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The air felt heavier than ever. The walls of Eidolon trembled beneath their feet, as if the very structure of the game was groaning in agony. Each step they took felt like walking through a storm, the wind inside the system becoming more turbulent, louder with each passing moment. Something was coming, and it wasn't just the corruption spreading through the core. No, this was something far worse, a darkness that Sable could feel deep in his bones.
The strange, golden eyes of the corrupted creator flashed in his mind, haunting him like an endless echo. "You are the glitch," it had said. Sable still didn't understand what that meant, but it was clear that their fight wasn't over. If anything, it had only just begun.
He turned to Rei, her face still pale, her eyes wide with apprehension. "We need to move, Rei. If that thing is serious about destroying us—and the entire system—we can't wait for it to come to us."
Rei nodded silently, clenching her fists at her sides. "We'll finish this... whatever it takes."
They pushed forward, navigating through the wreckage of Eidolon's shattered landscapes. The sky, which had once been a tranquil vista, was now a swirling mass of static and glitching fragments. The ground beneath them rippled as if the game itself was cracking at the seams. Whatever had been unleashed was continuing to spread, and it wasn't going to stop until it consumed everything.
Sable's mind raced as they continued through the decaying world. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being led somewhere—toward something. But what? What was waiting for them beyond the arena of corrupted data?
His thoughts were interrupted when they reached a massive gate—a towering structure that seemed to pulse with the same golden light they had seen in the corrupted creator's eyes. This was it. The final checkpoint. The place where the game would either collapse completely, or they would find what had been pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The golden light flashed, and suddenly, a voice—the voice—rang out across the arena.
> "So, you've made it this far... Impressive. But do you truly understand what you're facing?"
Sable's hands tightened into fists. "We're facing you," he spat, his voice full of defiance. "Whatever you are, we'll end this here."
The golden eyes appeared again, but this time, they were not alone. They were accompanied by a series of distorted, fragmented faces—ghosts of past players, those who had fallen to the glitches. Their eyes were wide with fear and confusion, their mouths open in silent screams.
Rei recoiled, her breath hitching. "These... these are the players who died."
Sable stepped forward, his voice shaking with determination. "We'll make sure you don't claim any more lives."
The voice of the corrupted creator laughed, a sound that grated against their nerves. "Claim? No... you misunderstand. I don't want their souls. I want their data. Every time they died, I took a part of their code, reshaping it, twisting it. Until I had the power to reshape the system itself. To create a world where I am the one who controls it all."
The gate before them began to open, revealing a dark, swirling void beyond it. The arena was no longer a place of structure and stability. It had become something far more dangerous—something unstable, something that would consume them if they weren't careful.
> "And now, you two... you're part of the puzzle. Part of the game's final key." The voice continued. "It's too late to escape. You're already trapped. The only way to survive is to let go. Join me."
Sable's heart pounded as he realized the implications of those words. He turned to Rei, the weight of what they were about to face pressing down on him.
"We're not giving up," he said through gritted teeth. "You heard it—we're the key. But we won't let it control us. We'll finish this... together."
The golden eyes flashed brighter, and the distorted figures of the fallen players began to move, slowly approaching them. Their mouths moved in unison, repeating the same phrase over and over again:
> "You cannot escape."
Sable reached for his sword, his grip steady despite the fear clawing at his chest. Rei, too, drew her weapon, the light in her eyes rekindling. They didn't have time for doubts. The game wasn't going to wait for them to be ready.
Without warning, the golden light exploded around them, and the ground shattered beneath their feet, sending them tumbling into the abyss below.
---
Sable landed with a sickening thud, the air knocked from his lungs. He gasped, rolling to his feet just in time to see Rei crash to the ground beside him. Her eyes were wide with shock, her breath quick and shallow.
> "What is this place?" Rei whispered, her voice trembling.
It was... familiar, but not at the same time. The world around them looked like Eidolon, but it was twisted—distorted beyond recognition. The ground was covered in static, broken shards of the game's code scattered across the dark expanse. A massive, distorted figure loomed overhead, its golden eyes glowing like two burning beacons.
Sable's heart skipped a beat as the figure stepped forward. He recognized it immediately. It was the corrupted creator, but it was different now—much larger, its form more chaotic, a horrible combination of twisted data and player code.
> "You're too late," the creator's voice echoed. "This world is mine. And soon, so will you be."
Rei stood beside Sable, her body shaking but her resolve unwavering. "We've already made it this far. We won't stop now."
The corrupted creator's eyes burned into them, a cold laugh escaping from its twisted mouth. "You'll never win. You're just players, caught in my game. And you've already lost."
Sable gritted his teeth, raising his sword, ready for whatever the corrupted creator would throw at them next. The game was no longer just a fight for survival—it was a battle to take back control of the very world they'd fought to escape.
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To Be Continued...