ever forget a vile being like you? I had hoped to have purged you from this reality once and for all. But today… today is the final reckoning!"
A low, menacing chuckle echoed from Null's grotesque mouth. "Then I see no reason to hold back. Singularity Oblivion Awakened!"
The very air around Null began to distort and writhe. His already imposing form began to expand, the absolute blackness deepening. His right arm swelled, taking on a sickly, dark pink hue. From the sides and top of his featureless head, a chaotic array of horns erupted, twisting skyward. Above the horrifying grin, a single, vertically oriented eye snapped open, radiating a malevolent dark pink light. An immense, crushing pressure began to emanate from him, a tangible force that pressed down on the entire surrounding zone.
Saland stared at his two most formidable adversaries, a grim determination hardening his gaze. "I will show you," he declared, his voice resonating with newfound power, "that I am far stronger than I was before! I am no longer just a player in this game! I am an admin! You are nothing but phantoms of the past, attempting to bar my path! I will eliminate you both, here and now!"
A torrent of pure azure energy erupted from Saland, engulfing him in a blinding light. His form shifted, his very being undergoing a profound transformation. When the light subsided, he stood clad in clothing of solid gray, his skin now possessing a similar, almost metallic hue. Vertical lines of brilliant azure energy traced intricate patterns across his body. His hair had turned a steely gray, and his eyes burned with an intense azure fire. Behind him, two magnificent wings, formed from solidified rays of azure energy, unfurled. In his hands, he now wielded an enormous sword, its hilt requiring a two-handed grip. The blade was massive, its inner gray surface inscribed with a glowing azure word: "EXSTAR." The razor-sharp edge ran along its entire length.
"It's time for the final reckoning!" Saland roared, his voice imbued with the authority of his new form.
Null and Yardrach, despite the dramatic shift in Saland's power, showed no flicker of fear or surprise. They simply settled into their combat stances, their combined presence radiating an oppressive power.
Null made the first move, a blur of dark energy as he lunged towards Saland, his dark pink fist crackling with the power of oblivion. But Saland, moving with a speed and precision he hadn't possessed before, met the attack head-on, his massive sword intercepting the blow with a resounding impact.
In that same instant, Yardrach saw an opening. A white streak of motion, one of his electrified spears lancing towards Saland's side. But Saland, his senses now operating on a higher plane, reacted instantly. He slammed Null backward with a burst of azure energy and simultaneously parried Yardrach's thrust, the clash of their energies sending sparks flying.
Yardrach, forced to retreat, swiftly crossed his two spears, and a beam of pure electric energy crackled between their tips.
"EXSTAR: SLASH!" Saland roared, unleashing an enormous crescent of pure azure energy. It tore through the air towards Yardrach. The Thunderstorm Glitch, agile despite his size, managed to evade the brunt of the attack, but the searing energy still grazed his left arm, leaving it mangled and sparking.
While Yardrach reeled, Null unleashed the full force of his oppressive aura. An invisible weight slammed down on the entire battle zone, and Saland felt himself being crushed by the immense pressure. Yet, defying the impossible, Saland slowly began to rise, his form shimmering with azure energy as he pushed back against the crushing force until he stood upright.
Disbelief contorted Null's grotesque features. "Yardrach, now!" he shrieked.
Yardrach, his remaining arm glowing fiercely, fused his two spears into a single, elongated weapon crackling with raw power. "Thunder Javelin!" he bellowed, and hurled the massive spear with impossible speed. It struck Saland with the force of a physical thunderbolt, erupting in a cataclysmic explosion of energy. A colossal bolt of lightning ripped through the distorted sky, plunging down into the infinite void.
For a moment, the two glitches believed their combined assault had been successful. But then, through the dissipating energy, a figure still stood. Saland was scorched, his gray attire bearing the marks of the devastating attack, but the damage appeared superficial.
A cold fury radiated from Saland. "You were… persistent," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "But it ends now. EXSTAR: STARDUST!"
With a movement faster than the eye could track, Saland swung his massive sword in a horizontal arc. The blade sliced through both Yardrach and Null. In the wake of the devastating swing, countless tiny lights, like miniature stars, bloomed into existence, only to detonate in a chain reaction, engulfing the two powerful glitches in an enormous, world-shattering explosion.
When the light finally faded, the aftermath was stark. Null's form was riddled with deep cracks, his core energy flickering erratically. He was slowly dissolving into shimmering fragments. "I… I refuse to die like this!" he shrieked, his voice filled with disbelief and rage. "Not… not again!" With a final, desperate cry, his body crumbled into dust, his essence flowing back towards the great system fracture.
Yardrach fared slightly better, but his entire white form was crisscrossed with deep black fissures, and he too was beginning to disintegrate. He looked at Saland, a strange mix of grudging respect and resignation in his fading eyes. "Since our encounter in that desolate wasteland… you have improved significantly. I care little for you inferior beings… but you, Saland… you have become strong." With those final words, the cracks in his form deepened, and he shattered into countless pieces, turning to dust that drifted away on the nonexistent wind.
Saland, his azure wings still glowing, turned his gaze towards the distant, pulsating anomaly – the source of the system corruption. A grim determination settled upon his face. "Today," he murmured, his voice resonating with the weight of his admin authority, "it all ends."